Adeola Odedina

Year of Graduation: 1991

  • Course PG Certificate Agricultural Education
  • School School of Biology, Chemistry and Forensic Science
  • Nationality Nigerian
  • Career industry Government
  • Current job title Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture
  • Current Company Ogun State Government, Nigeria

The University was a home-like learning atmosphere where there was sufficient attention to individual capacities and needs, and both teachers and learners participated fully in improving and encouraging one another. I felt treasured and important as an overseas student.

My favourite memory was my teaching practice/attachment to a work related institution and facilities, during my course of my study for a postgraduate certificate in Agricultural Education at the Walsall Campus in 1991. I got the extra exposure of learning how to deliver skilled agricultural sessions at Harper Adams College and practical agricultural technology transfer at Staffordshire College of Agriculture West Midlands. Apart from expanding my scope of exposure that turned out to be invaluable to my work situation back home, I still find the basic and fundamental importance of technology and skill delivery in Agriculture and related disciplines, still useful to this day.
Several years after leaving Wolverhampton, I became involved in high level management of agricultural technology education in tertiary institutions, leading to my rise to the Provost of the Federal College of Agriculture Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria and Rector of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Ogun State, with over 20,000 young people. In both circumstances, I led critical aspects of curriculum development, technology delivery and linkage of undergraduates to industrial process and agricultural development, and agricultural productivity in Nigeria and Africa. The rudiments and exposure at Wolverhampton Polytechnic adequately prepared me for this role.
I am presently the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture in Ogun State Nigeria and serving member of the State Executive Council tasked with the responsibility of implementing the State Policy on agriculture that includes food security, nutrition security, job creation and agricultural industrialisation. My roles also include linking the National Policy on agriculture to the State Agricultural Policy for the overall good of agriculture in Nigeria
My career highlight to date includes consultancy work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded Cassava Adding Value for Africa Project (CAVA I and II), German Agric Innovation Centres (GIAE/GIZ), Switzerland Government supported capacity building for agricultural education project phases I and II (CBAEN I and II), CIAT/HarvestPlus, among others. In addition to these, my appointments as Provost of Federal College of Agriculture Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria; Rector of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Ogun State and presently, Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture in Ogun State Nigeria, are career highlights.
The University prepares one for the outside world both for the present and foreseeable future. It is also a place to experience good campus life and exposure through the the University’s many linkage facilities.