UNILAG Alumni to Institute N1m Character Award for Staff, Students

By Daniel Nnamani, Barakat Lawal, Oluwatoyin Adewale, and Iman Aiyeola

The University of Lagos Alumni Association has proposed plans to introduce a one-million-naira character award for academic staff, non-academic staff, and students. 

The Alumni President Worldwide, Engr. Ifeoluwa Oyedele, during an interview with UNILAG Sun, said this initiative is part of the efforts to improve students’ experience and strengthen relationships with the university community.

Oyedele said that one of the objectives of the award is to promote good conduct and responsible behaviour among students and staff of the institution. 

He added that universities should be known not only for academic excellence but also for character formation.

“Every university is for learning and character formation,” he said.

“We are instituting these prizes for academic staff, non-academic staff and graduating students,

“For instance, a lecturer who is voted the best behaved in the year would probably earn a million naira. 

“These are ways that we can improve the experience of lecturers and non-academic staff.” 

Oyedele said it will be a groundbreaking innovation in the country and will contribute to the uniqueness of the association.

“I believe it is the first of its type anywhere in this country,” he said.

“So the University of Lagos Alumni Association is also unique in that experience.”

Beyond the character awards, he noted that the association is working with the university management to foster better staff-student relations, discourage misconduct, and promote accountability in interactions between students and members of staff.

He commended the current university administration for taking student welfare seriously and taking a zero-tolerance stance against harassment and exploitation.

Oyedele noted that one of the remarkable actions the association has done is launching the alumni app, allowing students to interact with alumni realtime. 

“The app is very unique,” he said.

“ It’s on Play Store and on the Apple Store.

“You can just download the Unilag alumni app and register to interact with fellow alumni. 

“As we go along, we’re going to improve it.”