The ideological foregrounding of the College of Lagos was heralded as a discerning response to the charted trajectories of the Metropolis of Lagos, Nigeria’s federal capital, the Lagos State,West Africa, and Africa. Tracing again by means of time, inside which Lagos has grown, and the resounding projection of an encouraging future for the town, the College of Lagos (UNILAG) has accompanied it and exhibited an ideal symbiotic partnership of city and robe.
Lagos State unarguably boasts as one of many largest economies in Africa, drawing claims with nations and exerting its maintain as certainly one of Nigeria’s reverberating strongholds for concept formation, progressive improvement, and evidenced progress. Reaching this peak of fame, UNILAG serves as a pavilion for injecting nodes of ideations, sensible steps, and enlightenment for the paths of the town.
Actually, the town of Lagos has been on a direct receiving finish of the continual radiating influence of excellence because the inception of UNILAG, because the post-colonial historical past and improvement of Lagos replicate the affect of the tutorial and ideological energy and accomplishment of an awesome college. Nonetheless, the goals and conceptions of UNILAG are far completely different from only a city-bound endeavor however delineated by the pool of requirements that have been virtually burying the brand new nation. So, a terse delineation of what defines UNILAG is that it has been a power for assets and ideological instructions for the enactment of the blueprint of the nation and Lagos concurrently.
On this mild, the historical past of UNILAG aligns with the independence historical past of the nation and the handing over of all sectors into the arms of Nigerians. It means the gearing of the nation, from the then seat of energy, Lagos, can be within the arms of Nigerians. It additionally implied that the nation would want extra specialists and assets to suit into the scheme of a blooming nation and financial system. So, the conception of the College was a response to the nation’s social, financial, skilled, and political wants. The anticipation was for it to blaze the paths to ascertain robust grounds for nationwide improvement.
These wants stemmed from the truth that the nation, at the moment, didn’t have sufficient establishments that will function conduits of assets and reservoirs of manpower to create a nationwide basis for an financial system obtained from the colonial authorities. Recognizing this actuality, the Ashby Fee beneficial the creation of the College of Lagos to supply programs in Enterprise Administration, Commerce, Greater Administration Research, and Economics on day and night education plans to seize each the working class and the non-working class. So, it turned obvious that for the brand new nation to excel, it should draw from the College.
Due to this fact, I consider that the mission of the Collegeturned bifurcated: first, to reply to the instant wants of society, and second, to contribute immensely to the epistemological and cerebral composition and compounding of the nation and metropolis. Each assignments are focal factors of improvement, and if one would outline excellence from its cradles of reaching decided and set out targets, the yardstick for ascertainment and willpower of whether or not the Collegemay very well be delineated as a centre for excellence rests solely on its skill to satisfy these bifurcated aspirations.
On the primary wing of the project set at its inception, UNILAG has develop into a hub for propelling people into progressive and developmental realities, compelling knowledgeable drives for business orientations, creativities, and crystalized ideations. At independence, the enterprise of Nigeria calculated in direction of nation-building may very well be mentioned to be that of the enterprise of improvement, have to strengthen its companies and create a business entrance that will safe progress and the way forward for the nation. As anticipated, the College constructed males and girls who might intellectually contribute to those goals. With foundational information in commerce and humanities-related disciplines at these early phases, the mental capacities of the nation have been matching up with the Nigerian challenge on the time.
Lagos, being the house of UNILag, has additionally seen a direct contribution of the College to its progress through the years. Lagos has was a globally acknowledged hub for improvement, commerce, and innovation, with uncooked skills being displayed in all sectors. Lagos State boasts the fifth largest financial system in Africa when ranked as a rustic. This feat got here to be due to the lengthy historical past of industrious and commercially oriented inhabitants.
To contribute to those particular business and progressive wants of each Nigeria and Lagos, UNILAG has since been widening its scope to embrace these realities. The curriculum of the College and the actions alongside the lengthy lane of Nigerian historical past gave a platform for remodelling these concepts of progress and giving the suitable info that will enable for productive,progressive considering. Right now, the College can delight itself in being one of many foremost establishments which have diversified largely into analysis, innovation, and entrepreneurship and have made appreciable success in that regard.
To show the above, the successes of the scholars and their positions amongst others within the nation and metropolis function testaments and proof to the gravitation of the eye of the College to innovation and entrepreneurship. Other than being the most effective in Africa, Forbes lately ranked it because the third-best College for entrepreneurship in Africa, with the College of Cape City and Makerere Universities as first and second. This feat is proof that UNILAG has been in a position to alter to those business realities from each nationwide and state fronts.
The relevance of the entrepreneurial contributions of UNILAG may very well be greatest appreciated within the significance of entrepreneurship that types the idea of the Small and Medium-scale financial system. With out mincing phrases, I might say that entrepreneurship and innovation are the 2 up to date components that the nation and continent want in abundance. The financial system of Nigeria has develop into too risky, and the domination of the market by large and already-established manufacturers has been kicking out small-medium companies. The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics states that Small and medium-scale economies in Nigeria are chargeable for about 48 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP. As well as, in addition they account for about 84 per cent of the entire workforce within the nation. SMEs additionally account for about 96 per cent of the entire companies within the nation. I consider that the College has lengthy seen the relevance of those sectors of the financial system and has taken it upon itself to construct small and medium-scale economies by means of the entrepreneurial improvement of the nation. So, one of the vital vital financial sectors of the nation attracts energy and forecastable improvement from the excellence of UNILAG.
Other than the business and progressive wants of the nation and metropolis, wherein the College has at all times served as a reservoir of applicable proactive response by offering and constructing befitting human assets, its contribution to social wants transcends commerce and innovation. One other attention-grabbing contribution of UNILAG that many won’t take note of is its contribution to the well being and medical sectors of the nation. The world has confronted well being making an attempt occasions, and in Nigeria, the outbreaks of the Ebola Virus and the COVID-19 pandemic have been a giant menace to the survival of the folks. Throughout the outbreak of the Ebola virus, Lagos was environment friendly in its response and the defence of the nation to make sure that it didn’t unfold dangerously to the remainder of the nation. So, Lagos took the entrance row, and UNILAG backed the endeavour. The analysis {and professional} actions of a few of the merchandise, like Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh and staff of UNILAG, have been instrumental within the success of the struggle towards the virus. An analogous achievement was achieved in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and UNILAG as soon as once more turned an institutional hero within the struggle.
The second wing of the project set at its inception, a minimum of for each instructional establishment, is to attain tutorial feats that set an ordinary for others to observe. The standard of analysis and contribution of the schools of UNILAG to the epistemological physique of the nation and Africa has been groundbreaking. One of many commendable approaches of the College is the institution of the Analysis Administration Workplace that ensures that topnotch analysis endeavours replicate international requirements, social wants, multidisciplinary concerns, and Revolutionary approaches. Right now, UNILAG ranks as one of many high 5 analysis establishments within the nation, with cutting-edge progress and a deliberate give attention to related outcomes.
The pedagogical approaches of the College and its members of employees have proven result-oriented types that assist college students develop by means of tutorial endeavors. The College is a tutorial fortress to about 60,000 college students with numerous pursuitsand aspirations. What’s extra vital in regards to the college students is the standard of the considering talents and creativity of those whom I’ve interacted with. Not all universities on the earth havecollege students with such an enormous range of pursuits, and nonetheless, all draw again to tutorial significance, making them related in nationwide and continental discussions. It has been mentioned and seen that UNILAG college students take the bull by its horns and proceed with the spirit of excellence. The present college students and alumni have develop into related in each sector of Nigeria, together with leisure, commerce, lecturers, and sports activities.
One can see that what makes the College of Lagos a centre of excellence is not only the brilliance of its college students and colleges or the qualities of analysis made, however its skill to develop with the wants of the nation and continent and supply a related response to it. To maintain the customized, all arms have to be on deck. The completely different challenges, together with funds, services, and assets, have to be taken as a nationwide concern, and the LagosState authorities should additionally acknowledge the necessity to give again to the establishment that has given a lot to its communities. Actually,Lagos was sure to develop, however the fee and trajectory of its progress won’t have been this pronounced with out the existence and contributions of UNILAG.
The nation anticipates excessive hopes for its future, and discourses and efforts are channelled to technological improvements and market-defining discoveries that will challenge and propel the nation amongst its counterparts. There isn’t any futurefor Nigeria with out Lagos within the image, and as historical past has proven, there won’t be such a future for Lagos if the College of Lagos is incapacitated from injecting its excellence. In essence, the College of Lagos is pivotal to the anticipated way forward for Nigeria and have to be held not simply as a treasury however as a bailout.
It is vital for the alumni of UNILAG to not stray too removed from it. It’s an establishment that wants all the assistance it could possibly get to maintain being that centre of excellence that everybody associates with it. As well as, the College itself have to be able to create an affordable relationship and collaboration with the alumni physique to advertise inclusiveness.
PS: That is Half 1 of the sequence on the College of Lagos.