Encomium
FOUR months after the National University Commission (NUC) approved the operational licence of Mountain Top University (MTU), it has now constructed additional buildings for its take-off.
When ENCOMIUM Weekly called at the private university owned by the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Miracles (MFM) along the Lagos/Ibadan Express Way, on Saturday, June 27, 2015, we sighted about four recently completed buildings.
The structures, we learnt, are part of the faculties of the new university which would commence academic activities in a matter of months.
Years after the completion of MTU by amiable clergy and founder of MFM, Dr. Daniel Olukoya, the over
N5 billion institution of higher learning is yet to take off.
Initially blamed on the delay of the Federal Government in giving it the final approval for its grand take off, we have also been told that the owners needed to further improve on the present infrastructure on ground be admitting its pioneer students.
“In addition, MTU also wants to be sure that full administrative set up is in place before its official opening,” an official source who wished not to be named said.
It would be recalled that few weeks after NUC approved the university, the management started recruiting reputable staff to form the bulk of its academic and none academic units. It’s likely that MTU has already started interviewing candidates for Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellors, Registrar, Bursar, Librarian and lecturers.
The NUC had earlier inspected the facilities and given the university official clearance to commence operation which is the essence of its approval by the Federal Government.
We reliably gathered that the issue of approving MTU was actually giving the fiery clergy a slight headache as all hands were on deck for its smooth take off. And Dr Olukoya, who is the Pro Chancellor of MTU is not leaving any stone unturned in ensuring the child of his brain starts admitting students this academic year.
Dr. Daniel Olukoya joined the league of clerics who own private universities as he rounded off work on his multi-billion naira MTU about three years ago.
The university sits atop 100 acres (that’s about 600 plots) of land.
Information at our disposal revealed that the project actually commenced in 2010, inside the Prayer City along Lagos/Ibadan Expressway when the land was acquired and the registration for the project approved by the appropriate government agencies.
The hostels and other infrastructure such as laboratories, hospitals and administrative blocks have since been completed.
Unknown to outsiders, the MFM vision carries a training emphasis that led to the establishment of the Spiritual War College, which is the Bible College of the MFM, in 1995 and then the Deliverance School. Thereafter, twelve other associated departments were created, all of which are now under the umbrella of an institute known now as the Institute of Spiritual Warfare (INSWAR). The former Spiritual War College has now been renamed the Department of Biblical Studies. INSWAR was officially commissioned on 7th November 2002. It comprises 14 departments, namely, Biblical Studies, Deliverance, Prayer Ministry, Evangelism and Church Planting, Discipleship and Missions, Languages and Culture, Spiritual Red Cross, Counseling, The Prophets, Power and Healing, Church Music, Praise Worship and Children Education. The leadership programmes organized by the INSWAR have attracted men and women from all fields of endeavour including career civil servants, medical personnel, engineers, academics, military personnel, legal practitioners, journalists, business executives, career diplomats etc.
The ultimate goal has been to establish a full-fledged higher institution where aspiring Nigerians can be taught to attain their full intellectual capacity that can be translated into skills as individuals and eventually mobilized into the socio-economic priorities of the nation. And it is against this background that the vision for the establishment of Mountain Top University, which has derived its name from that of the founding ministry, was born.
MTU’S ACADEMIC PATTERN
MTU has elected to adopt the nomenclature College rather than Faculty as practised in contemporary universities abroad as well as the newly established ones in Nigeria. At full capacity, MTU will have at least six (6) undergraduate colleges and a postgraduate school.
However, the university will take off with three Colleges consisting of courses that are not capital intensive and yet will make the university unique, innovative and responsive to the needs of the Nigerian society, especially in relation to industry, technology, food production and health. The Colleges at take-off (Phase I) would be College of Basic and Applied Sciences, College of Environmental Sciences and College of Management and Social Sciences.
Mountain Top University was one of the nine private universities the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved on Wednesday February 25, 2015.
The other new universities were Augustine University, Ilara, Lagos State; Chrisland University, Owode, Ogun State; Christopher University, Mowe, Ogun State; Hallmark University, Ijebu Itele, Ogun State; Kings University, Ode Omu, Osun State; Michael and Cecilia Ibru University, Prose, Delta State; Ritman University, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State and Summit University, Offa, Kwara State.
The approval brings the number of private universities in the country to 59.
- OLUKOYA’S ACADEMIC EXPLOITS
“When Dr. Kolawole Daniel Olukoya was born some 45 years ago, little did his parents know that they had gotten an exceptional child ordained by God to fulfill a destiny that would in turn, positively affect the destiny of others. And in pursuit of that destiny, Dr. Olukoya laid down an academic blueprint whose pedigree remains outstanding. At Saint John’s CAC Primary School, Akure in Ondo State, and Saint Jude’s Primary School, Ebute Metta, Lagos, where he completed his primary education, excellence was his watch word. Rather than occupy himself with exuberance that was a common feature among youths, he developed a passion for God.
Dr. Daniel Olukoya’s academic profile took a leap while at Methodist Boys’ High School, Lagos, where he graduated with Grade One Distinction and was the best student in his set.
Not one known to rest on his oars, he took his academic exploits to the prestigious University of Lagos and, as would be expected, the genius in him proved that all earlier outstanding academic results were no fluke, as he graduated with a First Class honours degree. In fact, it was the first from the department since the university was established in 1962.
“Dr. Olukoya’s thirst for more academic laurels found expression at the University of Reading, UK, where, with a Commonwealth scholarship, he studied for a Ph.D in Molecular Genetics, which was completed in record time, making him probably the first Nigerian to obtain a Ph.D. in this subject area. With such an intimidating academic resume, it was only natural that opportunities would beckon. But not even the pressure to stay back in England could sway him from returning to Nigeria. His first port of call on arrival was the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba, Lagos. He was a lecturer as well as external examiner to a number of Nigerian universities, among them the University of Lagos and University of Benin.
“Dr. Olukoya is on record as the first scientist to establish an indigenous Molecular Biology and Biotechnology laboratory in Nigeria. One important contribution by Dr. Olukoya to biotechnology and health care delivery is the creation of a new type of pap (Ogi) named Dogik, a weaning food that has improved nutritional qualities that can control diarrhea. The laboratory also ranks among the first to work on genes in Nigeria.
“That Dr. Olukoya would become a mighty tool manifested in 1989, when Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries was given birth in his sitting room at Yaba, with 24 worshippers. MFM has thousands of branches spread across Nigeria, Africa and Asia. A huge percentage of branches are also in the United States and Europe.
“Dr. Kolawole Daniel Olukoya’s uncommon gift finds expression as a prophet, evangelist, teacher and preacher of the word of God. In addition to his over 80 scientific publications, he has written more than double that number of spiritual books, 150 of them, most of which are bestsellers. Prayer Rain, a prayer manual which has become a companion of not a few Christians across several denominations has sold millions of copies. Besides, Dr. Olukoya has 70 Christian songs that he composed. His amiable life and that of his wife, Pastor Shade and their son, Elijah Toluwani, are living proof that all power belongs to God,” our reporters had noted in previous publications.
– UCHE OLEHI
