Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has said one of the objectives of his administration is to leave behind good education, which is the real and best legacy to bequeath to the oncoming generation.
Makinde made the disclosure, on Tuesday, while inaugurating the Implementation Committee for the Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, tasking the team to make the university the number one education degree awarding institution in Nigeria.
At the event, which held at the Executive Council Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, , Ibadan, the governor disclosed that his administration decided to upgrade the institution to a university in other to create a platform for training the best manpower to run the education sector in the country.
He further allayed the fears of those he described as critics on the capability of the state government to fund the new university, saying the same method adopted to secure the sole ownership of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, would be put to use.
Makinde said: “We have demonstrated that capacity and my answer is that those critics, who are not even our regular supporters, should vote for Omituntun 2.0, and then, we will show how we can repeat the same feat.”
While charging members of the committee to work out the policy and process by which the institution would be run, the governor said the goal of his government is that the new university of education would become the topmost institution for the acquisition of degrees in the field of education in Nigeria.
Makinde expressed confidence that the members of the committee were up to the task and would bring their experience to bear in the discharge of the duty given to them, considering the calibre of people in the committee and the decades of experience they have working in the area of education.
New grounds
He noted that the committee was breaking new ground by being the first to chart the course for the institution and showing the best way things should be done so as to surpass expectations, urging the members to leave a good legacy as what is more important than the aesthetics of the building is what the students would take with them when they leave the school
“The thought you should have in mind is that we are looking to create a shop for human resources to come and find the best talents that will run our schools, bearing in mind that teachers know the thoughts of their students. It means that what we are inaugurating here today has the potential to shape the thoughts of many generations to come,” the governor added.
Pop
Chairman of the Committee, Prof. Ayodeji Omole, on behalf of the committee, appreciated Governor Makinde for giving them the opportunity to serve the people of Oyo State and promised that the committee members would put in their best and deliver in good time.
Omole further pledged that although the assignment before it is not new but a big task, the committee would discharge its duty with courage and integrity and be fair to everybody but shall not compromise.
Olusola Akintonde
