I would not want to say the challenges in LASU are not as a result of differences in human beings we have to deal with. Perhaps, the environment differs to some extent. We had challenges in Ikeja, but we were able surmount them because we were dealing with a smaller number of people. But here in Ojo, we are dealing with a much larger population. People are fixed in the way of doing certain things, whether they are students, teachers or non-teaching staff. In my days in the university, you could not think of going to the office of your VC. In the College of Medicine, who was I then to go to the office of the Provost? There were no reasons for it. You had to register at the time you were supposed to register. It was not for you to ask questions about your school fees or dictating how much you wanted to pay. You were even grateful for being allowed into the place.

I know a lot of things have changed. We came here in Ojo and discovered a lot of problems. We had to enforce accountability. We still have the issue of punctuality. Despite that I live close to the state secretariat, I get to work before 8:00 a.m. daily. I leave home 6:30 a.m. so that I can have the moral right to challenge whoever comes late to the office. We try to make our colleagues to be in the classrooms at the time they are supposed to be there and make scripts at the time they are supposed to mark it. I inherited a system whereby a student would tell me he was in 400 Level and had not seen any of his results from 100 Level.

We have changed the registration system in the university. We started from the departments and for the HODs to know the number of students in their departments. We have moved away from a situation whereby results were delayed for years to a situation the results have to be released within four weeks, going through a particular format and trying to minimise, if not exclude, a kind of interaction between students and lecturers at the exam time. In 2012, results were released after four weeks. In 2013, results were released after four weeks. After the January 2014 strike, we got result out in three weeks.

This administration has signed over 20,000 certificates. Once the Senate is through with the results, the certificate section is supposed to prepare the list. Of course, we require a situation where the students, particularly those in external campuses, will need to provide certain information as basic as their photographs. This is because their photographs have to be imprinted on their certificates. They have to get their clearance papers signed all over the place. Despite that we turned out the results on time, some of them still refused to do their clearance. These are parts of the problems we met, but we have been trying to clear them. I have signed the certificates of 1994. That should not be happening. Another area this administration inherited a big problem has to do with external campuses. I believe we have solved most of the problems there.

Since issues with the various unions in the school have been resolved, are the staff ready for a stable academic session?

Be that as it may, non-academic staff unions have been on ground for a long time. Also, the National Association of Technologists has been on ground as well. The academic union has been back. The students themselves are quite happy, participating in the last convocation. There are still some little issues with SSANU. But all those issues are being resolved. I just spent about two and half hours discussing with the SSANU leadership. Every person appreciates the importance of having stable academic calendar. I can tell you we have all resolved to break from the past and pursue normal and stable academic calendar.