Ife indigenes at home and abroad, have said that the procedure used for choosing the new Vice-Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, was manipulated and have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, to intervene for justice to prevail.
The President, Ife Progressive Forum, Dr Famoriyo Gbolade, made the appeal while addressing a Press Conference organised by the Forum on Thursday, at the Oba Okunade Sijuwade Memorial Hall, Enuwa, Ile-Ife.
Gbolade said that the indigenes are not insisting that an Ife indigene must be the Vice Chancellor at all costs, but that merit should be the criteria for VC’s selection and that human prejudices should not come to play.
He said that since 1961 when the University was established with eleven VCs so far from Prof Oladele Ajose up to Prof Eyitope Ogunbodede, Ife didn’t fight for any of its indigenes to be the VC despite the fact that all of them came from Aawe, Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo, Ilesa, Owo, Ibadan and Rivers State.
Dr. Gbolade also debunked the rumour that the people of Ile-Ife and its environs are lazy and academically unambitious to qualify for the VC post.
“We have been working up the ladder and many indigenes have reached the peak and possess necessary qualifications to become the Vice-Chancellor of the University.
“But the powers that be seem to have resolved never to allow Ife person to have such opportunity.
“This time around, two sons of the soil who are superbly and indisputably qualified contested for the post, the University management came up with strange selection process to deny them” the position, Gbolade emphasised.
He insisted that the vital process of scoring and assessing aspirants to the VC position used by the Chairman of the Governing Council, Owelle Oscar Udoji, and other members of the selection committee was manipulated.
“The secrecy surrounding the exercise is highly suspicious, the report of the selection committee to the Council was slated for 2pm.
“While announcement of the report to the public was 3pm on the same Thursday 17th March, 2022, whereas it ought to be at least 24 hours before the meeting in accordance with academic and administrative practice,” he said.
The Ife Progressive Forum said that the organisation therefore condemns the procedure for choosing the OAU VC, stressing that the scoring criteria was “manipulated, shameful and disgraceful of standard assessment and evaluation processes.
“The procedure and processes were also designed to promote favoritism and compromised merit, transparency and integrity. We have a right to know the scoring criteria.
“The VC brings two names to the Senate for election; one of the professors is usually unknown and referred to as a Dummy; no doubt this Council has adopted the flawed and corrupt political template to carry out this selection process.”
He stated that Prof R. A. Adedoyin had the highest ration of the internal members while Prof O.D. Makinde, had the highest as applicant from outside, that both are Ife and were all denied.
Gbolade maintained that Ife had been denied their opportunity in many ways, noting that even when the situations favoured a native of Ife, the outsider would be chosen to make OAU an “international University,” the same with other principal offices like those of Librarian and Registrar among others.
