GBENRO ADESINA/IBADAN
Apart from Professor Arinola Sanya, the former Deputy Vice Chancellor (Admin) of the University of Ibadan (UI), the only female contesting for the institution’s Vice Chancellor, 12 candidates Monday at the UI Trenchard Hall took turns to state how they would run the university for the next five years starting from next year if elected.
The candidates who are all professors are: the institution’s former DVC (Academic), Adigun Agbaje from Political Science and his successor, Idowu Olayinka from Geology, Olusegun Olusina Akinyinka from College of Medicine, former UI Director of Distance Learning (DLC), Francis Egbokaire, Benjamin Olakunle Fagbemi from Veterinary Medicine, Augustine Eyiwunmi Falaye from Aquaculture and Fisheries Management, David Olaleye from Virology, Oladele Babatunde Layiwola from Institute of African Studies, Ayodeji Emmanuel Oluleye from Engineering, Labode Popoola from Forest Resources Management, Oluwole Olanrewaju Adedeji from the College of Medicine, Lagos State University, (LASU) and Mupha Adekunle Kenzie Smith from Federal University of Technology, (FUTA), Akure.
While some of them said that they would consolidate the works of their predecessors, others vowed to bring radical changes for the development of the university.
Egbokahire, who never minced words as regards the change he would introduce to let the premier university reclaim its lost glory, ascribed the declining in the status of the institution to weak leadership and mismanagement of scarce resources.
He listed some of the problems facing the institution: lack of philosophical clarity, lack of intelligent framework for decision-making, loss of institutional memory, integrity deficit, limited capacity for harnessing institutional memory and collective wisdom, lack of institutional growth mindset and service orientation and high presence of intellectual timidity.
He assured that he would not leave any stone unturned in refocusing, and reforming the institution adding that restoration of the institution to the old glory would not be compromised.
Fagbemi suggested the allocation of an oil block for the Nigerian universities to be managed by the Nigerian University Commission (NUC), as a solution to the perennial funding problems of the universities.
Olayinka, noted that being the former DVC, he knew where to continue from the former administration adding that staff welfare, infrastructural development, provision of enabling environment for learning and teaching, allowing students union to operate freely, international linkage among others would be pursued very vigorously.
Former Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Oyewusi Ibidapo Obe who represented Aare Afe Babalola, the chairman of the occasion pointed out that UI should reposition itself to be able to adequately fund itself through Internally Generated Revenue adding that he was not sure if the university is actually the best in Nigeria.
“UI, the first? No problem, but I don’t know if it is the best. How do you define the concept of the best? You need to work so hard that nobody will go to any minister to talk about education in Nigeria but come to UI for policy statement. By the time this happens, then the next VC will be the VC of this great, first and best university in Nigeria”, Obe said.
The moderator, Femi Falana (SAN) said that the institution has not lived up to the expectation in terms of being the voice of the people adding that the institution should have lent its voice to the bailout the Federal Government has just given to the states that are owing their workers salaries.
He said that anyone that condemned the approval of bailout to the states should have himself or herself examined.