The chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Prof Adeolu Akande has congratulated Governor Seyi Makinde for successfully negotiating the transfer of sole ownership of the Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomosho, to Oyo State.
In a statement released in Ibadan, Professor Akande said that the success of the initiative to have Oyo State as the sole owner of the university will bring a lasting solution to the crisis that has stiffled the development of the university in the past decades.
“It is common knowledge that LAUTECH started very well when it quickly created a niche for itself as the best state university in the country within a few years of its establishment. The university was headed for the very top but the crisis occasioned by the joint ownership of the institution stalled its remarkable progress.
“It is therefore appropriate to commend Governor Seyi Makinde for successfully negotiating the sole ownership of the university by Oyo State.
“This success is however a major challenge to restore the university to its old glory.
“It is necessary to go back to the drawing board to develop a masterplan that will quickly restore LAUTECH in its old enviable position.
“I implore the governor to undertake widespread consultation with critical stakeholders on the future of the university so that it would avoid distraction that will slow down its return to its old glory.
“The university has one of the most vibrant alumni in the country. They should be involved in drawing the future plans on the university. The host community of Ogbomosho should be involved as well, not only to ensure mutually rewarding interface of “town and gown” but also to ensure that the university benefits specifically from the industry and famous success of the illustrous indigenes of the town.
” The concept of the university should be reviewed to deterrmine whether a multi-campus strategy could help deliver on its goal to deliver tertiary education at the doorstep of the the teeming population of Oyo State. The university should consider introducing Law as a course because the indigines of Oyo States have for long been left at the mercy of federal universities while all neighbouring state universities teach the course. Efforts should be devoted to design a viable multi-stream financing for the university so that its fortune is not entirely left to the fortunes of the state government. The curricum of the university should also be reviewed to integrate virtual learning in the light of limitations to physical teaching because of the realities of Covid 19.This will also make the university reachin hundreds of thousands of students who may not have the oppurtunity of physical presence in the university due to limited admission spaces.
“I wish that the governing council to be established for the university would give a prime position to the alumni association of the university because the alumni of LAUTECH have shown an unsusal sense of community, pride and devotion to the cause of the university”, Akande who teaches Political Science at the Igbinedion University, Okada concluded.
