The Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two reputable Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) on adequate provision of health, recreational and other youth friendly services on its twin campuses- Oye-Ekiti and Ikole-Ekiti.
This was in fulfillment of one of the laudable visions of the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Fasina Abayomi Sunday with a view to partnering with NGOs on development strategies.
A statement made available to newsmen in Ado-Ekiti and co-signed by Foluso Ogunmidede
Public Relations Officer and Wole Balogun, Special Adviser on Media Matters to the VC, disclosed that
the NGOs– Adoslecents Friendly Research Initiative and Care (ADOLFRI) and the Kids and Teens Resource Centre, had signed the
MoU with the university and sealed as teams of delegates from the organizations, led by their team leaders, Dr. Olofinbiyi Babatunde Ajayi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ADOLFRI and Gbenga Adesunloro, the Director, Strategic Knowledge Management, Kids and Teens Resource Centre, visited the VC.
At the signing of the MOU, Olotinbiyi spoke about what he tagged a ‘triangle of health challenges’ affecting the youths and teenagers in tertiary institutions. According to him, the challenges which comprised sexual/ reproductive health, cultism and mental health challenges, said “We have decided to pick on the sexual and reproductive arms of the challenges of the adolescents and teenagers and our services are essentially curative and reproductive as we are working with counseling and health units and others.”
He went on: “We cover teenage pregnancy and its prevention at alll levels. Our primary aim is to do our best possible in ensuring that our teenagers don’t get unwanted pregnancy and that those who have, we care for them. We scout for them and with our collaboration with hospitals, we register them for antenatal care etc.
“We have discovered that the initiative of the VC of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti is unprecedented and we like to key into his developmental strategies for the growth of FUOYE.
“We have found out also that unsafe abortion is an issue and we are tackling this among our young girls on the campus. We also concentrate on Gender Based Violence or Assaults (GBV) and all barrage of mental and reproductive health challenges. Our advocacy is to educate the teenagers on how to maintain their sexual and reproductive health and part of our strategies in ensuing this is the use of tele-medicine. We appreciate your gesture and magnanimity in giving us this opportunity.”
Also, Adesunloro, who represented the CEO of the foundation, Martin Mary Falana, said: “Ours is the Kids and Teens Resource centre. We are here to sign an MOU with FUOYE on issues around youth friendly services on the campus. Our focus is on issues around substance abuse and cyber crime. We want to plegde our partnership with the University in these areas.
“We already have partnership with global organisations who are supporting our efforts. We want to see how the existing structures of the institution can be made to work out in our areas of responsibility. We will be working with relevant units of the University to build the capacity of the youths and we will bring in facilities like Indore games, and other recreational facilities. Through our services, students can have access to condoms centres, and other recreational facilities.”
Also present at the meeting was Prof. Aribisala, a long time friend of the VC. He extolled the virtues of the Chief Executive or FUOYE saying: ” Prof. Fasina is a go-getter and active in everything. I celebrate you. He has also served God very well and is still doing so. You are a good man and a very good friend.
I know how much you contribute to the development and growth of the Ekiti State University (EKSU) and we have many very good things about you. Your welfare packages have been very great.
There is no doubt that you think outside the box. If varsities think like this, we would have been able to do things much better. One of our cardinal duties is to impact on our communities and this is what is being done now.”
Also extolling the virtues of the VC, the Permanent Secretary of the Ekiti State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Dr. Folakemi Olomojobi, described him as a great leader with a high sense of commitment. She said with the likes of Prof. Fasina in leadership positions and Nigeria will be really great: “Nigeria is privileged to have eminent people like you in the academia. You are influencing thousands. You are impacting us and redirecting us. I want to thank you for the promised support and we assure you that we will keep giving more to support this project,” she said.
Responding, the VC commended the efforts of the NGOs in reaching out to FUOYE through the initiative of the Guidance and Counselling unit headed by the Director, FUOYE’s Directorate of Guidance and Counseling and Human Development, Prof. Omolayo Benjamin. He said: ‘ l am happy for this opportunity to see people imparting on their community. I have done social works like these before which was to empower the adults farmers in some IDPs camps in Abuja. We had trained them on skills that would make them self reliant and sufficient.
” In FUOYE, we are hitting a population of about 40, 000 students. We are moving very fast and we have a mission to establish our presence in all surrounding towns of the University we are already in Ayedun. We already have our presence in many of these communities. Our College of Medicine has started
I am happy about what you are doing which has to do with sexual based violence and sexual harassment. We are trying to ensure a very safe environment and a society where people respect others’ views and aspirations.
“We will partner with you. I will also suggest other ideas for you on this project and will like you not to see it as too radical when l do so.
What you are proposing is part of my mission and visions for this University. I have a vision to partner with NGOs on community and social services.We will also encourage you to do some researches which we will get funding for . We will try to see if there is a way in which we can collaborate on getting funds for you while we also partner with you. We must be vibrant and dynamic and think outside the box.
“One of the greatest thing l enjoy doing is making people happy and this is one of the ways to ensure that.”
While the signing of the MoU was professionally supervised by FUOYE’s Director of Legal Unit, Barrister Eni, other dignitaries who graced the occasion included Prof. Adegun Temi Ajayi from EKSU, Dean, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, FUOYE and other officials of the NGOs.
