Avoid Distractions, Baptist President Charges Youths at Bowen Convocation

​IWO, OSUN STATE — The President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention and Visitor to Bowen University, Rev. David Idowu, has charged Nigerian youths to remain resilient, shun societal distractions, and embrace a culture of diligence and moral uprightness.

​Speaking on Saturday at the institution’s 21st convocation ceremony in Iwo, Osun State, Rev. Idowu expressed deep concern over the erosion of core societal values, pointing to the disturbing trend where youths engage in money rituals with the complicity of some parents.

​Addressing a gathering of 1,443 graduands comprising 1,345 undergraduates and 98 postgraduates, the cleric urged the younger generation to take charge of leadership early, noting that he became a church pastor at the tender age of 21. He challenged them to draw inspiration from Nigeria’s founding fathers—such as the late Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and Chief Obafemi Awolowo—who assumed mantle positions of leadership in their youth.

​”We live in a very noisy world, a world that is totally distracted,” Idowu remarked. “I want to beg our youths to remain focused and be purposeful in life. Hard work pays. They may look foolish now, but hard work pays. They should remain prayerful and take their moral life seriously.”

​Academic Milestones and Institutional Excellence

​In his address, the Vice-Chancellor of Bowen University, Prof. Jonathan Babalola, highlighted the remarkable strides recorded by the institution during the outgoing academic session. He proudly announced that all eight academic programmes presented for regulatory evaluation secured full accreditation status.

​The accredited courses include:

• ​Surveying and Geoinformatics
• ​Biochemistry
• ​Industrial Chemistry
• ​Pure and Applied Biology
• ​Religious Studies
• ​Architecture
• ​Medical Laboratory Science
• ​Doctor of Physiotherapy

​Furthermore, Prof. Babalola revealed that following a successful professional evaluation by the Council of Legal Education, the admission quota for the university’s Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) programme received a 100 per cent boost, expanding the institution’s capacity to deliver top-tier legal education.

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​Class of 2026 Honors and Awards

​The convocation celebrated academic brilliance across various disciplines:

• ​First Class Honours: 218 graduands

• ​Second Class Upper Division: 657 graduands
• ​Second Class Lower Division: 315 graduands
• ​Medical Graduates (MBBS): 86 graduands

​The overall best graduating student, Bankole Oyindamola Naomi, carted home a cash reward of \text{N}1,000,000, while the second-best graduating student, Taiwo-Adigboluja Ayobami Benedict, received \text{N}700,000.

​Renewed Call for Equity in Educational Funding

​Reiterating the challenges facing private tertiary education in Nigeria, Prof. Babalola used the occasion to call on the Federal Government to review its exclusion policy regarding the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). He argued that denying students and researchers in private institutions access to these intervention funds is detrimental to holistic national development and scholarly progress.