Registrar of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Dr Kayode Akindele Ogunleye, has said he never expected the level of development he met in the university on assuming duty as the chief Administrative Officer in February.
He said the level of infrastructural and innovative developments surprised him, because he never expected they could be so pronounced.
Ogunleye said the picture painted by the university, which has been engulfed in ownership and funding crisis for years, was not as bad as the reality on ground.
“When I was initially appointed as LAUTECH Registrar and I went to the meeting of Registrars of Nigerian Universities, my colleagues were asking funny questions like if l knew what l was venturing into.
“However, I made them to know that there was more of negative news about the university than positive and that their insinuation was wrong,” he said.
Ogunleye, who until his appointment as Bowen Registrar in 2014 was a Deputy Registrar in LAUTECH,, added that he could remember that he did not want to apply when he saw the advertisement because, he was also affected by the negative news about the institution.
He added that he eventually put in his application due to the words of encouragement he received from the Vice-Chancellor of Bowen University, Prof Joshua Ogunwole.
“I did not want to apply because the negative news affected everybody and I said I would not apply. However, when I told the VC of Bowen, Prof Joshua Ogunwole, he said: ‘Kayode, you must go. Go and do the interview. You know when it comes to technology, we respect that university. A lot of us know that university has potential. You must go. You have something to do there.’”
The Ogbomoso-born registrar said recently, some influential people he least expected called him, saying they wanted to bring their children to the university, requesting for assistance with admission.
He said the large number of candidates, who chose LAUTECH as their first and second choices in the on-going admission for the 2019/2020 academic session and wrote the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) recently conducted by the university, was a good testimony that the dark days were over in the university.
Ogunleye further disclosed that, even in terms of academic calendar, LAUTECH is well above majority of renowned universities in the country, noting that the 2018/2019 academic session would be rounded off before the end of September.
The Registrar lauded the proactive measures of the two-owner state governments of Oyo and Osun, which he said had really doused tension in the institution.
He noted that the dream of the university under the leadership of the Vice-Chancellor, Professor M. O. Ologunde, is to transform it to a laudable standard.
“Such institution includes the “I Will Give” programme which was initiated to help your neighbour in any way you can. I WILL GIVE is an innovative platform to expand domestic financing from organised philanthropy, community giving and corporate social responsibility. If I could join such organisations to help people in other communities across West Africa, why should I not bring such help to my own people?,” Omisore explained.