Upgrading of RUGIPO to a Versity is Not a Trend of Time -By Collins Akinujomu

The establishment of universities in Ondo State can best be described as a means of political compensation rather than
an act of necessity intended for the advancement of the education sector in the state. Presently, the state has three state-owned universities, namely, the state’s premier university, Adekunle Ajasin University (AAUA), Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECTH), formerly Ondo State University of Science and Technology (OSUSTECH), and the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED). A state-owned polytechnic, Rufus Giws Polytechnic Owo, the state has no college of education of its own. The focus of this piece is on the universities. The establishment of these universities was carried out by all the state government administrations in the last 21 years. This simply means that all the governors in Ondo State between 1999 and the present have established at least one university. While the creation of higher institutions of learning is not a misfortune for any state, the circumstances surrounding their creation might be questionable. For instance, the need, location, and timing of establishing state-owned universities in Ondo State raise serious concerns.

It is generally perceived in Ondo State that all the governors that have come on board have used the establishment of universities to compensate their kingsmen in the state for either political support and endorsements already gotten or the ones intended to be gotten.

In regards to the theory of two publics (Peter Ekeh 1975), African political leaders are found to use their civic public (elected or appointed) offices to benefit their primordial (ethnic, tribe, or town) public at the detriment of the civic public or state. This theory also revealed the behavioral nature of African public figures and how their obligations to their primordial public can be moral and amoral to the civic public.

The case of the creation of universities in Ondo State has met with large criticism from the inhabitants of the state due to the situation that surrounds the creations. It all started with the creation of Adekunle Ajasin University in 1999. Prior to this time, Ondo State University, located in Ado-Ekiti, had been carved out as part of the newly created Ekiti state; hence, the need for another university in present-day Ondo State became necessary. This necessitated the relocation of Ondo State University to Akungba-Akoko. However, the question of why the school is not cited in Ikare-Akoko, which is perceived to be the administrative and commercial headquarters of Akokos at the time, remains unanswered. Chief Adebayo Adefarati cited the new Ondo State University, which is named Adekunle Ajasin University, adjacent to his residential house in Akungba-Akoko.
Former governor Olusegun Agagu, who took over from Chief Adefarati, repeated the scenario with the creation of the Ondo State University of Science and Technology (OSUSTECTH). In an interview granted by Olusegun Agagu on September 29, 2009, he openly admitted that the creation of OSUSTECH, now OAUSTECTH, in his local government, Okitipupa, was to appease and compensate the grievances of the people of the southern part of the state, who claimed that section of the state is left without higher institutions, claiming the presence of AAUA, RUGIPO in the northern, and FUTA, Adeyemi College of Education in the central senatorial districts of the state.
When former governor Olusegun Mimiko came into office between 2009 and 2017, despite popular demands to the state government to create a college of medicine in AAUA and to develop the two existing universities, Mimiko instead headed towards establishing a full-fledged University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED) in his hometown of Ondo, the same town already housing two higher institutions: Adeyemi College of Education, now the University of Education, and Wesley University.

To make matters worse, the recent move by the Oluwarotimi Akeredolu administration to upgrade the only state-owned polytechnic, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic (RUGIPO), in Owo, his hometown, to Ondo State University (OSUA), has met with public dissatisfaction and criticism. Owo is currently home to Achievers University and the polytechnic. The decision of the Akeredolu administration is a clear repetition of the habits of previous governors, who have resulted in creating universities in the name of the state government, so to speak, to acquire prestige among their kingsmen.
Despite several questions and demands for reasons for the conversation of RUGIPO to a university, the Akeredolu administration has not been able to provide convincing answers.

The proliferation of state-owned universities can lead to significant side effects, some of which could be the inability of the government to adequately finance these universities and the proliferation of principal offices, as these universities currently have separate governing councils. Another major effect could be that recently established universities can pose a threat to the survival of the older ones. For instance, a large number of students will choose the option of attending a university in a more developed area like Owo instead of heading to a school in a less developed area like Akungba-Akoko to obtain the same degree. Another major effect will be the need to establish a state-owned polytechnic, which will come with a huge cost.

It is important that in every process of decision-making, the government take into consideration the knowledge of professional bureaucrats, who are expected to use their expertise in sampling public opinion and foreseeing potential consequences of decisions regarding critical sectors like education in the state.
Ondo State currently occupies the 13th position in the list of states with the highest IGR and cannot boast of any public company since the defunct state-owned Owena Motel. The state therefore needs to make more investments in the economic sector, including the creation of public companies, corporations, and business enterprises that will facilitate jobs and reduce the unemployment rate in the state. Ondo state government must realize that higher institutions, particularly universities, are centers for research and development and places of knowledge production, and at no point should they be seen as a means of investment or generating revenue.

Collins Akinujomu.