13th March, 2016
Eromosele Ebhomele
The alumni of the University of Osun State, UNIOSUN, located in Osogbo, the Osun state capital, western 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 Cicero of Esa-Oke and former 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 immaterial 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 of 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.