– As Ukamaka Maduagwu emerges best graduating student
No fewer than 87 pharmacy graduates of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Agulu Campus, Anambra State, were recently inducted into the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) at a ceremony held at the school’s lecture theatre recently.
The glamorous 5th Induction Ceremony had several students, parents, pharmacists, pharmacy professors and members of the PCN in attendance.
Personages at the ceremony included Pharm Mohammed Elijah, PCN registrar; Prof. Joseph E. Ahaneku, vice chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University; Prof. Charles Esimone, deputy vice chancellor, academics; Dr I.H Ishidanu, acting registrar; Dr Ikemefuna Uzochukwu, dean, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences; and Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, former CEO, Neimeth Pharmaceuticals International Plc.
In his address, the vice chancellor of the university, Prof. Joseph Ahaneku, charged the graduands to be driven by the sound training in character and learning they had received from the institution.
He noted that the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences was already contributing to the realisation of the goal of raising the national and international visibility of the university, citing the successful hosting of the 2015 Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Orientation Programme under the auspices of the PCN as a reference case.
While congratulating the graduands on the successful completion of their programmes in the university, Prof. Ahaneku described their induction into the professional body as a milestone in their lives, urging them to uphold the university’s core values of discipline, self-reliance and excellence.
Presenting the 87 graduands for the oath-taking/induction ceremony, acting dean of the faculty, Dr Ikemefuna Uzochukwu, urged them to continue to uplift the banner of the university wherever they found themselves.
He also implored them not to delay in identifying with a preferred area of specialisation within the profession, noting that the faculty had come a long way since inception in 2006/2007 to produce no fewer than 253 pharmacists so far.
Dr Uzochukwu further reminded the graduands to make good use of all the six core competencies and skills they had been equipped with, which include pharmaceutical care, drug discovery & development, pharmaceutical formulation, pharmaceutical quality assurance, public health and management.
While administering the oath, registrar of the PCN, Pharm. Elijah Mohammed, urged the newly inducted pharmacists to abide by the ethics of the profession. He also advised them to develop leadership and interpersonal relationship skills, which he said were vital in pharmacy practice.
He also charged them to discharge their duties professionally, as well as provide innovative services that would distinguish them, adding that his administration would reposition the pharmacy registry for effective service delivery and institutionalisation of good pharmacy practice in Nigeria.
In his keynote address at the event, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa explained that pharmacy profession was gradually drifting from product delivery to services delivery, noting that to stand tall in the profession, professionalism mattered, as well as being able to adapt quickly to new trends in this technological driven society.
The revered pharmacist, who spoke on “Pharmacy Practice: Current Trends, Future Prospects”, listed key factors needed to succeed in the pharmaceutical profession to include: vision, passion, planning, hardwork, fear of God and adherence to professional ethics.
The high point of the event was the award of the much coveted prize for the best graduating student, which was won by Ukamaka Maduagwu.
Maduagwu in her speech attributed her success to hard-work and grace of God, urging other students to be industrious and prayerful.
