HOW LEADERSHIP DETERMINES SUCCESS OF VISION AT FUOYE

Government’s dream and visions no matter how well conceived and how well funded, could become a mirage if wrong and un-suitable human elements, especially at the leadership strata are placed in the driver’s seat. Such failed dreams of government in the area of projects, infrastructure and institutions, are found in their hundreds all over Nigeria, today.

In the same vein, there exist several hundred others that today have not only vindicated government’s wisdom to dream, but are making government proud and challenged to further dream. The Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE), is certainly one of such products of federal government’s dream that fell on a fertile land in terms of hiring suitable midwives which today is not only a success story but a standard and example being cited by all.

That FUOYE today, is first among equals, especially among the nine universities former President Goodluck Jonathan established 10 years ago, may no longer be news. Also that the institution ranks better than some older university, as attested by several independent assessors and government’s visitation panels, may also be a stale news.

What is puzzling, which requires interrogation is the secret behind FUOYE’s un-common growth and development. This is where the leadership question, who can work against the tide, which FUOYE is lucky to have been blessed with even from inception, comes in and should begin to engage government’s attention when trying to solve the problem of institutional failure to deliver on goals and targets.

It is incontrovertible that both the pioneer Vice Chancellor, Prof. Chinedu Ositadinma Nebo and his successor, Prof. Isaac Asuzu laid a solid foundation which the duo of Prof. Kayode Soremekun and Prof. Abayomi Sunday Fasina as Vice Chancellor and (then) Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) respectively used to launch the FUOYE Transformation Agenda.

No doubt the contents of the FUOYE Transformation Agenda which have been well celebrated and well publicised, is not the subject of this conversation, it is however suffice to mention that the university was transformed from 6,000 students’ population to about 26,000, from 22 departments to about 80, from four faculties to 11; including Law, Pharmacy and Medical Sciences and a full blown Post Graduate School.

The new Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi Fasina un-known to him, has flagged-off within his 100 days in office what the staff and students have now tagged Fasina Revolution with the welfare and wellbeing of staff and students, the driving force, thereby domesticating the opening paragraph of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution.

The staff and students could not be faulted in their conclusion, judging by what the new Vice Chancellor has done in the area of staff and students’ welfare just in less than 100 days in office. It is a logic that could not be faulted that human beings anywhere in the world are the engine of growth and development, and to that extent a good administrator and manager, must accord them due recognition and offer them concomitant reward and award that could stimulate and motivate them to do more. One of the major factors that enhance productivity, is industrial harmony, which comes when staff are duly recognised as a major stakeholder and are adequately rewarded.

To clearly demonstrate that he understands the importance of the link between staff’s welfare and industrial harmony on one hand and productivity on the other hand, the Vice Chancellor as soon he assumed office announced plan to begin the payment of staff’s Hazard Allowance, stopped about two years ago. He has indeed commenced payment to the joy and admiration of members of staff.

To further dignify the staff-members as true stakeholders in the system who should have access to some privileges like management staff, Prof Fasina issued a directive allowing members of staff, regardless of his or her grade level who has a biological child seeking admission to study in the university and who has met the basic requirement, to be given automatic admission through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board. Again members of staff have expectedly tagged this as another revolutionary move, doing the un-usual as it had never happened that way in the university in the past.

In furtherance of the pro-workers’ agenda to reduce the economic burdens of staff, the Vice Chancellor has announced a 50 percent reduction in tuition for any member of staff doing any academic programme in the institution.
To enhance staff’s upward movement in terms of self-development and probably to accommodate members of staff who may take advantage of the reduction in tuition fees to upgrade their certificates and qualifications, the new FUOYE helmsman, also within this 100 days, thrown the gate open for non-academic staff with requisite qualifications and who are interested in crossing over to the academics as lecturers.

Abiodun Fanoro is a Senior Information Officer at FUOYE, Ekiti State