. Offers automatic jobs to best graduating students
By Stanley Onyeka, Lagos
Group President, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Aliko Dangote, has announced the donation of a whooping N15billion over a period of five years to the Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Wudil (ADUSTECH), Kano State for skills development.
The fund is to be deployed into various projects including:
- Design and construction of additional student hostels;
- Design and construction of a world class Engineering Lab;
- Design and construction of a world class multipurpose computer lab -open to all students of the institution and equipped with a 24-hour internet access to support academic research;
- Installation of a mini-solar plant to support access to power on campus; and,
- Design and construct a befitting Senate building for the administration of the institution.
Mr. Dangote, who is also the Chairman, was reappointed the Chancellor of the University, disclosed this during the institution’s 5th convocation ceremony, according to the company’s statement.
Speaking during the ceremony, Mr. Dangote, also the Chair of the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), said the investment is expected to reposition the University to lead the race of producing cutting edge research and highly skilled manpower that meets the requirements of market demands.
He was also quoted as saying: “Finally, we will also reserve post-NYSC employment slots for the best performing graduates in Engineering and other related courses that form part of our areas of interest at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Plant, and Dangote Cement Plants.”
The investment is expected to reposition the University to lead the race of producing cutting edge research and highly skilled manpower that meets the requirements of market demands.
Funding challenges
Noting that funding the institution’s operations is a huge burden on the government, Mr. Dangote informed that the five-year plan will be bank-rolled by his Foundation, just as it did to offset the University’s electricity bill to ease the strain on their finances.
He continued: “Additionally, to support the infrastructural drive of the University, we built two blocks of Male and Female Hostels with 500 bed spaces each.
“We also ensured the availability of electricity in a specialized University like ours for continuous teaching, learning and research, via the connection of the University to a 33KVA line, and provided a 2.5 MVA transformer and six (6) step-down transformers. This, I believe, has gone a long way in solving the energy needs of the University.”
He congratulated the visioners for the institution 25 years ago, saying: “An institution that began with a population of 88, today has more than 21,877 students, and this combined convocation has a total of about 18,000 graduates. This is indeed a milestone.”
In his address, Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, commended Mr. Dangote for contributing financially and morally towards the development of the University, adding that, “all of us will continue to remember you as a visionary and African illustrious industrialist.”
The University’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Musa Yakasa, said 18,000 students were being celebrated during the convocation ceremony, having graduated from the university in the last 10 years to date.
He said the University has recorded significant strides in its academic journey to greater heights, including program accreditation and a mathematical digital model designed by one of its alumni, Mahmoud Mubarak, for measuring deforestation density.
Business mogul, Arthur Eze, founder of Max Air, and billionaire Dahiru Mangal, Senior Advocate Ahmad Raji, and oil magnate and founder of Amasco Oil, Al-Mustapha Ado, were among conferred with honorary doctorate degrees.
