Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPOST), Professor Joseph Ajienka says those who are real teachers in life do not retire because they continue to be involved in teaching till they die.
He made the assertion recently at a valedictory session in honour of six retiring professors of the university.
They are Professors Emamena Akama (Department of Religious and Cultural Studies, Reginald Moro (Department of Economics) and Samuel Ibodje (Department of Political and Administrative Studies).
Others are Mark Anikpo (Department of Sociology), Levi Amajor (Department of Geology) and Hyacinth Dike (Department of Educational Technology and Curriculum Development).
Speaking at the well-attended event, the vice chancellor, who expressed gratitude to the retirees for their immeasurable services to the university, described them as inspirational figures.
He said they “have duly paid their rents for the academic spaces they occupied for so long in the UNIPORT, saying that “the university is  proud to have these quality of scholars in its midst”.
Professor Ajienka, who refered to the six professors as “academic generals”, extolled their academic and administrative qualities which, he said, enabled them to make significant contributions to the development of the university and the larger society.
While encouraging them to continue to be active in other areas of their academic lives after retirement, he noted that they cannot truly retire as academicians.
“A true teacher does not really retire. He is a teacher for life. As long as the intellect is active, we must find ways of engaging in meaningful activities to keep the intellect warm”, the VC said.
On how to keep themselves busy, Ajienka, who is  the 7th VC of UNIPORT encouraged them to join and lead research teams to mentor and give direction to young academics.
This, he said, will attract national and international grants, as well as focus on their main area of academics through organising short courses, applied technology workshops for the industries, authoring books and engaging more in community services to enrich society.
In their separate speeches at the occasion Emeritus Professor Nimi Briggs, Professors Michael Oti (Department of Geology) and Wellington Wotogbe-Weneka, (Department of Religions and Cultural Studies) eulogise the contributions of the retirees being among those who formed the foundation of academic staff of the university.
They described the retiring Professors as “unassailable” academic giants, who made enormous personal sacrifices to stabilise the university in those early days”.
While responding on behalf of the honorees, Professor Amajor expressed gratitude and advised younger colleagues to work harder in order to place the university on high pedestal.