Professor Clement Adeboye is the current Vice-Chancellor of the University of Osun (UniOsun). He was appointed five years ago by the governor of Osun State at the time, His Excellency Adegboyega Oyetola. Adeboye’s five-year tenure ends in November this year.
By his own account, his children initially discouraged him from applying for the position. They had asked whether he knew anyone in government who could influence his appointment, and he answered in the negative. He said both he and his children were therefore pleasantly surprised when he was eventually offered the job, following what he described as his brilliant performance at the interview.
I recall during the process that led to his appointment, Governor Oyetola came under tremendous pressure from some of the prospective candidates, including one from Ede and another who was a relation of Oyetola from Iragbiji. Given the governor’s relationship with the two candidates, many had concluded that one of them would eventually get the job. But that was not to be.
One morning, I ran into the Chairman of the University Governing Council at the time, Chief Yusuf Olaolu Ali, SAN. I approached him and asked how the selection process was going. I told him I had also spoken with the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Professor Labo Popoola, to get his perspective on the court cases, intrigues, and politics surrounding the process. The Council Chairman simply said to me: “Ismail, do us a favour. Engage your principal frankly about what he wants. He should let us know if he has an interest.”
From there, I headed to the Governor’s Office in Abere and met with Governor Oyetola. I told him what the Council Chairman had asked me to ascertain. His response was unequivocal: “Tell them I want the best for the university. They should give us the best candidate without any sentiment.”
I returned to Ali, SAN, and delivered the governor’s message. He then told me: “Now we are relieved.” The rest, as they say, is history. Professor Adeboye emerged as Vice-Chancellor of UniOsun because, according to the process, he scored the highest points. His appointment was therefore based on merit and Oyetola’s willingness to allow the best man for the job emerge.
I have provided this background because I want readers to know that sometimes, those who benefit from a sane and merit-based system end up participating in the very actions that could pollute and destroy the system that produced them.
Even if Professor Adeboye did not lobby for it, the mere fact that the law is being amended just to allow him to spend 7 years in office instead of the 5 provided for under the existing law should give him serious cause for reflection and walk away. Good name, as the saying goes, is better than silver and gold. If the university community is thrown into crisis tomorrow over this matter, the government and Professor Adeboye must bear responsibility for the consequences.
To Prof. Adeboye, I hope your children are reading this piece. If they truly believe in merit and integrity, they should advise you to reconsider this ignoble journey you are about to embark on. There is still an opportunity for you to walk away from an arrangement that could leave a troubling legacy and even soil your name.
And before anyone asks whether I would do the same if I were in his or similar position, I have done it before. That was 19 years ago. The majority of those involved in that episode are still alive today.
At the time, I was Chairman of the Senate Press Corps. By our constitution, a reporter working for a weekly publication could not be a member of the group. Suddenly, my management transferred me to our new weekly publication, The Spectator. With that transfer, I could no longer function as Chairman of the Senate Press Corps.
As I was preparing to resign, some colleagues approached me with the idea that the rules be amended to enable me remain in office. I rejected the idea and chose instead to resign. I still remember Chief Jacob Edi telling me to my face that I was the only person he had seen struggle to get power and then willingly relinquish it. For me, it was never about power. It was about integrity.
I am glad that I made that decision 19 years ago. Prof. Adeboye can make the same choice today. Perhaps, a decade from now, we can look back and tell his children that their father chose principle over personal advantage and refused to soil the reputation they would inherit from him.
I remember the Sally Tibbot payroll fraud. When you came out to defend the Sally Tibbot payroll fraud, the woman alleged that you did that because you wanted a second term. But those of us familiar with the law thought otherwise. So, it is true after all? Haaa! Aiye ma ni ka o! Prof. Clement Adeboye, et tu?
I call on all men of good conscience in Osun to rise and stop this nonsense. It is a time bomb that could lead to instability in our university governance system. What may appear to some as a simple amendment today could become a dangerous precedent tomorrow.
This is the time to act—not when the crisis has already begun.
Omipidan, a journalist, author and media consultant, writes from Abuja.