The management of the University of Lagos has announced that President Muhammadu Buhari approved a television license for the university, UNILAG TV.
The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, made the announcement today in Abuja.
The Vice Chancellor commended Buhari at a meeting with the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, and the Senior Special Assistant, Garba Shehu, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.
Ogundipe expressed the hope that the TV station would enhance research-oriented education and ease communication within and outside the university campus.
He said the TV station would completely alter the communication style in the university, and enhance its visibility across the continent.
The Vice Chancellor, who was accompanied by the Chair and Head of UNILAG Mass Communication Department, Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye, said the approval of the TV station further confirmed the President’s position on promoting free press, and unhindered access to information that promotes development.
“It is now on record that the present administration signed the first campus TV license and we remain deeply grateful to the President.
“The university is a brand. We want the university to be the research hub in Africa, and we are working towards being among the best three in the entire continent,’’ the Vice Chancellor added.
Apart from the TV Station, Ogundipe noted that the Federal Government’s Independent Power Plant to improve electricity was already on-going, while the NEEDS assessment fund for training of academic staff had already been received.
In his remark, Akinfeleye said it took the university 25 years to get the first campus Radio station license, but the TV station license was processed in three years.
“It is interesting that President Buhari signed the first TV station license for a university. We will use the TV station for pedagogical purity of education,’’ he said.
Adesina, who congratulated the Vice Chancellor on his recent appointment, said President Buhari was fully committed to improving the standard of education in the country.
He urged the management team to take the university to higher heights.
In his remarks, Garba reiterated that President Buhari would always work towards creating an enabling environment for purposeful and visionary projects.
“It’s a signal of the President’s clear thinking. He will never put an obstacle on the path of progress.
“If you are ready with a project that will bring good to society, the President will instantly approve and support you to do it,’’ he said.