UNILAG And Name Change

The Federal Government has decided that the late Chief of M.K.O. Abiola be honoured for making the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of justice and truth.  Destiny and circumstances conspired to place upon his shoulders an historic burden and he rose to the occasion with character and courage.

He deserves recognition for his martyrdom and public – spiritedness and for being the man of history that he was.  We need in our land more men and women who will stand  up to defend their beliefs and whose example will further enrich our democracy”.

These were the words of President Goodluck Jonathan as he immortalized late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Oluwale (MKO) Abiola, the acclaimed winner of June 12,  1993 election, on May 29, Democracy Day, by renaming University of Lagos after him.

Since Abiola died in military custody fourteen  years ago while trying to claim his mandate, many Nigerians, civil society groups, activists have yearned and clamoured for his immortalization for the supreme sacrifice he paid for democratic rule in Nigeria today.  All their efforts over these years yielded no positive result as neither the military administration of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, late General Sani Abacha, Gen. Abdulsami  nor the civilian government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo considered it important.

In fact, some activists accused Obasanjo who hails from the same Ogun State with Abiola, of thwarting every move towards immortalising him.

It is therefore surprising why the President’s gesture of renaming the famous University of Lagos in honour of Abiola has generated a lot of controversy, protest and debate.

The first kick came from the students of the university who trooped out immediately the announcement was made to protest the change of name of the university.  The university authority, the Academic Staff Union of (ASUU) of the institute, University of Lagos Alumni Association and some other Nigerians have also joined in the condemnation.

The ASUU Chairman, Dr Karo Moses Igbinaka said, “The decision to rename the UNILAG was mainly PDP.  UNILAG is a University established by an act of parliament and you cannot just wake up one day to say you want to rename it.  The president recently established nine new universities in the country, he can afford to rename those ones if he so wishes.  UNILAG is not what you can change over night”.

Some people view the change of name as a political master stroke to break into the south west-political block, others consider it as a mere red herring tactics to divert attention  from the core issue of governance.  Yet others see it as playing to the gallery.

Records have it that the names of notable higher institutions were changed at one time or the other as a way of honouring political leaders.  The University of Northern Nigeria, established in October 1962 was renamed Ahmadu Bello University, in honour of the former Premier of the Northern Region who was killed in 1966 coup. The University of Ife established also in 1962, was renamed Obafemi Awolowo University in 1987 following the death of the former Premier of the Western Region and former leader of opposition in the federal parliament.

Why then should the renaming of University of Lagos after Moshood Abiola University of Lagos generate so much heat?  Is it that he is not befitting of him?  Moshood Abiola contributed to the funding of universities across the nation.  Which better way should he have been honoured other than naming a university as prestigious as UNILAG after him?

I think instead of condemning the President for his good intention, he should be praised for meeting the aspirations of the people.

However, proper consultation should have been made with some stakeholders like the university authority and the governing council, to intimate them about the intended change. We are in a democratic government which demands that the people should be carried along as much as possible on issues concerning them.

Nevertheless, the university belongs to the federal government and if it pleased the federal government to change its name, that should not be an issue, moreso when the change of name will not affect the academic performance of the institution in any way.  Causing anarchy over a mere change of name is  totally absurd and un-called for.

Calista Ezeaku