I’m humbled by Leadership’s, other awards – Bogoro

The executive secretary of TETFund, Prof. Suleiman Elias Bogoro, has said that he had been humbled by the awards he received from two prominent media houses – Leadership newspapers and Business Day.

He stated this in an exclusive interview with Blueprint Friday.

When asked whether or not he deserved the awards, he said he wished somebody else would answer the question, but added that as a question from a journalist, he knew how to approach it.

He said firstly, the definition of characterisation of the award made him to deserve the awards, adding that it was not coincidental for two media organisations to simultaneously give him awards on the same day. 

“I am humbled for two newspapers to give me awards which happened incidentally on the same day. Earlier in the morning at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, the Leadership Newspapers awarded me the ‘Public Service Person of The Year.’

“I was excited at the justification for the award as expressed by them. They said very clearly that since my reinstatement by Mr President to this office – recall that I was here between 2014 and 2016 as Executive Secretary of TETFund for one year ten months.

“ It was captured when I was disengaged by the government, but after reviewing the case, nearly three years after, I was recalled and reinstated by Mr. President to the same office. It is something that has not happened in this country at that level. They said that I have virtually raised the level of impact of TETFund in public tertiary institutions.”

 Bogoro said further that research should not be undertaken for the sake of it, stressing that the era of research which gives certificates, bachelor’s, master’s   and PhDs to students was already gone.

 “We do research to address problems at the level of senior professors. But the emphasis should be on problem solving research.  It is the problem solving research that is synonymous with R&D, which is what I am emphasising. They said I have done so commendably across Nigeria and in the minds of Nigerians.”

According to him, the right way for Nigeria to improve its rating and ranking of her universities is through research, which must be problem-solving.

He said the second award “Excellence in Public Service” was given him by Business Day newspapers. He said the Managing Director of the paper made it very clear to him at the award ceremony at the Yar’Adua Centre that the award was given because they felt Bogoro had excelled remarkably above his peers in the country in terms of impact TETFund is making under his leadership as demonstrated  in areas of  infrastructure that exist in some faculties.

Leave a Reply