Ripples over the establishment of the College of Agricultural Science and Renewable Natural Resources of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso (LAUTECH), in Iseyin may take another dimension with some indigenes of Ogbomoso spooling to stage a protest over the state government’s decision today.
A jingle credited to Ogbomoso Parapo Agbaje had circulated over the weekend calling on all the indigenes of the Ogbomoso to join a peaceful protest in the town on Monday, starting from Ogbomoso Town Hall, Oja’gbo, against the establishment of the new campus of LAUTECH at Iseyin.
The jingle had called on artisans, market men and women, Igbo, Fulani, Hausa, and Igede communities in Ogbomoso to join the protest, arguing that the economy and business of the town will be adversely affected by the Agric faculty being relocated to Iseyin.
Monday’s protest, if it holds as planned, would be a sequel to an earlier protest by the LAUTECH chapter of the Federation of Ogbomoso Students Union (FOGSU), where the protesters questioned what will become of the infrastructure at the mother campus of the faculty of agriculture.
The protesters had then also claimed that the resumption of academic activities in LAUTECH Iseyin Satelite Campus will hinder the economic progress of Ogbomosho.
They had urged Governor Seyi Makinde to suspend the relocation and rather develop new faculties for the Iseyin campus rather than transfer the existing ones to Ogbomoso.
Controversies had been rife since the governor pronounced the possible takeoff of the LAUTECH College of agric in Iseyin before the end of the year, with some for and others against the decision.
Speaking on Monday’s planned protest, the chairman of, the ad-hoc committee of the Iseyin community on the establishment of the LAUTECH Agric College, Honourable Waheed Olaniyan, said that the take-off of the college, as pronounced by Governor Seyi Makinde, was sacrosanct.
He stated this on Saturday during the handover of land for the construction of 250-seater capacity Information and Communication Technology (ICT) center to a special team from the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) and the contractor of the project.
Olaniyan described the planned protest by some people in Ogbomoso against the establishment of the campus as being in bad taste.
He argued that LAUTECH belonged to all the communities that make up Oyo State and not Ogbomoso alone.
Olaniyan said: “We heard that some people are planning to protest on Monday at Ogbomoso against the take-off of the campus, this is in bad taste, the Ogbomoso people have been partners in the progress of Oyo State with us over time, why are they creating these divisive tendencies now?
“When we look at it closely, LAUTECH is a university-owned by Oyo State and not Ogbomoso, every community in the State has a stake in the institution, and the establishment of a college of the university in Iseyin will boost its development and help the State achieve its set goals in using education to broaden human development.”
Speaking in the same vein, a respected leader in Ogbomoso, Dr Saka Balogun, warned those behind the planned protest to desist.
He cautioned those behind the protest against damaging the opportunities Ogbomoso enjoyed under the governor Seyi Makinde administration.
Balogun also chided the jingle for bandying names of respected Ogbomoso leaders, noting that he had spoken with several of them and told him they were not backing the protest.
He further warned against politicking that would not be beneficial to Ogbomoso.
Balogun said, “Those planning protest, were they not alive when salaries were being owed, when LAUTECH was constantly on strike?
“What do they know about the siting of LAUTECH in Ogbomoso? Everyone should be maintaining their boundaries.
“Those staging protests are bandying names of influential Ogbomoso leaders and heads of groups. Justice Adeniran, head of Ogbomoso Parapo, said he’s not aware of the protest; General Oladayo Popoola, head of Ogbomoso Community Foundation, knows nothing about the protest. Who is then backing the protest?
“Do they want to damage our opportunities with this administration? This is an administration that is accommodating Ogbomoso indigenes. I don’t think any politician will want to partake in this because it is not beneficial to us.
“We are not enemies of the government. Regardless of political parties, we should join hands with this government. The governor has promised for the Ogbomoso campus despite relocating Agric faculty to Iseyin, and we trust his words.”
