Date: 2016-08-12

The University of Ilorin community erupted in excitement last Tuesday (August 2, 2016) over the previous night's announcement of the appointment of its former Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede (OFR), as the new Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Also from the stable of the University, the immediate past Dean of the Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences (CIS), Prof. Lenrie Aina, was appointed the new Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Library of Nigeria.

In separate interviews with Unilorin Bulletin, members of the UNILORIN community commended President Muhammadu Buhari over the appointments of the two seasoned dons, describing their choice as "round pegs in round holes". Expressing delight over the appointment of his predecessor as the new JAMB Registrar, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali (OON), described the appointment as "well merited and a worthy recognition of excellence".

Prof. Ambali, who attested to the capabilities of Prof. Oloyede, said that the erudite Professor of Arabic would be able to draw a new roadmap for JAMB, which would be strictly adhered to. "He is a very strict person; he knows what he's doing and he knows how to carry both staff and his other stakeholders along very well. I am sure he will succeed and I wish him the best of luck", the Vice-Chancellor added.

The Vice-Chancellor also hailed the appointment of Prof. Aina, describing it as "another plus for our University". On her part, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof. N.Y.S. Ijaiya, described the appointment of Prof. Oloyede as "a blessing to the Nigerian university education system and a plus for the University of Ilorin". Prof. Ijaiya also expressed happiness over the appointment of Prof. Aina to head the National Library of Nigeria, saying, "We have no doubt in his ability to perform. We are very happy for them and we trust that they would do this University proud."

While observing that the University of Ilorin has produced many Vice-Chancellors for other universities in the country, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (RTI), Prof. Gabriel Olatunji, described Prof. Oloyede as an astute administrator. He pointed out that with the appointment of the former Vice-Chancellor as the new JAMB Registrar, "everybody will know that the University of Ilorin is topmost and has the material, the expertise and the human capital to develop this nation; same goes for Prof. Aina as Chief Executive of the National Library."

Prof. Olatunji said, "Prof. Oloyede deserves that post; I've prayed for him that God in His infinite mercy will guide him to put the JAMB house in order, which hitherto created some confusion in the recent past and somebody of his calibre has to be in that place to put things in their proper perspective so that we would not have confusion in JAMB again." On his part, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Services), Prof. A.Y. Abdulkareem, described Prof. Oloyede as "someone who is very hardworking, diligent, articulate and a brilliant chap who is very godly and has a flair for educational development".

Prof. Abdulkareem recalled his relationship with the former Vice-Chancellor, which dates back to 1979 when they were both together in the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), noting that "when he became the National President of the Unilorin Alumni Association, I was the first Vice-President of the Association." Disclosing that Prof. Oloyede had over the years championed the cause of JAMB even up to the legislative level, Prof. Abdulkareem said, "For him now to be given the mantle of leadership by the grace of the Almighty, he will perform and all of us will rally round him to ensure that he performs and of course, you know his legacy in the University of Ilorin as the former Vice-Chancellor; former Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors in the country, he is an international figure and I believe very strongly that he is a round peg in a round hole."

In the view of the Registrar, Mr Emmanuel Obafemi, the appointment of the two Professors was a national recognition of the commitment of the staff of the University. According to him, "It just goes to show that the University of Ilorin is what it is known to be. Of course, any President that comes onboard and wants to pick people from the University, they will want to look for that University that is stable enough, that is impacting a lot on the students and staff before they pick; I want to believe that the picking of these two renowned Professors in their various fields, will help JAMB and the National Library." Also speaking with Unilorin Bulletin, the University Librarian, Dr Joseph Omoniyi, observed that Prof. Oloyede's achievements as Director of Academic Planning, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and as Vice-Chancellor "lend credence to the fact that his appointment is actually a round peg in a round hole. I have expected President Jonathan to give this kind of appointment to him because going by what the Nigerian educational sector was experiencing at that time, the person you will expect to handle the sector effectively is somebody like Prof. Oloyede". "Look at the recent controversy over who is to admit and who is not to admit...when JAMB says yes, I want to admit...you are eroding the authority of senate of universities and this is unfortunate, so I really appreciate our President Buhari, for acting very swiftly by arresting the decay that the controversy would generate as far as university system in this country is concerned", Dr. Omoniyi observed.

He said, "If you have seen the work Prof. Oloyede has done in Ilorin and what he is doing nationally, you will discover that unless you want to be very subjective, nobody should fault this appointment. I have read a lot of comments on the social media; some are positive, some are negative, some accuse him of being a religious bigot and all sorts of things…but Oloyede is not like that. He wants you to do what is right and as people would say, if you do what is right, you don't have any reason to be afraid of Buhari. If you do what is right at the right time, you have no problem with Oloyede." On his part, the Director of Academic Planning, Prof. A. O. Omotesho, congratulated the appointees, noting that the former Vice-Chancellor "epitomises hard work and I am sure he's going to make a big difference in JAMB". He also congratulated Prof. Aina, "who was Dean of CIS; he was also President of the National Library Association, I wish him all success and I believe he has what it takes to excel."

Also, a former Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Prof. R. D. Abubakre, expressed "tremendous delight" over Prof. Oloyede's appointment as JAMB Registrar, saying, "I was filled with pleasure and excitement that a young lad I met in the final year of his first degree and a gentleman I taught at the Masters' level and I watched grow, is rising the way he is rising; it gives me pleasure as though honey is put in my mouth and I don't want it to disappear from my mouth. I want to say congratulations to the University of Ilorin, congratulations to the academia, and congratulations to those who are interested in hard work, and total commitment to probity and accountability."

According to Prof. Abubakre, "in 2011, we anticipated that Prof. Oloyede would be appointed Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) because of his antecedents and capabilities but Prof. Abubakar Abdulrasheed that was appointed was his contemporary as Vice-Chancellor of BUK who is equally capable. However JAMB is the best place that Is-haq can be because he is somebody who can sanitise the system. So all these demonstrations and differences that you find between government policy and university policy on admission, University autonomy which Oloyede subscribes to immensely will be resolved with his appointment.