BY SEYIFUNMI LUMEKO
An alumnus of Lagos State University (LASU), Ayobamidele Yussuf was once crowded with a negative thought when he applied to study Biochemistry in the university in 2013.
Up until then, the 36-year-old institution had earned for itself a bad reputation. Cultism, constant industrial crisis between management and workers, bad blood, and violence among other forms of indiscipline had been its hallmarks.
Yussuf too had a taste of those tumultuous days for two years until he advanced to 300-Level. Lo and behold, Yussuf and other LASU students and workers began to see a new LASU.
Yussuf who was of the 2017 set, now plies his trade as a Laboratory Scientist in the United Kingdom.
Beyond this, however, Yussuf is a lot happier that today, his alma mater has since shed the toga of violence and is now garbed in honour, royalty and excellence, thanks to its new leadership.
In a tribute made available to… Yussuf praised the Lagos State government for constituting a new Governing Council whereby the immediate past Governing Council Chairman Prof Adebayo Ninalolowo of the Department of Sociology, University of Lagos, was reappointed for another term.
Yussuf particularly praised the management of LASU led by Prof Olanrewaju Adigun Fagbohun (SAN), for offering a new direction into the once-rancourous institution.
He said the frenetic pace of development that LASU has recorded under Faghohun’s administration in less than five years, gives him (Yussuf) the hope of a better Nigeria.
“As fate would have it, just like the story of Jabez in the Bible, my story as a LASU student began to change dramatically during my 300-level days in 2016,” Yussuf began.
“A new Governing Council was constituted and a new Vice-Chancellor had just resumed office. Until this period of my life, I never thought that fast and real-time radical changes are possible in Nigeria.
From the university’s road network to accreditation of programs, faculty research, student innovations, the annihilation of cultism and a revamp in the university’s infrastructural landscape: the LASU I knew as a 200-Level student in 2015 transformed in a few months like a dream. It was a surreal experience!
“Today, whenever I read discouraging news about Nigeria as a Nigerian living in the United Kingdom, the story of LASU gives me hope that Nigeria can still solve its leadership conundrum.”
Yussuf said for nearly half a decade of Fagbohun in the saddle, the university now has a cacophony of testimonies, ranging from awards received by lecturers and students, improvement in infrastructures, a surge in research and innovation, and more positive reports in the media, all pointing towards a new narrative in the institution.
Yussuf continued: “Over the last five years, LASU has redefined itself from a university known for a crisis to a reputable institution leading the way in meaningful research, innovations, and all-round excellence.
The LASU narrative and buzz words on the pages of newspapers used to be ‘strike, closed down, riot, shot, decaying, union crisis, sent out’.
“Searching the name of LASU on Google then generated disheartening results that were capable of inciting suicidal thoughts.
While typing this article, I googled the word ‘LASU’ and the results that came up made me proud of my alma mater; the most recent news is a report about a team of LASU students defeating over 200 contenders across Nigeria in a competition organised by the World Intellectual Property Organisation. So, what changed?
Leadership!”
Yussuf recalled that as an alumnus, he was able to draw a line between good and bad governance following what he witnessed between the past and the present administration in LASU.
In addition, Yussuf noted that his sojourn in a foreign land has further opened up his perception about what an ideal leadership is all about.
He, therefore, concluded that both Prof Ninalowo and Prof Fagbohun deserve a pat on the back.
“As a LASU student and now Alumnus,” Yussuf added, “I watched how this duo and their colleagues meandered LASU to greatness even in the midst of herculean challenges and historical odds.
My program in the Faculty of Science was struggling to get accredited in 2015 but it became fully accredited before I graduated. Perhaps, the most important achievement of the current university administration is industrial harmony.
A plethora of industrial crisis held back LASU for many years. Yet, this crop of leaders has been able to earn the unwavering support and trust of overwhelming members of the LASU Community.”
Further, Yussuf described Prof Ninalowo’s reappointment as ‘most appropriate’. He urged doubting Thomases that Ninalowo’ leadership direction in the last four years is quite enviable and justifying his appointments so Ninalowo could consolidate on the project he started.
“Some commentators, out of misleading information or ignorance of the LASU dynamics, bemoaned the Governor’s reappointment of Professor Ninalowo as the Chairman of the LASU Governing Council.
“The growth of LASU while admirable is still fragile. It is currently at a stage where a complete overhaul of its top echelon would be counterproductive.
The tenure of the current VC will end in a few months and he will not be returning. Consequently, having an entirely new management leadership and a completely new Governing Council membership will hamper LASU’s transition to sustainable excellence.
Progress is always gradual and most times requires planned changes. It will be an unwise gamble to field only new faces on the Council considering how volatile LASU can be.
“A new VC with a totally new Council will not augur well for the continuous growth of the university; bearing in mind the several mischief and misconduct that the administration of Prof. Lanre Fagbohun has been bold enough to confront.
What Governor Sanwo-Olu has therefore succeeded in doing is to entrench a continuity of the excellence that has now become a regular trademark of the new LASU.
“To avoid derailing LASU from its present path of growth and pride, we must not suddenly overhaul a team that has not failed us,” he concluded.
