The Senate President, Senator David Mark, on Tuesday said the National Institute for Legislative Studies would be a world class institute that will build the capacity of legislators both in Nigeria and Africa.
Mark, who stated this during the postgraduate commencement programmes of the National Institute for Legislative Studies and the University of Benin, described the institute as the brainchild of the National Assembly.
He said it stemmed from “a realization by legislators that our work as representatives of the people must be built on solid research backed by empirical facts”.
The Senate president said the institute was taking giant strides in making a name as a premier centre of learning and research.
While insisting that NILS represented the National Assembly’s effort at creating a world class institute that would serve to build the capacity of legislators in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, Mark said he was glad that NILS was collaborating with other well established
institutions within and outside Nigeria in pursuance of its mandate.
He said: “Many legislators have benefitted from the wealth of programmes offered by such notable centres as John Hopkins University, Oxford, Harvard and McGill.
“NILS’ collaboration with the University of Benin on the postgraduate programme is yet another statement by the Institute of its intention to work in partnership with the best towards strengthening legislative practice and procedure in Nigeria and beyond.
“Today’s occasion makes all of us in the National Assembly proud fathers, having mid-wifed the birth of NILS and now seeing it fast growing into a reputable and important institution.
“If NILS’ brief but impressive antecedents are anything to go by, I can confidently tell the matriculating students that they have a great adventure ahead of them.
“I expect that through the different programmes, they will be challenged, inspired and presented with opportunities to further their learning.”
Speaking at the event, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Prof. Godwin Oshodin, tasked the new students not to embark on what he called “aluta” like the young
undergraduates, given that they were mature students.
Oshodin said that there may be grievances from time to time, but urged them to handle it differently.
His words: “As a people who are undergoing training to become responsible members of the society and for leadership positions, efforts should be made to resort to dialogue and
consultation rather than mass demonstration, which at times degenerated to violence.”