Universities require adequate funding to function effectively — OAU VC, Prof Bamire
Professor Adebayo Simeon Bamire was inaugurated yesterday as the 12th substantive Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State. In this interview with journalists, including our correspondent Azeez Ismail and assistant news editor, Abimbola Abatta, the newly inaugurated VC disclosed his plans towards propelling the institution on the path of progress. EXCERPTS:
What will you do diff- erently for OAU during your tenure?
Let me first appreciate God for this moment for his goodness in my life, and to tell you that I am a man of peace. When you check my name, which says ‘Bamire.’ That Bamire means, “Be my friend.” So I like making peace wherever I am because I find it very difficult to move ahead if there is disunity anywhere, and that is why I am always appealing to our unions that are not in good shape to come together so that we can work together as one because a house divided against itself it cannot stand.
There are so many things my predecessors have done, but there is always for room for improvement, and incidentally, the rooms are so large this time around because of the inadequacy of fund. But by God’s grace, we are going to enhance our internally generated revenue in such a way that ensures that we support the government’s funding opportunities. We will also make sure that we involve all stakeholders outside, collaborators from various areas, philanthropists, various companies, private sectors and government in all areas. And you know I am in the Faculty of Agriculture, particularly in the department of Agriculture Economics, and we have land resources here. We will be able to make use of the land resources to enhance and promote a lot of things aside from generating income, and it will be a knowledge base for our students. They would able to bring up community enterprises within the University setting.
We will also do a PP arrangement. We will engage the developers in various activities in the University setting. So by these, we will have transformation in its entirety. We will be dealing with companies. We shall not be buying items on retail bases. But we will be buying items from the ‘source,’ the manufacturers themselves, and so we will be able to generate a lot of funds and move the institution forward academically and in all ways. This is because all the things that we are talking about with respect to improving learning opportunities, among others, require funds. I also have an advantage because most of the friends of the immediate past Vice-Chancellor are also my friends. And I also have my own enclaves as well. So, I will combine the two and those of others to ensure that we move forward.
What do you think is the solution to ASUU strike and ASUU challenges?
The solution to ASUU challenges is just one that ASUU should be given the opportunity to enhance the facility within the system, and enhancing the facilities within the system requires that adequate funding is provided for education.
What message do you have for the students who are at home now?
To the students at home, we are hopeful. By God’s grace, ASUU is still negotiating, and I believe that there is nothing that goes out of dialogue. I believe that at the end of the day, it will come up well. Students should try as much as possible to be patient and at the same time, they should learn skills. There are so many skills online that they can learn from. I have some students that have actually grown up as a result of skills in data analysis, leadership skills and other skills that are adding value to them. Students are not supposed to come back to the university and remain the same. They should come with value and that will help a lot.
What are the expectations from the government?
The university should be able to function as it should. And for the university should function effectively, we need funds. That is why we are really going all out to ensure that we generate increased IGR to be able to support the government in achieving this.
We have some universities in the western world that are generating their revenue. What is your plan as a Vice-Chancellor to make sure OAU stands on its own?
Actually, OAU can stand alone, but there are so many established structures that have been built over the time that require the government to provide funds to re-situate those structures. When that is done, the University itself will be able to go all out to look outside the box and generate enough funds to bring it into the University to be able to stand alone. But it involves a lot of things. It involves the cooperation of all students’ union body, the various unions’ staff within the university and everybody within the university setting.
