Author: Optimal Times

…Says anyone for quick money has no place in private varsities  By Bukayo Agboluaje, Ibadan The National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria {PFN}, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, on Sunday, called on the Federal Government to support private universities with funds in the Tertiary Education Trust Funds {TETFund}, saying it is expensive to run universities. Wale Oke, a Chancellor of a private university, said no university in Nigeria gave returns to its owners and proprietors in the first 10 years. He made the call while speaking at the official unveiling of a university, ZOE University, Ìpàpó, Oyo…

 A corporate titan, board room guru, kind-hearted brother and great Akokite is marking a special day. A Fellow of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (FCIB), financial wizard and banking honcho is a year older today. The Lagos Man of the Year and illustrious prince of  Odo-Ijesha whose impacts reverberate across the world is celebrating a special day. Leaving the sought-after Ilesa Grammar School, he headed to the prestigious University of Lagos, earning a First-Class Bachelor’s degree in Economics. He is not just first-class in academics, he is first-class and world-class in everything he does. In the corporate world,  he is…

By Bukayo Agboluaje, Ibadan  The Chief Executive Officer of Agidigbo 88.7 FM, Ibadan,  Alhaji Oriyomi Hamzat will today  join thousands of graduands of the University of Ibadan (UI) to observe  the 2023 convocation ceremonies. The 2023 convocation holds by 8.00 a.m.  at the International Conference Centre (ICC) of the university. He is graduating from the Department of Linguistics of the premier university. Before gaining admission into UI, he had graduated from The Polytechnic, Ibadan where he read Mass Communication. Hamzat, a consummate broadcaster and media entrepreneur, has many years experience in the media industry,  spanning magazine, newspaper, radio and television. Before…

By Odunayo Agboluaje, Ibadan  A former Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines, Dr. Yemi Farounbi; a statesman and Southwest Chairman of Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria {BON}, Deacon Owolabi Oladejo and a former Chief of Staff to the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi,  Prof. Gbade Ojo,  on Monday called on President Bola Tinubu to work towards amending the Constitution in line with Rotational Presidency of Switzerland for Nigeria to achieve a rebirth. They made the call during the third Distinguished Eminent Personality lecture organized by the Political Science and International Relations Programmes, Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State. The lecture…

Culled from The Guardian November 13,2022 As the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) prods the National Assembly to regulate the social media space through a bill, ROTIMI AGBOLUAJE reports that just like in previous attempts, there are strong oppositions to the enactment of such law in a democratic environment. Before now, the Federal Government had made various spirited attempts to regulate social media and online platforms. For instance, in 2015, the National Assembly started a campaign against the abuse of social media and attempted legislation to regulate it. On June 4, 2021, the Federal Government also banned Twitter after the social…

When a child pours libation and gives iba (respect) to the shade of the farm, our elders say he will till the land till evening in comfort. I owe the inspiration to write this piece to one of the few surviving icons of the Nigerian newspaper press, hugely venerated Lade Bonuola, a.k.a Ladbone, ex-Managing Director of The Guardian. He is one of the ancestors who trod this path of column-writing long before those of us, today’s masquerades, knew the way to Igbo Igbale, the sacred grove. Seventy-something-year-old Bonuola’s piece, published by The Guardian on November 10, 2023 and entitled…

By Agency Kogi’s Gov. Yahaya Bello has commended INEC and security operatives for their conduct at Saturday’s off-cycle governorship election in the state. Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election, Alhaji Usman Ododo, gave similar commendation. Bello spoke after voting at his polling unit in Okene where he noted that the level of preparedness by INEC and its officials resulted in a smooth conduct of the exercise. “I commend INEC for a job well done. I also commend security operatives for offering residents of Kogi the peaceful environment to participate in the election without hindrance.…

…As Kola Daisi,  VC, ex-minister urge youths to use their creativity to transform Nigeria, world  By Bukayo Agboluaje, Ibadan   Twelve graduates made first-class honour at the third convocation of KolaDaisi University (KDU), Ibadan. The institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Adeniyi Olatunbosun disclosed this while speaking at the ceremony. The event took place at Agbeke Memorial Hall of the university. The VC disclosed that: “123 students are graduating, 12 of the graduates have first-class, 50 have second-class upper division, 39 with second-class lower division and 22 with third-class degrees.” The VC charged the graduating students to go and make differences, saying: ‘’My…

By Odunayo Agboluaje, Ibadan A former Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission {NUC}, Prof. Julius Okojie, has decried  the domination of nation’s  university Councils by politicians, saying  politics, religion and ethnicity are  destroying Nigeria’s universities. Okojie, a  former Vice Chancellor, stated this  during the third convocation of KolaDaisi University {KDU}, Ibadan which took place at Agbeke Memorial Hall of the university. He spoke on the theme: ‘The Nigerian Education System at a Crossroads’. While lamenting that the universities were  not productive, Okojie said they  should be challenged with national problems on environment, climate change, economic development,  relevant research that would result in…

By Bukayo Agboluaje, Ibadan The installation of Governor Seyi Makinde as the new Jagunmolu of Ondo Kingdom by the Osemawe of Ondo, Oba Dr. Victor Adesimbo Kiladejo is a manifestation of the popular saying that a goldfish has no hiding place. The Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin said this while rejoicing with Governor Seyi Makinde on his installation as the Jagunmolu of Ondo kingdom. The Speaker described the conferment as another well deserved honor to a man who has set the pace and blaze the trail in good governance and leadership qualities across the country.…