Professor Olugbenga Ige: The People’s Vice Chancellor, By Tunde Akingbondere

In the course of the struggle that eventually birthed the appointment of Professor Olugbenga Ige as the substantive Vice Chancellor of the Adekunle Ajasin University on 7th July, 2021, by the administration of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, in line with his powers as the Visitor to the University under paragraph 3(8) of Schedule 1 of the Adekunle Ajasin University Law, a lot took place. As a witness and active participator in this history, I can bluntly attest to the fact that academics saw this ambition as a personal course that must come to fruition, insisting that the appointment of an insider will go a long way in stabilizing administration and helping the university grow.

Leading this band of renowned academics on the campus of the university is one Professor Victor Olumekun of the Plant Science and Biotechnology Department. Olumekun, a vast academic and a member of the Founding Academic Staff, has travelled the world and may be renowned for his fierce dispositions on the administration of the country. Insisting that the university’s past successes were fruits of the staff’s hard work hence the need to reward them with the Vice Chancellorship, Olumekun fired thus: “As one of the Founding Staff members of this university, I believe we are old enough to have an internal Vice Chancellor to manage the institution.”

“We have successfully made a mark and created a brand for the school among other tertiary institutions in Nigeria, so the agitation is that our professors are competent enough to manage the institution. Obviously, the successes could not have been single-handedly achieved by the person at the top but by the academic staff.”

Backing Olumekun, two academics, Tayo Ogungbeni (the Secretary of SANNU as at then) and Professor Alaba Gbadamosi, made categorical remarks that bluntly attested to the unanimous agreement of the academic staff to operate through Professor Olugbenga Ige. Ogungbeni said: “An internal person knows our problem and will understand how to address them.”

Gbadamosi also said: “The relative peace we have enjoyed in the last two years of the administration of the current Acting VC cannot be compared with the past. It is because he is one of us and knows the terrain. That is why we need someone like him who will be able to galvanize the people and let peace reign. But if a university of 21 years cannot produce a VC, I think that is outrageous.”

“If an external person is selected, they will still have to be briefed about the internal mechanism. Unfortunately, we don’t have a say in the appointment. That’s why we are urging the Governing Council and the university’s Visitor to consider our wish.”

Professor Olugbenga Ebenezer Ige holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Botany from the University of Benin in 1984. He proceeded to Nigeria’s premier university, the University of Ibadan, for his Master of Science Degree in Botany in 1993 and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Botany with specialization in Palynology & Palaeocology in 2004. I have been familiar with the person prior to his emergence as Acting and Vice Chancellor. As student union activists, we are trained to be careful while dealing with officials of the management. We deeply understand that the interests of the management and those of the students we represent are most times not similar, or even the same. Though it is normal for academics to frame these interests as one, sometimes they even clarify that the interest of the management is paramount while that of the students follows. It is normal that the management will not see student leaders as stakeholders, but as weak partners with no stake.

They believe that, as students, one needs the validation of the university through a Provisional admission that had been handed to him. This admission, if withdrawn, will only complicate matters as he has lost the right to be a student and a student leader. However, with the invocation of Aluta and its revolutionary chants, university stakeholders have been forced to fear the students, including their capacity to shut down anywhere should the management ignore them on topical issues involving them.

Prior to Professor Olugbenga Ige’s appointment as the substantive Vice Chancellor of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, he led from the front as the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), a position that exposed him to leadership responsibilities under the vast leadership of a smart, quite connected Professor of Agriculture and Vice Chancellor and now Commissioner for Education in Ondo State, Amos Igbekele Ajibefun. It is worthy of special note that he also actively participated in ASUU’s struggle as a comrade and activist who believes university workers should get the best treatment from the government, leading from the front as the Chairman, ASUU AAUA. Utilizing the lethal weapons of calculated oratory and media, Ige represented workers’ rights and led a lot of struggles.

Rising from these important backgrounds, Ige has won the trust of the majority of the staff, who in the stead of wasting much time, courageously struck a deal with him. The deal was that he would be backed for the Vice Chancellorship, but that he would use the office for them. Difficult but worthwhile agreement that history has marked victorious since no single term of that agreement had been breached—except, of course, if it was improved upon.

It is not in doubt that the agreement with the staff of the university was not made in the course of political campaigns only for it to be breached later. In fact, he was approached after so much study and assessments carried out by the intellectually rigorous academics on campus who have worked with him for several years and can attest to his pristine values, attention to work, and discipline. They know that for the needed transformation to take place, only his option will make that happen. They were also willing to work with only that person they can trust to inspire intellectual growth by providing myriad opportunities for academics who are looking at stepping up in their careers. For the students, I think they also want a familiar person who can make things better. Professor Ige looks like that person.

Professor Olugbenga Ige: tall, dark, stern, sartorial, and cerebral. Sometimes, it is right to describe him as a very blunt person, probably with some touch of discipline. Ige knows when to voice his mind without minding whose ox is gored; he also knows when to speak with the highest level of humility that will even calm the devil. Not likely the Vice Chancellor you will find emerging from a student’s villa in the dead of the night in his vehicle. He explored and meritoriously used that office without tarnishing his reputation, always wearing the office with the highest level of dignity everywhere. More profound testimony about Professor Olugbenga is his willingness to live within his means without throwing himself around or attempting to live a luxurious life by probably dipping his hands into the till of the university to feather his flamboyant lifestyle. In the stead of flying to Abuja with a few of his staff for conferences, Ige prefers boldly confronting the challenge of daring our highly terrible roads, including the accompanying insecurity, utilizing his official vehicle. It is not in doubt that these are the things only an insider will do for the growth of the university.

I want to confidently say Professor Ige knows virtually all his lecturers by name and might probably have all their numbers; if he doesn’t, he probably knows how to get their numbers. It is not in doubt that he also embodies the rare ability to identify loyal allies—persons who will not frustrate his efforts. He fixes these people in strategic positions of responsibilities to avoid crises or hiccups in administration. Obviously, this contributed to the relative peace his administration enjoyed, including the smooth academic calendar.

I am particularly interested in the Professor Ige who is always a stickler for rules, except in exceptional circumstances when he has to bend or compromise these rules, and not for criminal purposes. He tells you to do the right thing even if that will take time and can be very strict with them. I have only seen rare occasions when he has bent these rules. A particular occasion like that occurred in the course of my visit to his office: an old Edo woman whose daughter is stuck somewhere abroad and couldn’t get a job with which she could survive rushed down to the university, seeking that the university be magnanimous enough to provide her with the Notification of Results since her daughter could not come back to Nigeria to claim it in person.

The woman had, as at that time, been to various offices including that of the Registrar before eventually resorting to visit the Vice Chancellor. Upon being intimated with the woman’s plight, he mentioned that the rule is that the student comes to claim the Certificate in person and not by proxy. He however invited the woman and relayed the same information, only for her to burst into tears, begging the Vice Chancellor not to allow her lose her only daughter abroad. Touched by the woman’s situation, the Vice Chancellor invited the Registrar and asked him questions, only for the Registrar to confirm the same rule. In his magnanimity, the Vice Chancellor promised to personally intervene by waiving this strict rule so the woman could have peace. He told the woman to go and rest at home and come the next day for it and probably return to Edo later. I was touched by this development, including the consideration by the Vice Chancellor on compassionate grounds.

Another touching case was that of Akin-Ademola Emmanuel, a student of the Department of Mass Communication who was erroneously suspended by a sham panel trial constituted by the university in the aftermath of a hijacked protest that took place in the university. For his vocal disposition in the aftermath of the protest and not direct participation or incitement, he was suspended from the university by the university’s disciplinary committee. This student wrote a passionate letter of appeal to the Vice Chancellor, calling for the re-consideration of the report that suspended him or the constitution of another panel altogether, particularly in light of his innocence. The VC, in the stead of dismissing a suspended student exploring every avenue to return to the university, did not prevent him from furthering his appeal to the Governing Council under Dr. Tunji Abayomi. As God would have it, this suspension was eventually lifted and this student was able to return to the university.

AAUA is not only in a class of its own; it is a special place that demands the highest level of professionalism and leadership. To be the Vice Chancellor of the Adekunle Ajasin University, you must embody the highest level of emotional intelligence, including a deep understanding of its environment, including the psychology of the people. Taking cues from the book by Professor Femi Mimiko on his sojourn as the Vice Chancellor of AAUA, one will understand that being a Vice Chancellor in such a university is not a bed of roses. A former Vice Chancellor of the university at its inception, Professor Amos Akindoyeni, encountered considerable challenges in the course of his leadership and couldn’t swim through successfully. He caught himself in the web of a students’ uprising triggered by an increment in tuition, but couldn’t manage the situation well until it escalated into a raging inferno that almost consumed the university, including him. Professor Akindoyeni’s case is a textbook illustration of what can happen when situations are not well managed and when one dares such consequences can have far-reaching implications. The book clearly captured a situation that fueled a bus driver in the university, Baba Oyo, pointing to the Vice Chancellor on his first day in school, saying that if he is not careful, he will be disgraced like his predecessors who were not reasonable enough.

As a unionist and leader, Professor Ige blended his experience to ensure a stable relationship between the office of the Vice Chancellor and the staff, avoiding a circumstance that could lead to a face-off bound to adversely affect the academic calendar. In the course of his administration, the morale of the academic staff was boosted, particularly through opportunities provisions, including the legendary promotion of no fewer than 109 academics to the rank of full professors, thirteen and five members of the Non-Academic staff to the positions of Deputy Registrar and Deputy Bursar, respectively. “These promotions have substantially boosted staff morale, directly enhancing productivity and the quality of service delivery across the institution,” he said.

His administration started the construction of an 80-capacity hostel in the university, pulling funds from staff, students, alumni, and stakeholders. This is deemed to be the first of its kind in the university and will serve the students when it is ready. For his capacity and exceptional policies, he has won various awards, prominent among which is being named among the 20 best Vice Chancellors in Nigeria, including being pronounced the pillar of education. These are not mere emblems but principled representation of excellence.

I join many others in celebrating the iconic administrator and professor of professors on the occasion of his retirement as Vice Chancellor. I also credit his person without in any way trying to sugarcoat any of his strides. May history vindicate him as just and performing.