A former member of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso, governing council and the pioneer president of the LAUTECH alumni association, Engr. Festus Alawode has implored the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to put more inspiring efforts in solving the reccurring crises that have befell the institution.
LAUTECH has been shut down for over a year due to the inability of the owner-states to meet their financial obligations to staffs as and when due.
The institution was billed to resume last Friday but the institution’s chapters of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU and the Senior Staff Union of Universities, SSANU, have vowed not to resume until all their demands are met.
But speaking on a radio programme monitored in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, Alawode said that “it is obvious and understandably known that Senator Bola Tinubu remains a veritable resource person with verifiable and astonishing deluge of achievements, successes and accomplishments in the areas of business, politics and human resource management, as such he has all it takes to reposition and restore the glory of our university.
“He is a man with many feats, one with a midas touch who excels in all his endeavours as he has displayed it with the transformation he started in Lagos state in 1999, and we are witnesses to the consolidation and progressive approaches of all his successors in accordance with the visionary blueprint he designed which has made Lagos one of the most prosperous and largest economy in Africa.
“It is not gainsaying that he played a significant role in championing the mantra and ideology of change in the 2015 election which led to the formation of the Muhammadu Buhari led federal government, all these accolades is evidently sufficient to justify his laudatory mien as an achiever who is best fit and eminently qualified to be appointed as the Chancellor of the 27 year old university, which is not a political maneuvering or coincidence but an act of destiny to propel the institution to greater attainment in the advancement of technological innovation in today`s emerging educational world.
“I therefore plead with him to ignore the ranting, destructive criticism and derailing insults passed on him by the workers of the university and assume the status of an elder stateman which he actually is, to join forces with all the critical stakeholders to put a final match on the agelong and perennial crisis of LAUTECH, it is within his ambit and landscape to achieve the unusual in this circumstance.”
He commended the governors of Oyo and Osun states, Senator Abiola Ajimobi and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for the victorious battle of survival and continuous stability they overpowered in fulfilling the statutory obligations in their supervisory roles as visitors to the university, they have once again demonstrated the patriotic zeal and philosophy of accountability and transparency in blocking leakages and fighting the scourge of corruption through the KPMG auditing processes of world best practices for sustainability and financial management.”
He explained that “as a former council member, I can authoritatively tell you that LAUTECH has the potential capacity to sustain itself through creative mechanism and ingenuity drive on the path of the management to drive effective and transformational policies which can birth the increase in internally generated revenue, how I wish the present crop of officials can look inwards and diversify through various means available and applicable. The area of agriculture is fundamental as the university has a large expanse of land to the tune of 140,000 hectares which can bring in good fortunes in financial prosperity and serve as a research model for agro-allied conglomerates.
“One must also salute the uncompromising resilience and doggedness of the cerebral and quintessential chairman of the council who incidentally is a foundational apostle of the LAUTECH project, Prof. Oladapo Afolabi and his entire team for the active roles and complementary efforts rendered so far to arrest this ugly ravaging storm of the management/workers faceoff. Their uncommon approach with absolute sincerity and re-energized vigour to reposition our university is unique and worth commending. I also sympathize with parents and guardians most especially the students who have been at the negative receiving end of the strike, they have paid the greatest sacrifice in proferring the lasting solution which is in sight as their resumption beacons.
“My ultimate appeal is to the labour unions (ASUU, NAAT, NASU and SSANU) to come to realistic terms with the government and management in their demands, as the economic templates and realities in the country is visible and the financial contents therein encourages prudency in management of scarce and unavailable resources. It is a hard knock truth that all their demands cannot be met; hence they should always consider the future of students in their subsequent confrontation. I advise them to embrace more of dialogue and consultation in advancing their request. More pathetic is the loss of time they have subjected the students to, active for four months and yet will be remunerated for the twelve months, who will pay or compensate for the unrecoverable amount of months the students were left idle?
“Lastly, we should all partner and collaborate with one another to ensure the smooth and operational running of the university, this is a landmark task that must be accomplished by all stakeholders which has the traditional and religious institution, community leaders and host community, alumni association, labour unions, governing council, parents and students, government and the management. “I strongly believe and confess that LAUTECH will be great again and the dreams and vision of the founding fathers will not die untimely.
Source: Tribune
