The Vice-Chancellor of Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, North Central Nigeria, Professor Lateef Folorunsho Oladimeji, has called on Nigerian professors to save the integrity of the noble academic profession by resisting attempts by politicians to use them in the rigging of elections.
”Academics appointed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must see electoral assignments as a national service that demands honesty, courage and a firm dedication to justice,” Oladimeji said in an interview with Newsmen in Ilorin, the Kwara State Capital.
“The electoral body deliberately engages professors and vice-chancellors because Nigerians have confidence in the academic community as a body of disciplined and incorruptible professionals,” he said.
“The umpire of the election in Nigeria must have studied the various groups in the country and come to the conclusion that academics are among those that should be regarded as incorruptible. That is why we still have professors and vice-chancellors playing major roles in election management,” he said.
Many academics had over the years performed election responsibilities creditably and the Vice-Chancellor said they had helped to strengthen public confidence in Nigeria’s democratic process.
As another electoral cycle looms, Oladimeji urged academics who might be called upon by INEC to remain impartial and resist every form of inducement capable of undermining the credibility of elections.
“My charge to professors is that whoever is invited must discharge that duty with the highest level of commitment. They should not compromise at all. “We always have to do the right thing,” he said.
The university administrator, who recently marked his first year in office as the sixth Vice-Chancellor of the institution, said universities had a threefold mandate of teaching, research and community service, and that taking part in election management was part of the responsibility of serving society.
In his first year in office, Oladimeji said his administration had done “so far, so fair,” attributing the progress of the university to divine grace and the collective efforts of the members of the institution. He said, having been a member of the foundation staff, and having held several strategic positions such as pioneer Head of the Department of Islamic Studies, Director of Academic Planning, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Registrar, he was able to understand the needs and aspirations of the institution.
The university was recording its highest student enrolment in history, a positive fruit already bearing from his ‘Stress-Free Mantra’ policy, he said.
He said Al-Hikmah admitted more than 2,000 students during the last admission exercise while postgraduate enrolment rose to more than 2,700 students. He also disclosed that the university’s sandwich programme recorded over 1,000 fresh admissions, a development he traced to deliberate efforts to expand access without compromising on academic standards.
Oladimeji also cited academic achievements under his administration, saying that all the 23 undergraduate programmes and five postgraduate programmes submitted for accreditation by the National Universities Commission (NUC) had been fully accredited.
He said the achievement was a major milestone, but said accreditation was still crucial to the maintenance of quality assurance and public confidence in university education.
The Vice-Chancellor also disclosed that the university has received the approval of the NUC to commence Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programmes which would enable workers and other prospective students to pursue degree programmes by distant learning without resigning from their jobs.
On the issue of institutional values, Oladimeji said the university would continue to be committed to producing graduates who would not only be distinguished by academic excellence but also by sound moral character.
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He said the institution has continued to receive commendation for producing graduates that are making meaningful contributions in different sectors across the world. He said the institution’s Centre for Community Development regularly undertakes outreach programmes across Kwara State to improve public health awareness and community development.
The Vice-Chancellor revealed that in line with the Kwara State Government’s drive to position the state as an innovation hub, the university is working with the government through strategic engagements and partnerships.
He said the university had met with several relevant government officials and recently hosted a seminar attended by several commissioners in support of the state’s innovation agenda.
“There is a concerted effort. The university has been engaging the relevant officers at the Kwara State level. We recently had a seminar which several of the commissioners attended. It falls in line with the state’s innovation hub initiative because we believe in synergies with organisations whose programmes are in line with our philosophy and vision,” he said.
He added that entrepreneurship remains a major pillar of his administration through AbdulRahim Oladimeji Centre for Vocational and Entrepreneurial Services where every undergraduate, irrespective of discipline, is given practical entrepreneurial training.
The programme is designed to produce graduates that would be employers of labour and not job seekers, he said, adding that students are assisted to register companies with the Corporate Affairs Commission before graduation, and prepared with the structures that will enable them to start their businesses immediately after leaving the university.
