By LEKE ADESERI, South-West Regional Editor, BEN AGANDE, OLASUNKANMI AKONI & DAYO ADESULU
LAGOS—The nature of the real battle of who will laugh last in the re-christening of University of Lagos, UNILAG, as Moshood Abiola University, Lagos, MAUL – between the Federal Government led by President Goodluck Jonathan and the university community– emerged yesterday with most of the students adamant to vacate the campus with the backing of a majority of the senior staff.

Authoritative sources  told Vanguard that the students and respected voices on campus were unanimous in the condemnation of the sudden change, considering the fact that most of the senior staff are alumni of the university.

The ‘stay-on-campus’ stance of the university community is said to be excused under the need to give a befitting burial to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Babatunde Sofoluwe, who died on May 11.

Students after hijackiing a BRT bus on the Third Mainland Bridge during the 2nd day of protest against the renaming of the University of Lagos.

Another developing scenario is what will play out when the closure order is lifted. The university, which has not witnessed any students’ protest in the last 10 years, is bound to be polarised between the Vice-Chancellor who will be bounded to do the wish of the Federal Government, on the one hand, and other members of the community, said to be resolute about rejecting the new name on the other.

Meantime, despite the order from University of Lagos authorities that students should vacate their various hostels on campus, many of the students and lecturers were, however, present on campus apparently to pay their last respect to the late Pro. Sofoluwe, who was laid to rest yesterday.

Tears flowed freely from family members, students, lecturers and other stakeholders in the education sector who came to pay the late Sofoluwe  their last respects. Before, he was taken to Ikoyi cemetery at 1pm for burial.

He was  honoured with service of songs at the university.

NUC to implement President’s order

The Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission, NUC, Prof. Julius Okojie, said yesterday that  following the renaming of University of Lagos as Moshood Abiola University, what the commission and other government agencies would do is to ‘follow the implementation’ of the presidential declaration.

Speaking with State House correspondents, Prof. Okojie said the reaction of the students which led to the closure of the school was not unexpected because ‘There is nothing you do in the university system these days that students won’t react.

“We are familiar with these issues, I have been in the úniversity system for this long. I speak as Executive Secretary of NUC and a regulator of universities. We have heard (University of)  Ife changed in 1987, we have heard Usman Dan Fodio now University of Sokoto, we have heard Yola, Modibbo Adamawa, we have Nnamdi Azikiwe which was University of Awka before. This is about the seventh.

”The President had announced that we want to honour Abiola on Democracy Day which everybody thinks is in order. The President has given a directive, the rest is for us to follow the implementation” he said.

He explained that the president consulted before taking the decision, noting that he did not need to consult with the Vice-Chancellor of the university and its Senate because the Federal Government is the proprietor of the school.

Abiola’s daughter welcomes recognition

Mrs. Hafsat Abiola-Costello, daughter of the winner of June 12, 1993 Presidential Elections in Nigeria and business mogul, Chief M.K.O. Abiola, has welcomed the decision of the Federal Government to honour the memory of her father.

In a statement, Hafsat described her father as an icon of democracy who held unto the mandate freely given to him in the most free and fair presidential elections ever held in the history of Nigeria till his last breath.

While commending the Federal Government for the recognition, Hafsat said the best way to immortalise her father was through transparent free and fair elections, obedience to the rule of law, due process and banishment of injustice, poverty and want in Nigeria.

She, however, said there was need for the government to revisit the circumstances surrounding the death of Chief Abiola.

S-West govs meet Jonathan

The governor of Ekiti State , Dr  Kayode Fayemi yesterday supported in principle the decision by President Jonathan to recognise the role of Abiola in enthroning democracy in the country by renaming University of Lagos after him, but argued that  there should have been wider consultation before arriving at that decision.

Fayemi, who spoke with State House correspondents after a meeting of some South-West governors with President Jonathan said the students who are protesting the renaming may not understand the import of the pivotal rold played by the late Abiola.

According to the governor,  as an alumnus of the university,  “I know that the President means well by acknowledging the role that Chief Abiola played in securing us this democracy we are all enjoying. And, as an activist of that era myself, I could not stress enough the importance of the role that Chief Abiola played.

“But clearly, this is an issue that ought to have also been comprehensively discussed by all the stakeholders in order to ensure that everyone takes ownership of the decision that has been taken”.

On the meeting with President Jonathan, Fayemi said “We were invited by Mr. President for discussions on areas of mutual interest, infrastructure, roads, rail, transportation particularly. It was a very positive discussion, we had highlighted to Mr President the poor state of the road infrastructure in the South-West particularly federal roads and Mr President agreed with us on the importance of doing something quickly about this. ”

In his remarks, the governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, said he was still opposed to the concession of the Lagos- Ibadan road, this he said should be withdrawn and that the governors in the state were ready to fix it.

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State was absent at the meeting.

How best to immortalise Abiola, by Tinubu

Former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has suggested ways the Federal Government could appropriately honour Chief Abiola and immortalise him.

He suggested the naming of a national monument  at the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) after Abiola; his posthumous declaration as president and the setting aside of a day in his honour.

Tinubu played a prominent role in the struggle for the actualisation of the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by Chief Abiola. He was a member of the then leading pro-democracy movement, the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO).

The National Leader of the main opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) advised President Jonathan to work with the National Assembly in this regard.

He contended that though the President’s decision to rename Unilag after Abiola was welcomed, it fell short of what is required.

Tinubu spoke in Lagos on Wednesday while receiving protesting students from the university. Numbering about 100, the students, who handed a protest letter to the former governor, said they were at his office – Freedom House, Victoria Island office – to express their displeasure over the renaming of their school.

Tinubu said: “We must congratulate the president for attempting to do it, but we say-do it right. MKO was elected by the entire country not just by the Yoruba- he was arrested and taken to Abuja.

“He was tried, incarcerated and eventually died in very controversial circumstances in Abuja under the custody of federal agents. Abiola’s mandate was a national mandate which he tried to reclaim.

“But we must be careful not to localise or sectionalise MKO. Without Abiola, without June 12 elections, we would not be enjoying this democracy now or even the freedoms we now have. The seed for what we enjoy was sown by Abiola’s victory on June 12 and millions of Nigerians who voted.

“There are preliminary options for President Jonathan.  There is a pending resolution by the National Assembly that recommended that the National Stadium be named after Moshood Abiola.

“Let the President go ahead and name the Abuja Stadium after Abiola- a pillar of sports and political icon. Then we will celebrate and respect that.

“Before now, various excuses were given over the inconclusiveness of the elections. Some of us were incarcerated and suffered during the June 12 struggle. Since then the various actors, especially the umpire or head of the Electoral Commission, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu in his book declared the result of the election and that Abiola duly won.

“The President can on the basis of this go to the National Assembly to declare him winner, enter it into record and posthumously declare Abiola as the democratically elected president of Nigeria. We will

support the President on this and recognize this”.

“I won’t stop saying the truth. I won’t stop supporting  and promoting the democratic ideals I believe in, we must depart from doing things by fiat as if we are under the military”, Tinubu said.

To the protesting students, Tinubu said: “You have the right to air your grievances over this matter. Let me speak to you as a mentor and a leader. Though I am in support of your position, but do not

criticize the government without giving it alternatives.

Tinubu urged the students to find a constructive way to tell the President what options are open to him. He cited the National Stadium, Abuja; National Hospital Abuja (where Abiola eventually died), Eagle

Square and the International Conference Centre, Abuja.