University Of Ilesa: Community Leaders Call For Dialogue At Varsity Takeoff

Academic and Non-Academic Staff as well as students of the defunct Osun State College of Education, Ilesa have been advised to engage the management of the University of Ilesa in dialogue rather than distorting the smooth take-off of the institution .

Leaders of Ijesaland made the appeal at a world press conference organized at the Óba Adekunle Aromolaran Civic Centre to demystify the law creating the University.

Speaking against the purported plan to stand in the way of the smooth take off of the university, the Asiwaju of Ijesaland, Chief Yinka Fasuyi on behalf of the Ijesas advised that all outstanding issues such as academic staff placement within the new University system as well as the peculiar and hazard allowances due to the academic staff should be left for the new University administration to look into.

He stressed that this should be the order rather than the academic staff insisting that the University operations shall not commence until all outstanding issues are fully met.

He expressed the belief that with sincere dialogue by all parties moderated by the state government, the matters would be resolved amicably.

“The good people of Ijesaland would want to continue to believe that all the Unions identified with the desire and interest of Ijesaland on the establishment of this University and will therefore want all their actions to be benched marked against this understanding, hence, not Standing In the way of its Smooth Take-off," he reiterated.

While stressing that Ijesaland has suffered for over 30 years yearning for the university, he hinted that it is the greatest legacy any administration in both old Oyo State and current Osun State has ever bequeathed to the zone.

“It is therefore heart gladdening to note that all the Students currently enrolled for NCE in the new University will be allowed to complete their respective studies within the same University campus.

"Provision has also been made for those Students who may wish to enrol for Bachelor’s Degrees after completing their NCE programme provided they meet the JAMB entry requirements.

"For the Academic Staff, more are still far required than the current number in the University.

"So, there’s no academic job threat for those qualified academic Staff.

"And for those academic staff without PhD, we are aware of the encouragement being put in place for them for continuous development.

"And for the Non-academic Staff, we have been assured that no single loss of job shall occur rather the emerging University shall even need more hands with time to feed several departments and faculties that would be springing up from the new University. “

He commended the State Government and the University Implementation Committee for speedily and fairly responding to the above knotty issues within the period available.

“Since the berth of this innovative and creative institution that is conceived and designed to be a model for other Universities in no distance future in the areas of Entrepreneurial Development, Science & Technology, Agropreneurship, Mining, and Health Sciences, all stakeholders such as the host community in Ijesaland, the former Osun State College of Education, Ilesa, State Government of Osun, Osun State House of Assembly, Implementation Committee, and National Universities Commission(NUC) have all demonstrated uncommon enigma, passion, and high expectations through their rigorous commitment to the smooth take-off of this long awaited University in the heart of Ijesaland."

Debunking the rumours making the round about the university being run on public private partnership basis, the Sawe of Ilesa, Chief Akinwande Akinola maintained that the university is solely owned by the state government

Chief Akinola stressed that the institution only enjoyed the generosity of the illustrious sons and daughters of Ijesaland who have no ulterior motives whatsoever.

“I personally donated 70 acres of land to the former college of education and facilitated the building of a world standard Library for the school and still feel like doing more without any personal gain”. Sawe said

He remarked that many world renowned professors of Ìjèsà extraction had offered to lecture at the University probono in line with the dream of the Planning committee to make the school rank among the first ten best universities in the country.

Earlier, the Deputy chairman of the state House of Assembly Committee on Education, Wale Adedoyin encouraged the aggrieved unionists at the institution to sheath their swords and approach the lawmaking factory for redress and clarifications where necessary.

“We can still look into the gray areas and I can assure the unions that their interest will be salvaged,” Adedoyin assured the aggrieved.

The conference was attended by representatives of clubs, societies and other stakeholders.