For four good years, the vice- chancellor of the university of Ilorin, Prof Abdul Ganiyu Ambali, had a smooth and peaceful reign.
But the last leg of his five-year tenure has been characterised by controversy which is now threatening the peace of the university reputed for its stable academic calendar. For 17 years now, the “Better By Far” university has enjoyed unbroken academic calendar and this has earned it the title of the most preferred university by admission seekers.
The prevailing peaceful environment and the stable academic calendar had also helped greatly in attracting infrastructure ,from both the federal government and private investors into the 42 years old institution.
The latest crisis which started like a child’s play about two months ago has snowballed into a major crisis, with both sides in the crisis scrambling for spaces in the print media to tell their stories.
Two factors -the lingering Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) crisis and succession struggle are responsible for the latest crisis rocking the university.
The struggle by a faction of ASUU in the university to toe the line of the national body in the administration of the university had pitched members of the faction led by Dr Kayode Afolayan against the management.
The institution’s management has continued to recognize the Dr AbduRahim – led ASUU said to have majority of the academic staff in its fold.
The face-off between the Afolayan’s faction of ASUU was said to have led to the suspension of some academic staff by the management. Though, the VC had attributed the punitive measure taken against the concerned academic staff to behaviours that run contrary to the rules and regulations of the university.
The VC specifically blamed the campaign against him on succession struggle as his tenure will come to an end in September, this year.
“The campaigns are aimed at ushering me out with ignominy instead of saying thank you for the service rendered, they would say ‘who told you to do all this?’ that to me is not the best way,” he said.
Ambali added that the bashings were calculated attempts to smear the reputation the university had garnered over the years.
On the last year expulsion of UNILORIN by the national ASUU, the vice chancellor said: “They told every university in Nigeria not to associate with us. That in all academic and social matters all other universities in Nigeria should boycott us; that we thought, was not a wise decision because in matters pertaining to education we should be liberal and allow everybody to interact at whatever levels and exchange academic materials."
“UNILORIN over the last 17 years has been doing things slightly different from the rest of other universities in the country. Though the national Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expelled us from its fold, we have used that time to look inward and focus attention to our tripartite mandate of teaching, research and community service.”
Corroborating the VC, the head of the institution’s corporate affairs directorate, Kunle Akogun described the tirade railed on the university as “an unwarranted, unsubstantiated beer parlour gossip and an undiluted assault on its principal officers”.
Akogun noted that the publication “is a mere recap of the documents that the wailing remnants of the notorious ‘Unilorin 49’ had been circulating against the management of the University for some time now.
Also, the Nigerian Transparency Network, a Non Governmental Organisation based in Kwara state has absolved Professor Abdulganiyu Ambali of allegations of maladministration and fraud published against him and his administration after due investigations into the matters.
The NGO, dedicated to promotion of good leadership qualities in a statement issued in Ilorin titled, ”Unilorin-An Ivory Tower of Excellence”, jointly signed by its Chairman and Secretary Emman Nwachukwu and Nurudeen Ibrahim respectively condemned the campaign of calumny against the VC .
It appealed to, “the citizens of the country to always be patriotic and refrain from being allowed to be used for destructive mission as the end is usually disastrous for the originators and their collaborators”
According to the statement, the publication against Professor Ambali and his administration is ,”the product of the gang-up of these ill-motivated individuals and just a trash that was aimed at blackmailing, intimidating and harrassing the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Abdulganiyu Ambali who has not only successfully sustained the legacy of his predecessors, but advanced on them to the admiration of all”
The Nigerian Transparency Network after investigations also claimed that the outgoing vice chancellor executed 60 projects, in addition to those that are about to be completed.
It ,however, added that, “these projects were executed brilliantly at minimal costs to achieve the vision and mission statements of the university”.
The statement particularly noted that the two helmsmen disparaged in the publications, Professor Abdulganiyu Ambali and Professor Ish’aq Oloyede his predecessor should be commended for prudent management of scarce resources, having achieved so much in the area of physical development that is unprecedented in the university’s history.
Source: Leadership
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