At over 80 years, former President, Olusegun Obasanjo is one of the oldest students in the country.
He facilitated the resuscitation of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in 2002 while he was in power between 1999 and 2007. He later got admission into the university at the tail end of his administration and obtained a post-graduate diploma in 2009.
He returned to the university in 2014 to read for Masters and Doctorate degrees in Christian Theology. He completed the master’s program in 2016 with flying colours. The Vice Chancellor of NOUN, Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu, declared this at the inauguration lecture of the Olusegun Obasanjo Good Governance and Development Research Center of NOUN.
Obasanjo had started course work for his Ph.D. His approach, structure, content and writing style was described as excellent by the VC.
Professor Adamu said there were lessons worth learning from the former president who was about to complete his studies and look forward to getting a Ph.D. if found worthy in character and learning.
He said the first lesson was that “no position is too high for learning” because, in spite holding the highest office in the land twice, between 1976 and 79, as well as between 1999 and 2007, he still went back to acquire higher education.
He said it was also wrong to assume that learning and skill development were age sensitive because the return of Obasanjo to school had shown that people “are never too old to learn.”
Another lesson according to the VC was to “acquire knowledge for its own sake and for career progression.”
