It is no longer a piece of breaking news for a keen follower of happenings within Oyo State that, ever since the Governing Council of The Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa dissolved the entire management team and suspended the institution’s rector, Mr Iyiola Eyitayo, for the past three months, the institution has been managed by people in their ‘acting’ capacities.
In light of the foregoing,when engaged one on one,the students of the institution have been complaining that there have been little or no progress in the affairs of the institution. Why we commend the steadfastness of the acting management team, there is need for the state government to either permanent the management team by removing the word ‘acting’ from their respective titles or bring in some competent new faces to paddle the canoe of the institution to a progressive destination.
Why some academically competent persons within the hierarchy of the institution have been jostling around for the number one office in the institution, some equally competent hands who are not presently in the employ of the institution should be given consideration. Amongst these silent but admirable intellectual gurus is Dr Yemisi Oyetunji Obalowo.
WHO IS DR YEMISI OYETUNJI OBALOWO?
Dr Yemisi Oyetunji Obalowo was born into the family of Pa Emmanuel Adekanmbi Obalowo of Baale Oya’s Compound,Oke-Oba,Eruwa on 6th day of June, 1960. He started his academic journey at Baptist Model Primary School, Maya before he proceeded to the famous Obaseeku High School,Eruwa where he graduated in 1979.
In furtherance to his career he proceeded to Oyo State College of Education, Ilesha(Wesley Campus Ibadan) in the year 1981 and earned a certificate in History/Economics in the year 1984. In his quest for knowledge,he proceeded to Ogun State University(now Olabisi Onabanjo University) Ago-Iwoye in the year 1987 and graduated in 1990 with a certificate in B.A Ed Guidance and Counselling. Ever diligent and restless,he enrolled for his masters at the University of Nigeria, NSUKKA and earned a certificate in M.Ed Guidance and Counselling.
As a result of his thirst for knowledge, in the year 2004, he earned his Ph.D in Guidance and Counselling from the same Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoyi. Dr Yemisi Obalowo has written widely on different topics in his field. He has two published textbooks: Career Education for Secondary Schools $ Comprehensive Study and Adjustment Techniques for Academic Performance) co-authored by Dr S.A Ojekunle and Dr A.T Akinwale and numerous journals,amongst which are Examination Malpractices and the consequences,Treating truancy amongst students,Enterprenurial Skills and the new curriculum,Career activities and list of related courses in ortistic humanities of management sciences,Using workshop skills to assist students who are drug addicts,etc,etc for no one can count the sands of achievement in the sea of his crowded career.
REASONS WHY DR YEMISI OBALOWO IS THE BEST CANDIDATE FIT FOR THE JOB
In a country like ours where academics,demoralized by the conditions of our tertiary institutions, migrate in droves to other countries in search of greener pastures,only a few people like Dr Yemisi Obalowo have refused the beautiful temptation,the urge and mouth-watery offer on each occasion it presents itself to him.
Dignity and self-reliance take centre stage in his academic journey. He believes that maladministration in our tertiary institutions in Nigeria is not a curse but a disease which has a cause,therefore,a cure.
First and above all, having spent more than twenty-five years of his life as a teacher of repute within the nooks and crannies of academic environments, contrary to what could be the opinion of the masses, Dr Yemisi Obalowo’s antecedent has clearly vindicated him as a complete academics who understands the psychology and challenges of students,networking among lecturers and the general working conditions of the institution as well as viable solutions to the problems bedeviling the growth of the institution.He knows that the Nigerian Polytechnic system today is like a tree being simultaneously chopped at the root while the gardeners keep on wondering why it is not yielding its best fruits.
Thus, Dr Obalowo will not only give The Ibarapa Polytechnic a new name to reckon with,but also a new vibre, energy,a new vision and a path of articulate conviction which will point unequivocally to a new direction. Second, having served as a member of board of The Ibarapa Polytechnic,Eruwa for close to two years and taking a cursory look at the series of intellectually-stimulating and mind-blowing contributions he made at the board meetings,it is no gainsaying that the man knows where the shoe pinches us and is more than fit for the daring administrative tasks that lie ahead of the institution.
In conclusion,in a world where diplomatic double-talk has become an outstanding attribute among academics, Dr Yemisi Oyetunji has proved himself as a maverick who never bends the truth along the elbow. He is a quiet, tenacious scholar who commands respect without demanding it, a conscious intellectual never scared of making critical interventions at crucial moments. If the opportunity is given to a competent and credible person like Dr Yemisi Obalowo, then Ibarapa Polytechnic is set to be an institution for moulding minds whose visions will shape a saner and better Nigeria of our dream.
Olanrewaju Adewale is a political analyst and commentator. He writes from Akobo, Ibadan.
