Olubukola Adegoke is a top executive of the newly opened Wigwe University which is located in the heart of Isiokpo, Rivers State. The University prides in being the most exclusive university in the continent, setting new standards for excellence. Mrs. Adegoke is the Sales and Marketing Manager for Lagos and Southwest at Wigwe University. She is in charge of enrolments, recruitment of students when it comes to Lagos and Southwest. She is, no doubt, doing greatly in that regard. Few weeks ago, she and her team had a wonderful outing at the 16th edition of Africa’s largest education exhibition show; Total School Support Seminar/Exhibition, TOSSE 2024. They were up and doing canvassing parents, teachers, facilitators, school owners and other stakeholders in the education sector to enrol their wards in Wigwe University.

City People JAMIU ABUBAKAR (08085185886) covered the annual event. I therefore engaged the ever-convincing manager in an exclusive interview where she explained in detail about Wigwe University, what it offers as well as why it is different from other universities in the country. Above all she gave reasons why parents should enrol their children at the university instead of spending a lot of money to fund their education abroad. Below are excerpts!

Can you brief me on what you’ve come here to do?

Yeah, we’ve just come here to showcase Wigwe University. There is an adage in Broken (pidgin English). What you’re looking for in Sokoto is in your Sokoto trousers. I’m here to showcase Wigwe University to the world.

We want people to know that what you are going abroad for, you can also get it here in Nigeria. We have that quality of education here in Nigeria with a world-class curriculum, a world-class faculty, our international exchange programs, and our world-class facilities. So that’s what we came here to showcase today.

For how long has the university been operating?

Wigwe University will commence its inaugural session in September, so we’re actually new.

What are the things that make Wigwe University different from other Universities in Nigeria?

There is a lot of difference. If you bring your students, your children to Wigwe University, you’re assured that we would train them to become fearless leaders. Our philosophy at Wigwe University is based on leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship. At Wigwam University, we train our students not just to graduate and start looking for jobs, but we train them to become fearless leaders. We train them to become great entrepreneurs. So that’s why we have people like Alhaji Aliko Dangote who were friends of our late founder, coming into the university to mentor the students one-on-one. Again, we also know that as much as we are convincing parents to have their kids stay back in Nigeria, we know they still want that international exposure for their children. So, what have we done? We have partnered with top universities in the US and UK for exchange programmes. So wherever we have our year three students go there to spend a year, and we also have students from those universities coming to Wigwam University. If our curriculum was not world-class, they wouldn’t agree to such exchange programmes. At Wigwe University, we have very qualified academic staff; 70% are Nigerians, 30% are foreign academic staff.  Our VC is a top American professor. He has worked in various Ivy League standard universities across the world, including MIT and the likes. So, Wigwam University is the place to be.

What are the degree awarding programmes offered at Wigwe University?

Okay, currently we have 4 Colleges and we have 22-degree programmes across these colleges. We have the College of Engineering, we have the College of Science and Computing, we have the College of Management and Social Sciences, and we have the College of Arts. So, we have unique degree programmes. For instance, in our College of Engineering, we have degree programmes like BSC, Computer Engineering with a specialization in robotics. We have another one with a specialization in mechatronics, because now we’re in a 4th industrial revolution, where everything is now AI driven. So, our courses are aligned to meet the demands of the modern workforce. In our College of Science and Computing, we have courses like Cyber Security, ICT; Information and Communication Technology, we have Forensics, and we have the regular Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Then in Arts, we have Communication and Digital Media Studies. If you check out our website, www.wigweuniversity.edu.ng, all the details of the courses are there. So, those are just snippets.

What is the admission procedure like at Wigwe University?

It’s very simple. You can come into Wigwe University, either through UTME or through Direct Entry, and we also have international students. If you’re coming in through UTME, you’re coming into year one. You need to have your SSCE either GCE, WAEC, or NECO. It’s just the normal standard. Then for direct entry, which is A-levels, we accept that too.

Might be IB Accelerates, IGCSE. There are different types of A-levels, so we accept that too. And we also accept international students. They just need to provide us with their certificates from over there, then we look at it, and we go on from there.

How affordable is the tuition of the university?

Yes, our fee is very affordable, because we are giving you value for your money. Like I mentioned, in the student’s year three, they’re going to travel and spend their entire year in the University of Pennsylvania which is one of the top universities. We are not collecting any extra tuition for that. So, when you compare, it’s going to reflect in the student’s certificate and transcript. It’s really worth your money. So, it’s affordable. The tuition fees on the website range from eight million to 10 million naira. But when you look at the value that we are offering, you will know that it’s really affordable compared to if you want to travel out of the country for your higher education.

What would you tell prospective parents who are willing to enroll their children at Wigwe University?

Just bring your children to Wigwe University. It’s a place where education meets innovation and where your children’s futures will not just be promising, but fearless.