The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has stated the need to groom students and youth through mentorship to enable them meet up with challenges and be worthy leaders of the country.
The monarch also advised universities to emulate the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) and take a cue from their model of student’s mentorship to build leaders for the country.
Speaking at the 2025 University Award of Excellence in Research Practice held at the Oduduwa Hall of OAU, Ile-Ife, Osun state, Tuesday, Ooni posited that the best way to prepare the students for the challenges ahead is to employ mentorship for them.
He said: “This is laudable for the OAU stars. They are in safe hands with the likes of Professor John Adegbulugbe, Professor Yusuf Alli and now Alhaji Murtadha Adeniji, your future is secure. I have always advocated the necessity of mentorship for students and youth in general to prepare them for the challenge of nation- building.
“I hope and believe other universities in Nigeria would look at the success stories of this one and build on it to have a viable mentorship programme for the youth across the country in a very short period,” Ooni said.
Meanwhile, the OAU has deployed successful and distinguished alumni to mentor students and prepare them in multi-sectoral leadership through an intensive one-year programme.
Speaking at the event, the 2025 honourary awardee, Adeniji said the 350 students handed over to him for mentorship would go through a rigorous process which is embedded in integrity to ensure that they stand through any circumstances without compromising their integrity.
The OAU alumnus promised to employ 40 students of the school at his cocoa processing company, to ensure value-chain for the raw material and create job for youth in the country.
He said: “As we prepare to re launch Multi-Trex Integrated Foods PLC, I see a new horizon opening, not just for Starlink, but for Nigeria. It will allow us to process cocoa into butter, liquor, and powder on an industrial scale. We will no longer ship all our raw material abroad and buy back finished goods at ten times the price. We’ll retain value, create jobs and generate foreign exchange without draining our economy,” Adeniji said.