…invests in tech to fight cultism, kidnapping
From Kehinde Adewole
The over three year war between the Management of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, (FUOYE) and a caucus of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) led by the suspended local chairman, Dr. Gabriel Omonijo, will soon come to an end as Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof Abayomi Fasina said he has concluded arrangement for the reinstatement of the suspended Chairman of who was slammed with indefinite suspension in 2019.
The VC also advised his colleagues across the country to think outside the box to be able to fund their universities, saying no institution of learning can develop with sole and absolute reliance on money from the government.
On the cases of Kidnappings and cult killings in some schools of higher learning of recent, Fasina said the university is investing in intelligence gathering and digital gadgets to monitor the campus and apprehend evil doers before perpetrating their nefarious activities.
Fasina spoke in Oye Ekiti, headquarters of Oye Local government on Saturday during an event marking his 100 days in office.
The VC said : “As part of our efforts to restore orderonless and peace, we are bringing back Dr. Omonijo and Mr. Seun Odedeji who were suspended on accounts of their union activities during the time of my predecessor. We have promised this and we have opted for out of court settlement”.
On how best to fund any university, he said: ” God is the one bankrolling us. If you think outside the box, you will do many things. We are going into partnerships with bodies, organisations and well meaning individuals for them to invest here. We are also using our vast human resources to achieve results.
“We are also blocking leakages to be able to raise our IGR and these have been paying off”.
Fasina said the university is deploying digital equipment and partnering security agencies, host community and Students’ Union, to fish out potential cultists to avert disruption of activities and perpetration of killings by unruly students.
Fasina said the governments of Nigeria has not been able to achieve food security status despite its human and material resources because it pays lip service to agriculture.
“Nigeria only pays lip service to agriculture .We only do farming with our mouths. That is why we can’t produce what we eat.
“We have provided modern agriculture implements in the faculty of agriculture. We are putting our students into cropping with the hope to empower them after graduation. Students must learn the skills for survival. Agriculture has a lot of value chain, to me, farming is a way of life”.
The VC said he would place high premium on welfare of workers by ensuring timely promotion, payment of salaries and benefits, provide affordable transport system and security of students and staff.
Fasina who inaugurated some projects, promised to provide modern structures and road networks to connect the school, give it more beauty and increase quality of education within the next one year.
The astute University Administrator listed some of his achievement in the last 100 Days’ to include peace and stability on campus, promotion of 20 lecturers to the professorial rank, provision of shuttle buses for staff, prompt disbursement of Earned Academic Allowance and Earned Allowance to all deserving staff without rancour, allocation of land and support for the laying of NASU secretariat and SUG building, establishment of FUOYE printing press and Bakery, construction of ICT cubicles and furnishing with 100 computers, introduction of Digital Security Operation on campus, introduction of new courses for the ongoing admission excersise which include, Philosophy, Religious studies, Nursing, Environmental management and toxicology and establishment of FUOYE staff school at Ayegbaju among others.
