By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
NIGERIA’S premier university, the University of Ibadan (UI), can self-fund itself independent of scarce government’s funding, an Entrepreneur Petroleum Geologist, Dr. Olayiwola Francis Fatona, has declared.
He said UI has so much untapped goodwill to free itself from government funding, calling on relevant stakeholders to arise to the occasion by sowing seeds to achieve the feat.
Dr. Fatona, of the D.Sc University of Ibadan, made assertion and call as Guest Lecturer at the maiden edition of the Faculty of Science Alumni Lecture titled “Science: The Heartbeat of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainable Development.”
The UI alumnus from the Department of Geology called on the first and best university in Nigeria to exploit the abundant goodwill of its alumni.
“Let us sow a seed, and the seed I want to plant today is how can we get UI out of the government funding and subvention trail?
“I would like to see UI becoming an independent, self-funding institution,” he said.
Stonix News reports that Dr. Fatona is an Entrepreneur Petroleum Geologist with over 48 years of energy industry experience.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology from the University of Ibadan in 1973, obtained both the Masters of Science (1976) and Doctorate (1980) degrees in Petroleum Geology and Sedimentology from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of London.
Fatona was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Science Degrees (Honoris Causa ) of both the University of Ibadan (2020), and University of Osun (2018) in recognition of his multiple entrepreneurship and inspiring contributions to the Nigerian oil and gas industry as well as the academia.
He was the founding Managing Director, Niger Delta Exploration and Production Plc Group and Vice -Chairman, ND Western Ltd.
