Alumni of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, under the platform of Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates Association (UNIFEMGA), have advised the governing council of the university to review the policy on the appointment of candidates for key positions in the university.
UNIFEMGA said that this is necessary in order to avoid the crisis that characterised the recent appointment of the new Vice-Chancellor for the university.
DAILY POST recalls that some indigenes of Ile-Ife recently staged protests against the appointment of the new Vice-Chancellor of the university.
UNIFEMGA have however urged the governing council and the Visitor of the university, to revisit the policy for selection of all key positions in the university.
They advised that the policy should be visible, transparent and fixed for a period.
They noted that this will allow all potential aspirants to work between one period to the next to be the most suitable candidate without the criteria being slightly tweaked to be perceived to favour any candidate.
A statement signed by the duo of Engineer AbdulFattah Olanlege, National President; and Alhaji R.A Ebiti, Chairman, Board of Trustees, maintained that the association was seriously disappointed and condemned the actions of some protesters who were reported to have attacked the university security staff and students.
The association, in the statement made available to DAILY POST on Sunday, also called on other stakeholders within Ile-Ife not to use the opportunity to destabilize the school.
“The leadership of Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates Association (UNIFEMGA) have watched with dismay the drama and aggression displayed by alleged indigenes of Ile Ife protesting the recent announcement of the result of the selection process for the new Vice-Chancellor by the Chairman of the Governing Council of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife.
“We are seriously disappointed and condemn the actions of the protesters who were reported to have attacked University security staff and students and were seen on social media threatening and cursing with charms and traditionalists’ paraphernalia, key personalities they believed to be behind their ‘woes’.
“While the association recognizes the right of any aggrieved group to express their grievances peacefully, all elements who choose to show their grievance by causing havoc should be identified and disciplined appropriately by the relevant authorities,” the statement read.
“We call on the University Governing Council and indeed the Visitor, to revisit the policy for selection for all key positions in the university to be visible, transparent and fixed for a period so all potential aspirants can work between one period to the next to be the most suitable candidate without the criteria being slightly tweaked to be perceived to favour any candidate.
“We also call on other external stakeholders within Ile Ife who may have other issues with the school management not to use this opportunity to destabilize the school for the sake of the students and the ordinary people who earn their daily bread from and around the university”.
