Group to Emir of Ilorin: Your suggestion to rename UNILORIN highly provocative

A socio-cultural group, the Kwara South Consultative Forum, has rejected the call by the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, to rename the University of Ilorin after Sheikh Alimi, founder of the Alimi dynasty.

The Forum said the proposal was “highly provocative” and failed to reflect the ethnic diversity and shared history of Kwara State.

The Emir made the suggestion during the university’s 50th anniversary celebration, a move that has since triggered widespread debate across the state.

In a statement released on Friday and signed by its Secretary-General, Adebayo Daramola, the Forum stressed that the University of Ilorin is a collective asset of all Kwarans and not the preserve of any single ethnic group.

“The entire state of Kwara is the catchment area of the University of Ilorin. We are just not homogeneous enough in Kwara State for that idea to ever be muted,” the statement read.

The group cautioned that such proposals could inflame ethnic tensions, noting that the university’s location in Ilorin does not amount to ownership by the host community.

“The fact that the University is located in Ilorin does not confer ownership on the city. The privilege of being a host community should not be confused with exclusive ownership,” it stated.

According to the Forum, while Sheikh Alimi holds historical importance, his legacy does not enjoy statewide resonance, particularly among Ekiti, Ibolo and Igbomina communities in Kwara South, as well as several groups in Kwara North.

“It will therefore be uncalled for to contemplate the imposition of a name that does not have statewide spread on our collective inheritance,” the statement said.

As an alternative, the Forum advised supporters of the proposal to consider establishing a private university in Sheikh Alimi’s name, pointing to the growing presence of privately owned tertiary institutions in Kwara South.

The group cited Landmark University, Omu-Aran; Thomas Adewumi University, Oko; Abubakar AbdulRazaq Toyin University, Gamo; Summit University, Offa; Offa University, Offa; Lens University, Offa/Ilemona; and Lens Polytechnic, Offa.

“So, we are advising you to take a cue from Kwara South by establishing a private university in the name of Sheikh Alimi if there is a strong desire to immortalise him,” the Forum stated.

The Forum also criticised the recent renaming of the Kwara State Government House as Ahmadu Bello House, arguing that the decision was taken without broad consultation, especially with ethnic groups in Kwara South.

It maintained that if the Government House must bear an individual’s name, it should honour the state’s first Military Governor, the late Brigadier General David Bamigboye (retd.).

“It is still not late to right the wrong by renaming the Kwara State Government House as David Lasisi Bamigboye House, considering that he laid the foundation of the state and left enduring legacies, including the Government House,” the statement said.

The group called on Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to step in and reverse what it described as a “glaring injustice,” urging that governance in the state must be guided by fairness, equity and justice.

“We must not do anything that can tamper with our resolve to live together in peace and harmony in Kwara State, the State of Harmony,” the Forum added.

Established in 1975, the University of Ilorin is a federal institution with students and staff drawn from across Nigeria and beyond, making it one of the country’s most diverse universitie