A f’eniyan soro, ohun gbogbo loni.

In other words, Unity is Strength, echoing the motto accompanying the nation’s resilient coat of arms. With unity, every member of any collective is emboldened, making concretely manifest the usual proclamation of “the more the merrier”.

Overtly indulged, the climax of almost a whole quarter of merriment for me happened on Friday July 18, 2025.  The Lagos State University Muslim Community finally made to formally congratulate me and other members recently promoted professors and deputy registrars. It was a grand occasion presided over by the Chief Imam of the university, Distinguished Professor Amidu Sanni.

What made the event even grander were the multiple venues. For all such sessions ever organized by the community, the mosque alone had played host. Ours was special.

As soon as the regular jumah service was over, the Chief Imam announced that everyone concerned with the special prayer session should step forward for the usually prompt programme. No fewer than three members of the Imam-in-Council, spotting different shades of white, were already seated. Then came the Chairman of the LASU Muslim Community and Professor of Accounting, Professor Babatunde Yussuf. Without wasting time, the chief imam personally kickstarted the event by enjoining a congregational chorusing of the standard preliminary chants of muslim prayer sessions. Everyone else joined, thus reinforcing the chorus the more for some ten minutes.

Over with the preliminaries, Professor Sanni signalled to another member of the council, Prof Kabir Paramole, to re-appreciate the mission of the session and pray for all concerned. Every phrase of the prayer point was loudly punctuated by loud choruses of ameen. Next was the turn of Prof Kudus Amuni. Like both Sanni and Paramole, Amuni led the congregation in some other popular Islamic renditions. Then came the announcement from the Chief Imam that the day’s special prayer would be extended to the brand new guest house of the muslim community which is right behind the mosque complex. “We’ve decided to dedicate today for rains of prayers to our new professors and deputy registrars at no cost. We’re particularly intentional to invoke the joy of the newness of our new facility to deepen the prayers for our newly promoted brothers and sisters. The facilities have been long expected and gulped colossal amount of money but alhamdulilah, it’s now habitable to the glory of the Almighty Allah”.

The reception arena of the new storey building oozed refreshingly cool air ceaselessly but mildly dispensed by the silent air-conditioners complimented by the sounds and visuals of the television adorning the whitewashed walls. The reception already had invitingly puffy furniture for guests who need not be in a hurry to go anywhere else once there. Well tiled from the very first step into the facility, the entire longish stretch expectedly smelt fresh paint as workmen were still doing final fittings and all.

READ ALSO: Police rescue four kidnap victims, 13 trafficked children

After some fifteen minutes of exploring and appreciating Allah’s great gift to the LASU muslim ummah, the chief imam called the congregation to order and personally led us all in prayer and re-enacted the same process we had in the mosque making the duo of Professors Paramole and Amuni pray again for the newly promoted. As we were all on our feet, this time, a roll call ritual was flagged off. Names of everyone concerned was called for special blessing and applause.

For us at FCMS, we never had any ceremony so fun-filled.  Ours shall remain an everlasting bond.

The show of love to us by the members of the imam in council and some other members of the community was immense and reminded me of the Shakespearian claim that “the love that follows us sometime is our trouble which we still thank as love”

The muslim community’s boundless show of affection with voluntary fortification with prayers for new crowns like me was most reassuring.  It came as the strongest reinforcement to the similar showers of love on me and Dr Omolade Sanni when on May 12, 2025, we were both celebrated on account of our newly attained age of 60 years.

Our entire family at the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, FCMS, led by the first rate disciplinarian dean, one far removed from mindless partisanship and my friend like no other in the fold, energetic and focused Professor Jide Jimoh, took time to set a beautiful stage for the grandeur.

The ceremony enjoyed the full subscription of the entire faculty including the non-teaching staff, to the fullest most demonstratively. No sooner had the dean dignified the event with a formal declaration for commencement than the festivities began to play out building on the suitable ambience cultivated with the colourful interior decoration of the choice location within the faculty premises.

One after the other, colleagues, including Rotimi Olatunji and Sunday Alawode, both LASU pioneer professors in their respective fields of public relations and advertising as well as broadcasting  and our former deans spoke glowingly about Dr Sanni and myself most inspiringly. Each of them, respected thought leaders within and outside of the university, including being leading lights of Christianity prayed for us.  They both demonstrated enviable leadership.  Sincerely, we can’t thank them enough for their precious time and love.

Often hailed as Iya Ato believed to be the matriarch of the faculty, Dr Lade Atofojomo did all that was possible to travel back from her sabbatical leave base of the Lagos State University of Science and Technology, LASUSTECH, Ikorodu  just to come and pamper the two of us.  “What will I not do to celebrate my namesake, Dr. Sanni? How about the second supervisor of my PhD thesis, Prof Akanni? Many may never have known here but there’s that inimitable bond between us as Prof Akanni shares the same date of birth with my darling son, Timilehin, who he makes his siblings envy with intermittent gestures?” Iya Ato’s prayers for us were greeted with loud choruses of amen. The martriach that she is, she later handed out personal precious gifts to us in addition to the one to which she had contributed specially presented to us by the faculty.

Then came the rendering of the citations of your sincerely and Dr Lade Sanni by the respected strategic communications scholar, Dr. Noheem. The citations were immediately followed by goodwill messages from colleagues and other well-wishers including those from outside the university among whom were veteran journos Mikail Mumuni former editor at Tell as well as Omololu Kassism renowned for his indomitability at Weekend Concord.

Typical of all such events on campuses, this also featured  a lecture. It focused on artificial intelligence and professional communication practices. It was presented by journalism veteran and the Executive Director of International Press Centre, IPC, Lanre Arogundade. Among others, the lecturer, a great friend of the house, asserted that communication experts could not afford to shy away from AI. However, in using AI tools, we must ensure that we guide them to our taste or desire even as we must always ensure quality control.

Over with lecture, merriments followed infinitely beginning with cutting of cakes individually by Dr Sanni and me and later together. The tasty cakes and drinks were evenly shared out and were later complemented with meals.

For us at FCMS, we never had any ceremony so fun-filled.  Ours shall remain an everlasting bond.

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Town and gown meet, you’re tempted to say. Yes it was, and really quite enriching.  Following an earlier discussion with a mutual connection, the former minister had promised that he would reach me once he returned to Lagos from his trip to Abuja. However, Yoruba culture prescribes that you should reach out first if you had such a consensus with an elder.

Even as I was deeply steeped into thickets of the layers of fun programmed by my family and friends for my 60th birthday on that beautiful Sunday of April 20, 2025, I called Alhaji Mohammed to reconfirm his return especially as I was also preparing for my immersion into the JAMB Situation Room in Abuja set up to coordinate UTME exams nationwide.

Shortly after the Asri prayer of around 4pm was over, Alhaji Mohammed’s arrival was announced to me. The former minister was not one person addicted to superfluous comfort in spite of his status. As at that afternoon, the retiling of my apartment, as part of the general renovation commenced days earlier, had just been concluded and to make the job easy for the workmen I had moved out the entire furniture and other accompaniments such that I had only one plastic chair complemented by multi-purpose mats. Alhaji Lai settled into the plastic chair and leisurely took water offered him as he took me through some masterclass session on the need to focus properly to achieve excellence in professionalism.

Over with the exchange of pleasantries with my son, a UNILORIN alumnus like me, Alhaji Lai recalled that he had taught in my department at UNILORIN before, as a graduate assistant. Formerly called Modern European Language Department, MEL, the bride of the entire Faculty of Arts of the university used to house both English and French programmes even as the two programmes were ultra-functional, giving as much room as desired for the performance of the constituent elements of the two programmes. It’s the reason you find the alumni of my department doing well in professional environments ranging from advertising to broadcasting, journalism, diplomacy, academia and so forth.

Alhaji Lai recounted his daunting professional journey of marketing a political party that began as a modest regional entity with a tall ambition though. According to him, his party, Alliance for Democracy, AD, started well with what could be described as a comfortable win in the southwestern states but only in the third place with ANPP coming second to PDP which was the party in power with former President Obasanjo in the saddle from 1999 to 2007.

Obasanjo, Alhaji Lai continued, wanted his entire southwest region captured by PDP and therefore forcibly pushed through ensuring his party took over the governorship positions in all of the southwestern states except Lagos, leaving Governor Bola Tinubu, as the last man standing.

But the last man standing defied loneliness and chose to fight on.  He instilled courage and hope in the purportedly defeated candidates of his party and enjoined them to sustain judicial struggles against their opponents who had the benefit of the support of the ruling party at the centre. Support from the government headed by Obasanjo transcended the ordinary. Obasanjo threw decency to the wind and proclaimed electoral victory as a do or die matter. True to his stance, he was out to crush any factor that may constitute an obstacle to his goal. But Governor Tinubu neutralized this level of despair and pushed on with legal battles with unprecedented ingenuity.

All of these were efforts  given due publicity for the world to know and feel the plight of the party and the lot duly fell on Alhaji Lai Muhammed’s tirelessly grinding machine. Three states were eventually rescued back from PDP namely Edo, Osun and Ondo thus ushering the reigns of Adam Oshiomole, Kayode Fayemi and Rauf Aregbesola respectively.

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As I relished Alhaji Lai’s recall, he took time to explain further that what was particularly significant in their publicity efforts was that although ANPP had won more states than their party that had transformed into ACN, they had media visibility that was better and indeed towering. Theirs was an opposition you could not afford to ignore or you ignore it to your peril. It provided a formidable pedestal for the party to enter into a protracted coalition negotiation with ANPP.

President Buhari had taken particular note of our persistent and timeous interventions and was obviously impressed. Prior to the consummation of the coalition, I had been Lagos based but with the coalition came my movement to Abuja to hype our decibel.

Handing out to me an autographed copy of his book, Witness to History, Action Congress of Nigeria and the Struggle for Democracy, Liberty and Justice, he was emphatic in making me realise that scholars will surely find his efforts therein superlatively inspiring.  It’s the truth, really.

“What we cultivated as opposition was sustained and even carried over into government.  For the purpose of clarity, these qualities were insistence on the truth from other parties even as we ensured that we ventilated nothing less,” Alhaji Lai emphasised.

He continued: “Don’t forget that we inherited the unfortunate Chibok kidnap liability. Ironically, social campaigners including former minister Oby Ezekwezili stepped up their campaigns to the level of slapping some heavy blemish on the new government for which I had been appointed Information Minister.

“As a consistent professional, I felt the need to enable them verify the efforts of our government which had taken an early risk of visiting Maiduguri, the notorious launch pad of Boko Haram’s activities. We equally went as far as Kaure, Konduga and Bama, the shortlived capital of the BH caliphate.”

Alhaji Lai eventually flew Oby Ezekwezili and some others to the ‘war’ front and got them embedded with airforce officers to make them see, firsthand, how the nation’s armed forces’ personnel had been prosecuting their campaigns against all visible and predictable odds and life threatening hazards.  By the time the tour was concluded, they could not hold back their commendation for the government. “I’d try show you their public statement in this regard someday.” Other seriously challenging episodes for him in government were those of P&ID and the alleged massacre at Lekki Toll Gate.

Indeed, the alleged massacre saga was the toughest. “My immediate family even felt I had done enough in that government and should yield my seat. Based on the facts available to me however, there was no truth in the massacre claim. Should the head of the government also resign as it was obvious that he was receiving far more intense heat than my family perceived for me? I controverted the compassionate suggestion of my family.”

Handing out to me an autographed copy of his book, Witness to History, Action Congress of Nigeria and the Struggle for Democracy, Liberty and Justice, he was emphatic in making me realise that scholars will surely find his efforts therein superlatively inspiring.  It’s the truth, really. What’s public relations without being a media activist of some sort? I have no doubt that those who, beyond being my regular students, are also my mentors are already anxious to have some bites of the book. Alhaji Lai, of course, complemented the book for me with a designer, customised card and another precious gift.

Alhaji Lai was the second former federal official to adorn my special day, the first being the most outstanding chair of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria in the recent time, Ustaz Zikrullah Hassan. Together with my very precious neighbours, Ustaz Hassan, Alhaji Mikail  Mumuni formerly of Tell Magazine; Professor Ismail Ibraheem of the University of Lagos;  Dr Oluremi Olaleye, formerly Rector, Lagos State Polytechnic; Guardian newspaper Editor, Dr Kabir Garba; Executive Secretary of foremost generalist non-governmental organization, Sulaiman Arigbabu a.k.a. Bruno, as well as Mr. Kayode Ogunbunmi who crowned the day with the lovely tribute on me published by The Guardian of Sunday April 20, 2025.

*Akanni is a Professor of Journalism and Development Communications at the Lagos State University. Follow him on X: @AkintundeAkanni  

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The commendation is contained in a press statement by Kayode Ogunbunmi, Editorial Director of The Miners Communications Ltd.

Ogunbunmi said, “Hitherto, efforts and attention of the previous administrations have been on oil and gas, but President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Alake, have opened the eyes of Nigerians and indeed the whole world to the reality that the mining sector is capable of generating more income for the nation than oil and gas.”

He quoted Mikail Mumuni, Managing Director of The Miners Communications Ltd., as saying that “Africa is blessed with many mineral resources and it has no reason to be poor if these resources are properly harnessed.

“Nigeria is already taking the lead in this regard with the various innovative steps being taken by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake.

“You will equally agree with me that the Minister has given a lot of visibility to the mining sector since he came on board more than any of his predecessors in that Ministry.

“The mining sector directly and through its value chain also has the capacity to provide sustainable employment for the teaming population of Nigerian youths more than any other sector. Nigeria for example has one of the best and highest grades of lithium in the world. The comprehensive data of the pattern and quantity of mineral deposit and other materials are available at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency for anyone interested in establishing lithium and other mining companies in Nigeria.

“Lithium, if you must know, has the lowest density of all metals. Its most important use is in rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras and electric vehicles. Lithium is also used in some non-rechargeable batteries for things like heart pacemakers, toys and clocks.

“As valuable as lithium is, it is just one the vast mineral resources that Nigeria is blessed with. So, you can see that Nigerians are greatly indebted to President Tinubu and Dr Dele Alake for the deserved attention they are giving to the Solid Minerals sector.”

The Marketing Director of the company,  Abidoye Abiosun was quoted as saying that “We at The Miners Communications Ltd, publishers of The Miners magazine and The Miners Online (www.theminers.com.ng), have taken it upon ourselves the task of enlightening the Nigerian public and the global community of the limitless opportunities in the Solid Minerals sector of our economy through our publications.

“We will also organise international workshops, summits as well as exhibitions for stakeholders in the sector in the months ahead. We were very much on ground in Abuja, mid-July this year, when Nigeria hosted the African Natural Resources & Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS) 2024.

“The purpose of the summit was to harness Africa’s mineral resources to achieve sustainable economic development of the member states and Africa as a whole.

“That agenda of AFNIS aligns perfectly with the vision and mission of The Miners Communications Ltd. We are partners in progress with them and with all stakeholders who are desirous of a thriving Solid Minerals sector in Nigeria.”

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She emerged the 1st Runner-Up, Best Principal in Junior Category at the 16th Annual Merit Award for 2022-2024, held by the Lagos State Government Education District 1.

The event was held on Thursday, July 4, 2024, with the theme, “Diversity and Inclusion in Education: Celebrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”

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The event also featured several other awards like the  Best School, Best HOD and Best Teacher among others.

Awards of recognition were also given to Local Government and Local Councils Development  Authorities chairmen, NGOs, retired principals and students.

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As opportunities continue to arise from the evolving world of the new information technology age, students have been advised to take caution and follow their interests when making a career choice.

This admonition was given at a student-led event tagged Lagos Students Career Expo, LSCE.

Speaking at the maiden edition of the event held at the University of Lagos, UNILAG, for students across higher institutions in the state, Muminah Salaam, one of the organisers and a 400-level Electronics and Computer Engineering student of the Lagos State University, LASU,  stressed the importance of mentorship to growing a career as a student.

She noted that students needed to have access to vital resources and relevant information to secure their desired professional roles and make better career choices.

She said: “The reason we brought students together is that, personally I want to give many students like myself, access to career resources such as internships, entry-level positions that are kind of hard to get unless you have the connections. The event offers opportunities for theory and practical sessions, in the sense that students would interact with different company representatives on how they can secure internships and opportunities for them to grow.”

In his remarks, the Commissioner for Tertiary Education in the state, Tolani Akibu, who was represented by the Director of Infrastructural Planning and Development, Kikelomo Oduwole, said for students to become potential employees or entrepreneurs, they must continue to develop themselves and work towards their dreams.

Speaking on the theme “A 21st-century economy: the future we are building in Lagos State”, he urged for collaboration, noting that an initiative like that would help improve the quality of graduates in the state.

He tasked experts and captains of industries to identify areas of support for the students, adding that the state government was investing heavily in improving the quality of graduates through various initiatives.

While noting that the value of mentorship could not be underestimated, he enjoined the students to seek career help as the only path to reach their goals.

“You must be able to take a position and work outside your comfort zone because your penchant to display multicultural competence should be part of your background,” Akibu said.

Equally, in her remarks, Software Engineer at Microsoft, Chisom Nwokwu, who spoke on “Building a tech career in the Africa ecosystem”, urged students to explore and build careers around technology space.

She noted that the tech space stood out among the professions in the world as a result of the emerging innovation which makes it an in-demand skill.

She urged students learning tech skills to build in public and make their progress known, noting that that would allow them to be easily attracted to employers.

“As a student, you don’t have to wait till you graduate before you have an active LinkedIn profile where you share your learning progress. This would give you as many opportunities as possible in the career,” she added.

She also advised students to build a web of networks even as students, saying that had assisted many professionals where they had found themselves.

Aside from the expertly delivered sessions, students also had the opportunity to interact with companies from different sectors.

The Head of Sponsorships and Partnerships, Abdullah Mumuni, 400 level student of Computer Sciences at the University of Lagos brought onboard top companies like Ritefoods Limited; Lotus Bank; Semicolon Africa; Talent Poel; Ingressive for Good; Education USA; Piggyvest; Geneza school of Designs amongst other companies that were able to provide adequate clarity on career development questions the students had.

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On the 13th of May, 2023, at the University of Lagos, I and a couple of friends hosted a blockchain themed conference powered by NEAR Protocol where we brought together professionals in the web3 space and tech enthusiasts to have an avenue to interact and learn about the new and exciting topics in the technology and block chain space and also create a community for tech and web3 enthusiasts.

The theme  was “Onboarding traditional developers and more into web3”.

As the project manager of the event I want to use this medium as a retrospective of the event.

Time Management – The event was slated to start 10 a.m. but due to seen and unforeseen circumstances we had to delay. This could have been avoided with prior event day demo but due to lack of resources we were unable to.

Prioritization – The first 50 attendees were given free merch as we made limited stock.

Budgetting and Resources Allocation – With limited resources we were able to get quality materials and speakers who made the event memorable.

Others include Risk management, Interpersonal skills and communication, Programs management, Empathy, and Task management.

As a Project Manager, every project serves as a learning experience to become better and to mitigate risk.

I am open to new opportunities and roles in the Fintech, Health Tech, Events Management, IT solutions and humanitarian services spaces.

*Abdullah Mumuni, a Year 3 student of the Department of Computer Science, University of Lagos can be reached via +2348085008872 , Abdullahmumuni70@gmail.com

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Group Corporate Affairs Manager of BASL, Mikail Mumuni, who disclosed this in a press statement said the bag belonged to a prominent Nigerian (names withheld) who boarded an Arik Air flight from MMA2 to Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital on Monday, 30th August 2021.

According to the statement, “At about 1510hrs of 30th August 2021, a black bag that was forgotten inside a Coaster bus, used for conveying passengers at the Airside, with the number plate BDG 689 GW, was picked up by the driver of the bus, Mr. Emmanuel Eluu, and brought to the Aviation Security (AVSEC) Airside Supervisor, Mr. Taiwo Adelakun.

“Eluu was accompanied by Gbadamosi Olasunkami (Operations, Airside Supervisor) and Oluwole Alonge (Operations, Airside Head of Shift) to ascertain what was kept in the bag and for safe keep.”

The BASL spokesman added that items found in the bag were: the sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) in two bundles, the sum of five hundred thousand naira (#500,000.00) in five bundles, nine wristwatches in black and yellow pouches, a bead in a yellow bag, one eyeglasses in a yellow bag, pieces of jewelry in two golden purses, four bank cheques, eye drop, envelopes of different sizes, bundle of the Business cards belonging to the owner of the bag (names withheld), an identification card and a Samsung Note 20 Ultra.

Mumuni said, “The items were kept in security custody by Adelakun as instructed by the AVSEC Manager, Mr. Okeowo Olatunbosun and confirmed by Gbadamosi Olasunkanmi.”

He said the bag owner was contacted by the security supervisor on the instruction of the AVSEC Manager based on the phone number on the business card.

Upon arrival at his destination (Port Harcourt), the owner of the bag who had boarded an Arik Air flight from MMA2 instructed his protocol officer to collect the bag on his behalf.

“The owner of the bag initiated a video conversation with Adelakun (Security Supervisor) affirming the identity of the protocol officer and thanked the management and staff of MMA2 for the honesty and professionalism displayed by them.”

Mumuni recalled that an AVSEC staff of MMA2 similarly in April found the sum of N2.3m misplaced by an Uyo-bound passenger on Ibom Airline, and the money was returned to him.

“All these actions are consistent with MMA2’s position of delivering the best services in the Nigerian Aviation Industry,” he stressed.

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The presentation took place during the 25th edition of LAAC Annual Conference & Awards held at Sheraton Hotel, Lagos on Wednesday, July 28, 2021.

The award, which was presented to BASL on behalf of LAAC by Mallam Adamu Abdullahi, the Executive Commissioner (Operations), Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council, was in recognition of the high level of safety protocols put in place by BASL in its operations as mandated by the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19.

These, according to LAAC, include physical distancing between passengers and floor markings, social distancing, nose mask wearing, baggage disinfection before flight, temperature checks before entering airport premises and use of hand sanitisers.

In the citation, LAAC stated that the terminal operator ensured standard passenger facilitation processes and port health officials screen all terminal users before they were allowed to access the facility.

Responding, the Group Corporate Affairs Manager, Mr. Mikail Mumuni, who received the award on behalf of BASL, heartily expressed the company’s appreciation to the League, saying it signified an endorsement of Bi-Courtney’s  contribution to making the nation’s aviation sector safer.

He said, “We are pleased to receive this award from the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents. We see this as an endorsement of our contribution and commitment to the upliftment of the aviation industry.

“We have deliberately invested to keep the terminal functioning and continued to making it run effectively and efficiently for passengers safety and comfort,” adding that BASL will continue to offer top-notch services to the industry.

There were goodwill messages from top CEOs and other captains of industries, majority of those who lauded the initiatives of LAAC for organising such an event at an auspicious time like this where topical issues are dissected – all for the sustainability and development of the aviation sector.

The programme was attended by top officials of the Federal Ministry of Aviation, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN; Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA; Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA; Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigeria, AIB-N; Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Zaria and Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET, and other aviation stakeholders.

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In his article titled – The University of Lagos is back, he indulged in the usual half-truth and disinformation employed by some commentators on the causes of the frosty relationship between Dr. Babalakin and the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, which culminated into the setting up of a Visitation Panel by the Federal Government in August, 2020.

Reading through the article, one was tempted not to dignify Anele with any reaction, as virtually all the issues he raised have been exhaustively addressed and are in public domain.

Adopting that attitude will however create a wrong impression in the mind of the reading public, many of who may have forgotten details of the events. The public may thus be misled to believe that Professor Anele’s ‘perspective’ under focus was correct, rather than being a jaundiced one.

There are many other issues that Professor Anele muddled up in his article which was full of emotions than facts.

Employing the doctrine “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it’ often attributed to the Nazi propaganda chief, Joseph Goebbels, Anele in the said article repeated the disinformation that “Council at the instigation of Dr. Babalakin cancelled the convocation ceremonies slated for March 2020…”

Nothing could be farther from the truth!

The professor of philosophy said he had spent the greater part of his productive adult years at the University of Lagos and most strangely added that “But like most members of the university community I really did not know in detail until recently the relevant laws that established the institution especially as they pertain to the relationship between the Management team led by the Vice Chancellor and the Governing Council chaired by the Pro-Chancellor.”

This might explain why he probably did not know that convocation ceremonies cannot be held by UNILAG management without the knowledge and approval of the Governing Council.

Objective minds will recall that a letter from the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr. Sonny Echono through the National Universities Commission (NUC) directed the university to suspend the weeklong convocation.

The letter addressed to the executive secretary, NUC by Echono and titled, “Re: invitation to the 2019 convocation ceremony of the University of Lagos” read in part: “The attention of the honourable minister has been drawn to the attached copy of letter dated March 2, 2020 from the Pro-Chancellor to the effect that the 2019 convocation ceremonies were not approved by the governing council in line with the laws of the university.

“I am to, therefore request that you kindly advise the Vice Chancellor to suspend the convocation and ensure full compliance with due process.”

It is clear from the letter that the Pro-Chancellor simply lodged a complaint with the Minster of Education who then directed the suspension of the convocation ceremonies.

Anele may also wish to read an article by Niyi Akinnaso titled “Clarifications on the postponement of UNILAG Convocation” published in the April 1, 2020 edition of The Nation newspapers.

According to Akinnaso, a retired Professor of Anthropology and Linguistics, “It is now apparent from the timeline of events that, for a full week during advance preparations for the convocation, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Toyin Ogundipe, acted without recourse to Council or its Chairman, especially between February 24, 2020, when invitation letters were sent out, and March 2, 2020, when he responded in writing to the Chairman’s memo of February 28 in which the Chairman outlined his misgivings about the preparations for the convocation, particularly the lack of necessary information to Council about the recipients of honorary degrees, the convocation programme, and the invitation to participants, all of which were already public knowledge.

“It stands to reason that the Chairman should never have learned about this information from the pages of newspapers. It would appear that the VC sat on the Chairman’s memo over the weekend and only wrote a response on March 2, 2020, the same day he (VC) held a press conference announcing the convocation details to the world.

“On the same day, not having heard from the VC, the Council Chairman conveyed his misgivings to the Minister of Education, attaching his February 28th memo to the VC. Special meetings of Council followed on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th of March, 2020, at which the NUC’s letter of postponement was discussed among other things. Not even a delegation of the University Senate could convince the Council to reverse the postponement as the Chairman insisted that he was not responsible for it in the first place.”

There are many other issues that Professor Anele muddled up in his article which was full of emotions than facts.

It is however gratifying to note his comments on Dr. Babalakin’s insistence on due process and financial probity which was at the core of the disagreement between him and the Vice-Chancellor. According to him, “Surely, his allegations against the Vice-Chancellor and others may not be completely groundless.” One would have expected him, though, to draw the attention of his readers to the statement of the Visitation Panel Chairman that “On the issue of frivolous expenditure at the expense of the core mandate of the University, teaching and research, within the period in question (the) VC and his cronies undertook 75 external trips costing hundreds of millions of Naira, while the total annual DTLC of all the Departments of the University was just N35 million per annum.”

Anele’s major concern, as can be deduced in his article, was what he considered to be the style of the former Pro-Chancellor, not the weight of the proven allegations against the VC.  And he was quick to add that “Moreover, majority of Senate members including myself rallied around Prof. Ogundipe because he is a humble, compassionate, and hardworking administrator very committed to making the University of Lagos the citadel of first choice not just as a mere slogan but in reality as well.”

Anele also in his article celebrated the setting up of the Visitation Panel on UNILAG and the reinstatement of Ogundipe as VC by the Federal Government.

In all these, the professor of philosophy appeared not to have come across the widely published different correspondence of Professor Tukur Saad, Chairman of the panel, to the Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari, and the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, where he said among other things that “When you read the Report you will notice that it was very one-sided, so to speak, the option was for the Chairman to refuse to sign the report and that would have been a slap on the Government’s face. In any case, the issue is not that the report was false but it contained half-truth in order to protect one party and magnified the facts from the other party by pushing the blame to one side, omitting what could have balanced the report.”

Professor Saad also acknowledged that Professor Ogundipe and his management team engaged in contract splitting and concealment of University funds, almost amounting to N10 billion, from the Governing Council.

It is not the intention of this write up to dwell on issues that are already settled in the public domain, more so as a new Governing Council is just rolling up its sleeves.

It is however necessary to remind Professor Anele and his likes that Dr. Babalakin had since September 15, 2020, in a letter addressed to the Minister of Education, resigned as Chairman of the UNILAG Governing Council and Pro-Chancellor.

While he was in office, he took no honorarium or sitting allowance, but he instead availed UNILAG, his alma mater, of financial grants from his personal resources.

This was not lost on the Visitation Panel Chairman, Professor Saad Tukur, who, in his October 7, 2020 letter to the Minister of Education clearly stated that Dr. Babalakin ran the affairs of UNILAG with utmost integrity, but regretted that the Terms of Reference (ToRs) of his panel were skewed against him.

It is however gratifying to note his comments on Dr. Babalakin’s insistence on due process and financial probity which was at the core of the disagreement between him and the Vice-Chancellor.

According to the professor, “There are a number of memoranda sympathetic to the Chairman of Council for the good work he was doing and for his being above the board when it came to financial probity, but these did not show up in the report because it appears three of the ToRs were targeted at the Chairman in his role of removing a VC and appointing an Ag VC.”

Also in his letter to the Chief of Staff to the President, dated Tuesday, November 10, 2020, Professor Saad said, “As Chairman, I didn’t want to sign the final report but I felt that would be a slap on the face of the government and it would generate so much bad publicity in the public domain…” He said he signed based “ on the understanding that the matter would be referred to the Shehu of Borno as the Chancellor.”

He told Professor Gambari that as soon as the panel was inaugurated, he secured the mandate of the Federal Ministry of Education to bring in the Chancellor to mediate in the UNILAG crisis and that the “Final recommendation of the panel was that the matter should be referred back to the Chancellor, irrespective of what the panel recommended.” Professor Saad lamented that “As it stands now I feel I was made a fool of and stabbed on the back by people I trusted.”

He added that “Furthermore, it will be impossible for any Council to manage a university in this country if the recommendations of the panel are implemented in a Whitepaper” and complained that “A Whitepaper based on the report submitted by the panel and neglecting the final recommendation of referring will raise many questions.”

•Mumuni is Media Adviser to Dr. Wale Babalakin SAN.

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