Students of this University are hereby invited to participate in the Inaugural Africa-wide Essay Competition organized by Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library Foundation. According to the Chairman, Programme Development Committee, Prof. Akin L. Mabogunje, the competition is part of the preparation towards the formal inauguration of the OOPL in March 2009.
The theme of the inaugural competition is “Youth Perceptions of Human Security in Africa”. It is aimed at drawing attention to the challenges of Human security facing Africa from an African youth perspective. It is the desire of the OOPL to encourage African students and researchers, to take up interests in understanding Human security and mainstreaming the concept in their thinking, policy designs and advocacy efforts. This is consistent with the library’s plans of harnessing its resources, derived from President Olusegun Obasanjo’s life, career and legacies. To this end, a Centre for Human Security has already been established within the library complex.
The vision of the OOPL itself is to be an evergreen resource for stimulation of the ideas of democracy, good governance and leadership in Africa, with the mission to foster deeper understanding of the life, career and passion of President Olusegun Obasanjo. The OOPL seeks to facilitate reflection on best practices in public service; provide a clearer comprehension of development in Africa, the Commonwealth and the rest of the world, and collaborate with similar institutions in attaining these objectives. The objectives of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library are to: acquire and preserve resources relating to the life, career and Presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo. make available for public study and research, such resources as documents, artifacts, personal items and memorabilia of President Olusegun Obasanjo through research, exhibitions, public programmes, ouline services, documentary media, publications and outreach; serve as a resource for inspiring national and African unity, democracy, good governance and leadership; advance the standing of the ;Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library as a centre of intellectual activity and community leadership designed to meet the challenges of a changing world; encourage and promote innovation in public administration; provide a base for theoretical, qualitative and quantitative analyses to unravel the causal relationships and inter-dependencies that activate human security threats in Africa, that can form the basis for policy recommendations and action; in partnership with UNESCO, the Institute for Black Culture and International Understanding, maintain replicas and miniatures of Ulli Beier collections in a multi-media, interactive system and make them accessible to scholars, historians, as enthusiasts and the general public; establish linkages with Presidential Libraries and similar institutions elsewhere in the world with a view to sharing resources and organizing events of common interest;
Further information about the library and the essay competition can be found on
www.ooplibrary.org.
Our students are hereby encouraged to participate in this essay competition as we wish them the very best of luck.
Chris Adamaigbo, KSM
Deputy Registrar, Information/Public Relations Officer |
