Political leaders, especially governors have been warned to stop using university’s board appointment to compensate or reward political patronage.
Only when this is done will universities in the country be free of scandals that are usually ochestrated by governing council members that are politicians and contractors.
These views were expressed by executive vice-chairman, Ibadan School of Government abd Public Policy (SGPP), Dr. Tunji Olaopa, while presiding over a colloquium tagged: “Osun State University yesterday, today and tomorrow “, organised to mark 10th anniversary of Osun state University, UniOsun, held at Olagunsoye Oyinlola Auditorium, of the main campus of the university in Osogbo.
Dr Olaopa, who said UniOsun was founded on an idea of autonomy, commended the relative autonomy the institution enjoys even in the face of regulatory body like NUC and its centralizing imperative.
According to him, composition of governing council, determines it relevance to the institution it is to serve, saying board of any university must be dependable enough to address treacherous issue of a bloated staff.
The ex permanent secretary in the office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation, also listed issues of infrastructural decay and trade unionism as contentious issues a good governing council board should be able to handle, rather than seeking financial gains from the university.
In their separate remarks, former acting Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Ganiyu Olatunde and former Vice Chancellor, Prof Basir Okesina, said the funding of UniOsun when it was first established, enhanced its growth.
They said the relatively stable funding it enjoyed assisted the pioneer management of the university to mount several courses and established collaborations with educational institutions across the globe, the development that instantly put the institution in global reckoning.
In his welcome address, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Labo Popoola, said the university organised the colloquium to enable it keep track of the objectives behind its establishment.
