UNILAG set to announce new VC, shortlists seven candidates

The Governing Council of the University of Lagos, Akoka, is set to announce the institution’s 13th substantive vice-chancellor.

The outgoing and 12th occupant of the office, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, is billed to end his five-year single term of office on 11 November.

Ogundipe, who was appointed in 2017, had running battles with the immediate past Pro-chancellor and Chairman of UNILAG Governing Council, Wale Babalakin, over allegations and counter-allegations of corruption, highhandedness, and insubordination, among others.

Babalakin’s successor, also an alumnus of the university, Lanre Tejuoso, briefly hinted at the possible announcement on Monday at the university’s medical college in Idi-Araba, Lagos, during an event to mark the university’s 60th anniversary.

Tejuoso, however, did not give the details of the process, but PREMIUM TIMES’ findings revealed that out of eight professors that submitted applications before the deadline for submission in June, seven were shortlisted by the council last week.

Stakeholders are, however, surprised that only eight applicants took part in the race. This, to some of the university staff members who spoke to this newspaper on condition of anonymity, could be attributed to the calibre of “some individuals in the race.”

But the pro-chancellor has assured of a level-playing field for all the participating candidates, saying as a proud alumnus, he would ensure that the new peaceful atmosphere on the campus is sustained.

He said, “The process has started and I introduced democracy. When we went for a council meeting, they did not expect that I would bring ballot papers.”

He said neither the friends of the outgoing VC nor his own associates were part of those who decided on the criteria on the shortlist.

The candidates

According to reliable sources, the seven candidates shortlisted are lecturers in the university from the Faculties of Management Sciences, Arts, Law, Sciences, and the College of Medicine.

They are Abayomi Akinyeye of the Department of History, Faculty of Arts; Folasade Ogunsola of the College of Medicine; Mathew Ilori and Adeyinka Adekunle both of the Department of Microbiology and Botany, Faculty of Sciences.

Others are Imran Smith, Faculty of Law; Timothy Nubi, Department of Estate Management at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, and Ayo Olowe of the Department of Finance, Faculty of Management Sciences.

Ogunsola

Folasade Ogunsola is a professor of Medical Microbiology and a consultant clinical microbiologist and infection control for the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

Born in 1958, Ogunsola holds a PhD in Medical Microbiology, an MSc in Medical Microbiology with Distinction, and a Diploma in Biomedical Techniques from the University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff, among others.

A fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, West African College of Physicians, National Postgraduate Medical College in Pathology, Nigerian Academy of Science, and Foundation Fellow of both the Nigerian Academy of Medicine and the Academy of Medicine Specialties.

The professor served as the university’s acting Vice-Chancellor and former Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Development Services. Before that, she had also served as the pioneer and only female Provost of the university’s College of Medicine.

She also served as a governing council member for three terms, ranking as the only one with a such number of years in the governing council among the contenders.

Ogunsola is said to have received various prestigious awards from both local and international bodies and has 142 publications in reputable academic journals and has co-authored four books.

Nubi

Timothy Nubi is a Professor of Estate Management and currently the director, University of Lagos Research Management Office.

Born 27 July 1961, Nubi obtained a National and Higher National Diploma in Town Planning at the Ogun State Polytechnic and Yaba College of Technology respectively.

Nubi bagged a bachelor’s degree in Estate Management at the University of Lagos, and Master’s and PhD certificates in the same university.

He has published 98 papers on various issues around housing and urban development and founded the Ideal Habitat Initiative, a non-governmental organisation that introduces people to a cooperative approach to home ownership through urban regeneration. He also published a book, “Home Ownership Made Easy,” in 2003.

With more than 35 papers on various issues of Housing and Urban Development, Professor Nubi led the first national workshop on “Land Management and Property Tax Reform.”

A former Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Mr Nubi is the founding Director, University of Lagos Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development.

Smith

Imran Smith, a Professor of Private and Property Law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has been a Professorial Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London since 2010.

Smith obtained his Bachelor of Law (LLB) at the University of Lagos in 1982, his Masters at the Hague Academy of International Law, the Netherlands in 1989 and PhD at the Oxford City Academy, Oxford, the United Kingdom in 2018.

The professor became a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 2007 and Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2010.

Mr Imran had at different times headed the university’s Department of Private and Property Law and also served as the Dean, Faculty of Law.

Akinyeye

Abayomi Akinyeye obtained his Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees in History in 1981, 1985 and 1991 respectively, at the University of Lagos. He joined the university’s Department of History and rose through the ranks to become a professor in 2005.

A former Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 2013 to 2015, and a member of the university’s governing council from 2012 to 2016. He is a member of the specialised committee on the Humanities of the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award’s Governing Board and a former Chairman of the university’s branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). He was also the union’s Ibadan Zonal Coordinator from 2007 to 2010.

Akinyeye belongs to different professional bodies and is a Fellow of the Historical Society of Nigeria, regarded as the country’s pioneer academic association.

Ilori

Born on 4 July 1963, Matthew Ilori obtained his degrees, Bachelor of Science in Biology, Master of Philosophy in Microbiology and Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology at the University of Lagos in 1984, 1990 and 1998 respectively.

Ilori’s teaching experience began at the university in 1986 when he served as a graduate assistant in the Department of Biological Sciences and later moved to the Department of Botany and Microbiology, Lagos State University, Ojo.

In 1996, Mr Ilori returned to UNILAG’s Department of Botany and Microbiology where he rose through the ranks to become a professor in 2009.

A former member of the National Oil Spill Guidelines Drafting Team for NOSDRA, Ilori has also functioned as an external examiner to the University of Cape Town in South Africa, the University of Ibadan and the Lagos State University, Ojo.

Ilori is a recipient of many awards, scholarships, research grants and honours including UNESCO Fellowship in Biotechnology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK (1997), Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Fellow, Institut fur Biologie V, Aachen Technical University, Germany (2000-2001), among others.

Adekunle

Adedotun Adekunle was born on 9 February 1963 and bagged a B.Sc (Hons) in Botany from the University of Lagos in 1986. He also bagged his M.Sc. in Botany and PhD in Botany from the university in 1988 and 1996 respectively.

Mr Adekunle joined the university in 1989 as a Graduate Assistant at the University of Lagos became an associate professor in 2010, and is now a professor.

In 1999, he was awarded a UNESCO fellowship in Biotechnology and won the UNILAG faculty winning research award, for the College of Medicine through the Department of biochemistry in 2006.

Olowe

Olowe, whose comprehensive profile could not be obtained as of the time of filing this report, was a chairman of the UNILAG chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, and a former head of the Department of Finance, Faculty of Management Services.