MILESTONES: Jafojo passed, Jonathan honoured, Odinkalu elected, Atiku in Ghana

HONOURED: 

Saidat Sanni, a 22-year old student of the Department of Statistics,  emerged overall best student of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso.

Vice Chancellor of the institution, Adeniyi Gbadegesin, announced Miss Sanni as the overall best graduating student at the school’s 13th Convocation held in Ogbomoso on Friday.

Miss Sanni hails from Abeokuta in Ogun State, and came tops after securing a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.88 ahead of Olufemi Ige of the Mathematics department, who secured a CGPA of 4.85 in the 2013/2014 session.

Miss Sanni was the best student in the 2014/2015 session before emerging the best among the 10,317 graduands, which was a combination of 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 academic sets.

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, former Nigerian President, honoured by the cities of Antioch and Lathrop in California for promoting peace and democracy in Africa.

At the award ceremony held in Antioch, California, on April 23, the Mayor of the city of Antioch, Wade Harper, expressed his admiration for Mr. Jonathan and declared that the city of Antioch, California, was proud of his legacies, especially his act of overseeing free, fair and conclusive elections and leaving the scene when the ovation was loudest.

He recommended Mr. Jonathan’s behaviour to other leaders.

Mr. Jonathan was represented by his former aide, Reno Omokri,

at the ceremony.

APPOINTED:

Sebastian Maimako, former Dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences, appointed the Vice Chancellor of the University of Jos.

His appointment took effect from April 22, taking over from Heyward Mafuyai, whose tenure expired on April 21.

The Principal Assistant Registrar in charge of Information and Publication of the university, Abdullahi Abdullahi, announced the appointment in a statement on Friday.

Mr. Maimako had served the university as Dean, Faculty of Management Sciences; Deputy Dean, Faculty of Management Sciences; Deputy Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences; and Head and Acting Head, Department of Management Sciences.

The new vice chancellor, a graduate of Management Studies from the University of Jos, started working with the university in 1989 as a Graduate Assistant.

ELECTED:

Chidi Odinkalu, foremost human rights activist and former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, elected the new president-general of the Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA).

At an election held in Abuja Saturday, April 23, Mr. Odinkalu won 269 votes, triumphing over his only challenger, Lawrence Wilbert, who garnered 24 votes.

Mr. Odinkalu is an alumni of Federal Government College, Okigwe.

BIRTHDAY:

Seye Kehinde, Publisher of City People turned 51 on Sunday, April 24, 2016.

Mr. Kehinde, was born April 24, 1965, to Civil Servants parents from Ishara in Ogun State. He graduated from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science.

He also has a post graduate Diploma in Journalism. After his Youth Service at Kwara Polytechnic in Ilorin in 1986, he wrote for Herald from 1987 to 1988.

He later worked with The Week,  African Concord, and Concord newspapers, before joining some of his friends to found The News. He later left the publication to float City People magazine.

His staff took time out on Sunday to celebrate him, writing congratulatory messages on the City People’s website.

WEDDED: 

Aminu Abubakar, son of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Saturday April 23, wedded his Ghanaian bride, Nana Akyaa, in a lavish ceremony in Accra, Ghana.

Atiku himself was absent at the wedding as he was in England delivering a lecture at the London School of Economics. His wife and mother of the groom, Titi, and other family members were in attendance.

Just last week, Atiku took to social media to announce Nana’s traditional rites, as he became an in-law in Ghana.

TRANSITED:

Rafiu Bakare Jafojo, first Deputy Governor of Lagos State (1979-1983),  on Sunday, April 24, 2016, passed on at age 80.

He died after a brief illness in his Lagos home.

Mr. Jafojo served as deputy to Lateef Jakande on the return of the country to civil rule in 1979.

The late Mr. Jafojo, who was a very vocal politician, was born on December 6, 1935.

His parents were the late Pa Bakare Adeyefa Jafojo in Ebute Meta and the late Madam Taiwo (nee Adebunmi) of Ebute Meta, Lagos, but he grew up in Isale Awori, Ikeja.

Mr. Jafojo attended Alafia Institute, Ibadan and Christ High School, Ilubinrin, Lagos, where he wrote the West African School Certificate Examination and passed with flying colours.

He began his working career in 1959 as a building inspector with the Ikeja Town Planning Authority, but left for England in 1961.

In 1978, when the army prepared to return the country to political rule, the late Mr. Jafojo joined the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), whose founder/national leader was the late sage, Obafemi Awolowo.

Although his ambition was to be a lawmaker, Mr. Awolowo encouraged him to join the then governorship candidate, Lateef Jakande as running mate. The joint ticket worked. They won the election.

Thus on October 1, 1979, Mr. Jafojo, alongside Mr. Jakande was sworn in as the first democratically elected deputy governor of Lagos State.

Nwabu Mgbemena, a former Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), at 71.

Mr. Mgbemena died of cancer on April 22 in New Jersey, U.S.

He was one of the pioneer editors of NAN, where he rose to serve as managing director for two terms from January 1985 to January 1994.

He took over as Chief Executive Officer from Olufemi Adefela, who was then the General Manager of the agency.