Folorunso Alakija, 4th left being assisted by Gov. Aregbesola at the renaming event
By Eromosele Ebhomele
The
alumni of the University of Osun State, UNIOSUN, located in Osogbo, the
Osun state capital, Nigeria have rejected the recent renaming of the
university by the State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola.
Aregbesola
had renamed the institution in honour of the late Attorney-General and
Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, during the institution’s fourth and
fifth combined convocation.
But
the alumni declared the renaming of the institution as unwise at this
point in time, urging Aregbesola to reverse the action.
They
are equally considering the option of approaching a court of competent
jurisdiction in the land to seek redress on the subject matter if
Governor Aregbesola refuses to reverse the action.
According
to them, Aregbesola just took the decision unilaterally without
considering the interest of all the stakeholders of the university.
In
a statement signed by the President of the Alumni Association, Mr.
Oluwatosin Abikanlu and the Secretary-General, Mr. Otunde Adebowale, the
alumni said the renaming of the university after the former governor
old Oyo state had generated reactions where some people see it as a
means to score cheap political popularity and bring confusion into the
system, while some people, particularly members of the ruling All
Progressives Congress, APC, see the action as a welcome development.
The
alumni argued that the late Chief Bola Ige had nothing to do with the
establishment of the university aside being a political leader in the
state before he died in December 2001, noting further that the acronym
of the new name, BIU, had clashed with the Benson Idahosa University,
BIU.
They
alleged that Aregbesola had not funded the university for the past two
and half years aside the money raised by the university management and
help from Federal Government agencies like Tetfund.
They
noted that renaming any institution at this point in time when the
economy was biting every sector of the country is a misplacement of
priority.
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