Any objective reader of the 2-page advertorial which appeared on pages 40 and 41 of the Guardian Newspaper of 26 June 2019 by a certain “Concerned Stakeholders” will, without any iota of doubt, know that it is a typical biblical case of hand of Esau but voice of Jacob.
No genuine stakeholder familiar with the history and the nature of the present challenges of UNILAG will cannonise Wale Babalakin (Babalakin) and his lackeys and demonise the immediate past and current Vice Chancellors Professors Rahamon Adisa Bello and Prof. Toyin Ogundipe with their respective Management Teams who have worked assiduously towards not just building but maintaining the enviable UNILAG brand.
The advertorial must have cost a fortune far beyond the financial capacity or inclination of genuine stakeholders in UNILAG. The fingerprints of Babalakin, who is unarguably the paymaster and the master of the entire game are evident in the publication. In line with the wisdom of calling a spade a spade, the publication is nothing but Babalakin’s diatribes.
A sober review of the publication will reveal that it is basically a rehash of the series of trumped up allegations orchestrated by Babalakin to achieve a set goal. Perhaps, the only new dimension is his scaremongering on the return of the Contractors of the UNILAG new library building to site.
For obvious reasons, Babalakin chose to put his “best foot” forward since all his previous attempts to indict the Vice Chancellor had failed woefully following the intervention of the Federal Ministry of Education, National University Commission and lately the House of Representatives. He has gone too far in his devious and devilish scheme to swallow the bitter truth that no federal university runs or could ever be run on his emerging model of leadership which reflect an obnoxiously deprecating degree of interference by the Pro-Chancellor in university management matters.
Reinstatement of Contractor back to Site
It is important to point out that no building (including the ongoing new library building under construction) has collapsed in UNILAG.
Assessments by experts (within and outside the University), representatives of the Federal Ministry of Education, National University Commission and House of Representatives had confirmed that what occurred was a “collapse of the formwork.” Without trying to minimise the seriousness of this avoidable happenstance, anyone with knowledge of Engineering 101 should know that this damage, though serious, can still be timely remedied.
The Vice Chancellor was the one who initially directed the Contractor to stop work and close the site with immediate effect as the circumstances at that time of the incident demanded. Reinstatement of the Contractor back to site was therefore a proactive decision by the Management of the University solely for the Contractor to do the backfilling and evacuation of the debris on the site in line with the well documented recommendations of the experts and the House of Representatives that there is an urgent need to secure the integrity of the structure especially during the rainy season.
It is important to note that the reinstatement of the Contractor to site came with no additional cost to the University. Babalakin should please rise above his blind power game and appreciate this development as advancing the interest of the University and securing the lives of students, staff and members of the public.
Allegation of Financial Impropriety
There is an Igbo proverb that ‘if a wicked tells his side of the story; it is not the wicked that will judge his own case.’ Babalakin in his Court of illusion; has “indicted a set of members of Management for exactly the same acts and omission for which he set his favoured members of Management free.
All members of Management who went on approved official trip were guilty except those he is using against the Vice Chancellor. Oga Wale,e siberu Olorun?
It is good enough that Babalakin has admitted that he indeed hired and paid the Consultant who worked with the Dagari’s Committee on the trumped up report. Is this legal and or appropriate? Is this not an inducement in legal parlance as he who pays the piper dictates the tune? It is therefore not surprising that the Committee’s Report is tailored to please him.
Furthermore, it is elementary that any allegation of financial misconduct is criminal and will ultimately be addressed by appropriate authorities.
The Council which is under Babalakin’s watch has not even considered the report, yet he is parading the report like an article of faith or a government white paper! This confirms the charge that Babalakin acts unilaterally as if he is the Council and University of Lagos is his satellite Chambers.
In the absence of any indictment by the appropriate authorities against any member of Council, it is futile to speculate on the legitimacy or otherwise of any financial allegations. In any event, these allegations formed part of the issues submitted to the Federal Ministry of Education which had directed that action be stayed on the issue. If indeed, there were misappropriations, it is futile for anyone to think that it could be swept under the carpet at this stage. Whoever has stolen the University’s money should and would have his day before the appropriate authority.
The allegation however cannot be satisfactorily resolved through media hype or war being embarked upon by Babalakin. At the appropriate time, Babalakin and his paid agents will have the opportunity to launch all their missiles. They should be patient and wait for the mills of the law to deliver justice to the innocent and punish the guilty.
ASUU’s Checkmate
Babalakin is upset about the role ASUU has played in destabilizing his plans to use UNILAG as a launch pad to set a bad precedent for the Pro Chancellor /Vice Chancellor power relationship in federal universities in Nigeria. Babalakin wants the Vice Chancellor to call ASUU to order because in his jaundiced opinion it was ASUU that escalated the matter by calling him out in harsh language.
The UNILAG ASUU chapter under its charismatic, purposeful and dynamic Chairman has been frank and forthright in speaking truth to power. If Babalakin has succeeded with other unions, ASUU UNILAG chapter is not for the highest bidder. How should the Vice Chancellor control ASUU in this circumstance? By issuing query to the Chairman the way Babalakin has consistently done to the Vice Chancellor? Babalakin is blinded by greed. Please give me a break!
The Genesis of the Matter
The real genesis of the crisis can be remotely traced to the fraudulent manipulation deployed by Wale Babalakin leading to his become the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos at all cost. For reasons best known to him, he lied about his State of Origin and ensured that Dr. Bayo Adaralegbe, a Partner in his law firm, Babalakin & Co, was also appointed a member of UNILAG Council. This he did by claiming to come from Ekiti (instead of Gbongan Village, Osun State) while he presented Dr. Bayo Adaralegbe as Dr. Aga Adaralegbe from Rivers State instead of Ekiti.
(Please see below official document widely circulated during the inauguration of members of Council of Federal Universities).
As it were, there are two impostors in the Council of UNILAG. How on earth could two partners from the same Chambers and same geo-political zone be in the Council of a federal university? Which padipadi Council be this? This is certainly beyond a coincidence in the face of documentary evidence of fraud and manipulation.
This allegation is sufficient for the supervisory agencies to direct the Council of the University to stop sitting until the allegation is investigated and either established or debunked.
The immediate cause of the UNILAG crisis however is the failure of Babalakin to install his preferred candidate as the Vice Chancellor. Following the interview of the candidates for the office of Vice Chancellor, his preferred candidate initially came first.
It was however later discovered that the candidate lied in his curriculum vitae that he had been a Vice Chancellor of a private university before. The former Registrar however pointed out that records showed that although he was actually appointed a Vice Chancellor, he neither resumed nor acted as such: a development which caused his mark to be deducted.
Following the appointment of the current Vice Chancellor, Babalakin suggested that he should appoint his preferred candidate (who lost out),as a Deputy Vice Chancellor, which the former rebuffed. Babalakin has not forgiven the Vice Chancellor for his audacity and the former Registrar for her (in)glorious(?) role.
Allegation of Bribery
It is important to note that it was Babalakin, upon being dissatisfied with the decisions of the Federal Ministry of Education and National University Commission, who petitioned the House of Representatives. As Almighty Allah will have it, the case has turned out to be that of a hunter being hunted.
Babalakin is no doubt a public figure in Nigeria whose deeds, integrity and persona are well known. He is notorious for using wealth and his deft knowledge of the law to gain personal advantage in his business and public life. He deploys his massive network and influenceto ensure he wins all his battles with banks, Federal Government, Ministries, Departments and Agencies, business partners and goes after the next victim.
If Babalakin had not been the kind of lawyer that he is, only Allah knows what would have become of him and his business empire!
Babalakin’s suggestion that the Management of UNILAG induced the outcome of the intervention of the House of Representatives with bribe is blatantly ludicrous. Reasonable members of the public are in the best position to judge who is likely to offer a bribe, if at all, between Babalakin and the members of the Management. We commend the courage of the members of the House of Representative for standing firm and speaking truth to power.
Management/Governing Relationship
The relationship between the Council and the Management is well defined. The Vice Chancellor is the head of management, charged with the day-to-day administration of the University and the ProChancellor is the Chairman of the Governing Council.
But Babalakin is seeking to redefine the power relation for selfish reasons. He is making heavy weather of the word “governing” to mean commander-in-chief. He intervenes daily in the administration of the university, by expecting the Vice Chancellor to seek approval for every managerial decision to be made, including travelling. He steps down the recommendation of Senate on frivolous personal prejudice.
He has written more letters to the Management within 2 years than all the Pro-Chancellors in the history of the University put together. He has queried the Vice Chancellor more than 10 times in the last 2 months. In the tradition of the university autonomy even the Visitor cannot exercise the powers Babalakin seeks to exercise.
This is needless ego trip and absolutely unwarranted. It is on the record that a Professor of Law from UNILAG chose to honourably resign as the Vice Chancellor of a State University due to the meddlesomeness and disrespect of the State Governor. No Vice Chancellor worth his salt in a first-generation university could tolerate the Babalakin’s model of governance.
Leadership Failure
One wonders what were the achievements of Babalakin as the Pro Chancellor of University of Maiduguri under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan that qualified him for the UNILAG appointment? What manner of leadership has Babalakin offered in his 2 years as the Pro Chancellor of UNILAG? He has succeeded in heating up the system and polarising the Senate, Management and the University at large.
If Babalakin wants to operate like an overlord in a university environment, he should be advised to go and set up his own instead of moving from one federal university tio another and leaving in his trail unenviable tract record. He has made no tangible contribution to the progress of UNILAG since his unfortunate appointment compared to previous administration that deployed their influence to attract enduring legacy projects to the University. Rather, his only achievement was that he is giving his personal money for various courses in the University.
Apart from the fact that Babalakin must have his usual devious and devilish motive for his seeming acts of generosity, the question is whether this is a sustainable way of financing a federal university? Which University in Nigeria and beyond is financed by the private funds of an ill-motivated and all – advised Pro Chancellor? In the words of Thomas pane ‘’lead, follow or get out of the way”. We hope the appointing authority has taken note and will do the needful.
