STATEMENT FROM OGUN STATE GOVERNMENT
In line with The Mission to Rebuild Ogun State as contained in the Five -
Cardinal Programme of Senator Ibikunle Amosun Administration, education
sector has continued to enjoy topmost priority. It is in the light of
this that we are constrained to issue this public statement with regards
to certain developments at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU).
Situation at Inception:
At the inception of this Administration on 29 May, 2011, we were
confronted with a rather grim state in our Education Sector, with most
of the State's Tertiary Institutions being bad shadows of a once
glorious past.
Indeed, they had become embarrassment to the fond memories of those
illustrious sons after whom some of them have been named. Academic
activities had been grounded to a halt in most of the institutions as
some of them were closed as a result of strikes and other prevalent
inclement environment. There were backlogs of subventions, running into
an average of eleven (11) months, owed the schools by the previous
Administration, resulting in unpaid staff salaries. To say the staff
were demoralised was to state the obvious. Academic traditions and ethos
had been jettisoned, academic calendars were in abeyance and even
students were ostensibly progressing from one level to the other without
completing the requirements of previous levels, including payment of
school fees. The decay in our tertiary institutions was exemplified by
the failure of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) to hold convocation
ceremonies for eight (8) straight years our predecessors were in the
office. It was also disheartening that rather than serve as purveyors of
knowledge and enlightenment, our tertiary institutions had become dens
of cultism.
Our Interventions:
It was obvious that some urgent and far-reaching interventions were
required. Consequently, after wide consultations with stakeholders, the
government set up Visitation Panels for our two Universities (Olabisi
Onabanjo University and Tai Solarin University of Education) and Fact -
Finding Panels for the other eight tertiary institutions.
The panels, after painstaking and diligent engagement of stakeholders
and deliberations, submitted their reports that confirmed the ugly state
of affairs - that was already in the public domain - in the respective
institution and unearthed even deeper rot in the system.
The Government subsequently set up another committee to study all the
reports of the panels in order to have an all-encompassing appreciation
of the issues and provide a holistic solution to what were certainly
systemic problems. Among others, the Committee identified paucity of
funding in the face of
dwindling government revenue and competing needs, proliferation of
schools and programmes with attendant duplication of overheads,
deviation from the core objectives for the establishment of some of the
schools, and leadership challenges.
In the main, the Committee recommended streamlining of programmes and
courses, mergers of some of the institutions, and strengthening of the
management. The government subjected the Consolidated Report to wider
and intense consultation and the feedbacks received from critical
stakeholders indicated a preference for the retention of the
institutions.
The preference, propelled more by emotive rather than rational reasons,
run counter to the grains of the reality on ground. Nonetheless, in
deference to this position, the government accepted to keep all the
schools and remained committed to confront the challenge of rejuvenating
them, the financial constraint
notwithstanding.
In furtherance of this commitment, the government commenced immediate
payment of the outstanding backlog of subventions, appointed new
management teams, constituted the Councils, and increased the
subventions to the schools. This Administration currently pays over Six
Hundred (N600M) monthly as subventions to the State's tertiary
institutions.
Indeed, our commitment to the Education sector is manifest in the over
N160B we have invested in the last three years. Yet, in fulfillment of
our electoral promise and to ensure that our tertiary students further
benefit directly from our interventions in the education sector, we
implemented additional 10% reduction in tuitions and fees payable in all
our schools.
This first reduction, which was done at the inception of our
Administration in 2011, was in addition to the 50% reduction announced
in the twilight of the previous Administration, to pre-empt our
electoral promise to reduce fees.
Government's Gesture, Agitation by a Few and Our Response:
The current agitation for reduction in school fees by students of Ogun
State tertiary schools has been ostensibly fuelled by the recent
reduction in the fees payable at Lagos State University (LASU) by the
Lagos State Government.
Despite the marked differences between the situation in Lagos and Ogun
States, the government further demonstrated its commitment to the
wellbeing of our students by proactively reducing the fees payable in
Ogun State schools, starting from 2014 / 2015 session. The reductions
varied with the highest being 61%. These gestures were greeted with
applause and appreciation by the generality of the students in all the
ten (10) State's tertiary institutions, except the Olabisi Onabanjo
University where a section of the students, clearly in minority, raised
two issues.
These were the commencement session and the cap on the amount these
dissenting minority would rather like to dictate to the government. It
was curious that it was only after the government's gestures that the
few OOU students devised these two issues as red herring to perpetrate
what is increasingly becoming clearer as a well-choreographed and
externally influenced agitation by the few.
The few OOU students wanted the commencement to be backdated to 2013 /
2014 session with N50,000 as the maximum amount for all courses and all
students. To provide an underpinning for their argument, they cited
Lagos State as a reference. In order to clothe their agitation with some
toga of credibility, the few OOU students embarked on a futile mission
to coopt the generality of the OOU students, students of the other nine
(9) tertiary institutions and some officers of Non-Governmental
Organisations to join their politically - motivated agenda.
These efforts have been rebuffed by the students of the other
institutions and other stakeholders. Nonetheless, the Governor, Senator
Ibikunle Amosun FCA, met a week ago with the representatives of the OOU
students in his office and later addressed them and their other
colleagues. He thereafter set up a committee (comprising government
representatives and representatives of the Students' Unions of the ten
institutions) to determine what was peculiar (if any) about OOU with
regards to the government's gesture and recommend how best to address
it.
In the course of the committee's deliberations, the OOU Students
representatives could not make a convincing argument while the
commencement of the new fees should be backdated to 2013 / 2014, their
only premise being that, due to the long ASUU strike, the 2013 / 2014
academic session is still on till October and therefore should qualify
them for a refund of the fees already paid.
As absurd as this request is, disruption of academic calendar is not
peculiar to only OOU. Indeed, there are other institutions (within and
outside Ogun State) whose 2013 / 2014 academic sessions still have a few
more weeks to go, also due to the general academic staff strikes in the
country. OOU can, therefore, not be treated in isolation. Obviously
following a script, the OOU representatives brought up yet another
tenuous request: if other schools in the same circumstance were to enjoy
backdating of the reduction in fees to 2013 / 2014, then OOU students,
regardless of the course of study, would not be prepared to pay any fee
higher than the lowest of fees payable in any of the other nine (9)
tertiary
schools in the state.
It is no longer about the commencement session (if other schools will
enjoy it) nor about N50,000 highest fees payable. It is now that
students of OOU, a university, will want to pay the least of fees
payable by students of, for example, College of Health Technology or Tai
Solarin College of Education
A preposterous demand.
It was clear to the student representatives of the other nine (9)
schools and government representatives on the committee, that the OOU
students were looking for every reason, no matter how tenuous, to
contrive a crisis.
As mentioned earlier, the situation differs from State to State. For
example, Lagos State that these misguided few have continued to cite has
five (5) tertiary institutions compared to ten (10) that we have in
Ogun State.
The same scenario is applicable in both primary and secondary schools
sub sector - we have more primary and secondary schools in Ogun State
than Lagos State. While we are proud of this - because this is in line
with our heritage as the cradle of education in Nigeria - but we are
modest enough to acknowledge that we do not have access to the same
resources as Lagos.
Indeed, the internally generated revenue of Lagos, the nation's economic
hub, is 400% more than our own. It will therefore be ridiculous for
anyone to demand for parity in school fees with Lagos just as it will be
unrealistic for a resident of Lagos to demand that the government
should bring down the average cost of living in Lagos to be in parity to
what is obtainable in Ogun State.
OOU is Closed:
While the discussion were still on in the committee, security reports
have confirmed that the few students who are bent on fomenting trouble
have started mobilising to disrupt the peace and security of the state
and unleash mayhem. The vast majority of OOU students are opposed to
this plan and have also vowed to resist these few "professional"
students, being motivated from without, to portray them as being
unreasonable and unappreciative.
Besides, the students from the other nine (9) students were also
preparing to demonstrate their acceptance of the new fees and express
opposition to any preferential treatment for OOU. There is certainly an
imminent and ominous threat to the peace and security of the state and
lives of our students will be endangered in any ensuing conflicts
between opposing groups.
In the circumstance, the government has no alternative but to take a
firm decision in the overall interest of all. Consequently, the
government has directed the Council of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU)
to immediately close down the institution till further notice.
Parents are hereby advised to make immediate arrangements for their
wards to vacate the school premises and stay away henceforth from the
institution. This is a painful but an inevitable decision and the
government solicits for the understanding and cooperation of all in this
regard. It is painful
because this forced closure is a temporary pause in our determined march
to reposition our tertiary institutions and OOU in particular.
OOU had a backlog of convocation for eight academic sessions which our
Administration cleared in 2012 and we have continued to ensure that the
convocation is held regularly and annually, as scheduled. It is further
painful that the new Council and Management Team, who have demonstrated
uncommon zeal and dedication since their inauguration, will have their
repositioning programme slowed down.
But this is temporary.The Council has been directed to review the
situation from time to time and advise the government accordingly. When
the government is satisfied that the atmosphere is conducive for
teaching, learning and research, the school will be re-opened.
In the meantime and for the avoidance of doubt, all students should
vacate and stay away from all the campuses of Olabisi Onabanjo
University (OOU)
till further notice.
Barrister Taiwo Oluwasegun Adeoluwa
Secretary to State Government
Monday, 25 August, 2014.
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