Ekiti state is moving towards the election season and the preparations are surreptitiously gathering momentum including the promises by visionless leaders; the good, the bad and the ugly, who had betrayed the people’s trust. Usually campaign promises are made with the gusto of supererogatory do-gooders who pretend to have the best interests of the people at heart, as if the provision of basic infrastructural needs, managing the economy to generate employment befitting the employable youths, the needy and the sick; and ensuring and protecting the citizens from the uncertainties of social life is not an integral function of government.
In the light of this, those who are enmeshed in the APC’s web might have received the news making the rounds that the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti has been upgraded to the UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY and passed into law by the Ekiti State House of Assembly on September, 2020 as cheering and a welcome development.
The historical synopsis of the College of Education then known as the Ondo State College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti revealed that the College came into being on Saturday, 3rd December, 1977 with 507 students using the campus of the defunct St Benedicts Secondary Modern School, Oke-osun, Ikere-Ekiti, as its temporary site; moved to its permanent site in 1981. The main purpose for its establishment was the production of technically-oriented, versatile and highly qualified non-graduate teachers – a philosophy which has continuously been given a pride of place to date. The College has been put into an enviable historical position in terms of academic excellence, development and programmes. Within its life span, the College has to a large extent, helped in solving problems of manpower shortage in the post-primary institutions in the state as attested to by the fact that thousands of N.C.E graduates been turned out by the College.
It was in the quest of improving on the achievements of the past in ways that would make the College a formidable and internationally acclaimed citadel of learning and a centre of academic excellence that prompted the Segun Oni-led administration (2007-2010) to upgrade the College to THE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, IKERE-EKITI (TUNEDIK).
Ironically, the upgrading which under normal circumstances ought to have been a thing of joy to the host community and a great success for all was heralded by massive upheaval as the mischief makers, unpatriotic, retrogressive enemies of progress in the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the main opposition party to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) politicized the issue giving the sitting government a putsch, for their own vapid and illusory reasons and cause. Within the memory of living men and women, nothing like that had ever happened before in Ikere-Ekiti public life. It rocked the town and kept the media ringing with indignation. A stench arose so vile that it almost ruined the Segun Oni-led government and nauseated the entire state with monumental consequences. The Ikere indigenes who participated in the gory political shenanigans, brigandage, chicanery should be ashamed for arresting the rapid developmental strides and valuable opportunities accruing to the town sequel to the upgrading of the College to University status for almost thirteen years. Their pretended interests in the masses is sheer hypocrisy.
It is no longer news that the Ekiti State House of Assembly has passed into law the re-upgrading of the College to THE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IKERE-EKITI. We are not amused by this development as the Segun Oni-led government had done it before to this same College. What a God we serve! After almost thirteen years of deceits and cover-ups, the chickens have come home to roast, thus exposing their nakedness and scally backs. “And the Lord said to Segun Oni, sit you at My Right Hand, until I make your enemies your footstool”. He should feel vindicated now since Fayemi had no other option than have recourse to what he (Oni) did but destroyed by him.
It should be noted for the record that in developed climes a University of Education runs Science and Technology Education making it wholly Education biased. They know it, and that is why they have superimposed the Institute of Science and Technology Education which the National Universities Commission had approved for the proscribed UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, IFAKI-EKITI (USTI). The Institute was to commence in 2010/2011 session running Degree Programmes in the following areas of specialization: B.Sc(ED) in Forensic Technology, Metal Works Technology, Electrical/Electronics Technology, Building/Woodwork Technology, Computer Science, Integrated Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. The upgrading of the College to University of Education, Science and Technology. To be sure, a full-fledged University of Science and Technology worth its name has a curriculum which is unique and different from those of conventional Universities like the just re-upgraded University at Ikere.
Therefore, in view of the polarity of academic objectives, it is utterly unthinkable, deceitful and fraudulent for the government to superimpose the Institute of Science and Technology Education approved for USTI on the re-upgraded University at Ikere. With this development, USTI has finally been laid to rest.
Rewinding to the issue of USTI, we would recall that the University of Science and Technology, Ifaki-Ekiti, was established by the law (No.10 of 2009), passed by the Ekiti State House of Assembly in December 2009; licenced by the National Universities Commission in 2009; and took off with an enrollment of over 1500 students. Its focus was on Science, Technology and contemporary ICT driven programmes which are germane to the scientific and technological development of Ekiti State in this 21st century. In spite of this, the Fayemi led- government scrapped it regardless of the laudable objectives of the institution. According to them, the state does not have the funds to manage three universities at a goal; thus sacrificing the admirable status of USTI as a full-fledged University on the altar of paucity of funds. For those who care to know, funding has never been used by any known government in the history of Nigeria whether Federal and State to cause a rapidly growing and futuristic university like USTI to cease to exist and be merged with another University.
There can be no doubt that USTI would have survived if it had not been killed by Dr. Kayode Fayemi. To be sure, as a practical demonstration of the resolve to partner the government on the maintenance of the university, the Ifaki-Ekiti community pleaded with the government to: subvent the university to the tune of available funds; that support would come to university by friends of USTI within and without Nigeria through a Public Trust (PPP) Funding Model that would have become a novelty in Nigeria. The people were not unmindful of the fact that government spends a substantial part of its funds to maintain the state-run tertiary institutions.
There were other sources of funding open to the university including sourcing from industries, the Education Tax Fund (ETF), Petroleum Special Tax Fund (PTF), International Development Partners and Private/Public Partnership Initiative.
The Education Trust Fund had listed USTI as one of the beneficiaries of the ETF intervention among the comity of other Federal and State Universities.
As a way of generating internal revenue, the university had commenced a Pre-degree programmes for Science students, and this would have fetched a lot of money in addition to school fees. To complement the subvention from government, USTI management was looking inward into an aggressive drive towards IGR that should make the university to be able to carry out 70% of its funding, having reached about 40% IGR as at 2010.
What is more, the university’s activities were to be jointly financed and supervised remotely by some of the best Professors from South Korea, USA, Japan. Here in Africa, The Kwazulu Natal University, South in Africa, Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State had signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with USTI in December 2010, on the need to collaborate and work together.
Be that as it may, we have to underscore the incontrovertible fact that, USTI was a State owned institution-the Ekiti State Government being the major financiers. Against this background, the Segun Oni-led administration appropriated funds for its operations through the established process as follows:
From Government
a. 2010 Budget
(1) Capital Estimates – #1,600,000,000.00
(2) Recurrent Grants – #500,000,000.00
b. 2011 Budget
(1) Capital Estimates – #300,000,000.00
(2) Recurrent Grants – #300,000,000.00
It should noted that the grants to facilitate development were not released as expected by Fayemi-led government; that was the reason for the low pace of the development of the institution. No doubt Dr. Kayode Fayemi is answerable for the collateral destruction of the tertiary institutions established by the government of Segun Oni. In retrospect, both the UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION IKERE-EKITI, (TUNEDIK) AND THE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IFAKI-EKITI (USTI) suffered the same fate as Fayemi caused the institutions to be merged with the UNIVERSITY OF ADO-EKITI (UNAD) now EKSU.
We should be reminded that the politically motivated merger of the universities could be likened to the employer-employee relationship with the former having the “power to hire and fire”. That being so, the state government has all the power to do as it wishes with institutions owned by it. I am not a legal mind, but I do know that the question of ownership is of material essence in law. It may sound discordant, but that is the fundamental truth. If the USTI had been named THE EKITI STATE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IFAKI-EKITI, I doubt if anybody could have queried the nomenclature. If Ifaki-Ekiti community had felt like protesting the scrapping of USTI, in whatever form, it ought to have been staged in May, 2011 when the merger of the three institutions was being contemplated by the Ekiti State Summit chaired by Prof. Sam Aluko at least for the record. In fairness to Ifaki-Ekiti community, a paper titled: IFAKI-EKITI COMMUNITY: A POSITION PAPER ON THE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, IFAKI-EKITI (USTI) jointly signed by Chief Adedayo Bello (JP), National President IPU, Mr. Niyi Adeoya, National Secretary, IPU, Prof. Babatunde Adelusi and Prof O.O Akute was presented to the SUMMIT on Thursday, May, 5th 2011. The University management under the Vice-Chancellorship of Prof. Samuel Bamidele also presented a POSITION PAPER PREPARED BY THE USTI EDUCATION SUMMIT TEAM on Thursday, May, 5th 2011. However, both parties prayed the government not to merge the institutions. Sadly, their prayers fell on deaf ears.
There was no way out at that junction. As the host community, we are at pains and loss to note that the killing of USTI by Fayemi had caused the low pace of development to the community; the enormous loss of economic growth, the deprivation of job opportunities for the youths to enable them earn a living in the most agreable way. Generally speaking, there has been a loss of value that would have been added to the infrastructural upliftment of the community as well as a bolster to its image as university town and international standing. It has been known before hand that Fayemi-the giant initiative killer and pathological hater of Ifaki, like the autumnal leaves would show his true colours. It did not take extraordinary perception to see that Fayemi seem bent on politics of war on the community cutting it off from valuable patronage. As far as he is concerned Ifaki is not part of Ekiti State. If Fayemi were to have his way, he would have confined all of us into the concentration camp. Hunger is really a recipe for anger. But was His Excellency, Dr Kayode Fayemi really hungry to be that angry. Reeking through him was a bile so vile of the proportion that could be so dangerous; more for the owner than the object of angst. He was so drunk of segunoniphobia that he forgot to do something tangible in his country home during his first tenure as governor.
Think of it – Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, (EKSU) is subvented; the University of Education, Science and Technology Ikere-Ekiti would enjoy increased subvention in line with its new status; the College of Agriculture and Technology, Isan close to FUOYE, both in Oye local government area will equally be subvented by the state government from our collective wealth. The Qui Bono question remains: with all these subventions where would the funds come from in view of the dwindling revenue to the country itself as we have been told by the Federal government that the nation’s revenue has dropped by 60%. Hope we remember that Ekiti State is presently deemed to be a civil service based economy. They will have to borrow the more to run the government thus plunging the state into more debts.
The purpose of this write-up is to call on the elite and the stakeholders in Ekiti State project that they should not keep quiet over a serious issue like this. They should not keep aloof or feel unconcerned. Jointly, we must have a proper perspective of the destroyers of our collective legacies. The war against the pillaging of the state is so grave to be left to the amateurish discretion or political jobbers, rudderless and burnt out politicians. The state has been recording poor showing in almost every sector yet the resources are being frittered away recklessly at the expense of Ekiti development and the well being of the citizenry. The little charitable help the masses get from them is like the crumbs that beggar Lazarus picked up from the rich man’s table why the dog licked his ulcerous sore. Neither the crumbs nor the licking remedied the beggarly condition. The legacies bequeathed to the state by His Excellency Engr. Segun Oni were being destroyed precipitiously. Is this how we will coutinue as a state? What kind of a state is this? We are blessed with a lot of patriotic, incorruptible state builders, yet we acquiesced when the vandals were destroying our collective legacies. Does it mean we lack courageous and fearless men and women to unmask the destroyers? The good people of Ekiti state are yearning for a charismatic leader to inspire and give hope; a leader who will be able to institutionalize the concept of state growth as a vision and pursue it chauvinistically to make it easier for the people to think and live growth. And finally let us reason together to elect a leader who can effect a rescue and fix the state.
We shall not go down. We shall rise. God bless Ekiti State.
Anthony Ayeni
