Babcock VC Slams ASUU’s President over Quack Comments

Funmi Ogundare

The Vice-Chancellor of Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun, Prof Ademola Tayo, has condemned the recent comment by the President of the Academic Union of Universities (ASUU)​, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, that universities that did not join the union’s months-long strike are irrelevant and quacks.​

According to the Babcock VC, the true test of the quality of any institution lies in its products, who are doing creditably well in the world of work and performing well academically in foreign universities.

Osodeke had appeared on Arise Television and was reacting to the resolve of some of the state universities to call off the strike and return to lectures.

Tayo, who briefed journalists on activities marking the university’s 63rd/23rd Founders Day, recalled that the founders of Paystack are graduates of Computer Science from Babcock University.

“If private universities are quacks, we will not have a company which the US bid for $200 million or even have our students who are getting first class in foreign universities. If we are quacks, we will not have Davido trending in the musical industry. In 2020, the overall best student at the Nigerian Law School will not graduate from Babcock University if we are quacks,” the Babcock vice-chancellor stressed.

He emphasised the National Universities Commission (NUC) ranking, saying that the institution came second and that the commission renewed the university’s programmes for another five years.

The VC added that NUC has​ come to access its resources and that the institution would get the result of its request for its admission quota for medicine.​

“So far, we have 100, and we believe that we are going to have an expanded programme. For our nursing programme, our quota has been increased from 75 to 150, as a result of improvement in our facilities,” stated Tayo.​

Tayo stated that in the last four years, at every JAMB policy meeting, Babcock was noted to be the most subscribed among private universities in Nigeria, adding, “the last admission for 2021, we had 3,511 of our students matriculating, and that was the highest among private universities in Nigeria.”

He also mentioned that the university was the second private university to run a dual mode of teaching and learning.

The VC, however, called on the government to create an enabling environment that will support the efforts of private universities in the country, adding that the move will encourage professionals in the field and guide against the problem of brain drain.