Alumni unveil $2m endowment fund in UNILAG

T To commemorate 40 years of its graduation, the 1984 set of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, has inaugurated a $2 million endowment fund to support academic excellence and infrastructure development at the institution.

The inauguration, which was part of the set’s weeklong reunion programme, took place late Saturday during the gala dinner at the Nnamdi Azikiwe hall, Radisson Blu Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos State.

The alumni also donated a renewable power structure and renovated some building facilities within the college.

Speaking during the occasion, the Chairman of the organising committee, Prof Ayodeji Olamijulo, said the initiative was part of the alumni’s commitment to ensuring enhanced learning conditions.

He said, “Now that we realise that the government can not do it alone and that the alumni group can also come together to improve the school, we have come to do that. We have also decided to give back to society as well. Yesterday, we commissioned a renewable power energy structure.

“During this programme, we have launched an Endowment Board for the development of the college. We visited a home called the Heart of Gold Children Hospital where we were told there are about 72 children in need who have been abandoned for one reason or the other, so, we paid a token of our contribution to them because that is very important.

“We recognised that some of us, about 20 or 21 of us, have gone to the place beyond. We remember them during the celebration. We reminded ourselves that our time on this terrestrial ball was too short. We should do as much as we can with whatever we can to leave a good legacy behind. We are saddened that some of our colleagues have left, and we hold memories of them, we pray that their souls continue to rest in peace.

“What the college needs is a lot of money. For instance, just the students’ hostel we tried and wanted to renovate, but the bill we got to renovate was just for a block. There are about nine blocks of building that need serious renovation and we have a budget of about N280 million, and given the time that we had to plan and the amount involved, we had to jettison or put it on hold. That is just the students’ hostel if you then multiply that by the nine other blocks [sic].”

Olamijulo also called on Nigerian youths to recognise their crucial role in the nation’s future, urging them to stay focused, inspired, and committed to building the country. He further emphasised that while some young Nigerians may seek opportunities abroad, the success of nations like the United States and Europe countries is due to their citizens’ commitment to national development.

Meanwhile, the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Folasade Ogunsola, expressed gratitude to the alumni. She also sought their collaboration to achieve excellence.

She added that owing to the increasing annual growth rate of students, there was a need for the alumni to assist with their expertise in their various fields and integrate themselves as academic manpower for the benefit of the school’s medicine college.

On his part, the Chairman of the occasion, Dr Kunle Hassan, who doubles as the Chief Executive Officer of Eye Foundation Hospital, also commended the VC’s decision to tap into the alumni’s resourcefulness.