For good four years, the vice- chancellor of the university of Ilorin, Prof AbdulGaniyu 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.
Little wonder, the university’s management blamed a newspaper’s publication which exposed the alleged maladministration going on in the institution on saboteurs within the university’s community.
The VC specifically blamed the campaign against him on succession struggle as his tenure will come to an end in September, this year.
At a news conference in his office, Ambali said that the recent criticisms of his administration over some alleged malfeasances are aimed at ushering him out of the seat with ignominy.
The professor of veterinary medicine, accused a faction of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the university of being the brain behind his ordeal.
“So I won’t be surprised as I have been told that it is the tradition of some people, whenever the tenure of a vice chancellor is coming to an end they embark on smear campaigns against him.
“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.
Said he: “To me the rising tempo of attacks on my administration is a wrong approach to succeed in life. If you want the seat of the vice chancellor, there are laid down procedures by government. You don’t destroy somebody in order to occupy his place. You can as well be a fellow good passenger in the bus, so that the bus can get to its destination safely and peaceful and all of you can disembark and go home. But by destroying the same vehicle you want to use to get to your own destination as well nobody will get there.
“And now the latest option is to put our reputation at stake by defaming the famous university of Ilorin and demystifying all the reputation we have garnered over the years. All the allegations that are going round are calculated at undermining all the 17 years of uninterrupted academic calendar the university has earned. That has also undermined all the good and hardworking staff of the university.
“That to me is very unfortunate. In any democratic setting there should be room to allow some idiosyncrasies; allow people to be slightly different and do something different from the majority of the people, so that we can appreciate the skills and talents God has given everybody.
“If you could recollect that same week we had great challenges at the same time. We had the fire incident at out plantation; the CBT crisis and the write-ups all geared towards putting one into confusion to see whether he would not break. I inherited a peaceful university and by the grace of God I will leave the university better than I inherited it. We are on course. We have tremendous growth of the university.”
On the last year expulsion of UNILORIN by the national ASSUU, 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 allowed 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.
“The university, in the pursuit of its quest for academic excellence and the highest standards of morals and discipline, has always strived to enforce strict standards without minding whose ox is gored. If, in the pursuit of these ideals we have stepped on certain toes of some entrenched interests, so be it and there is no apology for that. The University assures all stakeholders that it would continue, at all times, to pursue those ideals that have made Unilorin the University of first choice among Nigerians”.
Advising journalists to be wary of enemies of progress, who are bent on using them to settle personal scores, the University pointed out that “it is this type of de-marketing of the higher educational institutions in Nigeria by selfish, unpatriotic hack writers that has, in the past, driven thousands of hapless Nigerian youths to seek admission in other countries like Ghana and even Benin Republic and Togo, where they are being assailed with substandard education while also being fleeced of scarce resources and the nation’s economy being drained of foreign exchange!”
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”
“Those embarking on destructive publications are doing so for selfish and materialistic interest. Their diabolical and unpatriotic acts demonstrate ill -wind and retrogression, “it added.
The statement also stated that, “the stock in trade of these mindless people is to pursue ethnic and religious interests, the negative attitude of which they have been used to, especially whenever any helsman is winding up his tenure in the university of Ilorin”
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”.
It further listed academic advancement as another core achievement, saying that, “a new brand of Faculty of Environmental Services was established, in addition to two other faculties i.e Life Science and Management services excised from the old faculty of science as well as new Faculty established purely for business and Social sciences.
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.