By Abayomi Elias
The Founder & Group Managing Director of SystemSpecs John Tanimola Obaro had been awarded with a Doctor of Science, computing and Information Technology (D.Sc) by Trinity University at its maiden convocation for 2021/2022 & 2022/2023 Academic sessions on February 23rd , 2024.
Newsconnect reports that Her Excellency Mrs Florence Fatimo Ajimobi was also honoured with Doctor of Business Administration (D.BA) by Trinity university the same day at the convocation.
In an interview with Newsconnect correspondence after receiving his award, Obaro reflected on his sojourn towards encouraging young graduands to believe in Nigeria. He said many things may look negative and frightening, however, one can actually see that therein lies opportunities. According to him, many of the things happening now are being that way before. It is a Dejavu ! he asserted.
In his words, he said;
“I just reflected on my own journey and I hope it is able to encourage young graduands that even on the face of it, many things look negative and frightening but you can actually see that therein lies opportunities.
“This is not the first time these challenges are coming on our nation. Nigerians are begining to lose hope and run abroad. We are saying you don’t have to run abroad, in any case when you really think well, even the so called Abroad all have different challenges.
“The nature of the challenges may be different. It maybe racism, it maybe hate. Go to South-Africa today, they don’t want to see you because you are a Nigerian. So the earlier we begin to think of what we can do locally, the better for us as Nigerians
“Many of the things happening now are being that way before. Dejavu ! Dollar crashing in the last one week maybe about N500. It has happened before when Nigeria entered the second tier foreign exchange market. Food crisis has happened before. Power failure, different things.
“Around that period of crisis around 1988-1989 there was quite some pressure on me to ‘JAPA’ and go and do a PHD. I compared, weighed all my options. Go abroad or start a business and by God’s grace I got some good encouragement that said look set up a business and I started thinking of setting up a business.
“By 1991, a company was registered. January 1992, we commenced operations and God has been so faithful.
“Interestingly, I came from the family which all the boys are doctors, professors. I am the only who remained a ‘Mr’. My three brothers, two professors, One is a professor of radiology, the other a professor of paediatrics and the other is a doctor in Meteorology, so I was the only Mr.
In his projection of what he expected Nigeria to become in ten years to come, Obaro said;
“I believe restructuring would help the country to reenergize the different sectors. We don’t try to force some things together. Let some independent parts be able to work more homogeneously together. I believe that can also help to unleash some of the hidden potentials in the country without loosing the benefit of being one country, one homogeneous country.
“Like I said at the Matriculation speech few months ago the future is technology, you can’t run away from technology. Artificial Intelligence is coming at a rate faster than any of us could imagined. You therefore have to join that train, the earlier you joined that train, the earlier you are able to be a player long term. If you are not sitting at the table to discuss AI, then you are probably the menu on the table”. He said
Florence Fatimo Ajimobi who was also awarded with Doctor of Business Administration (D.BA) by Trinity university at the convocation is the Chief Executive Officer of Grandex Nigeria Limited. One of the foremost indigenous companies leading operations in the retail sector of the Nigerian Economy, with chains of stores in the major cities of the country.
Armed with a Masters degree from the prestigious London School of Business and Finance, she was able to grow the business from a simple trading partnership, run with the help of her husband, to the conglomerate that it is today, over the last 39 years.
Driven by this, she has conceived and nurtured several initiatives and created a number of organisations through which she can better help vulnerable groups and the less privileged.
These include the ABC foundation through which she has assisted with the provision of easy Access to Basic Medical Care for people would otherwise have been unable to afford it and a welfare home for vulnerable children; the Educate A Rural Child Initiative though which she has beem involved in the provision of educational support for indigent children in rural areas; the Ajumose Food Bank, a monthly food provision support programme which has been responsible for feeding tens of thousands across Oyo State and the establishment of an ICT center for women in Public service.
The Overall Best Students of Trinity University for the Academic Session of 2021/2022 is Okpala Chidera Ruth from the department of Mass communication with a total CGPA of (4.85).
Meanwhile The Overall Best Students of Trinity University for the Academic Session 2022/2023 is Adewunmi Oyindamola from Biological Science with a total CGPA of 4.88
