The Chancellor and Chairman, Board of Regents, Covenant University, Dr David O. Oyedepo, has urged parents and guardians of students of the University to ensure that their wards align with the institution's training mode so that they can be listed among the new generation of leaders being produced by the institution.
Dr Oyedepo gave this counsel on Friday, March 12, 2021, at the 19th Matriculation Ceremony of Covenant University, featuring freshmen of the 2020/2021 Academic Session, both undergraduate and postgraduate.
While delivering his presentation titled, 'What is Unique About Covenant University', the Chancellor stated that every engineering-based invention required a mold for production. He said that anyone who did not celebrate this mold could not have his desired product. He added that it was the 'Mold' of Training that defined the outcome of the trainee.
He averred that Covenant had engaged a mold of training that worked, such that "our products are flying around the world today, showcasing the validity of our 'Mold' of Training". The mold, he said, had found its foundation in Covenant's well-defined Mandate, which was to raise a new generation of leaders through a qualitative and life-applicable training system that focuses on Value and Skill Development amongst others.
Covenant's three-fold Mandate, said Dr Oyedepo, was powered by her founding philosophy - a departure from Form to Skill, from Knowledge to Empowerment, from Figures to Future-building, from Legalism to Realism, from Points to Facts, and from 'Mathe-matics' to 'Life-matics.
He emphasized that Covenant's three-fold Mandate was propelled by her Core Values, namely Spirituality, Possibility Mentality, Capacity Building, Integrity, Responsibility, Diligence, and Sacrifice. "Here at Covenant University, Spirituality is the core of our core values. We recognize Spirituality as an asset of inestimable value. According to scriptures, Spirituality is profitable unto all things and to be spiritually-minded is life and peace," the Chancellor explained.
Dr Oyedepo highlighted Covenant's custom-built programmes for students as the Total Man Concept (TMC), Entrepreneurial Development Studies (EDS), Leadership Development Studies (DLD), and Towards a Total Graduate (TTG). "Today, Covenant University produces the most employable graduates in Nigeria and has continued to earn this award over the years. This is why we focus on equipping the persons of our students, so they can continue to generate impact in their various vocations in life and that without prejudice to the pursuit of academic excellence," he remarked.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abiodun H. Adebayo, stated that the matriculation ceremony was significant because it completed the students' admission process and bestowed full rights and privileges of studentship on matriculated students, having subscribed to the Covenant of allegiance to the ethos of the institution.
Professor Adebayo said that as a faith-based University, Covenant's philosophy and pillars were deeply rooted in Biblical principles and directed towards effecting change in the nation's educational sector's recovery process and the restoration of the Black man's dignity. "By the grace of God, the single-minded pursuit of the revolutionary Mandate of the University by the Board, Management, faculty, and staff has made Covenant unique among universities in Nigeria and Africa. The University has continued to receive external validations of the positive impact of her unique approach to tertiary education," enthused the Vice-Chancellor.
While regaling the audience with the outstanding milestones recorded by Covenant in recent times, Professor Adebayo assured that Covenant University was committed to making her graduates expert thinkers, leader-managers, and hyper resourceful technocrats in all fields of human endeavour. "The performance of our graduates in the world of work has consistently validated this commitment. Our methodology for developing entrepreneurially minded students had witnessed the rise of viable startups, such as PiggyVest, ThriveAgric, Wilson Lemonade, Agrorite.com, and Softcom having global appeal. Employers feedback on our graduates in employment attest to their enviable character and skill in the workplace," he revealed.
The Vice-Chancellor said that the matriculation ceremony signified an undertaking on the part of the University that the Eaglets, who were matriculating, would in four or five years become full-grown Eagles, with the best of education coupled with character, entrepreneurial prowess, an appreciable level of Spirituality, imbued with leadership capacity, and life-applicable skills.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Registrar, Dr Oluwasegun Omidiora, appreciated parents and guardians for committing the education future of their wards into the hands of Covenant. He assured them that with the cutting edge education on offer in Covenant University, the University would in a few years return the students to their parents and guardians as well-rounded graduates.
Dr Omidiora subsequently administered the Matriculation Covenant on the matriculating students, both undergraduates and postgraduates. The Vice-Chancellor presented the students to the Chancellor, who admitted them all.
The event, held at the Covenant University Chapel, also had in attendance Secretary to the Board of Regents, Pastor Chioma Okwuanyi, the University Management, Senate, faculty, staff and students.