Ibadan — WORRIED by the low rating of Nigerian universities in the global arena, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua on Tuesday tasked the various Universities in the country to rise up to the challenge by enhancing their products in the areas of academic and research development.

President Yar'Adua stated that it is by so doing that Nigerian Universities can compete effectively with their contemporaries in other parts of the world.

The President made this assertion in his address to the 61st Foundation Day and Graduation ceremony of the University of Ibadan which was delivered on his behalf by the Oyo state Governor, Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala.

He declared: "While acknowledging the great strides which the University of Ibadan hs recorded over the years, it is a matter of great regret that our nation's premier university is not rated among the first twenty universities in Africa. Rectifying this unacceptable situation is a challenge which the Governing Councils of our universities must by alive to.

As they provide the requisite direction and commitment needed by Universities to enhance their growth and development, they must be cognizant of the fact that nothing short of conformity with global best practices will be acceptable if we are to attain our vision of global competitiveness as a nation."

President Yar'Adua however remarked that he was confident that the University of Ibadan had all it takes to robustly face up the challenge of global competition saying that "what is required is the requisite will and faith."

On his part, he said, the Federal Government would continue to meet its obligations to the University but urged the Management to come up with creative initiatives to access funds to complement government's efforts in view of the huge funding requirements of an institution of the stature of UI.

Commenting on the recent strike that paralysed Nigerian universities for four months, President Yar'Adua remarked that the nation could not afford the adverse economic and psychological consequences of these disputes just as he urged all stakeholders "to resolve to shed the toga of confrontation and embrace constructive dialogue at all times."

While expressing delight that the lingering industrial crisis in the tertiary institutions had been resolved to the satisfaction of all, President Yar'Adua further stated that his government had demonstrated clearly that it "is an administration that listens and is willing to adopt constructive engagements on all matters."

"We recognize that education is critical to attaining the human capital development objective of our Seven-Point Agenda and that is why we are unwavingly committed to achieving a structured refocusing and repositioning our educational institutions for the challenges of Nigeria's developmental objectives and the reality of the global economy," he said.

The Pro-Chancellor of the Univerity, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) had earlier called on the Federal Government to be more committed to investment in education saying that "there is no percentage of any national budget that is too much or high for education, because once the citizenry is educated, most of the problems afflicting the nation would be eradicated."

"For the University of Ibadan, and indeed the Nigerian educational system to retain its pride of place in global reckoning and ranking, every stakeholder, including the Government and the citizenry must be up and doing," Chief Olanipekun further said.