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Tag: OAU

  • ‘Why dissolution of OAU Governing Council can’t stand’

    Concerned members of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife have kicked against dissolution of the Governing Council of the varsity and suspension of the process for appointment of a substantive vice chancellor.

    According to them, the orders, contained in an advertorial last Friday, were “ill-advised, unconstitutional and subjudice.”

    In a statement yesterday, the group said it was unconstitutional to dissolve a Governing Council whose tenure has not ended or committed any established act of incompetence or corruption.

    The concerned members of the institution said: “To dissolve a properly constituted Governing Council whose tenure has not lapsed and that has not been found guilty of incompetence and corruption in the discharge of its duties as the Federal Government has done in OAU smacks of wanton disregard for extant laws.

    “It is a clear act of injustice that questions the avowed commitment of the government to the rule of law and the principles of fairness, justice and integrity.”

    They pointed outallegations that the Governing Council compromised the process of the appointment of a new vice-chancellor by Non-Academic Staff of University (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), OAU branch”are misplaced and baseless”.

    By the purported dissolution, the group said the federal government was committingthe same mistake it later admitted to”in usurping the powers of 12 Governing Councils of some federal universities by appointing VCs for them a few months ago!”

    The concerned members further stated that suspending the process for the appointment of a substantive VC until determination of the suit instituted by NASU and SSANU was not only belated but another wrong move.

    They said the process had already been concluded, stating “there is neither vacancy in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor nor is there any ongoing process for the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor in OAU.

    The group said the appointment was validated by the Federal Character Commission under the presidency, which on June 20 issued a ‘Certificate of Compliance’ to the Registrar of OAU authorising him to ‘issue a letter of appointment to Professor AyobamiTaofeek Salami as the substantive Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University’.

    They wondered how the Ministry of Education, which was duly notified, will turn around to invalidate the appointment.

    The group said: “The FG and/or the Ministry of Education cannot directly or indirectly exercise the power it does not constitutionally have to nullify or put on hold the appointment of Prof. Salami,” insisting only a court can upturn the appointment of Salami.

  • The misplaced jubilation in OAU

    The misplaced jubilation in OAU

    Dr. Wole Adediran

    It gives me great shock to read that the Federal Government of Nigeria under the respected leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the disbandment of the Governing Council of Obafemi Awolwo University.

    Clearly, this action is illegal and evidently inconsistent with the extant laws governing Federal universities, the constitution and dissolution of their Governing Councils and their responsibilities and functions.

    For example, the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act 2003, otherwise called the Universities Autonomy Act No. 1, 2007 and the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act 2012 spell out clearly the point at which the Visitor to the federal universities can dissolve a Governing Council. Precisely, Section 2A of the Principal Act as amended provides that, ‘The Council so constituted shall have a tenure of four years from the date of its inauguration provided that where a Council is found to be incompetent and corrupt it shall be dissolved by the Visitor and a new Council shall be immediately constituted for the effective functioning of the University’.

    The Governing Council of OAU under the leadership of Prof. Rowland Ndoma Egba was constituted in March 2013. Its tenure has not expired. Two, there has not been any confirmed case of incompetence or corruption against the Prof. Egba-led Council. So, how could the Federal Government say it has dissolved it? Doubtlessly, this is a clear case of misinformation. The Federal Government was wrongly advised. And since it acted in error, the fact is that the Governing Council of OAU remains intact and valid until its tenure expires.

    Moreover, the statement credited to the Chairman of the Non-Academic Staff Union, OAU Branch, Mr. Wole Odewum, that the appointment of Prof. Ayobami Salami as the Vice-Chancellor has been nullified is false. The Governing Council in following the procedure established for the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor had on June 6 announced the appointment of Prof. Salami as the Vice-Chancellor to take over from Prof. Bamitale Omole whose tenure expired on June 23. The process that produced Prof. Salami was flawless and consistent with the provisions of extant laws.

    Therefore, neither the Visitor nor the Federal Ministry of Education can nullify the appointment. It is a misinformation to tell the public that Prof. Salami is not the substantive Vice-Chancellor of OAU. He is the validly substantive Vice-Chancellor and his five-year tenure started on the June 24, 2016. The Federal Government has no power to appoint an Acting Vice-Chancellor when a duly appointed one is in place. To do so is to breach the law and cause chaos.

    The jubilation of the workers who have no patience to allow the court to decide the case they took to it is misplaced and unwarranted, for the Federal Government’s decision is illegal and unconstitutional.

    Dr. Adediran writes from OAU, Ile-Ife.

  • I have repositioned OAU, says ex- VC

    I have repositioned OAU, says ex- VC

    AFTER a five-year stint, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Vice-Chancellor, Prof Bamitale Omole bowed out Thursday.  He attributed his success to purposeful and accountable leadership.

    Omole, who assumed office on June 23, 2011 as 10th VC of the Ile-Ife, Osun State based institution, gave glory to God “for  the peace and industrial harmony that prevailed on the campus and which paved the way for the unprecedented infrastructure development and breakthroughs in our research efforts”.

    Giving account of his stewardship, he recalled that in his inaugural speech, he promised to reinsert and reposition OAU into the intellectual market of the 21st century as a world class university in Africa. Five years after, he said in his report: “It is my great pleasure to say that my administration has gone beyond the targets that we set for ourselves.

    “Through purposeful and focus research activities, the ranking of Obafemi Awolowo University improved tremendously, such that the university was, for four consecutive years (2011-2015), rated as the best and number one (1) university in Nigeria and the fifth (5th) best in Africa by the Cybermetric Labs in Spain, a leading assessor in global ranking of universities”.

    Omole explained that with the ranking, the OAU moved from number six in Nigeria and number 79 in Africa. This is a reflection of our commitment to sustain the cherished academic heritage of our university, he said.

    On research outcomes, he said the university during his tenure developed a road map for boosting the institution’s image through cutting edges. OAU, he said, introduced five professional M.Sc. degree courses in Geosciences programmes; won $8 million World Bank grant for establishing the Knowledge Park; acquired state- of -the –art online access to top-rated journals and improved funding for research activities.

    Other achievements recorded by the Omole administration were acquisition of the high-tech equipment Variant Mercury 200 NMR Spectrometer for the Central Science Laboratory; installation of a telepresence studio with cloud computing environmental, first of its kind in Nigeria and establishment of quality assurance and monitoring committee.

    In furtherance of the determination  to make Information and Communication Technology (ICT) the fulcrum of the school’s development,  it increased the bandwith from 39 Mbps as at October 2011 to 800 Mbps as at last April. This, according to Omole, makes OAU the leading university in bandwith among Nigerian universities.

    The former vice chancellor noted that throughout his tenure, the university did not lose a session because of the support he enjoyed from the school community. He urged staff and students to extend the same cooperation, commitment and loyalty to his successor.

  • Workers protest continues in OAU

    Workers protest continues in OAU

    Workers of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, under the aegis of Non-Academic Staff Union and Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, yesterday continued their protest.

    They organised a protest to mark the exit of the outgoing Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bamitale Omole, who will complete his tenure today.

    On Wednesday, they protested non-payment of their allowances and alleged imposition of a new Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ayobami Salami, which they claimed was illegal because of alleged manipulation of the process that produced him.

    The unions started the strike on June 6.

    They noted that the protest and strike action were to enable the university authorities accede to their demands.

    The protesters, who carried a mock coffin of Omole round the university campus, were singing unprintable songs against the outgoing vice chancellor, describing his tenure as “oppressive and corrupt”.

    The protesters, who adorned white dresses,  said their choice of white attire was to show that they were not mourning, but rejoicing the exit of Omole.

    But Prof. Salami may not resume in office today as scheduled because of the protest.

    Also yesterday, the OAU SSANU chairman, Comrade Ademola Oketunde, appealed to President Muhammed Buhari to intervene in the crisis.

    He implored the Federal Government to investigate alleged injustice in the university during the tenure of Omole.

    Oketunde said: “We are full of joy that after being in bondage over the past five-year, Omole is going. We have to celebrate his exit and pray not to have a VC like him again.  We have lost confidence in both the university management and even the Governing Council.

    “We call on the President to intervene by appointing an acting VC. The FG should set up an investigative panel that is not biased and also extend the war against corruption  to OAU.”

     The OAU NASU chairman, Comrade Wole Odewunmi, insisted that the union would not dialogue on matters relating to appointment of the new VC.

  • OAU shut over workers’ protest

    OAU shut over workers’ protest

    THE Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State yesterday was shut down following workers protest over appointment of the institution’s new vice chancellor, Prof. Ayobami Salami.

    Workers of the OAU under the aegis of Non Academic Staff of Universities (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (SSANU) till yesterday intensified their protest over non-payment of allowances and alleged imposition of a vice-chancellor despite the “no-work, no-pay” threat by the university’s authorities.

    The workers, who claimed that the new vice chancellor’s appointment was illegal, vowed to stop him from resuming office tomorrow.

    The authorities shut down the university less than two days to the expiration of the tenure of the outgoing vice chancellor, Prof. Bamitale Omole.

    In a public announcement, monitored on Ife-based radio station, the university’s Registrar, Dotun Awoyemi, explained that the closure was to ensure the safety of students and staff.

    He said: “We have shut down the university indefinitely pending the time that we will resolve issues with our workers – NASU and SSANU. We have asked our newly students to go home and postponed the resumption of old students indefinitely.”

    The old students of the university are expected to resume next week after a two-month break.

    But the national leadership of the Non Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) yesterday dissolved the leadership of the university (OAU) branch.

    The National Executive in a June 21 letter cited continued violation of the union’s constitution in the ongoing crisis over the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor for the institution as the reason for the sack.

    It accused the branch leadership of carrying out protest and industrial action without the permission of the national leadership, adding that it acted in disregard to its earlier plea for leniency in a recent meeting with the General Secretary at its Ibadan liaison office.

    The letter, signed by the General Secretary, A. Adeyemi, said the dissolution of the Executive takes effect from June 20.

    It directed the leadership of the OAU branch to hand over properties in their care to branch financial secretary.

  • OAU workers petition EFCC to probe VC

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria University (SSANU), and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU), Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU), chapters have petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of corruption against the outgoing Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof Bamitale Omole.

    Omole was accused of “extra-budgetary expenses, unlawful appointments, misappropriation of funds, and corruption” in a petition signed by Comrades Ademola Oketunde and Wole Odewumi, Chairmen of SSANU and NASU.

    Omole was accused of “awarding of NUGA games contract meant for construction of tracks at a reverse bid of N149 million from the N191 million, which made the Chairman of the bidding Committee resign.

    “Misappropriation of over N5 billion Needs Assessment funds without the approval of the University Budgetary Monitoring Committee, running down the OAU Teaching and Research Farm, Fraudulent underpayment of all workers of the university by a sum equivalent to 7.5 per cent, allocation of  university land to an individual (Mrs Cynthia Amoru)” among others.

    The petitioners urged the EFCC to investigate the outgoing Vice-Chancellor without further delay.

    However, the Public Relation Officer of the university, Abiodun Olarewaju described the allegations as baseless, stressing that only the court of law can convict Omole of corruption.

    “Prof Omole is still innocent until the court proves otherwise. If they have enough evidence to show they can go ahead and invite anybody to instigate our VC. We shall be pleased with the outcome of the investigation of the anti-graft agencies.” he said

    Olarewaju described Prof Omole as an “incorruptible, upright and God fearing man, who operates the university with an open administration.”

  • OAU: ASUU disagrees with SSANU, NASU over new VC

    OAU: ASUU disagrees with SSANU, NASU over new VC

    Some industrial unions of the Obafemi Awolowo University have kicked against the appointment of the institution’s new Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ayobami Salami.

    But the university’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday described the process that produced him as free, fair and transparent.

    ýASUU thus disagreed with Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU.)ý

    At an interactive session at the OAU ASUU’s secretariat, its chairman, Dr. Caleb Aborisade, disclosed that there was a signed agreement in 2009 between the Federal Government and the ASUU on the appointment of universities’ vice-chancellors.

    ýSpeaking particularly on OAU, he said the appointment of the vice-chancellor was advertised and published in major national dailies where, according to him, the selection process was clearly stated.ý

    Aborisade said that the university’s Governing Council and the Senate with the committee set up for the new appointment of the Vice-Chancellor also stated, in accordance with the selection procedure, that a contestant must have been a professor for at least 10 years.

    ýHe averred that unions’ role in the appointment of a new vice-chancellor was clear enough, saying that it was discussed by the congress that the current university autonomy does not factor a direct role for ASUU in the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor.ý

    “I don’t know why Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU)ý are faulting the process and procedure for the appointment of the new VC,” he wondered.

    Meanwhile, the non-teaching staff of the university, including SSANU and NASU had kicked against the procedure for the selection and appointment of the new VC.

    The protesters on Tuesday shut the gate of the institution following the announcement of the appointment of the new VC, thereby paralysing academic activities on campus.

    They alleged that the new VC was sponsored to replace the outgoing Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bamitale Omole, to cover his misdeeds in office.

    The workers further alleged that Prof. Omole has mismanaged the university’s funds

  • OAU Non-Teaching staffs protest over new VC’s appointment

    OAU Non-Teaching staffs protest over new VC’s appointment

    All activities at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife were paralysed on Wednesday when the non-teaching staffs of the university locked down the instituton to protest over the appointment of the new vice chancellor, Prof Ayobami Taofeek Salami for the Institution despite court order restraining it.

    The Governing Council of the OAU had on Tuesday announced the appointment of Professor Ayobami Salami as the new vice chancellor of the institution.

    Vehicular movement came to a halt and was disrupted causing traffic gridlock for over three hours within the institution.

    The protest which is the second in less than a week was started around 8:30 am, which was led by the Chairman of Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, (SSANU), Comrade Ademola Oketunde and Chairman Non Academic Staff Union of Universities, (NASUy, Comrade Wole Odewumi.

    The two union leaders expressed shock at the violation of court order by by the Governing Council.

    The protest started in February this year when eligible candidates were signifying interest in the post of the new VC which became vacant on the 23rd of this month.

    The protest after some hours turned to a prayer session where they were calling for God’s intervention.

    The union members also later staged their protest to the house of the VC, which was alleged to have been renovated with N150 million.

    Addressing the it’s members, Comrade Oketunde described the appointment of Prof Salami as the new VC of the university as a ‘contempt of court order’.

    “We started this protest since Tuesday when we heard that the university governing council has appointed a new VC without waiting for the court judgement we filled against them. ‎The court has ordered them not to appoint any VC until they give their judgement but they went ahead to fault this order” he said

    Oketunde disclosed that the union has filled a contempt of court against the university management and it’s governing council, adding that the case will be for hearing on Friday.

    Efforts of the outgoing VC, Prof Bamitale Omole and the Chairman of the Institution’s Governing Council, Prof Ndoma Egba to douse the tension, were not successful,

    However, Public Relations Officer, OAU,Aiodubn Olanrewaju said the guidelines for appointment of the new VC was never violated.

    Olarewaju noted that the institution’s council followed due process and ensured transparency in‎ the appointment of Prof Salami as the new VC.

  • OAU Art conference organisers call for papers

    OAU Art conference organisers call for papers

    The Dean, Faculty of Arts, Obafemi  Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State, has called for papers from intending participants at the institution’ Annual International Faculty of Arts Conference billed for  September 25 to 28 at the Oduduwa Hall. The theme of the conference is: Humanities and the Discourse of Poverty in Developing Countries.

    A statement by the faculty said papers may also be submitted on other issues of poverty, which include, but are not necessarily limited to the following sub-themes: conceptual and theoretical clarifications on the meaning of poverty, rethinking the causes and effect of poverty in developing countries, writing histories from the perspective of the poor: new methodological challenges to historians, poverty and development.

    Keynote speakers expected at the conference are Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Jos, Prof. Tor Irakpu, and  Prof. Rufus Taiwo Akinyele Department of  History and Strategic Studies, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos while lead paper presenters are Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Prof. Adebola Babatunde Ekanola, and Dr. Atinuke Adenike Olayade, Department of Music, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State.

    Abstracts of about 250 words, which must address any one of the subthemes, should be sent to any of these email addresses: remiade@oauife.edu.ng;mykemusic90@gmail.com; akinmakande@yahoo.com;or motunji@gmail.com, before June 30. Acceptance/invitation letters will be issued on submission of abstracts by prospective participants. Participants will also be furnished with details of accommodation facilities, transportation, and any other relevant information.

     

  • As OAU gets set to have a new VC

    As OAU gets set to have a new VC

    Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, is getting set to have a new Vice-Chancellor, as its incumbent, Professor Idowu Bamitale Omole, rounds off his five-year tenure. The worry, however, is not the transition but the prognosis of the university’s condition over the course of the next five years under the next leadership.

    Here is a fifty-four-year-old university with, doubtless, some of the most beautiful modernist architectural structures on any African campus. Here is a university that prides itself on the pursuit of ‘educational and cultural excellence’, on the twin purposes of ‘learning and culture’—although its students would sometimes rather say, caustically, ‘learning and torture’. Here is a university which, as at2015, was reported to be the best Nigerian university for four years running. Here is a university with the soubriquet ‘Great Ife’.

     

    What makes this university, for all its potential for greatness, suffer? Infighting. The [twisted] Marxist ideologies brandished by the political proportion of the students (some of whom are surprisingly capable of troublemaking of the reprehensible ‘Oshodi Under Bridge’ style) clash with the iron-lipped illiberalism of the management. Student unionism is therefore proscribed, putting an end to the possibility of dissent, of debate, of dialogue. A student’s studies suffer because their supervisor is at loggerheads with their head of department.  The medical doctors and the medical laboratory scientists are in a near-daily war of attrition, a supremacy battle; the teaching hospital is brought to a simmer. Junior and/or younger lecturers brimming with ideas worth testing are persecuted by the old guard…

    What makes this university, for all its potential for greatness, suffer? Pride. Not all called ‘Great’ are indeed great, nor does greatness come by chanting ‘Another Great Ife is a counterfeit / Great, great, great, great, great!’ but it appears ‘Great Ife’ has yet to understand this. It squints at research done in some other universities as though they were altogether insignificant. Your Master’s degree obtained at some other universities within and even outside Nigeria may, to the mind of ‘Great Ife’, not be up to par. Therefore, you may not be admitted into a doctorate degree programme straightway, but may have to register for another Master’s degree programme in your field in order to ‘understand the terrain’ of this seemingly cash-strapped, clearly underequipped university. And it seems the more time you spend floundering about in your research, the more ‘qualitative’ it is, in relation to research done in universities where duration of study is strictly stuck to and quality of work done respected.

    The incoming vice-chancellor (either the one the incumbent authorities are widely believed to prefer or the one the federal government will finally appoint) has work to do—if s/hewill recognise this. Otherwise, this university, which has lately slumped to a distant third place behind the Old Lady, University of Ibadan, and the fiery comet, Covenant University, will plummet deeper than it already has, and it does not need all of the next five years to hit new lows.

    • G. Fadekemi Soyinka-Forsyth,

    Victoria Island, Lagos.