By Biodun Durojaiye
Distinguished colleagues, fellow pioneers, brothers and sisters of the Class of ’88.
When we arrived in 1984, LASU was not just young.
LASU was still clearing its throat.
There was no grand campus life.
No hostels.
No ready-made traditions.
No seniors to copy.
In fact, from the very first day, LASU gave us something many universities did not give their students so early in life: real life.
As pioneers in an off-campus university, we were thrown into adulthood almost immediately. Most of us had never lived on our own before. Suddenly, at age 17, 18, 19, we had to sort out accommodation, negotiate rent, arrange feeding, manage our health, and secure our own safety.
There was no hall warden to complain to.
No cafeteria to run to.
If you didn’t eat, you didn’t eat.
If your landlord increased rent, you negotiated—or you packed.
And that was just the beginning.
We lived inside real communities—communities whose social realities were very different from the backgrounds many of us came from. We heard husbands and wives quarrel loudly, sometimes violently, with their children watching silently from corners. That was an education no lecture hall could offer.
We dealt with landlords who were sometimes shylocks, sometimes domineering, and occasionally both at the same time. Some of us had encounters with the police—arrested for the serious offence of walking home late from a party. And in those moments, we learned very quickly how to sort ourselves out.
It was rough.
It was uncomfortable.
But it was formative.
Being thrown into real-life situations made us grow up very fast. And in hindsight, it gave us an edge over students in universities with cosy hostels and fenced campuses. Our community immersion experience sharpened us. It taught us street sense, negotiation, empathy, and survival. LASU gave us life skills before graduation.
Another gift LASU gave us—simply by being new—was the opportunity to be self-starters.
There were no established clubs waiting for us.
So we created them.
There was no Student Union.
So we organised the first elections.
There were no course associations with constitutions.
So we wrote them.
There were no campus shows.
So we planned them—from scratch.
In doing so, some of us learned leadership, organisation, persuasion, and fundraising long before we ever heard the word “entrepreneurship.” LASU forced us to initiate, not imitate. And that habit stayed with many of us for life.
Then there were our lecturers.
Because we were the very first set, our lecturers had time for us. They did not have crushing workloads or overcrowded lecture halls. Teaching was personal. Guidance was intentional.
Many of them were close to us in age, which made the relationship even richer. Names like the late Kunle Lawal, the late Siyan Oyeweso, Yemi Adeola, Sena Bakare, Leke Fakoya—these were not distant figures. They were mentors. They knew us. And we benefited immensely from that closeness.
But beyond that, there was vision.
The pioneer Vice Chancellor of LASU, the late Professor Folabi Olumide, had a dream—to build a great university, something like the Harvard of Nigeria. Because of that vision, lecturers were carefully selected. And you could tell they were on a mission.
People like Professor Giwa in Physics.
Dr. Olubajo in Organic Chemistry.
Professor Robert Boroffice in Genetics.
The late Professor Jadesola Akande in Law.
They were not just teaching courses; they were building standards. And we were their first test case.
So, what did LASU give us?
It gave us resilience.
It gave us responsibility.
It gave us initiative.
It gave us mentorship.
It gave us belief.
And because of all these, we were—quite frankly—ahead of our peers in other universities.
This became evident almost immediately after graduation. The first set of LASU Law graduates who went to the Nigerian Law School emerged as the best set, winning most—if not all—of the prizes.
That moment marked the beginning of our giving back to LASU.
Those achievements catapulted the university into national consciousness. They changed perceptions. They pushed LASU to the top of rankings and into the minds of parents and students across the country.
Today, LASU is the preferred choice of many candidates sitting for the JAMB examination. That did not happen by accident. It happened because the first products of LASU proved that the experiment worked.
And beyond professional excellence, there is something else we gave LASU—something quieter, but equally powerful.
Since we graduated, there is no record of any LASU pioneer student engaging in any act that tarnished the image of the university. We carried the name with dignity. In boardrooms, courtrooms, classrooms, newsrooms, and communities, we became ambassadors.
When the LASU Alumni Association was to be formed, pioneer students played key roles. Till today, we remain deeply involved. A significant percentage of the Board of Trustees still comes from among us. We did not just leave LASU behind—we stayed connected.
So, when we ask, What did LASU give us?
The answer is: a foundation for life.
And when we ask, What did we give LASU?
The answer is: credibility, culture, and continuity.
LASU gave us roots.
We gave LASU wings.
And as we gather again—decades later—may those who come after us give LASU even more than we did, just as LASU continues to give them more than we received.
Thank you.
- TEXT OF SPEECH BY BIODUN DUROJAIYE AT THE 2025 END-OF-YEAR GET-TOGETHER OF LASU CLASS OF 88 ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2025 AT THE LAGOS AIRPORT HOTEL, IKEJA.
- Biodun Durojaiye is the Founder/CEO of Thrifto, and the Publisher of The Lagos Times
