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FUTA ALUMNUS WINS PRESIDENT'S NYSC HONOURS


FUTA ALUMNUS WINS PRESIDENT'S NYSC HONOURS
On Friday, 25th April, 2019, Mr. Oluwafemi Ojo, an alumnus of the Department of Urban and Regional
Planning, Federal University of Technology, Akure was conferred with President’s NYSC Honours Award
in recognition of his outstanding performance and sterling qualities as a member of the National Youth
Service Corp in the year 2014/2015 in Kebbi State, Nigeria. Congratulations to this great alumnus of our
Great FUTA! Mr. Oluwafemi Ojo graduated at the top of his class (of 94 students) with BTech in Urban
and Regional Planning from the Federal University of Technology, Akure in the year 2013. His
performance won him the University Prize and Prof. J.B. Falade’s Prize for best graduating student from
the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.
 
During Mr. Ojo’s undergraduate days, he was the class governor of his set all through their years on
campus. His leadership skills coupled with his intellectual capabilities and those of his classmates
contributed to the ranking of the department as the Best Department of Urban and Regional Planning
in Nigeria in the year 2014 by the Town Planners’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TOPREC). After
graduation, Mr. Ojo went on the compulsory national assignment, the National Youth Service Corp
(NYSC) programme, which he carried out in Kebbi State. During the time, he embarked on several
developmental projects that reflected his passion for national development. Mr. Ojo carried out a
project that involved the sensitization of farmers on the procedure for acquiring bank loans for
            
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agriculture in Birnin Kebbi Local Government Area of the State. Many farmers in the rural areas benefited
from this programme. He equally formed a research group within Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic,
Birnin Kebbi, in which he taught the application of Geographic Information System (GIS) to disaster
management. The research group was engaged in the production of Disaster Risk Management maps
for the State Emergency Management Authority and some ministries within the state.
 
Mr. Ojo initiated GIS training for all the ministries that were saddled with disaster vulnerability
management and donated some personally generated data that would aid the activities of the agencies
in performing their duties. Mr. Ojo organised a rebirth programme for the inmates of the Remand Home
which was held on weekly basis for three (3) months. This equally transformed the lives of the inmates.
He went further to raise fund to renovate the dormitory, and construct toilets and bathrooms for the
Remand Home. Before leaving Kebbi State, Mr. Ojo, in the need to sustain the training organised in the
polytechnic, established a GIS laboratory and donated two computer systems to the laboratory equipped
with the needed software to aid GIS training and job execution. Other efforts of Mr. Ojo included the
sensitization of female students on puberty in a selected school and the organisation of the
YALIGoesGreen Programme to sensitize the community on keeping the environment green. These
efforts won Mr. Ojo the State Governor’s Award of Excellence and NYSC Award of Excellence for the Best
Serving Corp Member in Kebbi State for 2014 Batch B.
 
Mr. Ojo is a Knowledge Facilitator. He was a member of Development Knowledge Facilitators for
Millennium Development Goals (MDG's) where he served as an Interim President. This effort earned
him several recommendations from many government agencies and ministries in Kebbi State, Nigeria.
Before this time, Mr. Ojo was an intern from June to December, 2012 with Molaj Consultants in Lagos
and worked for GISPlus Technologies, Akure from July, 2013 to June, 2014 as GIS instructor and firm’s
secretary. During his NYSC year, he served as lecturer at Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic, Birnin Kebbi
from August, 2014 to September, 2015. In 2016, Mr. Ojo became a Member of the Nigerian Institute of
Town Planners (NITP) and also registered with the Town Planners Registration Council (TOPREC) of
Nigeria in 2017. Mr. Ojo also holds a Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the Federal
University of Technology, Minna with research focus on ecological footprint. Mr. Ojo is currently the
Environmental Impact Assessment Coordinator, Legal and Regulatory at ATC Nigeria, Lagos, Nigeria.
The award comes with an automatic employment into the Federal Civil Service and a PhD Scholarship