VP Osinbajo Attends UNILAG’s 50th Alumni Dinner On 26/10/2019

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REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER OF UNILAG ALUMNI ON THE 26TH OF OCTOBER, 2019

PROTOCOL

Let me begin by thanking the association for this very kind award, and on behalf of all of the other honourees, to thank you very much for the award. It is a very special pleasure to be back in the company of my fellow alumni to celebrate this glorious occasion, the golden jubilee of our association.

I speak often on how this university is a truly formidable institution, and while we might be bias because we went through this university and for some of us, we actually taught here, we are teachers here. But one of the many reasons why UNILAG is able to maintain such an excellent reputation is because of the people who have passed through its walls, all of you – alumni.

As alumni, our successes become testaments to the university’s own success. And so today, we celebrate 50 years of networking across generations, 50 years of giving back to the university that gave us so much, and 50 years of making our alma mater proud.

As great Akokites, we have a lot to be proud of, and I want to give a shout out to some great Akokites who have done so much and who continue to contribute so much. Many of them have been given awards tonight and to them, I need not mention all their names again.

Our very own association’s National President, Dr. John Momoh CEO of Channels TV, which, as you know is more than just a news channel. And under his leadership, Channels has produced and aired impeccable documentaries and serves as a watchdog or sort to government, keeping people, keeping politicians like us on their toes.

And of course, Tony Elumelu, we have also seen all the various great things he’s done. A great banker, very wealthy businessman, since he doesn’t share his wealth with anybody, we are at least inspired by his philanthropy and we thank him very much also for using the skills which he has gained and his wealth of experience to empower young Nigerians and Africans.

And there are so many others who have contributed so much in contemporary times. Genevieve Nnaji who is, as you know is a Nollywood actress and she was also in this university. She has gone on to become not just a great actress, but an iconic asset for the industry. Her directorial debut is Lion Heart, which has become the first Netflix original film from Nigeria, and has been selected as Nigeria’s submission for the 2020 Oscar Awards. So, we are looking forward to great things.

Bola Austen Peters, many of us know her, and I am proud to say she was my student, founder of Terra Kulture and producer of several award winning musicals including Broadway-style musicals. She’s the one who did Wakaa, which became the first Nigerian musical to be staged in London’s West End. And that again is one of our alumni.

There is so much that we can boast of, so much that we can talk about; contemporary, the young and the old and those who have been this way before us. I want to just congratulate the alumni association again for being so outstanding. It’s very clear that UNILAG stands out in every possible way.

We’ve heard that we have over 7; I think seven or eight Governors who are from this university. In fact, I was quite shocked when I heard the number of senators. But it appears we have at least one-third of the senate who are alumni of the University of Lagos. Now, that’s absolutely incredible and the House of Representative as well.

I’m told we have almost a hundred members of the House of Representatives who are also part of the alumni. And of course, we have the Right Honourable Speaker himself who is an alumnus of our great university. So, we are everywhere. And I think that what the future calls for is for us to dedicate ourselves to the service of this great institution, to ensure that this great institution becomes greater and greater still, and to the service of our country.

So, I am really pleased and I want to thank everyone for making the time to be here and making the time to stay for so long.

God bless you all.

Thank very much.