By Olayinka Oyegbile

Friday, October 16, 2026.

Yaba gba alejo.

Yaba, a middle-class suburb of Lagos, received a huge crowd of guests that it had perhaps never received before. Why? It was the graduation of the Trinity University Yaba. It was not the institution’s first. It was the fifth. The institution has come a long way from its modest start with just seven students in the 2018/19 session. It has continued to grow in popularity and population owing to its steady academic session and its sound academic prowess.

The roads leading to the institution from as far as Bariga, Palmgrove, Sabo, Yaba, Alara Street up to FFF Road were jampacked with both human and vehicular traffic. It was a glorious day celebrating its humble beginning with the students population now inching above 2,000! It was therefore not a mean feat that in its seventh year, Trinity University has been living up to its mantra of Building on the Rock.

The Convocation Arena and the surroundings of the University were all taken over by elegantly dressed graduating students, staff members, guests, well-wishers and parents who had all come to celebrate what the University authorities had dubbed “Convoking a Galaxy of Stars: Shining the Trinity Light to the World”. It was not an empty boast. The institution has in its short year of existence demonstrated that maturity is not only attained in longevity but in steady growth, discipline and the grace of God.

The campus on that day came alive with bands with variety of music and dances from all parts of the country to lend colours and cadence to the convocation. Graduating students and families strut the campus with their faces lighted up and happy that their journeys have ended in glory and without any interruption in the calendar.

Moulding new generation of leaders

With his face radiating joy and satisfaction, the Vice Chancellor, Prof Clement Kolawole, expressed his joy that “Our University runs a stable academic session,” this, he attributes to the determination of the founding fathers and the dedication of the staff to give the country an institution that is focused on the goal of delivering worthy graduates to help a challenged nation achieve educational and economic stability while not neglecting inculcating Godly discipline among its students.

He attributed the steady growth in number of students, staff development and physical facilities to the forward-looking Board of Trustees, the Governing Council, Senate, Management, Staff and Student Representative Council of the institution for working together to chart its path of progress. According to him, this has made possible its modest expansion with the purchase of “A six-story building with facility for 850 bed spaces as an annex to the City Campus of the University. The facility is being currently occupied by our Nursing Science Faculty and has relieved the pressure of accommodating our students.”

He also thanked parents who have continued to patronize the institution for their confidence in trusting them with their wards. During this fifth convocation, a total of 323 students graduated from three faculties. A breakdown shows that the Faculty of Basic Medical and Applied Medical Sciences has the highest numbers with 161, while the Faculty of Arts, Management and Social Sciences has 109 with the Faculty of Nursing Sciences with 53. Just like during the last convocation, two students also graduated with a perfect 5.00CGPA. They are: Osasuwa Osayuwar Tioluwalase of the Department of Political Science and Esezobor Osemen Joy of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences.

Prof Kolawole while assessing the growth of the institution said, “Comparing this session with the preceding 2024/25 session, the University has recorded remarkable growth in its graduate output. The total number of graduands increased from 200 in the 2024/25 academic session to 323 in the 2025/26 session. This represents an absolute increase in 123 graduands, translating to a 61.5% growth in one year.”  He emphasized that the steady academic session without any interruption has helped the institution and promised to maintain the momentum while increasing the staff strength and welfare. He also announced the increase of the faculties from three to four. It now has the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Faculty of Nursing Sciences and Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences.

Finally, he reiterated his last convocation’s appeal to the federal government to extend the NELFUND loan facilities to students of private universities as well as the TETFUND support “Because they (students and staff) are Nigerians who should not be discriminated against because they are studying or working in private institutions.” He also called on individuals who are willing to partner with the institution in providing education to indigent students to approach the institution with such offers. According to him, the university is willing and ready to support such gestures.

Nuggets of success

Earlier, the Chancellor of the institution, Prince Samuel Adedoyin, a renowned businessman and entrepreneur, had given the graduands, five virtues that have kept him going in his life. He listed these are: Goodliness, creativity, industry, drive and discipline.

He urged them to put God first in whatever they do. “Let God be at the centre of your life and your endeavours. A man or woman who puts God first will never be put last. Godliness gives you moral compass, it gives you peace, and it gives you favour that hard work cannot give.”

He said creativity is king because “The world does not reward repetition”. On the third virtue, he advised, “Hard work does not kill.” Turning to the fourth, he told them, “You need inner drive – that hunger that pushes you when no one is watching.”   The final virtue, which he identified as Discipline, is what he calls “the bridge between goals and accomplishment. Discipline will keep you when motivation fails. If you can discipline your time…you have secured your future,” he concluded.

On his part, the Pro-Chancellor and chairman of Council. Pastor Samuel Olatunji, advised them to “Hold on to virtuous character. Talent will open a door for you, but only character will keep you in the room. In a world that celebrates speed, have the courage to stand for what is right. Let your word be your bond.” Going the way of a former American President John Kennedy, he told them, “Embrace service. Do not go into the world asking only what you can get. Ask what you can give. The world does not need more successful people alone; it needs more useful people. Be useful where you find yourself.”

So much words of wisdom for the graduating students to take home and work on to shape their futures and chart their path in a chaotic and tumultuous world.

*Dr Oyegbile is a journalist and media scholar. He can be reached at yinka2005@gmail.com