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Tag: Prof Idowu Olayinka

  • Varsity Don charges newly licensed universities on mentoring

    Varsity Don charges newly licensed universities on mentoring

    Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Idowu Olayinka has warned that newly licensed institutions that failed to take mentoring from older institutions are likely to run a trial and error basis and reinvent the wheel.

    He gave the warning while playing host to the Presiding Bishop, Sword of Spirit Ministries, Bishop Francis Wale Oke who led other top management staff and officials of the newly licensed Precious Cornerstone University (PCU), Ibadan to his office.

    The UI VC while lauding the visitors for heeding the directive of the National University Commission (NUC) to allow the UI mentor the PCU noted that the UI has all that it takes to guide the new institution aright and help it avoid the challenges and obstacles it had summoned in time past.

    He said, “We are fully disposed to being the mentor of the newly established Precious Cornerstone University, Ibadan, Nigeria. It is our greatest pleasure to be the mentor of the university because we know the university has a lot of potentials and we are prepared to assist them in every way possible either in the human capacity building, governance or in other capacities.

    “Some institutions have failed to make themselves available for mentoring as directed by the NUC but such institutions would only be running on trial and error basis because UI has the experience of 70 years behind us. We have made mistakes and we have also made a lot of achievements over the years. So, the idea is for us to be able to leverage on the advantages and the achievements that we have recorded over the last 70 years and there is no point reinventing the wheel.

    “For the Precious Cornerstone University, we will let them know the good practices and the bad practices as well because we are not expected to dictate to them as that is not the intention of the National University Commission when they directed that we should be their mentor. It is just to assist them. The directive does not make the newly founded institution a subsidiary to us but I think the PCU has started on a very good note.”

    Earlier in his remarks, Bishop Oke said the institution was very excited when UI was selected as the mentor, which he described as the social responsibility arm of the church pointing out that UI was a trusted and capable hand to help the new institution become world class in line with the vision of the church.

    “We are very glad that the premier university in Nigeria is the one to mentor us. They have the resources, the capacity and the experience that we can offer and tap into and we will tap into it maximally.

    “Our expectation is that UI will give us matured guiding, they will be involved in the governing council meeting and the appointment principal officers and genuine governance of the university. Our vision is to have a world-class university and one of the criteria for that is good governance of the university.

    The church will not get involved in the governance; we will just provide the vision, the direction, and the resources. We will leave the governance in the hands of the qualified and competent professionals who know how to govern a university. That is one of the areas which we will rely on the competence and wealth of experience of UI to ensure that the stability in governance and that PCU is governed according to world class standard to get a world class result”, the cleric said.

    On the entourage of Bishop Oke, who doubles as the promoter of the newly licensed institution was his wife, Dr. Victoria Oke, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Gen. Oladayo Popoola (retired), the institution Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing  Council, Dr. Bayo Adegoke, Chairman, Strategic Implementation Committee, Prof. Timothy Adejumo and other management staff.

     

  • JAMB: ‘UI to admit 3,000 out of over 29,000 candidates’

    JAMB: ‘UI to admit 3,000 out of over 29,000 candidates’

    The Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan (UI), Prof Idowu Olayinka has said that only 3,000 candidates out of the over 29,000 who scored 200 and above in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and chose the premier university would be offered admission.

    The Vice Chancellor lamented that poor funding, infrastructure deficit, student-lecturer ratio and limitation of Hostel accommodation would not allow the University go beyond its present carrying capacity.

    Candidates who chose the university have been anxious to hear the admission guideline from the premier university since the ban on post-UTME examination which the Vice Chancellor attested had improved the quality of graduates and reduced those asked to withdraw from the University.

    While speaking on the topic “Challenges of Building a World Class University” at the 68th Interdisciplinary Research Discourse of the Postgraduate school under the Deanship of Professor Adeyinka Aderinto, Professor Olayinka noted that Nigerian government must decide if it wants her universities to be globally competitive or not by adequately funding research and fixing infrastructural deficits bedeviling them.

    While noting that without research a university is a glorified secondary school, the Vice Chancellor noted that Nigerian government should go beyond expressing ‘suspect’ regret at the ranking of her universities at public functions, rather, it should allocate more funds to revatilise teaching and research.

    The professor of Geology listed inadequate teaching and research facilities, problem of attracting and retaining top-class faculty, poor funding, overstretched infrastructure, inconsistent policy of education, inadequate suitable staff, and government attitude to education as factors affecting the global competitiveness of the university.

    “Funding is needed to make UI a world class university. A globally competitive university is that which can boast of top-class scholars with sound funding of research because without research, a university is a glorified secondary school. While our goal is to train new generation of leaders we have challenges towards achieving this. The mark of a truly world class institution is measured by what her graduates do after leaving the institution.

    “Oxford will boast that they have produced more Prime Ministers so is Harvard on world leaders. Of course UI graduates are doing well all over Nigeria but we must do more so that our graduates can be blessing to Nigeria and the global community. Nigerian leaders should go beyond feeling bad at the ranking of our universities. If UI is presently ranked 19 in Africa and the top 4 varsities are in South Africa, then Nigeria government should understudy what they do in south Africa for their universities including research grants and learning environment and infrastructure. We cannot be globally competitive without electricity. We will be more productive if power is available. We should be playing leading role in research and innovation, contribute to local and regional economies and this will drive our global competitiveness.”

    In his speech, Chairman of the occasion and former Vice Chancellor, Prof Bankole Oyediran noted that universities are the power house of knowledge designed to contribute to the development and planning through the production of innovative works, ground breaking research and high quality personnel.

    However, he noted that while it is obvious that universities and academics can play vital role in development most African countries including Nigeria declared recognition of the role of universities in national development remains mere politically correct rhetoric.

    The former VC then noted that a world class university, which by implication is research active can play vital role in regional economy and development.

  • Protest: UI suspends Matriculation ceremony

    The authorities of the University of Ibadan (UI), has suspended its planned Matriculation ceremonies for the 2015/2016 academic session earlier scheduled for Thursday.

     

    This followed the protest staged by non-academic staff union over non-remittance of deductions and unpaid agreed allowance.

     

    ‎The University of Ibadan had reportedly received shortfall from federal allocations ‎leading to problems with meeting domestic welfare issues of staff.

     

    ‎It was gathered that the shortfall of the university since November 2015 is now close to N1billion.

     

    The unions had mobilized members and shut entrance gates into the university.

     

    Reacting, Vice Chancellor University of Ibadan, Prof Idowu Olayinka said that the university management has been transparent by announcing to all unions that the university is having a shortfall in its personnel cost since December 2015, making payment of some allowances difficult.

     

    Olayinka informed that while the total personnel cost of the university is about N932million monthly, the university received N663million in December, 2015 from federal government, and N782 million in January and February 2016 respectively.

     

    While stating that it was regrettable to find the university at the present condition, Olayinka appealed to the federal government to assist the premier university in meeting her needs in order to be focused on research, capacity building and development.

     

    He noted that the allowances being clamored for by the unions amounted to about N76 million naira monthly which is outside the allocations to the university and unrealistic in view of the present financial strain facing the institution.

     

    While regretting that some students while trying to run away from the orientation venue got injured, Olayinka said it was better to have students over 3,500 safe and sound than going ahead with the matriculation and risking their lives.

     

    A major victim of the protest was the orientation programme for the new student holding at the International Conference centre of the University which was disrupted as the unions stormed the venue and switch off the power supply to the hall.

     

    While the union members moved into the hall, students who were already seated were chased out of ‎the hall with chairs turned upside down.

    The unions were protesting ‎non-remittance of deductions from salaries, and lack of democratic ethos from the University Management.

     

    The SSANU Chairman, Wale Akinremi had criticized the administrative style of the management saying it was not democratic enough asking it to be alive to the welfare of staff and remit deductions.

     

    Although the members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) were not part of the protest, it’s members had to park their vehicles outside the campus and forced to trek to their offices.

     

    As at the time of filing this report, the Vice Chancellor, Principal officers were in a meeting with security agencies on the situation.

     

  • We must invest in books for Nigeria to develop, says don

    We must invest in books for Nigeria to develop, says don

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    • Soyinka, others honour The Nation man Jeyifo at 70

    A revered don, Prof Dan Izevbaye, has said for Nigeria to develop as a nation, scholars and stakeholders must invest more in books.

    He spoke yesterday at a gathering of literary giants in Ibadan to honour one of their own, Prof Biodun Jeyifo, who celebrated his 70th birthday.

    Prof Jeyifo, a columnist with The Nation, teaches abroad.

    Many in the audience described the celebrant as a renowned scholar, teacher and a great writer.

    The event served as an opportunity for the audience to discuss the state of the literary world.

    According to him, the advent of Internet has caused a lot of damage to education, adding that it has gradually displaced the ‘pen and paper’, especially by the electronic media.

    Saying that social change is the most important thing happening in Africa in recent times, Izevbaye explained that modernisation does not happen by itself but imposed.

    He said “Formal education was introduced by the West and so its product, assumption and idea are not neutral. They have connection with colonial society and age. One of the problems of education is identity. We are forced into finding our identity as Africans.

    “I spent the last 10 years teaching undergraduates most of who are from middle class homes. These are the future leaders of Nigeria. I have one of the things I have concluded is the problem of identity. Where does it come from? Parents who don’t speak Nigerian language even though they are skilled in it. That is the impression I have about the class I taught.

    “The proverbial ‘black is beautiful’ is dead as women now wear wigs while their male counterparts wear shirts and trousers. Though there is no problem with it but it is one of the things I called problem of identity. They are children of globalisation.

    “Internet contains viruses; not the virus associated with computer. It is American and when it was given to the rest of the world, it is a Greek gift,” he noted.

    The don decried the stoppage of teaching of history in schools, defining Boko Haram insurgency as “the confrontation between the West and the Middle East but it is being fought on Nigeria soil. Africa doesn’t feature.”

    He continued: “When colonialism failed, the country had an opportunity to re-invent itself, the universities took over the assumption and ideas of colonial universities.

    “There are fine bookshops but where are people to buy the books? Are there not scholars? Are there not people who want to buy? Are they not people who want to buy and present books as gift?

    “Scholars and stakeholders, library, publishers and others should give grants to the researchers of literature. The media also has an educative influence of modernising people.”

    In his remarks, Dr Lekan Are said parents must ensure that the next generation learns to speak their native languages, “if our language dies, we are gone. Let’s teach our children how to speak our language.

    He said that contrary to misconception about Prof Wole Soyinka’s confraternity,

    “Soyinka did not start cultism. Let us maintain our culture.”

    The high point of the event was when Prof Soyinka stood up to speak. To the surprise of those who had sat quietly to listen to the Nobel laureate, he brought out a bag containing what people thought to be books.

    He brought out a bottle of white wine, saying he had been looking for an occasion to present it to someone special.

    Soyinka later brought out a jar of imported coffee and a compact disc- a recording of poems titled Mandeland.

    The celebrant was happy.

    Soyinka said:  “How BJ has done it without being jailed, I don’t know it. Anybody who still sees pirates as cultists should go have his head examined by real cultists.

    Speaking after, the elated celebrant said the last he travelled was a month ago.

    “For the first time in my life, I became superstitious. I did not want to travel. I said I don’t want to travel before I make it to 70. I have celebrated just two birthdays in my life; my 60th and this one.

    “I write the column to simplify the complexities. It has been a struggle for me to combine simplicity with profundity. Achebe was simple. It is a rare gift. The demand for social justice for our people is urgent. There is a very alarming dimension to the present dispensation in the country.

    “Change will come to our country, poverty will be substantially reduced but only if we pay attention to the demands of complexities.

    The chairman of The Nation’s editorial board, Sam Omatseye, noted that the celebrant has been the voice of the masses.

    “He has been able to de-eliticised his written works both in prose and the arts. Interestingly his language is elitist from the point of view of content but he has helped to de-elititicise his works,” he said.

    At the event were Emeriti Profs JP Clark, Ayo Banjo and Ayo Bamgbose, Prof Femi Osofisan, Prof Adebayo Williams, Prof Ropo Sekoni, Prof Molara Ogundipe, UI Vice-Chancellor, Prof Idowu Olayinka and others.