The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi has been appointed as the new Chancellor of the Borno State-owned Kashim Ibrahim University (KIU).
His investiture in this capacity is scheduled for Friday, January 3, during the institute's first joint convocation, at which he and Mohammed Indimi, an industrialist, will be awarded honorary doctorates (honorary degrees).
The university's vice-chancellor, Babagana Guti, told journalists in Maiduguri on Thursday that the monarch's appointment by the state governor has been approved by Governor Babagana Zulum.
Guti reiterated that the university is set to introduce courses in artificial intelligence, computing, cyber security and other advanced technologies to improve the future of the youth in Borno State and Nigeria at large.
He said: “We will bring all these almajiris on board and harness the potential of these young, intelligent children who are making us proud. We will identify their talents and provide them an enabling environment to flourish.”
He said: “To win the fight against terrorism in the North-East we have to tackle illiteracy through education as terrorists take advantage of the ignorance of young children and use them to propagate their evil campaigns. Courses like cyber security, computing and others will be started soon to suit the future needs.”
“At its inception in 2016, the university established four faculties: Arts, Education and Culture; Social Sciences and Management; and Sciences. The number of faculties later increased with the inclusion of the Faculties of Engineering and Health Sciences.
“With the approval of the Borno State Government, new faculties of law, environmental science and computing will be established along with postgraduate programmes,” Professor Gutti said. “Programs such as Arabic, physical and health education and library science will also be offered.”
The university will graduate 2,294 students over three academic sessions: set for 2021/2023, with 523 graduates, including five first class degree holders; The 2023/2024 set, with 489 graduates, 10 of whom earned first-class degrees; and set for 2024/2025, with 1,282 graduates, including first-class degree holders.
Vice President Kashim Shettima is expected to be present on the occasion.
