Politics
One State Should Own LAUTECH, Says Alao-Akala
The former governor of Oyo State, Otunba Alao-Akala, has said Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, should be run by a single state, saying the present joint ownership was responsible for its woes.
Otunba Akala made the suggestion during the foundation laying ceremony of the N25 million LAUTECH Alumni’s e-library in Ogbomoso.
Akala said it was high time they stopped shifting responsibility by allowing one state take the driving seat, while saying he would try to prevail on the governor-elect of Oyo State, Hon. Seyi Makinde, to see reasons to make Oyo State sole proprietor.
According to the former governor, “we are needlessly playing the institution like a card. If Osun is going to be the owner, let them have it and if it is Oyo, it will be okay instead of testing our political skills with the school.”
The foundation laying event, which was attended by dignitaries from all walks of life, also had the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Michael Ologunde; the President of LAUTECH alumni’s association, Mr. Solomon Onilede; the Chairman of the Alumni’s Board of Trustees, Chief Jide Bewaji; Benefactor and the Chairman of the Maigida Foundation, Dr Samson Adegoke, and some other traditional rulers in attendance.
For Onilede, in his welcome address, education is the only legacy that could guarantee a child’s future, noting that leaving behind several edifices for a child to inherit was not enough.
He added that the idea behind the e-library was to enable students of the institution use the facility from the comfort of their hostels, while saying they were lucky to have a generous donor in Maigida.
According to Onilede, “when we first started, we proposed N10 million, when the budget was ready it was N19.9 million and on getting to the site we realised only N21 million naira could be enough and our financier agreed to give us without contesting, despite the fact the we had told him 10 million earlier.”
He lauded the recent feat achieved by the institution through their present position as the best state-owned university and the second best in the country in the areas of research.
While delivering his keynote address, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Olufisayo, said the students of the institution cannot afford to be left out in this era of globalisation.
He noted that the alumni’s e-library was timely, while saying that he was committed to returning the institution’s lost glory.
He however called on other Nigerians, who are public-spirited to emulate what Dr Adegoke has been doing to develop education in the country.
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