Eight-year-old Osun State University (UNIOSUN) is facing its first major crisis since inception. The suspension of three principal officers, including the Vice Chancellor, Prof Bashir Okesina, by the Governing council is causing ripples in the university, reports ADESOJI ADENIYI Osogbo.
AS the visitation panel constituted by Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola to investigate the crisis at Osun State University (UNIOSUN) undertakes its assignment, an uneasy calm pervades the multi-campus institution.
Workers are unwilling to discuss the problems that have pitched the Prof. Gabriel Olawoyin, against the management – led Governing Council by the Vice chancellor (VC), Prof. Bashir Okesina.
The crisis peaked following the council’s suspension of Okesina, the registrar, Dr Julius Faniran, and the bursar, Mr Fatai Lassisi, in one fell swoop on February 3.
Before then, Olawoyin, who is also the Pro-Chancellor, had written to Aregbesola complaining about what he called Okesina’s excesses following a cold war alleged to have started in 2013. In the September 11, 2014 letter, Olawoyin accused Okesina of nepotism, insubordination to higher authority and drawing unauthorised allowances.
In his October 2, 2014 letter to the governor, Okesina denied the allegationsagainst him.
In a five-page January 22, 2015 memo titled: “Request on information on vital issues,” Olawoyin gave Okesina 72 hours to clarify actions he took on 14 issues. These down procedures include approving spending over N1 million on projects without the approval of the council and presenting programmes to the National Universities Commission without notifying the council. Aregbesola, and his deputy, Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori were copied.
The workers are divided over the VC and others suspension. Some are supporting the council; others the VC.
The national leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is supporting the VC and has condemned the council for suspending the principal officers.
Addressing a press conference in collaboration with the UNIOSUN-ASUU Chairman, Dr Oluseye Abiona, last week in Osogbo, the National ASUU President, Prof Nasir Fagge, flayed the council for setting up a committee to investigate the VC, saying in the spirit of fairness and equity, the council could not probe a case in which it is a party.
Fagge, represented by the coordinator of ASUU, Ibadan zone, and chairman, University of Ibadan branch, Prof. Segun Ajiboye, also called for immediate reversal of the indefinite suspension of the VC and others. The council, it said, acted beyond its power as contained in the law establishing the university.
The ASUU President insisted that only the visitor, Governor Aregbesola, could suspend or sack Okesina.
Rather than create a crisis in the institution, the union urged the council to focus on its role of improving workers welfare by ensuring that their salary arrears are paid to boost their morale.
He called for the status quo to remain while the visitation panel, which has four weeks to complete its assignment, does its work?
He said: “Since the crisis is between the management and the council of the university what should be done is for both parties involved in this problem to submit themselves to the visitation panel and wait for recommendations from the reports of the body. It has never happened in the history of any university that a vice chancellor was sacked by the council. The governance crisis in UNIOSUN, no doubt, is taking a dangerous dimension and what message are we sending across to the world about governance structure?
“The pro chancellor and the chairman of the governing council, Prof. Gabriel Olawoyin, is laying a bad precedent in this case. Olawoyin is diminishing UNIOSUN, the office of d Vice Chancellor and the person of Prof. Basir Okesina. What if after the conclusion of work of the visitation panel, the man was not found guilty what becomes of his person? So, ASUU is demanding immediate reversal of suspension and let the status quo ante remain while the visitation panel carries out its assignment. In the spirit of equity and fairness, the suspended vice chancellor should return to his office since the governing council is a party in the issue.
“Let the Commissioner for Education, who in this case, is the deputy governor, Chief Mrs. Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori, take over and save the university from further crisis and ensure there is sanity in the system. Let the law establishing UNIOSUN be respected.”
The press conference was attended by some ASUU leaders, including the national treasurer, Dr. Ademola Aremu; and the ASUU chairman for Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Dr. Oyebamiji Oyegoke.
However days later, the secretary and financial secretary of UNIOSUN-ASUU, Mr Wende Olaosebikan and Mr Alabi Banwo, ?addressed a press conference where they dis-credited the first one for being illegal.
They complained that the UNIOSUN-ASUU branch did not invite the national body to intervene as the matter is between the management and the council and not the concern of the workers.
Olaosebikan said: “We have read with utter disappointment in the newspapers the report of a press conference which was floated by the Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Ibadan Zone, Prof. Olusegun Ajiboye, on the suspension of the Principal Officers (VC, Registrar and Bursar) of the Osun State University by the Governing Council. Our branch of ASUU dissociates itself from the reported press conference because we had resolved at our meeting of January 20, 2015 that we would not take side in the issues concerning the Council-Administration and Government.
“We are also disappointed that the said press conference on the issues concerning our university was held without any input or clearance from our branch. We wish to state that this is not part of ASUU principle. Our branch reserves the right to know whenever the zonal or national body wishes to discuss our university on the pages of newspapers. In fact, since our branch congress had not yet reported any matter to the Zonal-ASUU, the zonal ASUU has no right to take the matter to the press. Our union is known for thoroughness in dealing with issues and we wish to state that in holding the press conference, our right as branch was grossly violated by the zonal ASUU. We are dismayed that lecturers who should face the real academic duties are now aligning with political parties and have directly turned the University to a home of partisan politics.”
The splinter group also supported the governing council’s investigation committee.
“Our University Law allows the Council to set up relevant committee/panel to investigate any staff of the University on any case of misconduct. We call attention to the fact that the Council set up an Investigation Panel on January 22, 2015 while the Visitor’s Panel of Enquiry was set up on February 4. This shows that the Council Panel predates the Visitor’s Panel. In fact, the setting up of a Panel of Enquiry by the Governor does not negate the power of the Council to conclude its own investigation of the allegations against the Principal Officers. Indeed the report of the Council Investigation Committee will hasten the operation of the Panel of Enquiry that was set up by the Governor,” Olaosebikan said.
Also among the lecturers there is now a sharp division as some are on the side of the suspended vice chancellor and others are for the council. Some of the lecturers are saying the indefinite suspension of the Vice-Chancellor by Pro-Chancellor is alien to the Nigerian System. They said that the Council can only recommend appropriate disciplinary measure against the Vice-Chancellor; that the suspension letter given to the Vice-Chancellor and signed by the Pro-Chancellor is an aberration and clearly illegal.
The lecturers, who do not wish to be named, claimed that this is so because the Pro-Chancellor is external to the university community. He does not have the power, under any law to sign the letter of suspension of the Vice-Chancellor. They said the power to sign such letter belongs to the Registrar/Ag. Registrar and Secretary to Governing Council.
They said: “It is pertinent to state that there is an established procedure in the Nigerian University System for the appointment of an Acting Vice-Chancellor whenever there is a compelling need for one. At the expiration of Prof. Sola Akinrinade’s tenure, for instance, Prof. Ganiyu Olatunde was appointed as the Acting Vice-Chancellor by the Visitor to the University, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. In 2015, the same process ought to be followed. Under UNIOSUN Law 2006, it is very clear that the Vice-Chancellor/ Ag. Vice-Chancellor shall be appointed by the Visitor upon consultation with Council. This process has been violated by Prof. Olawoyin’s led Council.”
For lecturers on the side of the council, they said they stand with the decision reached at the January 20, 2015 congress of the UNIOSUN-ASUU, where they claimed to have resolved to be neutral on the crisis. They said their immediate concerns are their welfare and their academic duties.
They said: “Our primary assignment is about teaching and research. The ranking of UNIOSUN among best universities in the country has dropped from 24 to 30 last year. It might further drop beyond that if an urgent intervention does not come to establish sanity in the system.”
Meanwhile, Prof. Jelili Oguntola Alamu has been appointed the acting vice chancellor by the Governing Council while the accountant of the university now acts as bursar and another senior office in the registry unit has taken over as the registrar. But issue being raised about the acting vice chancellor is his status. Some workers believe that Alamu would not be able to assert himself because he became a professor less than a year ago. It is feared that most of his senior professors would not want to take instruction from him.?
But with the inauguration of a visitation panel by the state government it is hoped that peace will soon return to the university because the government has charged the panel to discharge its duty without fear or favour.
The panel is chaired by Prof. Adebiyi Daramola of the Federal University of Technology, Akure. Others are: Prof. Jacob Laoye Ladipo, Prof. Omotoye Olorode (Department of Plant Science and Applied Biology, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State), Babatunde Adebayo and Mrs. O. O. Kolawole, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Innovation Science and Technology, to serve as secretary.
