The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has donated a total of 142 books, with 76 volumes each on 20 different subject areas to the University of Ilorin library.
The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof Sulyman Abdulkareem, disclosed this while receiving the facilitator of the donation, Prof. Abdulrasaq Alaro on Monday in Ilorin.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Alaro is also the Head of the Department of Islamic Law of the university.
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The vice chancellor, who was represented by the university Librarian, Prof. Abdulwahab Issa, expressed appreciation for the gesture, which he described as the largest single donation his administration had ever received since his assumption of office.
He said that the magnitude of the donation was as good as those coming from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
Abdulkareem expressed the hope that other individuals and corporate organisations would emulate the example of Saudi Arabia by offering various forms of assistance to the university.
Such interventions, he said, were part of the corporate social responsibilities they were expected to perform.
The vice chancellor assured the facilitator and the donor that the materials would be put to effective use and for the promotion of learning and human capital development.
Abdulkareem, who described the donation as a `spectacular contribution’, assured that the university would show its appreciation by forwarding a letter conveying such to the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Nigeria.
He commended the country for finding the Unilorin library worthy of the donations.
Earlier in his address, Alaro explained that the donation would ensure that the university was well-equipped to add more value and aid the institution to function better.
He also assured the university that this would not be the last gesture from Saudi Arabia, adding that many more would still come soon.
According to the facilitator, the uninterrupted academic calendar of the university and its being the most subscribed university in the country were among many other advantages it had over its peers in the country. (NAN)
