Covenant University in her usual departure from the norm (Departure Philosophy) recently appointed 56 of her faculty staff to the professorial cadre. Among them where 14 considered exceptional. According to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor AAA. Atayero, they applied for the post of Associate Professor but where found worthy to be appointed full Professors.
Of this exceptional group are two young men in their late 30s, Professor Evans Osabuohien and Professor Roland Tolulope Loto.
Professor Evans Osabuohien at 38 is the youngest of the newly appointed professors. He joined Covenant University as a Graduate Assistant (GA) in August 2004. A Second Class Upper (2/1) graduate of Economics from Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, Edo State (2002); he rose to become the current Head of Department of Economics and Development Studies, making him the youngest HoD and Senate member of the University.
Professor Osabuohien obtained his MSc and PhD in Economics at Covenant University in 2006 and 2011 respectively. He has published over 70 publications, most of which are in High Impact Journals.
He has won many awards and honours including, Lecturer of the Year, Nigerian Economics Students Association, April 2016; Research Project with DTT Farms on Background Study on Rice Production, Processing and Marketing in Ogun State, Nigeria, April 2016; Innovative Research Grant (with Gitau C. & Efobi U) awarded by African Growth and Development Policy Modelling Consortium (AGRODEP)/International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), USA, April 2015 to November 2016 as well as Research Project with IFPRI on Cocoa & Maize Value Chain and Computation of Natural Rate of Protection for Nigeria, May 2016, among others.
Professor Osabuohien is a member of many professional bodies; among which are Nigerian Economic Society, c/o Economics Department, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; African Growth and Development Policy Modelling Consortium (AGRODEP), IFPRI-Dakar, Senegal; Founding Member and Assessor, African-German Network of Excellence in Science (AGNES), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Royal Economic Society, London, UK; Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Dakar, Senegal; Young African Researchers in Agriculture (YARA), Cape Town, South Africa; European Studies Association for Sub-Saharan Africa (ESA-SSA), University of Pretoria, South Africa as well as African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) Network, Nairobi, Kenya, among others.
He is currently supervising 2 PhD students, co-supervising 3 PhD students and 2 Masters Students.
About becoming a Professor at a young age he said, “I know I must get there one day because the dream of any Soldier is to become a General, but I don’t know it will be this early.
On how he felt being a Professor, he said, “I feel God, nothing else. It’s just God”. (He is also an ordained Pastor).
Professor Roland T. Loto, 39, grew up in academic environments, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and University of Lagos. Born to the family of academics, Professor Cleophas Loto and Dr. (Mrs) M. A. Loto, the young Loto, like his father, is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering (B.Tech), Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho in 2002.
He obtained his Masters of Science (MSc), Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (2007) at the University of Lagos and Doctor of Technology (DTech), Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (2014) at the Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa.
Professor Roland Loto as published 82 publications till date and attended many conferences within and outside the country.
He is an award-winning researcher, among which are 2014 Doctoral Student of the Year for Academic Excellence, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa; 2011-2013 Faculty Top Publication Award, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa as well as 2011-2012 Faculty Scholarship, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa.
Professor R. Loto is a reviewer of many Journals, including Journal of Materials and Environmental Science; Journal of Basic and Applied Science; Moroccan Journal of Chemistry; Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology; International Journal of Industrial Chemistry as well as Journal of Basic and Applied Research international.
He is a member of Professional Associations including Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN); South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy; and Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa.
On how he felt becoming a Professor, he said, “It is overwhelming and at the same time it shows that hard work pays. When a person works hard towards achieving the corporate goal of the Institution where he works, he’s not only moving the institution forward, he is also moving his own life forward. One of the things I learnt when I came to Covenant University is that when you work harder and you move the University forward, you are also moving your life and career forward.
When asked whether he planned to become a Professor very early in life, he said, “Not really but my emphasis is doing what it takes to become a Professor whether I become one or not. I know that one of the major requirements is research. And one of the things I learnt from my mentor, Mr. Omoshein, one of the top shots in Insurance Industry, is that you focus on doing what it takes to achieve greatness in any organisation you work with.
“Just focus on doing what it takes to become an MD, whether you become one or not. So in a University, the highest academic rank is professorship, so I focused on doing what it takes to be Professor, whether I become one or not. That has been my working principle. That’s why I focus more on research. I invest my time more in research”.
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