UNILAG Celebrates 56th Convocation as 709 Students Graduate with First Class Honors

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is getting ready to graduate a total of 16,506 undergraduate and postgraduate students at its upcoming 56th convocation ceremony set to take place from January 19 to January 23.

Folasade Ogunsola, the Vice-Chancellor and a professor at the university, announced that 709 students will graduate with first-class honors, alongside postgraduate distinctions.

Ms. Ogunsola shared this update at a pre-convocation press briefing held on Wednesday.

This pre-convocation press event marks the beginning of a week-long series of festivities in honor of the 56th convocation. The ceremony will encompass the presentation of first degrees, diplomas, certificates, postgraduate diplomas, master’s degrees, doctoral degrees, and honorary recognitions.

The convocation week will commence on Friday, January 16, featuring a Jumaat Service at the University Central Mosque, concluding the following Sunday, January 25, with a thanksgiving service at the Chapel of Christ Our Light at UNILAG.

During the event, Ms. Ogunsola noted that out of the total number of graduates, 10,584 will receive first degrees and diplomas, and 5,782 will earn postgraduate qualifications. Additionally, 140 students will graduate from the UNILAG Business School.

The university is also set to award 4,543 undergraduate students with second- class upper honors and 3,910 students with second-class lower honors. Furthermore, she revealed that 479 students will receive Postgraduate Diplomas (PGD), with 5,184 pursuing Master’s degrees, while 119 will receive Doctorates, including 112 from the ULBS Masters program and 28 DBA students from ULBS.

Highlighting academic excellence, the best overall graduating student, according to Ms. Ogunsola, is Chukwuzubelu Umeozo, who attained a perfect 5.0 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) while also being recognized as the top student in the Humanities from the Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences.

In the Sciences, the top graduating student is Deborah Oloton from the Department of Architecture, with a 4.91 CGPA. The Best PhD Thesis award goes to Haruna Abubakar, whose dissertation in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Structures option) stood out, whereas Beatice Zuhumnen earned the accolade for her Humanities PhD thesis in Educational Psychology. At ULBS, the best PhD thesis in DBA is credited to Oyeyemi Adebamowo.

The convocation activities will follow specific highlights throughout the week. This includes the unveiling of the UNILAG multimedia Library studio, financed by a World Bank Centre of Excellence initiative intended to aid students and researchers in digitally documenting Nigeria's vibrant cultural heritage.

On the same day, a convocation lecture will be presented by Orondaam Otto, the founder of Slum2School Africa, who also developed the continent's first Virtual Learning Classroom. The topic will focus on "Maximizing Nigeria’s Demographic Dividend through Urgent Education Reform for Global Competitiveness in the 21st Century" and will be chaired by Rahamon Bello, a professor and the President of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, who has also served as the university’s 11th vice-chancellor.

Further, degree awards will be conferred to students from the College of Medicine on January 21, encompassing disciplines such as Basic Medical Sciences, Clinical Sciences, and Dental Sciences, alongside contributions from the Faculties of Engineering, Law, Management Sciences, Pharmacy, and the Distance Learning Institute.

Also noteworthy, on January 22, postgraduate diplomas, master’s, and doctoral degrees will be rewarded, including honors for Distinguished Professors and others who have contributed significantly to academia and society.

The convocation week wraps up with a luncheon and Long Service Award ceremony on January 23, followed by a theatrical performance of Ola Rotimi's "Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi" at the J.F. Ade-Ajayi Auditorium at 4:00 p.m. The formal conclusion will be marked with a Thanksgiving Service on January 25.