- Governing Council defends appointment as free, fair, open
By Banji Ayoola
The first female Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Prof Adenike Temidayo Oladiji, has taken over as the institution’s eighth substantive head, even as its Governing Council defended her appointment as free, fair and transparent.
She was inaugurated on Tuesday by the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Council, Dr Godknows lgali, who commended the “commitment and zeal demonstrated by members of the Search Team, the Joint Council and Senate Selection Board and the entire members of Council to ensure a fair, transparent and equitable selection process.”
At the inauguration ceremony, he said: “I must confess that it was not an easy task making a choice among these erudite professors and scholars of repute who all demonstrated great capacities to lead the University.
“In my more than forty years of public service, covering international relations, diplomacy, administration and even politics, I had never been confronted with such an arduous selection process of appointment of persons to fill a vacant position.
“This is due to the fact that the process was a keenly contested one by eminently qualified global scholars who could be entrusted to lead an institution of such character around the world, even as shown by the overall scores of the candidates.
“As we know in any exercise of this nature, a winner must emerge. Thus, we are gathered here today to celebrate and formally inaugurate the person who has so emerged. I did promise the whole world at the inception of the appointment process that the entire exercise would be fair, honest and transparent.
” I can assure you here today with every sense of responsibility that the process that produced Prof. Adenike Temidayo Oladiji as the new Vice-Chancellor of this University was methodical, thorough and transparent.
“As a man whose entire life has been governed by bureaucratic and protocol norms, I had no choice than to follow the well-outlined guidelines which the Federal Government has put in place after very detailed negotiations championed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
“These guidelines are premised on the doctrine of academic freedom, which enables universities to choose Vice-Chancellors without any intervention or whatsoever by the government.
” The law guiding the selection process stipulates that “the Joint Council and Senate Selection Board shall consider the candidates and persons on the shortlist drawn by Council through an examination of their curriculum vitae and interaction with them, and recommend to Council three candidates for further consideration of any of them in no particular order.
“Council shortlisted twenty (20) candidates out of the twenty-nine (29) that applied for the position of the Vice-Chancellor in line with the stated criteria.
“The selection criteria were also strictly followed by the Selection Board to arrive at the three candidates based strictly on merit.
“These three who include Prof. Shadrack Akindele, Prof. Adenike Temidayo Oladiji and Prof. Isaac Ajewole were recommended to Council from which Prof. Oladiji emerged as the choice of Council in the exercise of this, is the unique statutory function in which all members of Council who were in attendance fully participated and applauded up to the end.
“I wish to acknowledge and commend all the candidates who competed for the position for demonstrating sportsmanship and their worth.
“I use this medium to request you to join hands with the new Vice-Chancellor to move this University forward. The University needs your experience, ideas, knowledge and contributions at this moment to take it to greater heights. We need you to bring all those lofty visions you have for the University to the table as we strive for excellence as a world-class University of Technology.
“I also acknowledge, most sincerely, the understanding and cooperation of our various Staff Unions here in the University, that is ASUU, SSANU, NASU, NAAT, especially for granting concessions/waivers for their members to participate in the selection process at a time of National Strike, which has virtually shut down the entire system in the country.”
Advising the new Vice-Chancellor to “work assiduously to not only sustain but improve upon the current rating of the University,” Igali told Adediji: “You need to provide exemplary leadership and bring harmony among the various sectors of the University.
“You will have to surpass the achievements of your predecessors in terms of academic and infrastructural development.
“You must be able to bring your managerial abilities to the fore to harness available resources to achieve breakthroughs for the University on all fronts.”
On workers’ welfare, he said: “One question of great concern is the importance of according topmost priority to the welfare of members of the University community. The saying goes ’an incentivised worker is a productive worker,’ and vice versa.
“The welfare of all sections of the university community must be taken very seriously and be rest assured that I will do my level best to assist and support you in this respect.”
ln her inaugural address, Oladiji, a Professor of Biochemistry, extended her hand of fellowship to others who aspired for the position, saying: “I solicit your support and cooperation to move our great University to greater heights.
She promised: “We will network and be the hub for the much-desired change in the higher education sector with your support.
“I will provide a purposeful and pragmatic leadership, creating an environment that cherishes unity in diversity and equity which is grounded on tolerance, understanding and probity.
“I will promote and ensure esprit de corps, team building, and team working, to facilitate a conducive working and learning environment for all.
“My focus and priority will be to Improve Internally Generated Revenue; Prioritise staff and students’ welfare; Intensify capacity building and staff development; Deepen research; Enhance students’ experience on campus; Engender peace, security, and stability; Expand the University – New academic programmes and infrastructural development; and Positively impact the host community.”
According to her: “It may appear a difficult task, but I am confident that with your support we can meet our target and even surpass it.”
Oladiji said she would ensure that the gains of FUTA were sustained and improved upon.
She thanked the university’s governing council for free and fair processes that led to her appointment and the confidence reposed in her.
The vice-chancellor promised not to let them down, with assurances to be friends to all and serve humanity, assuring that she would network with others to bring much change to the university.
Oladiji said that she would improve revenue generation for the university and the welfare of staff and students of the institution.
She, therefore, asked for the support of her co-applicants and the generality of the university community for her to succeed in the new task.
Her words: “The Federal University of Technology, Akure is doing well, but there is always room for improvement.
“As a university of technology, we must be prepared to deal with emerging questions to be answered. The COVID-19 experience showed there is a lot of ground yet uncovered.
“Addressing most of the big issues facing humanity captured succinctly in the sustainable development goals requires that we network across country borders and academic disciplines.
“No single institution, country or discipline can exclusively provide solutions.
“We will network and be the hub for the much-desired change in the higher education sector.
“I will focus on improved Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), staff and student’s welfare, capacity building, research, infrastructural development, positive impacts on host communities, amongst others,” she stated.
Earlier, her predecessor, Prof. Joseph Fuwape, said that all his agenda for the institution when he became FUTA’s VC was accomplished.
He added that FUTA was ranked as the best university of Technology in Nigeria and the second-best university in Nigeria.
He asked the university community to extend hands of fellowship to the new vice chancellor for the institution to record higher success.
Oladiji, who, until her new appointment, was of the Department of Biochemistry, University of Ilorin, would be the first female to be appointed as VC of the institution in its four decades of existence.
She was among the two females and 27 males who applied for the job.
Her appointment was approved by the institution’s Governing Council headed by the Pro-Chancellor, Ambassador Godknows Igali, at its Special Meeting held on Thursday, May 12, 2022.
The institution’s Registrar and Secretary to Council, Mr. Richard Arifalo, had in a statement said that the Council shortlisted 20 applicants for interview at the close of application for the post.
He also explained that the Joint Council and Senate Selection Board recommended three candidates for appointment in line with extant regulations governing the process.
Besides, he disclosed that Oladiji came top when the Council decided to vote following the closeness of the score of the three recommended candidates.
Her appointment which took effect from Tuesday, May 24, 2022, is for a single term of five years.
Oladiji was born on 27th April, 1968. She attended Christ Anglican School, Ijomu-Oro, Iludun Oro Nursery and Primary School between 1972 and 1977 and St. Claire’s Anglican Grammar School, Offa from 1977 to 1982, all in Kwara State, for her secondary education.
She holds a B.Sc Biochemistry, Second Class Upper Division Degree from the University of Ilorin, 1988; MSc. Biochemistry, University of Ilorin, 1991; and Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Biochemistry from the University of Ilorin, 1997.
She joined the services of the University of Ilorin in July 1992 as Assistant Lecturer and was appointed a Professor in September 2011.
She has over 29 years of continuous service in the university system. She has held various positions and served on almost all University Committees as Chairman and Member.
She has also served in various capacities including Head of Department; Sub Dean of Faculty; Deputy Director, Center for International Education; Director, Center for Research and Development and In-House Training; Director, Central Research Laboratory; Dean, School Of Basic Medical Sciences (Kwara State University); Dean, School of Life Sciences and Member, Governing Council, Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa and Crown Hill University, Eyenkorin, Ilorin.
A prolific reseacher with over 100 publications, Oladiji has won many distinctions and awards which include University’s Merit Award, Certificate of Merit and scholarships among others.
She is a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science and Fellow, Nigerian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She has served as Member of various Scientific Committees at the National Universities Commission, NUC, Tertiary Education Fund, TetFund and has been an external examiner in over 20 Universities in Nigeria and outside the country.
She is a Member of Professional Bodies such as the West Africa Research and Innovation Management (WARIMA), American Society of Nutrition, Organization for Women in Science for Developing World (OSWD), Science Association of Nigeria and Nigerian Society for Experimental Biology.
She is happily married and blessed with children.
Oladiji succeeds Prof Joseph Fuwape, whose term ended on Monday, 23rd May, 2022.
