OAU to unveil N10bn Tinubu youth empowerment centre
The management of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, has announced plans to unveil the N10bn President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Centre of Excellence in Intercultural Dialogue and Youth Empowerment on June 8.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Simeon Bamire, disclosed this on Monday during a press conference to unveil activities marking the institution’s 65th anniversary.
Bamire said the centre was designed to serve as a platform for research, dialogue, leadership development, innovation and youth empowerment.
He added that the centre would be at the grand finale of the celebration where the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, would deliver the anniversary lecture titled, “65 Years of Excellence: OAU and the Future of Nigerian Higher Education.”
Bamire said, “One of the major highlights of this anniversary celebration will be the official launch of the N10 billion President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Intercultural Dialogue and Youth Empowerment Centre, a landmark project designed to promote leadership development, intercultural understanding, youth empowerment, and national integration.”
The VC said the centre was facilitated through the support of the National Information Technology Development Agency and the Office of the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
He described the project as a transformative initiative expected to strengthen innovation, digital entrepreneurship, leadership training and skills development among young Nigerians.
The VC further explained that the centre aligns with OAU’s commitment to promoting leadership development, intercultural understanding, youth empowerment and national integration.
Before the centre is unveiled, Bamire said a pre-launch event will be held, during which a lecture titled “Driving National Development Through Research and Innovation” will be delivered by the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Sonny Echono.
He said the 65th anniversary celebration, themed “Sixty-Five Years of Excellence: Honouring the Past, Engineering the Future,” would showcase the university’s achievements in teaching, research, innovation and community service since its establishment.
“There will also be exhibitions showcasing the University’s research and innovations; sporting events, cultural displays, alumni engagements, interfaith services, and community outreach programmes,” he added.
He commended alumni of the university for their support, saying their interventions and cooperation with the staff and management have contributed in no small measure to the steady growth of the institution.
Founded in 1961 as the University of Ife, the VC noted that the institution emerged from the visionary leadership of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and other distinguished founding fathers who believed that education should be accessible, functional, transformative, and capable of liberating the human mind.
He further stated that academic activities commenced in October 1962 with five pioneering faculties – Agriculture, Arts, Law, Science, and Economics and Social Studies.
From 244 students and about 80 academic, administrative, and technical staff at the beginning, Bamire said the university now has two Colleges, sixteen Faculties, five Institutes and Centres, and a workforce of over 4,000 staff members.
