Modupe George
The ‘Egbe Omo Ogbomoso Parapo Agbaaye’, in conjunction with a group known as the ‘Concerned Ex-Students of LAUTECH’, has appealed to the Oyo State governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, to rescind the decision to move the Faculty of Agriculture of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso to the Iseyin campus of the institution.
The appeal was made during a press conference on Wednesday organised by the two groups held at Ogunlola Hall, Oja’gbo, in Ogbomoso, Osun State.
This was contained in a release made available to the Nigerian Tribune and signed by the chairman of Egbe Omo Ogbomoso Parapo Agbaaye (Home Zone), Prince Aderemi Olude, and Comrade James Obasa, who represented the ex-students.
According to the release, the appeal became imperative in view of the rapidity accompanying the execution of the plan, though noting that no official letter had been issued to that effect.
“But when students in the institution and commercial motorcyclists protested about two weeks ago on the issue and based on news emanating from irrefutable sources we feel we should weigh in,” the release stated.
The release noted further that the plan, if implemented, had more disadvantages than advantages, consequently identifying reasons while the decision is undesirable to include the fact that “the faculty being a foundation faculty boasts the largest student population, which makes it ‘the soul of the university’ both in financial generation and source of highly experienced lecturers and technocrats who have been actively involved in the attainment of the global and national recognition of the university.”
The release stated also that “the relocation of such a faculty will not be in the best interest of the university. The fact that most of the lecturers are of professional cadre with over 30 years of service in the faculty implies that they are advancing in age and so will find it cumbersome relocating to Iseyin; or that shuttling between Ogbomoso and Iseyin on a daily basis will further drain them in terms of energy and finances to them or having to look for makeshift accommodation.”
The groups also pointed out that, “many lecturers having stayed for so long have personally funded research projects that are immovable such as the piggery, rabbitry, poultry, fish tanks, among other which had come handy during accreditation exercises thus bailing the university and enabling the achievement of a full accreditation.
“It beats one’s imagination, therefore, as to what becomes of such projects that are daily maintained.”
They identified inadequate lecture and office spaces at Iseyin campus as well as immovability of several facilities for researches already on ground at the main campus such as the bee hall, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN)’s outstation recently donated to the institution, the weather station donated by the IITA, Ghana Hall, postgraduate hall, and the fully equipped computer and biometric unit for the department of agricultural economics.”
Others are large hectares of land being prepared for arable crop production, cash crops plantations (which are sources of IGR), LAUTECH Turmeric Centre among others, which they claimed would make them become moribund while others would be terminated should the faculty be relocated.
The groups therefore suggested that a new faculty (or faculties) should rather be established in Iseyin “to fulfill the governor’s campaign promise to the people of the area.”
At the meeting, chairman of Egbe Omo Ogbomoso Parapo Agbaaye (Home Zone), Prince Olude, emphasised that the two groups were not out to fight the government but “to make passionate appeal to reconsider the decision.”
“We are not at loggerheads with Iseyin; we are not against development in any other zone, but why terminate the life of a thirty-three-year-old child in place of a new one?”
