How I Saved LASU N820m, Says 114th Inaugural Lecture, Prof. Moses Akanbi

A lecturer in the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lagos (LASU), Prof. Moses Akanbi, has revealed how he saved N820 million for the university some years ago.

He disclosed this at LASU’s 114th inaugural lecture themed: ‘The Nature of Error: Human Fallibility Versus Divine Infallibility in Computational Thought’ held at Buba Marwa Auditorium, Ojo, Lagos.

Prof. Akanbi, who presented the inaugural lecture, said he rendered the pro bono service to the university when one of the contractors asked the institution to pay N500,000 many years ago for a data-related installation, which in today’s foreign exchange amounts to N820 million.

According to him, that particular experience spurred him to come up with innovations that helped the university to overcome some of its challenges in processing and saving data.

“As a Level Coordinator for a set of mathematics undergraduates, I experienced firsthand the profound challenges plaguing our system: the burden of manual result computation, the frustration of missing grades, and the inaccessibility of results to students when they needed them most.

“Driven by a desire to solve this problem, I single-handedly began drawing out the process automation. I defined and refined the algorithm, and then actualised the coding of MACROS, SCRIPTS, and INTERFACES to: to capture the raw scores of student grades and

align student grades with course registration, thereby enforcing the registration process. This gave birth to the desktop application still in use today called the Automated Marksheet (AMS).

“The first version of this Desktop Result Processing Application was deployed and tested at the Isolo Campus of the defunct Lagos State University External Systems (LASUES). The encouragement and support from Professor Akeeb Bola Oyefolu were instrumental in this novel milestone.

“Furthermore, as the then Vice-Chancellor, Professor Akanni Hussein, of blessed memory, approved, directed, and totally supported the campus-wide use of this same Result Processing Application for full-time undergraduates, starting from the 2000/2001 academic session,” Akanbi said.

As Director, LASU Integrated Data Centre, he said he pioneered the results, admission screening solutions, and automation of some key operations in the Exams and Records Division.

He added: “My research has yielded practical solutions that continue to serve Nigerian higher education. My development of multiple software packages—including the Automated Students’ Results Package (ASRP), Students’ Total Records Application (e-STRAPP), Post UME Screening Package (PUSP), Admission Requirement App and Central Admission Screening App (CASA) – demonstrates how academic research can translate into real-world solutions that save institutions millions of naira and thousands of hours of manpower.

Earlier, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, in her welcome address, described Prof. Akanbi, as a big asset to LASU through his complex scholarly works.