Why my memory is still sharp at 83 -Alaafin of Oyo

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, has said investment in knowledge acquisition is very rewarding.

The monarch, who said this in Ibadan on Sunday while addressing students of the Lead City University at the 14th convocation said some people believed that he was using juju to recall accurately dates and events.

Oba Adeyemi said he was not using any supernatural power to have sharp memory but was able to recall dates because of his massive investment in developing his mental capacity.

He urged Nigerians to invest in human capacity development, saying he deliberately invested in developing his capacity because he wanted to be a very good public speaker due to his position.

The monarch said he spent 12 years as the Chancellor of Sokoto State University now known as Usman Dan Fodio University.

He added that he personally sponsored 200 indigent students in the university while he was the chancellor.

Alaafin said, “When I was in Usman Dan Fodio University, I single-handedly, as Chancellor, sponsored 200 indigent students to study courses of their choice.“

If you empty your pocket and out it on your head, that is a good investment. Anywhere I speak in the world, remembering dates, times and events, people thought I was using kube. Do you know what is called kube? People thought i was using juju because my brain is sharp.

“But it’s because I want to be a master in public speaking. Whatever you want in life and you put your mind there and ask God to do it for you, He will do it for you.”

The Vice Chancellor of the Lead City University, Prof. Kabiru Adeyemo, said in his address that the university had become one of the most preferred institutions in Nigeria due to diligence and hard work of his management team and the governing council of the institution.

He said, “We have consolidated our efforts on teaching and community service so as to make name on the global map of academic excellent, we worked as a team and we have transformed this university to an environment of creativity, discovery and innovation.”

The Best Graduating Student in the set, Kehinde Abioye Moses, from the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, graduated with First Class honor with Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.94.He expressed gratitute to the university for the scholarship given him for his university education.

He said, “I finished from Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo in Oyo town, I was one of the 10 beneficiaries of the scholarship programme that was brought to our school by Lead City University.”