Nigeria's Vice President Kashim Shettima will deliver the 13th Convocation Lecture of the Al-Hikma University, Ilorin, on Friday, December 8, 2023.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Noah Yusuf, disclosed this during a pre-convocation press conference of the university at its Adewole campus in Ilorin, the state capital.

The topic of the lecture is “Addressing Nigeria's Food Security Challenge Through Hi-Tech Approach: The Role of Nigerian Universities”.

Prof. Yusuf said VP Shettima will also on Friday commission projects at the Adeta and Atere Campuses of the institution before the convocation lecture at the Faculty of Law, Moot Court, Atere Campus.

The vice-chancellor said twenty-six (26) graduands bagged first class honours degree while four hundred and seventy- two (472) earned upper second class honours degree; Six hundred (600) will be awarded lower second class honours degree and one hundred and nine (109) will be awarded third-class honours.

Inspector General of Police to be Awarded a PhD, In the postgraduate category, the vice-chancellor said twenty-seven (27) would graduate with Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), among whom is Nigeria's Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.

While two (2) will be awarded Master of Philosophy (M.Phil), two hundred and eleven (211) will be awarded master's degrees, and one hundred and five (105) Postgraduate Diploma (PGD). According to him, thirty-one (31) students graduated with diplomas, bringing the total number of graduands to one thousand, five hundred and eighty-three (1,583) for the session.

On the uniqueness of this year's convocation of the first Islamic faith-based university in Nigeria, Prof. Noah said, “This year's convocation will take place at our permanent site at Atere Campus, which sits on 113.4 hectares of land, and we are graduating the highest number in the history of the institution”.

Line-up of Activities & Achievements

Prof. Noah disclosed that the activities of the event had commenced on the 2nd of December, this week, with a Health Walk, which attracted a large turnout of staff and students.

Conferment of honorary degrees, award of degrees, diplomas and special prizes will hold on Saturday, 9th December 2023, also at the Atere Campus.

The vice chancellor listed some of the achievements recorded during his administration to include a notable rise in enrolment across all faculties, successful accreditation of forty-eight (48) out of fifty-one (51) undergraduate academic programmes with full accreditation status.

The VC also advocated for federal government support for private universities and hinted that the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Private Universities will not relent in their move to ensure an amendment in the law that established TETFund to accommodate private institutions. (TETFund, an intervention agency, is set up to provide supplementary support to all levels of public tertiary institutions.)