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By Gabriel Dike
The Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), Oto-Ijanikin, Prof. Morufu Daodu, has paid his academic debt with the delivery of the third inaugural lecture.
The Professor of Guidance and Counselling in the College of Specialized Professional Education (COSPED) titled his inaugural lecture: “Stormy Seas of Adolescence: Stakeholders Contact in the Advancement of Normalcy”.
Daodu described the inaugural lecture as a historic academic milestone within the university community. The lecture, he said, reflects both scholarly reflection and societal concern for adolescent development.
He revealed that he declined an earlier university admission offer in another course due to his passion for Guidance and Counselling and later secured admission at the University of Lagos for his choice course.
The DVC said the objective of his lecture includes exploring stages and domains of adolescent development, analyzing “storm and stress” experiences, identifying contemporary adolescent challenges, highlighting adolescents’ need for guidance and inclusion and stimulating policy and academic engagement.
According to him, adolescents are recognized globally as critical to sustainable development,noting that WHO, UNICEF, and other global institutions emphasize adolescent wellbeing. Daodu stressed that Nigeria possesses a large and dynamic adolescent population and that there is rapid societal transformation reshaping adolescence which are the key challenges confronting adolescents.
He explained that the lecture would serve as both academic discourse and national call to action, adding, “I want to advocate for collective commitment toward nurturing responsible and productive adolescents.”
Daodu acknowledged that adolescents occupy a strategic position in society, education, economy, technology, governance and global development.
Prof. Daodu identified two major categories in the modern days, which are: out-of-school adolescents and in-school adolescents and they are completely disconnected from the education system.
He disclosed that implication of out-of-school are low national development, rise in crime and insecurity, increased child labour, early marriage and teenage pregnancy, higher illiteracy rate, weak democratic participation, increase in social vices and intergenerational cycle of poverty.
The DVC listed additional implications threatening national unity, limited reading and writing skills, higher chances of poverty, less awareness of health and life skills, fewer job opportunities, unsafe and unprotected environment and low level of technological improvement.
He disclosed the emerging challenges facing adolescents to include cybercrime, school bullying, digital addiction and identity struggles.
Daodu listed how teachers relate to adolescents in schools, which include poor teaching and inadequate mastery, frequent classroom absence, harsh classroom treatment, illegal collection of money for examination success, extortion before release of seized items and unhealthy competition over adolescent girls.
He warned that the bridge must not collapse on issues affecting adolescents and he advised that they must be carefully nurtured, properly guided, adequately supported and protected from abnormality.
The DVC said if the bridge collapses, the consequences include difficult transition into adulthood, waste of talents and human resources, emergence of unproductive generation, loss of creativity and innovation and insecure national future.
Daodu said to rescue adolescents from collapse the stormy seas are a collective reasonability and that all hands must be on deck.
He identified parents/families, teachers and school personnel, educational institutions, professional counsellors, mental health professionals and government as key stakeholders in adolescents’ development while others are policymakers, communities, technology experts, peers, law enforcement agencies and religious organizations.
Speaking on schools specifically, Prof. Daodu, said they have strategic daily contact adolescent and their areas influence include identify formation, aspiration, discipline, peer interaction and academic performance, noting that teachers must serve as mentors, models and guides.
He stressed the need for conducive learning environments, student support systems and adolescent-friendly policies. While on the role of government, Daodu listed their responsibilities to include policy development, funding, system strengthening and enforcement of protective laws and expect policymakers to translate intentions into actionable policies, sustainable frameworks and youth-focused interventions.
On the way forward, he further stressed the need for deliberate and strategic interventions by stakeholders to ensure protection, guidance, opportunity and hope.
In her remarks, LASUED Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bidemi Lafiaji-Okuneye, congratulated Prof. Daodu for inaugurating his chair and discharged and acquitted him of academic responsibilities to the institution.
The VC acknowledged his contributions to his field of study and announced that her DVC has to his credit over 65 publications in local and international journals.
She described him as an accomplished scholar authored books on Counselling and Psychology, attended both local and foreign conferences, coordinated several capacity building for academic staff and headed committees.
Prof. Lafiaji-Okuneye recalled under the legacy college, Daodu was appointed deputy provost and deputy vice chancellor when it was converted to university.
