College of Humanities, Management and Social Sciences Holds Maiden International Conference

The College of Humanities, Management and Social Sciences (CHMS) of Mountain Top University held its maiden international conference themed “Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), through Humanities, Management and Social Sciences’ Research”. The Conference which was held in hybrid format of physical attendance and virtual participation was held in the Multipurpose Hall of the University from April 27-28, 2022.  

During his welcome remarks on the first day of the conference, the host- Prof. Babatunde O. Oni, Dean, College of Humanities, Management and Social Sciences, stated that the theme was carefully chosen to enable members of the faculty share their knowledge with the participants, and proffer solutions to the various issues militating against development. He stated that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a call to action. According to him, Nigeria is committed to prioritise the SDGs. In his words, “as academics, we must contribute our quota to sustainable development.”  

The Vice-Chancellor, Mountain Top University (MTU), Prof. Elijah A. Ayolabi, who was the Chief Host, in his speech, revealed that the conference would provide veritable platform to researchers and scholars to proffer solutions to various challenges. He noted that the 17 SDGs has been promoting decisive actions towards mitigating issues that could impede national growth. “Our ability to bring together researchers from different parts of the world shows our towering resilience in being a Centre of Academic Excellence”, Prof. Ayolabi remarked.  The First Keynote Speaker at the event, in the person of Prof. Solomon Adebola, Vice-Chancellor, Adeleke University, Ede, said that the SDGs had become a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

He added that “The SDGs became the new agenda for an inclusive world order”. Noting the integrated arrangement of action plans of the SDGs, he disclosed that none of the goals was sufficient on its own and the success in one affect the others, and accelerate the gains of the entire goals of humanity. According to him, “The University and its allied institutions are the only social institutions with the capability (human and material) to embark on the effective proffering of solutions to the human problems as encapsulated in the SDGs”.   On the structure of the SDGs, Prof. Adebola mentioned that targeting the SDGs together, instead of treating them as isolated silos, would bring opportunities for bigger impact. He also noted that a substantial proportion of research outputs was linked to research effort from the academic units and students submits of Humanities, Management and Social Sciences. In his concluding remarks, Prof. Adebola, disclosed that “If the SDGs as a concept is embraced by all and sundry, it could serve as a comprehensive economic plan”.  

The Second Keynote Speaker was Prof. Adeniyi Olayanju, a former Vice-Chancellor at Landmark University & currently the Vice-Chancellor, Philomath University, Abuja. In his lecture which he delivered virtually, he disclosed that Universities have demonstrated to the world during the COVID-19 crisis why their expertise matters and why international collaborations in higher education was needed to solve the world’s pressing challenges. “Universities must dedicate themselves to helping the world achieve the SDGs”, he emphasised. He said that in the Times Higher Education (THE), each SDG has a series of metrics that are used to evaluate the performance of the University in that SDG. “THE impact ranking based on SDG research publications & community impact is the first global attempt to measure university progress specifically around the SDGs”, he disclosed. In his concluding remark, Prof. Olayanju noted that sustainable development was the responsibility of every part of society, across the world.   The second day of the conference also had the attendance of academic dons and industry leaders. The First Keynote Speaker of the day was Dr Rotimi Oladele, a former MD, Nigerian Tribune Newspaper & presently the Executive Secretary, Institute of Entrepreneurs Nigeria. Dr Oladele spoke on the topic: “Leveraging on Research in Humanities, Social Sciences and Management to Achieve UN’s Sustainable Development Goals”. In his speech, he stated that research was the causative variable that empowers the derivative variable- Humanities, Management and Social Sciences, to perform.

He enumerated the following importance of research as follows;

•   It is a C-caution against failure, downfall or mistake.    
• It can validate positions, brands, policies, etc. hence its compatibility with Humanities, Management and Social Sciences. Furthermore, referencing the SDGs, Dr Oladele gave the following insights;    
• Research had widen the scope Humanities in diverse areas such as monetizing translation (SDG 1).    
• As a sustainable goal, researches in our Social Sciences area would address a lot in the areas of socio-cultural institutions & mutual respect, community development, civic duties and citizenship, governance, public discipline & leadership process, policies, laws and climate management (SDG 17).    
• Researches in Management areas had the possibility of targeting and achieving this goal through specific skillsets in accounting, insurance and risk management, marketing and distribution, supply chain management, administration and corporate governance (SDG 10).  Dr. Oladele, in his concluding remarks, recommended that “we should study and research in our mother tongues and network in our official language.”

  The Second Keynote Speaker of the day was a former Vice-Chancellor, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Prof. Dapo Asaju. Prof. Asaju, who is also a Bishop of the Anglican Community. He noted that the platform of SDGs was based on biblical principles. “The SDGs have provisions in the bible”, he stated. He said that scholars of religion should do well to research as it was the basis of most SDGs. According to him, SDGs were attainable with God and willpower.  Other attendees of the conference included the Principal Officers of the University. 

  There were also parallel sessions on both days of the conference during which scholarly presentations were made by the participants. The conference was attended by registered participants across Nigeria, Ghana, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada and Germany.