By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Chancellor and Chairman of the Board of Regents of Covenant University, Dr. David Oyedepo, has disclosed how he founded the citadel of learning as well as the secret behind its emergence as first in ranking amongst Nigerian Universities.
Oyedepo disclosed that the inspiration for the establishment of the University was divine, and given that situation, he strategically pursued the concrete realization of the vision to make it rank the topmost university in Nigeria.
The founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, explained that even the training modules for Covenant University were “uniquely” designed.
Oyedepo stated this during the convocation and conferment of first and higher degrees, and the presentation of prizes in Ota, Ogun State, at the weekend.
The cleric’s declaration came days after the Times Higher Education World Universities Ranking 2025 was unveiled.
According to the ranking, Covenant University is 1st in Nigeria and 6th in West Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Reacting to the development, Oyedepo said he studied nine world-class foreign universities before establishing the institution.
The institution, situated in Ota, Ogun State, was also listed as the only Nigerian university among the top 1000 universities globally.
Speaking on ‘What Makes Covenant University Unique’, Oyedepo said he got inspiration after understudying Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Caltech, MIT, Stanford, Duke, and Dartmouth universities.
“While nothing was copied, a lot of inspiration was drawn from those studies, which eventually led to the crafting of our core values, making our products very unique,” he said.
He added: “My passion came alive to provide an alternative education, in terms of quality, that would rescue these young individuals from lifelong crises.”
Meanwhile, a total of 339 students of the university bagged First-Class degrees at its 19th Convocation. This comprised 339 first-class honours, representing 23 per cent; 762 second-class upper honours, (52.3 per cent); 330 second-class lower, (22.7 per cent); 25 in third class (1.7 per cent) and 151 post-graduate students.
In his address, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abiodun Adebayo, revealed that the National Universities Commission has approved the commencement of an Open Distance Learning Programme for the institution, starting with a B.Sc. in Computer Science.
In his remarks titled: The Necessity of Patience, the University’s Pro-Chancellor, Bishop David Abioye, urged the graduates to be patient in life.
