From Kehinde Adewole
As orchestrated political rivalry rages on in the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), in preparation for the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor to succeed the out-going Prof. Kayode Soremekun, come February, 2021, a top management staff, Banjo Olu (not real name) has opened a can of worms on alleged misconduct and misuse of power allegedly carried out by a suspended former Deputy Registrar, Biodun Adeyemo, which foreclosed the possibility of Ekiti indigenes holding top management positions in the University for a long time to come.
Olu, also an indigene of Ekiti, in his piece, declared that while Soremekun has been fair in all his dealings to all parties and ethnic groups in FUOYE, Adeyemo had, allegedly for selfish and greedy reasons, laid an ackward foundation that has led to the marginalization of Ekiti indigenes on appointment into top management positions in FUOYE, adding that the sad reality would last for a long while.
It would be recalled that Adeyemo was suspended from the service of the institution for misconduct.
While reacting copiously to the allegation making the rounds in some quarters that the VC was responsible for the perceived marginalization of Ekiti people in FUOYE, Olu in a statement made available to our Reporter, said: ” Soremekun did not marginalise Ekiti people, Biodun Adeyemo, the suspended Registrar did. Adeyemo came in from FUTA as Principal Assistant Registrar in 2011, after Mrs. Ajayi who was initially appointed by NUC rejected her appointment and preferred to stay back in FUTA as Registrar due to the tough infighting between Oye and Ikole over the siting of the University. Mrs. Ajayi applied and sat for the interview as Registrar in FUTA. It was my last assignment in Ondo State before my redeployment to Ekiti. Brig Raji Rasaki (Rtd), was the Council Chairman and l served on the Panel that interviewed her as well as others. She did brilliantly well and got the position.
” Meanwhile, NUC gave another directive to FUTA to produce another candidate while Mrs. Ajayi was procrastinating. Adeyemo reached out to one of his contacts in NUC, who was the most senior Ekiti indigene in NUC, and pronto, his letter of appointment came through the back door and without recourse to Mrs. Ajayi. On discovering this usurpation of her authority, Ajayi refused to release Mr. Adeyemo, saying Adeyemo was not experienced enough to be FUOYE’s Acting Registrar. In FUTA as at that time, there were three Deputy Registrars who were far above Mr Adeyemo in rank. One was serving at OSUTECH, one in the open University and the third person in Adekunle Ajasin University. All these three Deputy Registrars later came to contend with Mrs. Ajayi during the 2011 interview at FUTA for the position of Registrar.
” Now, fast forwarding and back to FUOYE, Adeyemo became the Acting Registrar, catapulted from PAR to Deputy Registrar and Acting Registrar, all in one swoop. He got there and recruited only junior cadres; Admin officer 2, HEOs, Porters and cleaners, Securities and Drivers. The positions of Principal Assistant Registrars, Deputy Registrars, he kept under file and refused to appoint people to fill those positions. When I fully came in into FUOYE in April 2014, the Vice – Chancellor then, Prof Nebo, and later Prof Azusu both recommended me for the position of Principal Assistant Registrar, which would have been next to Adeyemo, he circumvented it and gave me “Coordinator, Centre for Entrepreneurship and put me on Contiss 13(11). I fought for the position to be regularised and put me on a normal career path so that I would have a future in the University, Adeyemo refused to sign my letter, despite the Vice- Chancellor’s instruction to the effect. We fought and fought to no avail. He held the power and refused to bulge.
” Dr. Jadesola Babatola of EKSU, in 2015 wrote to FUOYE to serve his sabbatical as Deputy Registrar, Adeyemo kept his application and it never saw the light of the day. Jadesola sent in his application more than twice, but no dice. Apart from me, many Ekiti indigenes, including Professors wrote to FUOYE, wanting to help and assist the University, Biodun Adeyemo blocked them. This was the situation before Soremekun came in, in 2016. He came in and started filling up all the vacant positions Adeyemo refused to fill. On a thrumped up allegations that I was a petition writer, Soremekun was deceived to demote me, he refused to call me for Management Meetings and later moved me out of the Centre for Entrepreneurship and posted me to Ikole Compus, to serve under a Senior Lecturer, who by all standards, was junior to me in rank. I was moved to SIWES without any role and no office for one year. It was after Adeyemo’s lies came to the open that the Vice Chancellor decided to reinstate me and recommended me to the Goverining Council for an interview for the position of Deputy Director. Ordinarily, I should be Deputy Registrar, but Adeyemo had already shut me out of the Registry. He created a cul-de-sac scheme of Service for the Centre for Entrepreneurship. As I write, the University is still at sea as to how to correct this anomaly.
So, in essence, it’s an Ekiti man, in the person of Mr. Biodun Adeyemo, who in order to be the only Iroko tree, in a forest, that created all the problems we are now facing in FUOYE. For his selfishness, no Ekiti man can be in the highest echelon of the University for a long time to come. Those high positions were filled up, but not without consideration and compliance with the Federal Character Principle. However, if Adeyemo had done the needful when he had the opportunity, the story would have been a positive one for Ekiti.
We are not good as Ekiti people. We jealous of one another and pull ourselves down. What we refuse to give to our kinsmen, other people come from afar and take from us. Go to Abuja, how many Ekiti people who are in positions help other less priviledged Ekiti man?.
In 1988, as a youth Corps member, I was in River Aradu, to see an Ekiti indigene of Ijero extraction. He was a 3 star Naval officer. When I entered into his office and greeted him in Ekiti dialect, he drove me out of his office, saying that he was a Nigerian and his appointment was not made for Ondo-State or Ekiti. Today, he’s a Septogenarian, retired and forgotten. Our people are so bad, and that’s why we are where we are. Soremekun committed no offence. If you give hoe to any reasonable person, the first thing he would do would be to take care of his own interests. The igbos would help their brothers, the Ijebus, the Egbas, the Hausas would help their brothers, but here in Ekiti, when you have B.Sc they will ask you, why not M. Sc. If you bring M Sc, they will say, oh, why not PhD? With that, they block you. That’s who we are.
Soremekun isn’t the problem of FUOYE, but Biodun Adeyemo. He prepared the ground, and irretrievably so, ” he said.
