SOME first-class graduates of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), have expressed their disappointment over what they described as the school management’s failure to acknowledge their outstanding academic achievements. 

This was despite many of them travelling to the university from various states, believing that they would be recognised and awarded prizes for topping their respective departments and faculties during the convocation.

The situation, which has now generated outrage among students, was tagged as a lack of oversight on the management side.

The ICIR reports that UDUS commenced its 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st combined convocation ceremony on Monday, April 15, with a press briefing by the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Lawal Suleman Bilbis, who is a professor of Biochemistry.

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On Tuesday, April, the university also engaged in Convocation debate and drama. Following that, a novelty football match and convocation lecture were scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday as part of the program of events.

On Friday, April 19, the university presented certificates and diplomas, conferred bachelor degrees, and commissioned projects. The following day, Saturday, marked the university’s convocation grand finale, which was slated to include prize presentations, granting higher degrees, and awarding honorary degrees.

Given the lineup of events, many first-class graduates, especially the best-graduating ones, had hoped that the university would publicly acknowledge their achievement on Saturday.

However, they were shocked when the management failed to call upon them and instead announced that the top-performing students would be recognised later in the press, with instructions for claiming awards at the Student Affairs Office.

Apart from the Vice Chancellor and the Registrar’s announcement of the best graduates from 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, and 2022/23 sessions both on Friday and Saturday, the university was said to have spent the whole day conferring honorary degrees and handshaking of postgraduate graduates.

This, the students believed was unfair and lack of oversight by the management.

Speaking anonymously, several first-class graduates expressed their frustration over the incident.

Management deprives us of life-changing opportunities – first-class graduates 

With the presence of several dignitaries, including the Sokoto State Governor, Ahmad Aliyu; the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’adu Abubakar; other royals and the founder of Al-Qalam University, some of the graduates who spoke to The ICIR said that the university’s management had deprived them of opportunities that the dignitaries might have had for them.

A graduate who had spent over N30,000 on transport to attend the event said although he was not expecting something ‘big’ from the management, he was at least expecting a handshake.

“I felt so disappointed and bitter. I’ve never seen a convocation ceremony held like that. We see how other schools celebrate their best students in convocation. I believe convocation is a way to advertise the school’s achievements, and the most notable of all achievements is the production of excellent students. 

“Imagine giving prizes to best-graduating students behind doors instead of honouring them with the recognition they deserve. Even if it’s just the VC’s handshake they could get as prizes, I think it’s enough recognition. As the registrar said, I can agree that the names might be too tiring to call as there are more than 200 scholars over the 4 years combined. However, I believe the overall best students of each year were robbed of the honour and recognition they deserved, especially someone with a staggering 4.96-grade point,” a first-class graduate said.

Another first-class graduate explained to The ICIR that he had always believed convocations to be student-centred occasions where students are specially recognised, celebrated, and awarded. 

“Holding to my knowledge about how convocation should be, and experiences from convocation ceremonies by other progressive Universities in the country, I’m not without concerns for the development. It is so discouraging, and I’m not happy with the situation. Not only me, many graduates and students appear disappointed,” he added.

‘I travelled to Sokoto hoping to be rewarded for academic excellence’

Also, a 2022/2023 university graduate said he travelled over 500 km to the school, having heard about a possible reward for the best-graduating students, but was surprised when he and others were shunned by the management.

“All my life, I thought convocation was for the students, but that of UDUS seems otherwise — it was mainly for the dignitaries and elites.

“I travelled down here having heard that there’ll be a reward for efforts and the availability of the certificate, but as things stand now, the two seem unachievable. It’s quite unfortunate,” he said.

Meanwhile, when The ICIR contacted the university’s Dean of Students’ Affairs, Umar Aliyu, for his comment on the graduates’ claims, he explained that Saturday’s event was meant for the PhD graduates and conferment of honorary degrees while Friday was meant to celebrate the bachelor’s degree graduates, contrary to what was displayed on the event’s programmes.

When told that the management also failed to publicly call upon them on Friday, he claimed that he did not know the reason why that happened, noting that the students actually deserved proper recognition.