Chairman, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), University of Ibadan chapter, Mr. Wale Akinremi, has implored those that will appoint the next Vice Chancellor of the university not to take sides with any candidate.
The process of appointing a substantive VC for the university last year was embroiled in crisis. The development led to the appointment of Prof. Babatunde Ekanola as acting VC in November 30, 2020 for a period of six months.
But speaking on a live programme on the campus community radio station owned by the university, Diamond FM 101.1, monitored by The Guardian, Akinremi said those saddled with the responsibility of appointing the substantive VC must be fair and transparent.
The programme was anchored by the ace broadcaster, Eyitayo Folorunso .
The SSANU chairman said: “Generally, we don’t want anything that will embarrass UI. UI belongs to all of us. We have put our integrity at stake to save the institution for posterity. It is a place that we must protect. Those charged with appointing the new VC must not take sides.
“We will keep watching on the development. I am proud of those who are qualified to be VC. The way out is transparency. We need to allow the system to work. The onus is on the Council. Things must change. They should not pitch tent with anyone. It is not their responsibility to take sides.”
Akinremi lauded the efforts of the acting VC in bringing industrial harmony to the university, saying: “The acting VC is good to us. He identifies with us and we have done our bit to support him. He knows the system and he is doing well.”
On the strike embarked upon by SSANU and Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), Akinremi said that industrial action was not good for the university system, the country and the students. He stressed that it was one of those things that had led to high rate of crimes in the country.
“No reasonable person should be happy with the closure of universities. It is not good for anything and it is embarrassing.
“The Federal Government is not interested in the development of universities. They don’t care much about tomorrow of our youths. But the onus is also on all of us to evolve a way out of incessant strikes. The workers, students and parents need to sit down and engage the government. We are talking about the university setting, obviously, it is a place where we are supposed to devise a means of solving our problems and have solutions to issues,” he further said. (OptimalTimesNG)
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