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OAU VC: Crises Not Over

By Web News 705

Despite the return of normalcy to the Campus of Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU Ile following the protracted protest by Ile-Ife indigenes over the emergence of a new Vice Chancellor for the University, the crisis is far from being over.
In a fresh development, members of the Ife Progressives Forum, an umbrella body of Ile-Ife indigenes have called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the  Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu to look into the selection process of the Vice Chancellor in the interest of Justice.
At a Press Conference in Ile-Ife, addressed by the President of the Ife Progressives Forum, Dr Famoriyo Gbolade, the Ile-Ife indigenes maintained that the selection process of the head of the Obafemi Awolowo University was manipulated against the emergence of an Ife person.
Dr Gbolade who presented a table tagged “Academic Profile of the Contestants” submitted that Professor R. A Adedoyin an Ife indigene from the University and Professor O. D Makinde an Idea person who applied from outside were the most qualified of the sixteen scholars screeners for the job of the OAU VC, yet a less qualified person was selected.
” Despite producing many qualified academics over the years, a deliberate mechanism has been put in place to ensure that no indigene has gotten to the post. Now, given precedence set in other federal schools including Universities of Benin, Ibadan and Ilorin, where deliberate efforts were made to appoint indigenes to VC posts, the argument is what is different about Ife?”
Dr Gbolade alleged that ” the secrecy surrounding the exercise is highly suspicious. There was path administered on the members of selection Committee, before the interviews were conducted and after, and during the process of compiling the results.”
Responding to a question on the alleged Protest of traditional worshipers on the campus, the Coordinator of Ife Youths Organization, Mr Abimbola Afolabi explained that what happened on campus was not ritual but prayers to appease God.
Mr Afolabi said if not for the suspension of the protest, there was arraignment to have both Christians and Muslim faithful conduct their own prayer on the University campus.
Recall that following the last week announcement of Professor Adebayo Bamire as the new Vice Chancellor of the University, some residents of Ile-Ife had embarked on protest to draw attention to what they described as a manipulated process to deliberately deny Ife indigene of becoming the Vice Chancellor of the institution.

Adenitan Akinola

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OAU VC: Soyinka Decries Indigenes’ Protest

By Web News 655

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has described the protests embarked upon by some Ile Ife indigenes over the announcement of a non-native as the next Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University as “crazy”.

Soyinka, a former lecturer at OAU, spoke at a lecture titled, ‘The Politics of Black Intellection and Creativity, at the University of Pennsylvania, the United States’, which was the first of the newly-inaugurated Distinguished Lecture series in African Studies.

Reacting to a question by Professor Wale Adebanwi, Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Africana Studies, Department of Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania, Soyinka said he’s “shocked” over the incessant kidnappings, ritual killings and violence that have become the order of the day in Nigeria.

Asked to express his reaction to the agitations that the next Vice-Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University must be an indigene of its host city, Soyinka faulted the protesters.

He said, “An Ife person wrote me and say, look at these people disgracing us. I told him to go there and disgrace them. You are an Ife person. You should be in the front line.

“The Ife people should say those people don’t belong to us, we don’t know where they came from. And they should be dealt with ruthlessly. Why should there be an Ife VC anywhere? I just don’t understand what they put in the water these days. It is crazy.”

Since the announcement of Professor Adebayo Bamire as the 12th substantive VC of OAU, some Ife indigenes commenced protest.

The protesters argued that an Ife indigene should have been appointed.

According to report, Prof Rufus Adedoyin, who hails from Ile-Ife, came ninth in the screening, which saw sixteen candidates shortlisted for interaction for the post of VC by the Joint Council and Senate Selection Board.

Determined to ensure the installation of an Ile-Ife indigene as the next OAU VC, some indigenes entered the varsity’s campus with charms and other fetish objects on Monday.

They also closed the varsity’s two major gates, thereby preventing staff, students, and other stakeholders from either coming into or leaving the University.

The protests by the Ife indigenes started last Thursday, March 17, 2022, shortly after the University Governing Council, led by its Chairman, Owelle Oscar Udoji, announced a professor of Agricultural Economics, Bamire, as the 12th substantive VC.

Punch/Taiwo Akinola

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Modakeke Crisis: “Come To Our Aid” – Osun Indigenes Tell Governor Oyetola

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Indigenes of Ile-Ife are seeking the urgent intervention of the Osun State Governor, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola to put an end to the alleged acts of provocation by Modakeke people.

They want the Governor to facilitate the return of displaced Ife land owners and farmers to their respective villages and farms, while they also urge Osun State government to ensure that lawfully appointed Obas and Baales by Ooni of Ife for villages in Ife North Local government areas return to their domains.

The indigenes, under the auspice of Great Ife Movement (GIM) at a press conference held at Enuwa area, Ile-Ife alleged that the Baales, Obas, land owners and farmers were displaced by alleged conducts of the Modakeke peoole.

Highlighting the positions of Ile Ife people, President of Great Ife Movement, Comrade Femi Oyeyinka alleged that such conduct which were sometimes violent and deliberate amounted to an attempt to hijack everything that belonged to Ile-ife, including the whole Ife metropolitan city, an attempt to rewrite history.

Comrade Oyeyinka who urged government and security agencies to intervene before the issue degenerate said all the complaints of Ife people on the various atrocities committed against them were treated with kid glove.

“Enough of war or crisis between Ife and Modakeke. Ife are ready to continue to accommodate, host and live peacefully with Modakeke and other communities in Ife land in line with the statutory law of our land based on justice, fairness and equity”, He said.

As an urgent measure to achieving sustainable peace in the area, the Great Ife Movement’s President called for a “review of the past judicial recommendations and implement those yet to be enforced”.

Reacting to the allegations, spokesperson of Modakeke Progressive Union (MPU), Venerable Debo Babalola, denied any attempt by Modakeke peoole to We encroach on Ife land or forment trouble.

Venerable Babalola said indigenes of Modakeke were for peace and would never disrespect the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi.

He said some of the issues raised, had been addressed by Ooni during 2021 Modakeke Day and the people heeded Oba Ogunwusi’s advice not to promote conduct that could further leads to disaffection.

Adenitan Akinola