Some cheering news at TASCE, Ogun State

Dr Lukmon Adeola Kiadese is the second substantive Provost of Tai Solarin College of Education (TASCE) after its relocation to Omu-Ijebu in 2008. Like Martin Luther King Jnr. who dreamt of a new America without discrimination or simply put ‘Borderless America’, Dr. Kiadese dreamt of a new TASCE. During the first College Assembly he addressed after his appointment, he told the staff that his mission was to restore the lost glory of TASCE. The college, which was ranked first among state and private colleges of education in Nigeria by the supervisory body, the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) for its academic excellence and also ranked fourth out of the then over 70 NCE awarding institutions in the country including Federal Colleges of Education in 2002, went into the doldrums when it was relocated to Omu-Ijebu after being transformed into university of education in 2005.

Dr. Kiadese took over the mantle of leadership of the  college and ‘resuscitated’ it. He decided to tread where angels feared to tread. He came with a message of hope. He saw a giant where others saw a dwarf. Like Joshua in the Holy book, he had faith that TASCE would rise again and possess its lost glory and become a force to be reckoned with in education sector not only in Ogun State or Nigeria but also in the global world.  A Yoruba adage says that “an outstanding child is known from his childhood.” As a school boy, he distinguished himself at the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, where he obtained Distinction Classification in Nigeria Certificate in Education. He got a university Scholarship Award for Outstanding Performance in 1998/1999 Session at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye; NYSC Oyo State Award as Outstanding Corps member in 2000 and Best All Round Student in the penultimate year in the Faculty of Education, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye in 2000.

Dr Kiadese is a man of big dreams and visions with unique features and matching astuteness to achieve unparalleled milestones in the College. His passion for making TASCE a world class institution from the dustbin of history it had been consigned to is unprecedented. He has an eagle eye for quality and success; and the right key to open the door of success for the college. Leadership entails making use of SWOT model to make a difference. The erudite scholar works on his strengths to outweigh his weaknesses and he does not allow any opportunity he has to do the right thing slip away from his hand thereby bulldosing every threat on his way to achieve greatness.

Among the landmark achievements recorded by Dr. Kiadese in just 365 days in office despite the paucity of funds are the opening up of the college’s main access road, movement of the administrative arm of the college to the permanent site within four months of his assumption of office, and regular payment of 50 per cent salaries to workers since his assumption of office in September 2016.  This can be considered a great feat in view of the fact that the college staff had been denied salaries for uninterrupted 16 months before he came on board. He also secured full accreditation status for all the 27 courses offered by the college which was regarded as unprecedented because no state College of Education in Nigeria had been able to achieve this feat in recent times. Other achievements are the securing of degree programmes in affiliation with the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye which would commence this September; among others.

The college organised its first Public Lecture titled “Education Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” which was delivered by the Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mrs. Modupe Mujota. The lecture explored the historical antecedents of education policies from the pre-colonial era to the current National Policy on Education, with a view to restructuring and reshaping education in Nigeria, in order to make it locally relevant and globally competitive for a better future. The college’s partnership with Zenith Bank PLC led to the donation of conference chairs to it. Staff welfare cum regular payment of upward review of office imprest to Heads of Departments; in-house retreats for teaching and non-teaching staff, beautification and equipment of staff offices and renovation, painting and artistic designs of College Gatehouse; and sponsorship of staff for training through the College Internally Generated Revenue are other landmarks worthy of mention.

• Olajide is the Public Relations Officer, Tai Solarin College of Education, Omu-Ijebu.