An incomprehensible decision taken at a wrong time

Late MKO Abiola
| credits: File copy

Then Chief M.K.O Abiola died in 1998, Nigerians requested that a national monument be named after him. That was right! Some even suggested that the most appropriate monument is the National Stadium, Abuja. The reason for this, was not far-fetched. Abiola was referred to as the Pillar of sports in Africa. The relevance of the great man, can never be overemphasised having paid the supreme sacrifice for the nation too. This is all well said, and good too.

However, the issue of re-naming the University of Lagos after Abiola is an incomprehensible decision taken at a wrong time when the university is in a mourning mood. If Prof. Tokunboh Sofoluwe were an army General, the flags on UNILAG campus by now, would be flying at half-mast. His corpse was still lying in the morgue when the president made his broadcast to the nation. The spontaneous rejection of this order shows how unwelcome the decision of the Jonathan government has been. All over the world, the dead is always honoured. We even say, “Never talk evil of the dead”. This was expected if only as a mark of respect to Sofoluwe, an equally first class nationalist in his own right as an academic of no mean measure just like Abiola was equally a great nationalist figure both as a politician and sports enthusiast.

I listened to parts of the homily delivered by the former Primate of the Anglican Communion, Rt. Revd Peter Akinola. This was even before this statement came from the President. The cleric told the President, and those who were in that church service that, it was high time, he did away with most of his present team of ministers and advisers.

The University of Lagos got the name through an Act of Parliament in 1962. A unique aspect of the establishment of the university was that it was conceived more or less as two separate institutions. The main university and the medical school as an autonomous unit within the institution. The University of Lagos Act 1962 also made provisions for a provisional council of eleven members charged with the control of the policy and the superintendence of the property of the university excepting the Medical School; for a Senate in charge of academic affairs; and a Medical School Council with powers over the policy, property and what could be summarised as the academic affairs of the Medical School. In other words, the Medical School was subject to the control of neither the Provisional Council nor the Senate of the university. Based on this Act, Dr. E.N.O Sodeinde, a distinguished medical practitioner and a stickler for procedure, was selected as chairman while the link with the Medical School Council was provided by its chairman and Dean of the Medical School, Prof. H. Orishejolomi-Thomas and by the Vice-Dean, Prof. F.O. Dosekun.

The need for this background story is to ask the question, “where was the Attorney-General of the Federation when the President’s speech was being drafted, so that he could advise that the University of Lagos was set up through an Act of Parliament with a Council and Senate that ought to be consulted on issues affecting it. Evidence available shows that this was not done. The announcement came to the University Council, its Senate and the Medical School Councils just the same way it got to the ordinary man in the street. Something is wrong somewhere. This is yet another failure after the Justice Isa Salami issue on the part of the Attorney-General of the Federation. It is not too late to rescind this order. A Yoruba proverb says, “Oyinbo to se lead lo tun se eresa” i.e. the white man who made the lead pencil also provided it with an eraser. Mau-Mau is a terrorist organisation in Kenya while MAUL is to beat and bruise. The deed is not done yet, The University of Lagos Act 1962, to me, is, still firmly on ground. UNILAG lives on. The name cannot be “MAUL-ed”.

•Prince Aroloye, a former employee of UNILAG, wrote in via andreprod@yahoo.com