The Secretary to the Lagos State Government (SSG), Mr Tunji Bello, on Tuesday enjoined the administrators of Lagos State University (LASU) to tailor the institution’s academic programmes along societal and entrepreneurial needs to inspire rapid development.
Mr. Bello who spoke as the Guest Lecturer at the 4th Annual Distinguished Lecture and Awards of Association of Nigerian University Professional Administrators (ANUPA-LASU) with the theme “The Challenge of Town and Gown Partnership in Lagos” held at LASU main auditorium, Lagos, added that the University must be able to think outside the box and address socio-economic problems.
“We must begin to channel our energies in a direction that would ensure an effective tackling of our societal problems at large. This will surely restore significance of the gown as a credible symbol of intellectual attainment,” he said.
The SSG avowed that “LASU should stand up to be counted in the historic challenge of unleashing the potentials of this great megacity as a catalyst for rapid transformation in Nigeria, West Africa and Africa”.
He expressed the view that LASU academic community together with its professional administrators, given the immense intellectual capacity at its disposal, can play a much more active role in helping to achieve the task of rejuvenating the State and placing her on a trajectory of irreversible progress.
Bello observed that the need had risen for the Institution to come up with ideas and relevant technology that can help the State in converting the tremendous refuse generated daily into more productive and beneficial uses, emphasising that the task ahead of the institution is far more onerous and critical than the path already traversed.