A former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, on Friday bagged the award of Doctor of Philosophy, PhD, in Christian Theology from the National Open University, NOUN.

Mr. Obasanjo after a 163-minute defence of his voluminous thesis before a six-member panel was awarded the degree at the Abeokuta Campus of the university.

The former president was a student of the Department of Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts of the institution.

The panellists included Deji Ayegboyin (Major Supervisor), Mustapha Adejoro, (Head of Department, Religious Studies, NOUN), Nebath Tanglang (School of Postgraduate Studies), Samaila Mande (Dean, Postgraduate School), Godwin Akper (Internal Supervisor and Dean, Faculty of Arts) and Cletus Gotan (External Supervisor).

Mr. Mande, who chaired the panel, while justifying the award, said Mr. Obasanjo had put in “enough study” and “intellectual rigours” to produce his work based on diligent guide and supervision from his teachers and supervisors.

Mr. Mande speaking on behalf of the panel said the graduand has satisfied the requirements and thus qualified for the award of the doctorate.

He also said it was a thing of joy that the former president was one of the pioneer students to bag PhD in Christian Theology under his management.

The dean expressed the confidence that the feat would be well celebrated during the coming NOUN convocation.

Mr. Obasanjo’s PhD Thesis is titled: “Resolving the Unfinished Agenda in Liberation Theology: Leadership, Poverty and Underdevelopment in North Eastern Nigeria.”

Mr. Obasanjo, with matriculation number NOUN 146058901, submitted the thesis to his department as part of the requirements for the award of a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Christian Theology.