FROM THE FOUNDER’S DESK 2020 is a year that will go down like no other one in the history of the world. Humanity has been battered by a novel but deadly Virus (Covid -19) that truncated economies, lives and livelihoods, and educational aspirations of billions through enforced lockdown to prevent the spread of the disease. For us at Baze University, as a result of the restriction on public gathering, the 2020 Convocation Ceremony which would have been the seventh in the series has been postponed. You will recall that, Nigerian educational institutions were given only twenty-four hours to shut down all activities and remain in a lockdown mode from the 20th March 2020, in order to reduce the effects of Covid-19 on the population. Baze University was about to conclude the first trimester and as expected, this development threw spanners in the works. Let me salute the resilience of all our staff and students who in a twinkle of an eye migrated from face-to- face contacts to remote teaching and learning. The Covid -19 Pandemic closure of educational institutions was compounded by the upward trend of Forex and the seeming devaluation of the naira which greatly inflated the cost of procurement of high-end equipment from the Original Equipment Manufacturers abroad and the payment of salaries to our expatriate staff. Furthermore, just as we were heaving a sigh of relief as the lockdown restrictions were being eased, the massive end-SARS protests creeped unto the arena, and our hopes of re-opening the university for a normal 20 C Trimester were once again dashed. It is pertinent for everyone to note that despite these setbacks, the university has continued the procurement of academic equipment though at exorbitant prices due to high forex rates and has never faltered in all financial obligations.
hundred and fifty bed space highly sophisticated and equipped facility that will add global standards to the quality of the medical students we hope to produce. The Hospital structure is at the roofing stage and it is expected to be commissioned by the end of the first quarter of 2021. The University continues to benefit from the tireless efforts of the Board of Trustees (BOT) led by His Excellency, Arc. Mohammed Namadi Sambo, GCON and other eminent Members. Their valued guidance has in no small measure made the takeoff of the BUTH Project hitch-free.
At Baze University, we pride ourselves on quality staff and this has impacted positively in the graduates we produce. Each year our graduates get a mark of excellence in several organs and institutions national and international due to the efforts of our highly competent and dedicated staff sourced from diverse backgrounds. This year, one of the graduates from the Faculty of Law Ms. Amina Mahmud Jega was adjudged Best Female Student in Criminal Litigation in 2020 Call-to-Bar Examinations at the Nigerian Law School. This is followed by another exhilarating news that a student in the Faculty of Law - Blessing Afekade Agbomhere - was elected National President, Law Students Association of Nigeria (LAWSAN). This is indeed a re-validation of the quality of staff that manage the Faculty of Law and indeed all other faculties in the university. A University is as good as the quality of its faculty; and we will leave no stone unturned in bringing on board quality staff in our strive for excellence.
Let me appreciate all our students and their sponsors who have had to endure a year of unprecedented lockdown and assure that the University has put in place several initiatives to ameliorate the spread of Covid - 19 Virus on campus. We are collaborating with the FCT health authorities so that we can re-open as soon as general normalcy is restored Since March 2020, the University has de- in the system. Our vision is to remain the first-choice ployed its robust digital learning platform consisting private university in Nigeria, and we are happy you of high-end IT software and hardware to sustain are all part of the history. teaching and learning. Today, I am proud to note that no student in this university has lost mileage in All the best! their studies and we are one of the few that have completed this academic year successfully. In spite of the unexpected setbacks of this year, Baze University has every reason to celebrate. All the programmes in the Faculty of Engineering now have full accreditation status, while the University has continued to procure additional sophisticated equipment for Engineering and Environmental Sciences. The College of Medicine has fully taken off with more than forty students already admitted into its various programmes. A particularly important development of the year is the commencement of the construction of the Baze University Teaching Hospital (BUTH); a one
Sen. Y.D. Baba-Ahmed, Ph.D Founder, Pro-Chancellor 5
