Pakata people applaud UNILORIN’s positive impacts on community
By Abubakar Imam
The people of Pakata community in the Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State have commended the University of Ilorin for its several positive impacts on their community since its establishment 50 years ago.
This commendation was made last Wednesday (September 24, 2025) by the President of the Pakata Area Development Association (PADA), Mr Murtala Alowonle, while commenting on the activities of students of the University who had their 2025 Community-Based Experience and Services (COBES) at the community.
The community leader explained that several indigenes of the community who are now impacting positively received their various degrees from the University as the institution has also provided means of livelihood for numerous others some of whom had attained the pinnacles of their careers either as academic or non-teaching staff.
He specifically mentioned a former Director of Student Affairs of the University, the late Prof. Shehu Ahmad Jimoh, OON; the Vice Chancellor of the Kwara State University of Education, Ilorin, Prof. Medinat Folorunso Salman; a former Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof. Ibrahim Yusuf Arowosaiye a former Head, Department of Islamic Law, Prof. AbdulRazzaq AbdulMajeed Alaro,mni; and a Deputy Director and University Estate Officer, Dr Sahid Bolakale Baba; as well as the Deputy Director at Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SWIES) Unit, Mr Kola Suleiman Abdulsalam, among several others.
Speaking specifically on the 2025 COBES as it affected his community, Mr Alowonle said that he was impressed that the students have left lasting legacies on the community through the renovation of two classrooms and toilet as well as water facilities at Oke-Pakata Primary School, Ilorin, carried out by the participants in the programme.
He also expressed profound gratitude to the students for the provision of some mattresses for the use of patients at Pakata Health Centre.
Mr Alowonle added that these interventions would go a long way in making life more meaningful for the people of the community, particularly for the pupils of the primary school and patients who use the Health Centre.
He, therefore, encouraged the University to always consider the community while posting out students for the annual programme.
In his reaction, a former Head, Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Ilorin, Prof. Lanre Yusuf-Babaita, said that the programme was designed for students to be exposed to the nitty-gritty of community development in order for them to impact positively on the larger society beyond the traditional lectures.
Prof. Yusuf-Babaita, who is the Coordinator of the COBES at the Faculty of Engineering, assured stakeholders that the University would continue to impact on its surrounding communities not only through academic training but also by making positive physical impacts as it would also enable the students to gain practical experience that would help them in their careers.
The Coordinator explained that participants in the scheme from his Faculty are scattered across different rural communities in Kwara State where they made several impacts depending on the needs of their hosts.
Also speaking, one of the participants, Mr Abdulkadir Jimoh, described the exercise as an eye-opener, saying that it gave them the privilege of knowing more about their host community and its needs.
Mr Jimoh, who said he and his co-participants are final year students from various Departments of the Faculty of Engineering, explained that the scheme has prepared them for the future.
While thanking the people of Pakata for their hospitality, Mr Jimoh, who is a student of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, noted that the scheme has been very good as it has brought individuals of diverse sociocultural backgrounds together for a common purpose.
Mr Jimoh added that they were not only brought together but have also inculcated the virtue of cooperation as they have been able to set and achieve goals together.
