The Asiwaju of Ijesaland, Yinka Fasuyi, has described the personal selection of principal officers of the University of Ilesa by Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun state as “a breach of universal best practice.”
The Ijesa leader in a letter to the governor on Friday noted that the newly appointed vice-chancellor “should have emerged from a competitive contest with other similarly qualified candidates to ensure that the best available hand emerges at the end of the exercise.”
Governor Adeleke had appointed Prof Taiwo Asaolu as the Vice-Chancellor of Ilesa University while Funso Ojo was appointed as registrar, Dr. Mukaila Oyekanmi as bursar and Adewale Ogunsipe was appointed as librarian.
He stressed that, “A situation where the state government unilaterally selects both the university governing council and principal officers may eventually lead to a relationship of Yes Daddy between the university and the state government, which is considered detrimental to the success and growth of the new university.”
He said, “The danger in the approach employed for the appointment is that the university principal officers are likely to have their allegiance to their political appointors as against their academic community.
“This approach could also threaten the university’s adherence to the principle of university autonomy in the process of its policy and day-to-day running.
“This approach could further complicate and undermine the capacity of the university for independent decision-making since the university governing council will also be solely appointed by the political class.”
He commended the choice of Ijesa’s son as the vice-chancellor, saying, “We do not doubt his academic prowess, huge competence, enterprise loaded and visionary capacity.”
