Ibadan, Nigeria: The Pan African University Institute for Life and Earth Sciences including Health and Agriculture (PAULESI) held its Matriculation Ceremony of the 2018-2019 academic year on 12 July 2019.
The Matriculation serves as a formal process of becoming a student of the university or becoming a recognized member of the university community after having met all academic and administrative requirements. In all institutions of higher education, the matriculation ceremony marks the formal admission of new students into the institution. It confers membership to the university on students. All new students must participate fully by taking the Oath of Matriculation and signing the Matriculation Register before they are formally recognized as bona-fide students of the Institution, and so entitled to all rights and privileges pertaining therein.
The Matriculation Ceremony at PAULESI commenced with the singing of three anthems beginning with the African Union’s anthem, followed by the National anthem of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and finally, the University’s anthem.
H.E. Professor Sarah Anyang Agbor, AU Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology, whose mission in Nigeria within the framework of the PAU Planning and Coordination Meeting, coincided with the Matriculation ceremony graced the event by her presence and had the honour to solemnly open the Matriculation Ceremony.
As the host of the event, Professor Matthew Abatan, Director of PAULESI, delivered welcome remarks in which he welcomed all the special visitors to Ibadan. He went further to explain the significance of the Matriculation Ceremony stating that it was aimed at giving an official identity to students who would be issued with ID cards and university identification numbers.He also underlined that a total of 73 joined PAULESI in the 2018-2019 academic year (that 23 PhD students and 50 Master students). He further noted that the newly admitted students came from 23 African Union Member States (Egypt, the Gambia, Niger, Mali, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Erythrea, Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, DRC, Tanzania, Burundi,Angola and Malawi).

Figure 1; Group Picture Commissioner HRST, Newly admitted Students and Staff of PAULESI
The Matriculation address was delivered by the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs of the University of Ibadan, Professor Adebola Babatunde Ekanola who ably represented the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Abel Idowu Olayinka. The Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs warmly welcomed the newly admitted students, On behalf of the Vice Chancellor, and expressed joy to see the 73 students from 23 African Union Member States admitted to PAULESI. He wished the students success and assured them that they were at the right place for studies.
In her speech, the AU Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology, H.E. Professor Sarah Anyang Agbor, highlighted the values of Pan Africanism. She urged students to adhere to the principles of solidarity, work harder, promote African values and be proud ambassadors of the African Union. She went further and stated that indicipline and strikes should not be encouraged. Acknowlegding that there may be some challenges, she however advised students to be patient, mature and to have a polite attitude. She concluded her speech by teaching the African Union’s anthem to the students, laying emphasis on the chorus, and strongly encouraged students who are Sons and Daughters of Africa, Flesh and Sun and Flesh of the Sky to make Africa the tree of Life as so rightly said in the anthem’s chorus.
After the various speeches, the Registrar, Mrs Olubunmi . O. Faluyi requested all the matriculants to rise and repeat the Matriculation Declaration in unison after her. This was followed by the signing of the matriculation register, which marked the end of the ceremony that was solemnly closed by the AU Commissioner for HRST, H.E. Professor Sarah Anyang Agbor.