By Oludamisi Ojo,Akure.
Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has urged Universities in the country to rise to the challenges of the 21st century, including the global pandemic.
Governor Akeredolu, particularly charged the Universities to be at the forefront of national development in this age of knowledge economy.
He spoke at the 2nd and 3rd combined convocation ceremony of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo.
Akeredolu, who is also a Visitor to the University, noted that the graduands from UNIMED will contribute towards filling some of the vacuums left behind by the exodus of health professionals to other countries presumably for greener pasture.
He reiterated his administration’s commitment to the funding, resourcing, and overall development of the university within the limit of the state’s resources.
His words“History will forever bear witness to the fact that the Sunshine State blazes the trail of establishing Nigeria’s first specialized medical and health Sciences University, which was established on 8th December 2014, UNIMED commenced academic activities in the 2015/16 session.
“Thus, the institution was in its infancy when we came to the saddle on 24th February 2017. It has been a great delight watching this university grow and our government is very proud to have funded the university for most of its existence.
“The recent ranking of Nigerian universities by the National University Commission bears eloquent testimony to UNIMED’s phenomenal growth and achievement.
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“Currently, UNIMED is ranked as the fourth-best state university in the country, the third-best specialized university, the second-best university in Ondo State (after the 40-year old Federal University of Technology, Akure), and the overall 19th highest-ranked university in Nigeria. What a feat in just seven years! We are proud to be associated with this trailblazing university.” Arakunrin Akeredolu said.
The Governor called on all well-meaning sons and daughters of Ondo State and Nigerians as well as people of other nationalities and international development organizations to join hands with his government to support the growth and development of the institution, UNIMED.
He said:” The need for Nigeria universities to be at the forefront of national development in an age of knowledge economy cannot be overemphasized, particularly in this crucial point in our national history and in the face of collective global disruptors like COVID-19.
