By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
Addressing the graduands, the WDU Chancellor, His Excellency Donald Duke, alerted youths to the three stages of life; “Let the first 25 years of your lives be dedicated to LEARNING. Absorb all you can, while you can and as much as you can. Nurture and equip yourselves for the world out there is demanding and merciless with little or no room for mediocrity.
Your next 25 years will be spent EARNING. Earn as much as you can, in truth and honesty, in whatever field you desire, for youth is a currency, spend it wisely before it devalues and leaves you.
Spend the next 25 years and thereafter with reserve and wisdom; you will spend it GIVING. Give as much back to the society, for you will take nothing away with you except the goodwill, love and esteem of your fellow men.
The WDU Pro-Chancellor, Prof. Eghosa E. Osaghae congratulated Ibori, the former governor of Delta State, for the care, understanding and support he has always extended to this university.
He tasked graduands to always remember Albert Einstein’s advice: ‘“Be a voice not an echo”. I encourage you to be good ambassadors of Western Delta University, dream big and work hard; achieve the impossible through determination and innovation”.
Recently, the Western Delta University, WDU, Oghara, Delta state, graduated its first set of PhD students; about ten in number. Prof Augustine Ovuoronye Ikelegbe, the Vice Chancellor said “the doctoral degree graduands have passed through a rigorous process of examinations, seminars, proposal defences and oral PhD thesis defences with (remarkable) external examiners”. With this, the university has transited into the ranks of research institutions where people are trained to carry out researches independently and train the next generation of university lecturers, future professors and those to open the doors to Nigeria’s industrial and societal greatness, Prof Ikelegbe said. The university also awarded Masters and first degrees to hundreds of graduands.
Prof Ikelegbe said “our academic quality control is one of par-excellence, and our fees remain at the most modest level in spite of high operational cost. Compared with other private and state-owned universities, our fees are moderate and paid in installments. This is in line with the Visitor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori’s vision of providing affordable university education to his constituents. He has consolidated on this vision through the Otemu Education Foundation’s (OEF) Scholarship Awards to Nigerian students”.
Ikelgbe said, “We do not play with the integrity of our programs. All our programs are duly accredited by the national universities commission and the professional councils. We are now privileged to be recipients of scholarship awards and support for our students.
We have received scholarships from the OEF scheme and financial support for Niger Delta students in the university from the NDDC. We are expecting scholarship awardscfrom the Prince Adewoye Adebayo Foundation, too. The Presidential Amnesty Program is also deploying scholarships to the students”.
Prince Adewole Adebayo from Ondo State, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and retired Lt.Gen Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau from Kano state were honored with honorary doctorate degrees.
Among the new steps taken to improve the university, the Vice Chancellor said “Dr. Igho Oghenegaren Okotete Foundation has donated a Central Laboratory Block to WDU and “the Administrative and Office Complex for the proposed College of Engineering would be completed at the end of this month, while the WDU Centre for Digital Excellence Integrated Technology Hub construction would start before the year ends.
Also, a massive complex of offices, laboratories and classrooms is being constructed for the College of Health Sciences by the NDDC while Prince Adebayo has donated the Macaulay and Margaret Omugbe building for the College of Postgraduate Studies. The ground breaking ceremony for this building was a highlight of the convocation ceremony.
Professor Kyari Mohammed (former VC, Modibbo Adama University, Yola and Nigerian Army University, Biu) delivered the masterly and well-applauded Convocation Lecture: “Overcoming Insecurity in Nigeria”.
The great assembly at the convocation included HRM Noble Eshemitan, Uku Oghara, N’ame, Orefe III, the Ovie of Oghara Kingdom, Adaka the 1st, the Ovie of Orogun, Professor Sadiq Zubairu Abubakar the Vice Chancellor, Capital City University, Abuja, the WDU Visitor, H.E Chief James Onanefe Ibori, the Chancellor, H.E Barr. Donald Duke, the Pro-Chancellor & Chairman of Council Igbinedion University, Prof Ahmed Tijani Mora, Professor Samuel T Wara the Vice Chancellor Edwin Clark University, Representative of Rector DESPO Otefe, Awardees (General Abdulrahman Dambazau and Prince Adewole Adebayo).
The former House of Reps member, Rt. Hon. Almona , Hon. Efe Afe, Dr George Iwo, Hon. Ejaife Omizu Odebala, President, Delta State University Medical Students Association Nyorere Dexter and Prince Olatunji Olasuji also graced the occasion.