Emulate him, Dean, Faculty of Arts, Lasu, Prof. Moshood Salisu, charges other LASU Alumni to give back to alma mata
As part of his contribution to boost learning and encourage scholarship, an alumnus of Lagos State University (LASU), professor Olanrewaju Abdul Shitta-Bey , has donated 24 computers to the Faculty of Arts and the Department of Philosophy.
Shitta-Bey graduated from the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, Lasu with a Second Class Upper Division in 2004.
Handing over the computers to the Dean, Faculty of Arts, Lasu, Prof. Moshood Salisu, Shitta-Bey said the gesture was not planned for praise -singing but was bore out of passion to see younger students break new grounds and make exploits in their studies doing exploits, adding that the possession of a computer system (laptops) in this era of Information Communication Technology(ICT) is a sine qua non to greater heights.
Shitta-Bey, a Professor of Philosophy and Humanities at the University of Maryland, Global Campus, United States is also the Founder of Shakirat Enifeni Foundation, explained that 14 of the computers was donated to the faculty of Arts, while the department of Philosophy received 10 computers.
According to the don, the donation was necessary to equip the students mentally for global competitiveness and relevance.
“Our graduates need to be at par with latest trends in their chosen fields. As you know, the world is moving at a very fast pace. When God blesses us, we need to lift others and carry them along. They must not be found wanting nor lag behind for whatever reason,’’.
On the motive behind the donation, he said, “I gave myself education out of nothing but with the support of some spirited persons and eventually survived the difficult times. Now I am in a position to give back and make myself available to the younger ones for mentorship.
I had no mentor in my days, but I am here today on behalf of the foundation to mentor, guide and give back to the society in my own little way. I have since discovered that there was the need to deepen mentorship among our youths by filling in the gaps in any area we can.
We need a society that we all can be proud of. So we need to give younger people the support base they require, and one of such ways is to give them tools like this because the future is technology,”.
He added that the Foundation would further support younger people in the area of education, empowerment, entertainment and other forms of productive engagement.
Shitta-Bey called on members of the intellectual community to make themselves available to mentor the younger ones.
“One does not need to be a billionaire before one can mentor or impact the society. There are enormous needs to be met. Undoubtedly, dearth of knowledge sets a nation backward. If we don’t guide these ones in modern trends, particularly in technology, mentorship, financial and material support, they can’t stand the test of time. A contemporary graduate needs to be well informed. We have plans to feed as many indigent residents in Ikorodu, Lagos as much as we can during the yuletide,” he added.
Receiving the computers, Salisu, urged other alumus of the Faculty and the Department of Philosophy in particular to look back and contribute their quota as professor Shitta-Bey has done.
“Our products (graduates) who are all over the world cannot write their biography without mentioning LASU. We have been yearning for such and many more needs that are yet to be met. We need books in the library; internet facility, bus among others. Our alumnus need to come and see the structure they left years ago in order to improve on them by contributing their quota.
“This Foundation was established to immortalise your mother to show the magnitude of impact the mother made in her son – Prof Shitta-Bey. I am happy this happened in my time. I am also happy he didn’t stop halfway. He kept moving higher. So we appreciate him and pray that the Almighty God will bless him super abundantly,”
Commenting, the Head, Philosophy Department, Dr. Mohammed Akomolafe, recalled how the don had earlier donated books to the department, adding that, “This is not the first time he’s doing this. We are going to distribute these laptops to the best students across the four levels. We shall ensure that beneficiaries/ recipients would maximize its use for their own development and for the growth of the department,” he affirmed.
He urged almunus who have passed through the department to tow the lane of Shitta-Bey, in different ways they could, no matter how meager, saying, “We all have different calling. We can contribute our quota in different ways. It must not be computers, there are many ways we can make our impact felt by the younger generation,’’.
