By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
At 76, Dr. Hamid Tadjoub earned a master’s degree in Systems Engineering on Thursday, 22 January, 2026 as the University of Lagos (UNILAG) graduated 16,506 students during its 56th convocation ceremony at the Akoka campus in Lagos.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, announced the milestone in her convocation address, explaining that the ceremony marked the climax of a week-long programme that began with a Jumat service at the University Mosque on Friday,16 January,2026 .
Earlier, the university hosted a convocation lecture delivered by the Founder of Slum2School Africa, Mr. Otto, titled “Maximising Nigeria’s Demographic Dividend through Urgent Education Reform for Global Competitiveness in the 21st Century.”
Breaking down the figures, Ogunsola said 10,584 students received first degrees and diplomas, while 5,782 were awarded postgraduate degrees from the School of Postgraduate Studies.
In addition, 140 students graduated from the UNILAG Business School, bringing the total number of graduates to 16,506. She added that 502 distinctions were recorded across postgraduate diploma and master’s degree programmes.
On academic excellence, the Vice-Chancellor disclosed that Haruna Ebuna Abubakar, a PhD graduate in Civil and Environmental Engineering, emerged as the Best Doctoral Thesis award winner in Sciences.
Similarly, Beatrice Paul, a PhD graduate in Educational Psychology, received the Best Doctoral Thesis award in Humanities, while Oyeyemi Yomu Adebamu was named the Best Doctoral Thesis awardee from the UNILAG Business School.
Beyond individual achievements, Ogunsola revealed that UNILAG retained its position as Nigeria’s top-ranked university in the 2026 Times Higher Education rankings and was placed within the 801–1000 band globally out of 2,191 institutions. According to her, the ranking reflected the university’s strong performance in research quality and industry outcomes.
Furthermore, she said the institution emerged as the most international African university in West Africa in 2025, attributing the recognition to expanded global partnerships and increased student exposure to international learning opportunities.
Turning to infrastructure and innovation, the Vice-Chancellor noted that several academic buildings, research centres and innovation hubs supported by partners such as the World Bank, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company and Lafarge Africa had been completed and would be commissioned in the coming months.
At the same time, she disclosed that hostel rehabilitation projects were ongoing, with plans to add over 7,800 bed spaces by 2027.
On digital transformation, Ogunsola said the university launched Nigeria’s first digital intellectual property and patent registry, while more than 14,000 students and youths were trained in entrepreneurship and innovation programmes in 2025.
Consequently, 61 start-ups received funding and over ₦250million was awarded for prototype development.
In terms of research, she revealed that the university attracted over $24 million in grants within the past year, largely from international health-related funding bodies.
Additionally, she said UNILAG advanced sustainability efforts through electric vehicle initiatives and solar energy projects, including a newly signed seven-megawatt floating solar power agreement.
Ultimately, Ogunsola urged the graduates to uphold character, resilience and excellence, stressing that fear should not limit their ambitions. She said the university had equipped them with the skills and values needed to compete globally.
Meanwhile,the convocation ceremony also featured the conferment of honorary degrees, recognition of retired professors and awards for outstanding contributions to scholarship and humanity.
