The Chancellor, Landmark University, Dr. David Oyedepo
has again expressed his fear of food insecurity in Africa, saying it is the
‘greatest threat to the continent’s survival. He opined that if not propely
managed, the menace could wipe off a whole generation.
Dr Oyedepo made this assertion, during the Landmark
university’s 6th convocation ceremony at Omu-Aran, Kwara State. Tagged, Release
of pathfinders, Royal Set of 2019. The Bishop said “There is no substitute for
food as far as human substance is concerned; there is no software for
addressing food challenges,” In his
words, “No matter the state of the economy of any nation, the last thing to
remove from the budget is food, food security is not an ideology but a necessity.
“There is nothing that challenges human dignity like
lack of food, with the massive arable land to us as a nation, hunger is
obviously an insult in our intelligence.”
The chancellor, who is also the Presiding Bishop of the
Living Faith Church, said the need to tackle the challenge led to the
introduction of agripreneurship, an entrepreneurial-driven programme, as well
as toward total graduate (TTG) concept, meant to infuse values in graduates.
He said Landmark is very much committed to a new
approach to leading an agrarian revolution through the consciousness of farming
since mankind acknowledges the indispensability of food.
The Landmark University also gives out scholarships
yearly to scholars who wish to go into agriculture and related fields. The
scholarship is open to applicants from all over Africa. His mission is to
repackage the continent’s education system to align with best global standard
that seeks solutions to their peculiar challenges, arguing that a good and
formidable formal education system must be a departure from knowledge to
empowerment.
Keynote speaker and former Secretary-General of African
Development Bank (AfDB) Ms Cecilia Akintomide, urged the graduands to be “very
focused and research oriented’’.
She charged them to stay focused, research-oriented and
informed. You have to be bold, audacious and you must be ready to take
well-calculated risks.
The Vice-Chancellor Prof Adeniyi Olayanju attributed the
institution’s achievements to spiritual support and continuous investment in
ultra-modern facilities. According to him, “We are unrelenting in advancing the
frontiers of research activities that would, among others, boost agricultural
value chain.
Also present at the event was the Olomu of Omu-Aran, Oba
Abdulraheem Adeoti, who praised the Chancellor and the management for putting
the name of the community and Igbomina region in global limelight.
Amongst those that were honored were 51 First Class.
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