According to the vice-chancellor, 4,543 undergraduate students will graduate with second class upper honours and 3,910 with second class lower.
The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is set to graduate 16,506 undergraduate and postgraduate students at its 56th convocation ceremony, scheduled to hold from 19 January to 23 January.
According to the university Vice-Chancellor, Folasade Ogunsola, a professor, 709 of the graduating students finished with a first class honours and distinction for postgraduate students.
Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines
Ms Ogunsola disclosed this during a pre-convocation press conference on Wednesday.
The pre-convocation press conference set in motion a series of week-long events to celebrate the 56th convocation of the university where first degrees, diplomas, certificates, postgraduate diplomas, master's and doctoral degrees, as well as honorary awards will be awarded.
The week-long convocation activities begins on Friday, 16 January, with a Jumaat Service at the University Central Mosque and ends with a thanksgiving service at the Chapel of Christ Our Light, University of Lagos on Sunday 25 January.
Statistics
Ms Ogunsola said the university will be graduating 16,506 students, out of which 10,584 students will receive first degrees and diplomas while 5,782 will be awarded postgraduate degrees and 140 will graduate from the UNILAG business School (ULBS).
According to the vice-chancellor, 4,543 undergraduate students will graduate with second class upper honours and 3,910 with second class lower.
She added 479 students will also receive Postgraduate Diplomas (PGD), 5,184 Masters' degree, 119 Doctorates, 112 ULBS Masters and 28 ULBS Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA).
Best students
The overall best graduating student, Ms Ogunsola said, is Chukwuzubelu Umeozo who earned a perfect score of 5.0 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), also graduating as the best student in the Humanities, from the Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences.
The best graduating student from the Sciences is Deborah Oloton from the Department of Architecture, with a 4.91 CGPA.
The overall best PhD Thesis award would be presented to Haruna Abubakar, who obtained his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Structures option), while the best PhD thesis (Humanities) is Beatice Zuhumnen in Educational Psychology. At the ULBS, the best PhD thesis (DBA) is by Oyeyemi Adebamowo.
Week-long event
Ms Ogunsola explained that the week-long convocation activities will begin on Friday, 16 January, with a Jumaat Service at the University Central Mosque.
On Monday, 19 January, the university will unveil the UNILAG multimedia Library studio, followed by an exhibition showcasing innovations and creative works by staff and students.
The library studio facility was funded through a World Bank Centre of Excellence project to empower students and researchers to document Nigeria's rich cultural heritage on digital media.
On the same day, the convocation lecture will be delivered by the founder of Slum2School Africa and pioneer of the first Virtual Learning Classroom in Sub-Saharan Africa, Orondaam Otto.
The convocation lecture is titled "Maximising Nigeria's Demographic Dividend through Urgent Education Reform for Global Competitiveness in the 21st Century".
The lecture will be chaired by the President of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, Rahamon Bello, a professor who served as the university's 11th vice-chancellor.
On Tuesday, 20 January, the university will confer first degrees, diplomas, certificates, and prizes on graduands from the Faculties of Arts, Architecture, Communication and Media Studies, Creative Arts, Education, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences, Physical and Earth Sciences, Computing and Informatics, and Social Sciences.
On Wednesday, 21 January, degree awards will be conferred on graduates from the College of Medicine, covering Basic Medical Sciences, Clinical Sciences, Dental Sciences, and Health Professions, as well as the Faculties of Engineering, Law, Management Sciences, Pharmacy, and the Distance Learning Institute.
On Thursday, 22 January, the university will confer postgraduate diplomas, master's and doctoral degrees, including DBA and EMBA, on graduates of the School of Postgraduate Studies and the University of Lagos Business School.
On the same day, the university will honour two retired academics as Emeritus Professors. They are: James Olowokujdejo, a professor at the Department of Botany and Duro Oni, also a professor at the Department of Theatre Arts.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
In recognition of their sustained service to the university and the nation, UNILAG will also confer a title of a Distinguished Professor to Akisanya Osibogun, a professor and Gold Medals to Ayoka Olusakin, a professor of Counselling Psychology, and Taiwo Ipaye, the Director of the Office of Advancement, President of the University of Lagos Women society.
The university will also confer honourary doctorate of business degree on Jubril Tinubu and honourary doctorate of laws degree on Kanu Agabi, a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.
On Friday, 23 January, the university will hold a luncheon with the Doyen and the Long Service Award ceremony, followed by the Convocation Play.
This year's production, in continuation with our focus on our history, is Ola Rotimi's "Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi," to be staged at the J.F. Ade-Ajayi Auditorium at 4:00 p.m.
"The 56th convocation ceremonies will formally conclude on Sunday, 25 January, with a thanksgiving Service at 10:00 a.m. at the Chapel of Christ Our Light, University of Lagos," the vice-chancellor said.
