Aregbesola Charges

Universities to Play

Relevant Roles

In Nation Building

By Damilola  Towobola

Osun State Governor,  OGBENI RAUF AREGBESOLA, speaking at the second convocation of the University of Osun, main campus in Osogbo on the 27^th of july, reiterated that power is responsibility and also congratulated the graduating students, their parents and well wishers who look forward to a bright future.


Gov. Rauf Aregbesola



“It gives me immeasurable pleasure to be here and be part of the grand occasion of today, the second convocation ceremony of this university. I congratulate the university on the joy of today and in spite of the teething problems it had at inception. I congratulate also the graduating students who, having toiled to complete their various courses, are looking forward to a bright and fulfilling future, irrespective of the gloom of the job market and other causes of anxiety in society.”

“Administration and governance are still serious challenges in our ivory tower. On a regular basis, students go on rampage over matters that astute administration could have taken care of. To address this issue of isolated disconnected pseudo citadel of learning, our government is endowing this University with a professorial Chair in Building a Knowledge Based Society: Innovation, Infrastructure and Quality of Life (BKBS: IIQL). The philosophy behind this is the slogan of Action Group in the 50s; "Freedom For All, Life More Abundant."

He stated that many do not even understand basic economics of admitting only the number of students that existing facilities and resources can support. In most cases, they would have overstretched existing facilities before seeking to expand them, and after this, severe crisis would have brewed from this indiscretion.

“From this, it is apparent that universities are not just institutions for awarding degrees but a very central institution of control in a society. From the mid 20th Century to now, we have seen the dominant role universities have played in the developed world. Universities are usually in the forefront of any social challenge, especially with the power of research being focused on areas that will promote human development and solve existential problems. From the ongoing AIDS conference in the United States, there are reports that mankind is just on the verge of conquering HIV and tuberculosis. Research is ongoing in their universities on all human challenges. For them, research is not just for promotion of lecturers but research findings are part of a society’s knowledge base which is transmitted to students and industries. So then, a university must be an institution for the people. It must be a centre for knowledge and problem solving for society.”

Aregbesola stated that governments have the problem of finding jobs for young people.  He therefore charged University to be relevant stating that “increasingly, our universities continue to issue bland certificates to graduates who are barely literate and if we take literacy literally to be the ability to read and write (good prose) then education is bland and not tied to need of society. Education must be woven into life with a common thread running through life and society.”

 “In most of our states, the government is still the major employer and accounted for 80 per cent of those in the formal sector. We have problem with agriculture since we cannot feed our teeming population; our agriculture is still largely primitive. Such things as improved seedlings (high yielding, disease resistant, early maturing seeds), modern farming implements and methods and farm financing are still strange to most of our farmers. We have problem with the economy such that it is difficult to identify trends and predict direction of the economy. This is why it has been difficult to get serious players to jump in the Nigerian economy”



Aregbesola



 “Physician, heal thyself. Universities themselves are as troubled as society. But a university is supposed to be a centre of excellence that stands above society, passes judgement on it and ultimately impart excellence into it. In our case, universities can hardly provide municipal services for themselves. Such things like safe water, electricity, security and waste disposal are still huge challenges for them. Instead of spending billions on diesel to power generators, why can’t the universities devote themselves to research in alternative and cheap sources of power for their campuses? With all the Physics and Electrical and Electronics departments, why must the universities be part of the diesel guzzling society? Universities engage contractors for buildings and road construction and are largely part of the contract driven economy. Why are their civil engineering and ancillary departments not involved with research on constructing roads and building at a fraction of today’s cost? If the universities are not indeed, centres of excellence, how can they impart excellence on society?"

Aregbesola further stated that he visions a regional University.  In his words, he stated that “Each state in the South-West should host a specialised campus of a Great Western University (GWU) where character would be built, life skills taught alongside the cultivation of the intellect. What I am looking forward to therefore is unification of existing tertiary institutions on a creative basis. The future therefore is of linkages and integration. If the campuses in our state specialises in a branch of knowledge such as Information Technology/ Medicine etc, I want it to be ranked among the best in the world.”

At these ceremonies, the university rolled out 657 graduates from five of its seven colleges, 20 of them with first class honours. This shows a vast improvement from last year when 362 students were graduated during the institution’s maiden convocation ceremonies.