An international youth body – the African Youth Assembly – has honoured the Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, with the African Hero Award, 2022.
Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Matthew Naankin Green, on Monday, led a four-man delegation of the Assembly to the office of the Vice Chancellor to present the award.
Presenting the award in the presence of members of the university management, Rt. Hon. Matthew said the choice of the professor of Physiology and second female Vice Chancellor of the University, is based on her contributions to the advancement of humanity, demonstrated commitment towards the African project, professional excellence, youth and women empowerment, economic contributions, institutional strengthening, and mental capacity, amongst others.
He further eulogized the VC as a paragon of excellence, a symbol of African hope, passion and productivity.
He used the occasion to formally invite her to the African Hero Award ceremony scheduled to take place in Namibia at a date to be announced later.
In her response, Prof. Olatunji-Bello expressed delight for the honour, which she dedicated it to students of LASU, describing them as heroes.
“The future of any nation is the youth, and when we destroy them, we destroy our future”, she said, pledging her support for the African Youth Humanitarian Project of the Body.
The African Youth Assembly is the convergence of African Youth with the interest of advancing the African project through the instrumentality of the legislative gathering of African Youths across all 54 countries of the continent.