Bishop Tom Samson harps on entrepreneurship as Monarch University matriculates new students …Warns against bullying, violence

The Chancellor, Monarch University, Iyesi-Ota, Ogun State, Bishop Dr. Tom Samson, has assured students of Monarch University of sound academic system entrenched in entrepreneurship.

The man who has invested immensely at various levels of education in Nigeria ranging from nursery, primary, secondary and tertiary education, also warned that the university would not tolerate violence and bullying.

Pastor Samson made the disclosures on Monday, January 12, 2026, during the maiden matriculation ceremony of the university at Iyesi-Ota Ogun, State.

He said that the university has designed programmes that would equip the students to be employers of labour rather than job seekers.

He said, “By the grace of God, we will begin to impact on the community, we believe more facilities will come in, to start the university, we have printing press, we have water factory, we have bakery, we have more facilities here, and we are going to do more.

“We are going to give out employment because we are looking out for Entrepreneurship, how our children can be self employed, so we have so much to do. University is like running a mission and we are set for it,” he said.

Pastor Samson who was full of thanks to God for a dream come true said, “We feel grateful and we feel thankful, it is a dream come true. The university is an amazing great vision, we are building on this vision. University is a great vision that can make a nation, we are going to increase our faculty, so this is just the beginning and God has helped us that in just three months, see the amazing number of students within the facility, we are making more impact.”

Speaking on the adult education being introduced by the university, Pastor Tom Samson stated, “By the special grace of God, we are going to run a special programme, that professionals can come in, and we are starting this year. Professionals, like we are collaborating with CISCO, ICAN, and other professional bodies are coming on board, we are working in partnership, and we are embarking on other entrepreneurship programmes. Even we are liaising with some bank professionals to come and begin to teach in here.”

On where he expected to see the university in the next five years, Pastor Tom Samson said, “Amazing, wonderful, I am a visionary man, like I said, university should impact community, and Nigeria has great youth. One of the presidents call Nigerian youths lazy, I want to reverse that. We want everyone here to be self-employed. So these are the programmes we are putting together. Beside, for even those who were not predispose to attend university before now, we are coming with a programme, specialized programme that can bring them in, nurture them and empower them.”

On the impact of Nigeria’s education policy on his investment in education, he said he remains a player in the field and also commended Government’s efforts. “The fact remains that we are the players, no matter how much it is, I know the government means well, but we are the practitioners. For instance, look at it, we are going to adapt Government education policy in such a way that our students will be self-employed. That is what Nigeria needs now. Even when you go to school, it doesn’t mean that if you are not employed by an employer, you will not work, like in Monarch University, we have programmed ourselves in such a way that our graduates can be self- employed.

Speaking on the university payment system, he said the school has made the payment to be very simple and seamless. “You see by the grace of God, we made it so simple that even the parents can pay by instalment, and we made our fees so affordable.

“Remember all the lecturers, both those in private and public, they are going to the same market, no matter how you see it, education is expensive, the lecturers buy from the same market, but as much as possible, because I am a visionary man, we want to contribute to education as much as possible, I invested so much in the university, not just what comes in, and we made sure it is affordable, and we made sure it is so easy for parents,” he stated.

The Registrar of Monarch University, Michael Uwakwe, on his part said, “The university is a faith based university, our emphasis is on academic excellence and spiritual development, this is where we anchor the programmes and activities of this university. So we want our students, our children, to be people who are not only academically empowered, but we want them to be people who are also spiritually empowered. People who can go out and make impact in the society, people who can go out and make a difference, people who can go out and distinguish, and that is what we stand for in Monarch University.

Speaking on bullying on campuses, the Registrar said “The Chancellor made it clear in his speech, when he said, we don’t tolerate bullying. We do not tolerate fighting, our emphasis is on discipline. We want to ensure that the students we are bringing up are those who are well disciplined, those who are well trained, those who are academically empowered, any student that is found to be a bully, or any student discovered to be predisposed to fighting or making life uncomfortable for others, the university will not tolerate, and that is our emphasis here.”