Funmi Ogundare
The Sarkin Kano, Khalifa Muhammad Sanusi II, weekend, stressed that denying people access toquality education will not only fail individuals but also undermine national development, insisting that education is a right and not a privilege reserved for those born into wealth or with access to greater opportunities.
He stated this at the maiden convocation ceremony of Miva Open University in Lagos, where degrees were conferred; and prizes and honours awarded to a total of 1,212 graduates comprising 970 postgraduate and 242 undergraduate students.
Sanusi explained that education should be pursued for personal development and lifelong self-improvement.
“Education is not a meal ticket. Education is about yourself. You study because you want to improve yourself and become a better person,” he said.
The former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed that he was in 200 level for the third time in his life, having first studied Economics at Ahmadu Bello University in 1978 and later obtained a degree in Sharia and Islamic Studies in Sudan in 1992, in addition to earning a PhD.
Sanusi said he accepted the invitation to the institution because it represented a bold statement about the future of education in Africa, arguing that learning should not be limited by geography, wealth or social circumstances.
According to him, online education provides opportunities for millions of Nigerians who may otherwise be denied access to higher education, citing examples of young women and men constrained by family, financial or cultural barriers.
“If there is one silver bullet that addresses many of our developmental challenges, it is educating the girl child,” he said. “Keep a young woman in school long enough and you address maternal mortality, neonatal mortality, malnutrition, out-of-school children and intergenerational poverty. Education is the most effective contraception you can give a woman.”
The monarch dismissed concerns over the quality of online education, insisting that academic excellence is determined by the integrity and rigour of learning rather than physical infrastructure.
“Quality is not a function of geography, rigour is not a function of architecture, and excellence does not require sitting in a particular building in a particular city,” he stated.
He commended the institution for developing a homegrown learning management system and Artificial Intelligence-driven tools designed to ensure academic integrity and provide real-time support to students.
Sanusi noted that while many institutions around the world were still debating the implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on education, Miva had moved ahead to build solutions around the technology.
Addressing the graduating students, he warned that the labour market remained challenging but urged them not to limit their ambitions to prevailing realities.
“The people who create their own opportunities, who build rather than apply, and who solve rather than complain are the people who ultimately define what the system becomes,” he said.
In his remarks, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, described open and digital learning as the future of higher education, saying that institutions such as Miva Open University are helping to democratise access to quality education and prepare Nigerians for a rapidly evolving global economy.
He described the institution’s first set of graduates as pioneers whose success validated a bold vision aimed at redefining higher education through innovation, technology, accessibility and inclusion.
Congratulating the class of 2026, the minister noted that many of the graduates combined their studies with careers, businesses and family responsibilities, demonstrating that learning is no longer confined to physical classrooms or traditional pathways.
According to him, the rise of AI and digital technologies has transformed industries and the workplace, making it imperative for universities to evolve.
He described Miva Open University as a symbol of that evolution, providing flexible, quality education without geographical limitations.
“Miva Open University represents the democratisation of knowledge and educational access at scale. It represents flexibility without compromising quality and offers a glimpse of what education will look like a century from now,” he said.
In his remarks, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin, said the ceremony marked not only the graduation of the university’s first set of students but also the validation of a bold idea that quality university education could be effectively delivered through technology without being constrained by geography or infrastructure.
The graduating students, he noted, had demonstrated that discipline, determination and digital tools could overcome traditional barriers to learning.
“You are not just graduates of an institution; you are pioneers of a new academic era. Your success will serve as a reference for generations yet unborn who will follow this pathway with confidence because you validated it first,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chancellor of the university, Sim Shagaya, stressed the need for Nigerians to reject cynicism and become builders of the country’s future.
He stated that Africa must play an active role in shaping the AI era rather than remain consumers of technologies developed elsewhere.
He noted that Miva had expanded its academic offerings with the introduction of one of Nigeria’s first bachelor’s degree programmes in AI, alongside the establishment of robotics and drone laboratories aimed at preparing students to tackle local challenges through innovation.
According to him, the facilities would equip students with skills in autonomous systems, aerial robotics and hardware engineering, enabling them to develop solutions in areas such as agriculture, logistics, infrastructure monitoring and smart automation.
“By investing in AI education, Miva is making a declaration: Nigerians will be the builders of the AI age, not bystanders to it. We will write the algorithms that solve our traffic, manage our grids, diagnose our illnesses and optimise our farms,” he said.
Shagaya noted that Miva’s growth had disproved claims that world-class institutions could not be built in Nigeria, stressing that the university, founded and run by Nigerians, had achieved a scale many considered impossible.
The event witnessed the formal investiture of its Pro-Chancellor, Dr. Tunji Olowolafe.
In his remarks, Olowolafe decried what he described as the long-standing injustice in Nigeria’s education system, insisting that access to quality higher education should not be determined by geography, family income or personal circumstances.
He stated that higher education had for too long remained a privilege available only to those with the resources and proximity to conventional institutions, adding that Miva Open University was established to address the imbalance through quality open and distance learning.
According to him, the notion that open and distance learning is a lesser alternative to conventional university education has hindered efforts to democratise access to quality education across Africa.
“Democratising education does not mean lowering standards. It means refusing to allow the conditions of learning to become a barrier to the quality of learning. It means designing systems that meet students where they are, not systems that demand students rearrange their entire lives to fit a model built for a different era,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Tayo Arulogun, urged the graduating students to become leaders and innovators who create opportunities and raise standards in their respective fields, adding that they should see their degrees as foundations for greater accomplishments and to embrace excellence, integrity and purpose as they advance in their careers and personal lives.
He noted that Nigeria and the wider world needed graduates who would not merely seek opportunities but create them.
He added that leadership should be accompanied by a commitment to lifting others and giving back to society.
“Go and make your mark. Nigeria and the world need graduates who do not simply seek a place at the table, but who build new ones. Be the professional who raises standards in your industry, the leader who lifts others as you climb, and the citizen who gives back to the community that shaped you,” he said.
