Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, the University of Lagos’ (12th) substantive vice chancellor, announced his resignation yesterday after serving the institution for five years.
At a farewell briefing with his successor, Prof. Folashade Ogunsola, and other management staff held in the Senate Chamber, Ogundipe stated that the university, while he served as president, attracted about N19B in research grants from both local and international organizations as well as registered more than 64 companies for the benefit of the students.
He claimed that upon taking office in 2017, his administration unveiled a six-point program known as “UNILAG.”
He went into great depth about what each letter meant and what they were all designed to do, which was to advance the institution and get it ready to become a university of the future.
He stated that from 2017 until the present, the University of Lagos has made remarkable development. Not only did we plant seeds, but we also saw the many seeds come to fruition, with the effects clearly visible.
He added that Unilag has expanded significantly during his leadership, surpassing the bar they set for themselves in terms of performance.
But he credited God, who he claimed had been directing his steps, as well as the management team, the university senate, staff unions, students, and other stakeholders, including the alumni, for their support and collaboration.
The VC also praised his successor, Prof. Folashade Ogunsola, the university’s first female vice-chancellor, for her loyalty, especially during their struggles with Dr. Wale Babalakin, the former pro-chancellor and chairman of the council. When Babalakin was suspended, Ogunsola was named to take over in an acting capacity, and many people told her that her time had come, the VC said. “But she told them that this is her time, not her time yet, as she would wait for it,”
The departing VC said that despite a string of strikes that rocked the Nigerian university system between 2017 and the present, the problems were never internal and that UNILAG had never-before-seen levels of labor peace thanks to management’s amicable resolution of employee welfare issues.
For Ogunsola to be successful in her new role, he asked the staff and students for their support.
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