The Osun State University Alumni Association has inducted the fresh graduands into the Association.
The induction programme, which was part of the activities marking 16th Convocation ceremony of the University, was held on Friday, 18th September, 2026 at the Multi-purpose Hall on the Main Campus in Osogbo.
In collaboration with Jobberman, the young graduands were trained on employability skills, gaining digital, enterprising, soft and workplace skills to excel in their various career.
In his address, Mr. Abdulbasit Olalekan Abubakar, the global President of Osun State University Alumni Association (OSUAA) recounted the achievements of the Association under his watch.
“I am currently in my 2nd term as President and by the grace of God Almighty, my first achievement is the stability of this association because the association was embroiled in some crisis before my coming but stability has been achieved.
“In the past, the association has awarded scholarships to diligent students to support their academic pursuits. A total of 40 students have won the scholarship in two phases executed during my first term.
“The association has organized career development programmes, taking facilitators to students round the campus to students and training them on what they need to know to excel in their chosen career”, Abubakar said.
Speaking on infrastructural development, the President said, “My leadership has also, for the first time erected hostel projects and it is 80% completion as we speak and by God’s grace we will be calling the journalists to witness the commissioning of the 60-bed capacity starting with the female hostel on this campus very soon. We will also be going to other campuses to also commission more hostels under my administration”.
Speaking on what inspired the theme of the alumni induction/orientation programme, Mr. Abdulbasit emphasized that earning degree is not enough to favorably compete in the present day labour market, admonishing soft skills as additional requirements.
“People always believe that success starts with earning a degree. Yes, but beyond the degree there are so many other important things that one should have. Gone are are the days when getting a degree was the most important, nowadays a lot of persons do have it and it is not the requisite to even getting a job. So beyond the degree, you need other important things. The essence of this programme is to impact those skills on you.
“Be confident and volunteer a lot. Life is not going to give you anything except what you put into it. Take up responsibility. Do not wait for opportunities but go and find it. It is when you take responsibilities that the world can know what you can actually do and by the world knowing what you can actually do, that is when you can get the best out of life. Thank you so much.”
Representing the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Clement Adebooye was the Dean of Students Affairs, Dr Funmilayo Mary Oloyede, who urged to graduands to ensure they are good ambassadors of the university.
Speakers including Ms. Ebunoluwa Adeleye, Mr. Abdulwahab Gbadamosi, Ms. Kareemat Akanbi, Mr. Abraham Ogunmola and Azeez Makinde took turns to facilitate sessions on the topic.
One of the panelists, Adeleye recounted her experiences in school highlighting resilience as a major attribute that stood out for her after graduation.
She said, “While I was speaking, one of the things they should understand is that this bachelor’s degree is like a foundation. And so it’s something you need to keep building on. If you stop a house at a foundation, eventually after some time it looks like that house is no longer progressing, right? That person is not progressing. But when you have a foundation, you have to keep building blocks, skills and confidence, volunteering that you’re trying to gain.”
“Do what is impossible. If you want to be the best at what you do, do it with all your might and make it stand out. If you want to be an employee, then be the best at it”, she added.
On of the graduands, Goshen Nwangwen, graduating from the department of Information Systems under the faculty of Computing and Information Technology appreciated the Alumni Association for the programme.
Nwangwen narrated how the event has further solidified his interest for his business which he started in school.
“Going forward, I think I know what to do and I know the steps I need to take that will make my business meet global standard. I have three takeaways from this programme and they will be useful in building a career moving on.”