The vice chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Professor Felix Kolawole Salako, in this interview by WOLE EFUNNUGA speaks on various issues affecting the economy. Excerpts:
Since you assumed office as the sixth vice chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, (FUNAAB) on November 1, 2017, how has the journey been?
I will say it has been so far, so good. However, there is no way you will leave a life and in the lifetime, you will not have your ups and downs. There are times you will be on top and there are times you will be in the valley. I have no regrets being the vice chancellor in spite of the challenges that I face but I am more excited about our achievements.
What were these challenges, and how were they addressed?
In the first place, I emerged as the vice chancellor after a prolonged crisis period. I was deputy vice chancellor (Development) for four years. I became vice chancellor during a crisis. One thing that became immediate responsibility was to reconcile factions. When I came on board, the feeling was that this man would be very tough, dealing with everybody especially those who offended him. When I said offended him, there were people who openly challenged the management then concerning its decision. These people believed that I would take a pound of flesh on them? Some people felt that I would come and bother them because of what they did in the past, but I told them that I would not. I have not done it and I will not do it. My philosophy is that when you hold a grudge against people, you are killing yourself and not the people you hold a grudge against. One reason people are scared of me is that when the facts are down, we abide by what the facts are. I don’t shift ground. I can be compassionate, but I can only be compassionate to the extent that the system is not destroyed.
Are those who contested the seat of the vice chancellor with you still in the system?
Only two persons within the system were shortlisted. Professor Okeleye and Professor Ajisegiri. Professor Okeleye is still a member of the staff. As a man of God, he has allowed the past to go. I have also allowed the past to go. I am also a man of God. Professor Ajisegiri has left the university courtesy of the university council.
The ambition of vice chancellors is to get all the university’s courses accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC). How many of your courses are begging for accreditation now?
All our courses are accredited. We got a good news from NUC last week for the 2019 accreditation. All the 18 courses presented were accredited fully, except one which is Mechatronics Engineering. It is an emerging programme. It was given interim accreditation. We presented 18 courses for accreditation in 2019 under my administration. One other accreditation that Nigerians may not be aware of is international accreditation for our Centre of Excellence for Agricultural Development and Sustainable Environment. FUNAAB is the first among 18 universities that went to request for that accreditation. I want to tell you that we got all the courses under the Centre of Excellence accredited. It is international accreditation in the sense that the centre was established with World Bank fund and of course, through the NUC. It is basically a postgraduate centre. The accrediting team came from all parts of the world.
There used to be FUNAAB Gari in the past, produced by your students. What is the situation now?
We still have FUNAAB Gari. We also have odourless fufu. We have honey. We have cashew nut. Our products are still there. We are still producing. We added water long ago, under Professor Israel Adu. We expanded on FUNAAB Water with modern equipment when I came on board. That is why you see FUNAAB Water everywhere. We now tell people not to bring their water here. We need to protect our students. Some people call it monopoly. It is not monopoly; it is monopoly for development because the health of our students matters to us. You can’t just pick water from anywhere when you do not know the source.
To what extent would you say that your products have the capacity to engage in private practice rather than seeking white collar jobs after graduation?
The capacity is there because of the training they have given them. But if you have capacity and you don’t have somebody to back you by way of funding, how can that capacity come into reality? There is nowhere in the country and, indeed, the world where they don’t have indigent people. Even if you want to do something and the fund is not readily available, you may be underproductive or underemployed. And many Nigerian youths are either not employed or underemployed.
What is your recommendation to the government in this regard?
My recommendation is that governments at all levels should invest more in agriculture. When we talk about agriculture, people should stop the notion of hoe and cutlass. The agriculture we are talking about is a value chain agriculture; from the production level to the point of putting food on the table. I am talking of agriculture that will involve use of your laptop, that will require application in your computer to manage your farm, agriculture that will require that you have electricity, water, manageable road to take your products to your desired destination, storage facility, etc. It should be technology-driven agriculture that can engage anybody who is a graduate from any discipline. Even a graduate of theatre arts can go to the agricultural community to entertain them and get some money. Everybody does not need to be in the cities. Agriculture is life and that is how we must see it. It is not about that old man in the farm bringing vegetable to the market. Agriculture that will provide jobs will be technology-driven.
More funding only?
I am advocating for more funding and more seriousness. We have been funding agriculture in Nigeria. It is not only the question of more funding. We need more seriousness; more commitment.
Seriousness and commitment on the part of who?
Everybody; every Nigerian. The blame has become a circle where every point has a contribution to everything that has gone wrong. It is like the scenario of the electorate and the politicians. If you elect people that will do your job, you will get good result. I will keep mentioning Chief Obafemi Awolowo whom I have studied over the years. All what Papa did, he did them with dedication. Awolowo was a good Nigerian leader; a patriot. Where are his legacies now? Who are we going to blame for lack of continuity and lack of improvement? If the farm settlements created by Chief Awolowo are well maintained with the facilities that are available there, why would people have need to come to town in search of food? Chief Awolowo had a great vision. Some of us never met him one on one but we idolize him till today.
ALSO READ: COVID-19: Buhari Appoints Osinbajo As Chairman, Economic Sustainability Committee
What is your take on the sex-for-mark syndrome in some universities of late?
I don’t agree with the term sex-for-mark. Rather, I will say sexual harassment. It is not necessarily between students and lecturers but between people who think they have the power to subdue others. That can happen between student and lecturer. It can happen between members of the staff. It can happen in a situation where one needs promotion and she is told this is what to do. How is that different from money for mark? What is really known to the world is this issue of sex for mark. All in all, it is not good for the image of any institution anywhere in the world. It is not morally right. It is not ethically right.
What really transpired between one Mr Ifemosu Michael and the vice chancellor that became a social media issue recently?
I am the vice chancellor of this university and I am the vice chancellor of more than 15,000 students. Nothing transpired between Ifemosu and me. I only did my work as I should do it. He has taken us to court and I will not want to make prejudiced statement but the truth is that the vice chancellor of the university saw something and took due process, to the point of the expulsion of the student. Just last Friday, we counted 82 online links including a supposedly reputable one where the said Ifemosu abused the vice chancellor and the university. I don’t know how it got to this level where online editors won’t see the need to hear the other party before going on air. One of them even wrote that the university management told students to write an undertaking that if they were robbed, they should not report or protest.
Was there any robbery incident inside the campus as claimed by an online medium?
That is not correct. The hostel they mentioned is outside. The robbery incident also took place outside the campus. We visited the hostel. We found the hostel to be in a remote area. Even the Ogun State Commissioner of Police also visited. Let me state that the jurisdiction of the university’s securitymen is within the four walls of the university. Anything outside the university, the law enforcement agents have their duties to perform.
What is the FUNAAB of your dream?
When I came on board, I came with a 12-point agenda which include: Focusing on leadership, democracy, diligence and discipline, academic standard and quality assurance, scholarship, infrastructure development, staff development, research and community development, students and staff welfare, improvement on internet facility, rehabilitation of roads, health services and sports, security and information dissemination, gender-sensitivity and equal opportunity. All these have been achieved greatly. The FUNAAB of my dream is to achieve them fully and also record further achievements.
and then