Tai Solarin University Of Education And Gbenga Daniel’s Campaign Of Pessimism

BY OLANIYI AJIBOLA

The late American political journalist and author Norman Cousins once said:”, Optimism doesn’t wait on facts; it deals with prospects, while pessimism is a waste of time”.

Reading through a comic relief authored by Otunba Gbenga Daniel recently, which he called a letter to Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on the acquisition of Tai Solarin University of Education by the Federal Government, one would wonder how such thoughts came into the mind of a former Governor and serving Senator, who some individuals look up to as a mentor and leader.

Dissecting Daniel’s so-called letter on its face -value, the former Governor raised what appears as a false alarm, claiming the acquisition would deprive the people of the state employment opportunities as well as limiting admission quotas.

Obviously, the lawmaker woefully failed to put this argument on the scale of rationality and logic before hastily putting pen on paper and coming up with a beer parlour argument gorgeously dressed in the regalia of pessimism.

Succinctly speaking, the leadership attributes displayed by Prince Dapo Abiodun and the quality of governance provided by his administration, which indeed excited and attracted the Federal Government to the Ivory Tower and took it over was very uncommon in the analysis of the political journey of Ogun State in the last decades and seriously absent during the holocaust years of Gbenga Daniel.

Since November 28, 2005 when the defunct Tai Solarin College of Education got its present status as the first Specialised Univerity of Education in Nigeria, the man at the saddle at the time, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, practically did nothing to project for the expansion and advancement of the higher institution of learning, in the same way he handled different specialised Polytechnics he founded in those days, leaving them vulnerable and volatile.

Rather than consolidating and advancing the inherent academic excellence in those schools, the campuses regrettably became dens of cultists and sanctuaries of ‘Aristos ‘ allegedly servicing men in power.

Against this perilous situation, there was a total turnaround in those institutions of higher learning immediately after Governor Dapo Abiodun assumed office, restoring sanity and academic excellence with inspiring motivation to members of staff for optimal productivity.

This is the major factor that propelled the takeover of Tai Solarin University of Education, as it is obvious that the Federal Ministry of Education can not take a conscious decision of that magnitude without cogent reasons of interest.

Meanwhile, everyone except Otunba Gbenga Daniel and his likes applauded the taking over of the University across the state and beyond, with convincing hope that the takeover would guarantee more funding and a significant increase in its academic frontiers.

Since Ivory Towers is basically concerned about learning and research for socio-economic development, Tai Solarin University of Education will advance this obligation beyond what the limited resources of the state could guarantee and, by implication, require more hands to carry out these activities, which without doubt, will provide employment opportunities for people in the state.

Suffice it to say that the host state and host community of every Federal Government establishment enjoy some level of preference and priority as a reflection of local content without compromising federal character.

Without mincing words and in total contrast to the prophecy of doom the former Governor advocated, the people of Ogun State would continue to enjoy employment opportunities as before at the University, with more benefits and privileges.

Talking about admission quotas, prospective students of Ogun extraction would be given necessary attention since the state is one of the catchment areas of the university, Senator Gbenga Daniel should have known this before coming out to mislead unsuspecting residents of the state out of envy and shenanigans.

Like the way Gbenga Daniel enviously and fruitlessly changed narratives of the Gateway International Agro-cargo Airport, it is evident that the former Governor is presently in pain with the level of achievements recorded by the Dapo Abiodun-led administration in the last six years, surpassing that of his predecessors combined.

On this remarkable development in Ogun State, we salute the commitment and creativity of Prince Dapo Abiodun, a man with an impeccable pedigree in education and academic excellence; being a son of teachers, he has a satisfactory understanding of how education should be and relentlessly changing the old order for good.

In conclusion, I want to remind Otunba Gbenga Daniel that unlike the wasteful and careless administration he superintended, Prince Dapo Abiodun is prudent, frugal and meticulous about the state’s resources and he would never shortchange the people he loves and cares for with passion, so the issue of management of resources raised by the Senator does not arise at all.

Finally, I want to salute the sagacity and dexterity of a late war veteran and Commander of the American Army, who later became the 34th American President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, who posited” Pessimism Never Won Any Battle”.

Olaniyi Ajibola writes from Ibara, Abeokuta.