Vice-Chancellor’s Address at the Opening Ceremony of May 14, 2008.

PREAMBLE

Protocol!

Worthy is the lamb!
It gives me great pleasure to deliver this address at the first formal ceremony of our great University, Wesley University of Science and Technology Ondo (WUSTO), after accepting to be the Chief Executive. My selection as Vice Chancellor was made after what I considered a rigorous selection process by a committee of Council. I am convinced that my appointment was based on merit, and not on other non-academic considerations. And for this reason, I am elated. This is the first step that an institution has to take to ensure genuine progress, most especially when the challenges ahead are enormous. It is my hope and I pray fervently that God in his mercies provides all of us the energy to face these challenges and steer us in the right direction. For the Bible says “except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that built it; except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain” Psalm 1271.

As I have said several times in the recent past, WUSTO is a new born baby of the Methodist family. Just as parents have the primary responsibility of nurturing their babies to adulthood, so also the Methodist family has the responsibility of ensuring that this baby called WUSTO does not die. There is no doubt that the length of time that it took WUSTO to get an operating license from NUC was too long when compared with the time it took many other private universities to get to this level. That is now history. As we move ahead, we will have to look back in retrospect from time to time so as to learn from the shortcomings of the past.

MY VISION

The University when viewed in the global context is about excellence in teaching, in research, in the quality of the experience it offers and in the contribution it makes to the wider world. The broad objectives of a university owned by a church should include the following:

• Provision of facilities for learning, and giving instruction and training in such branches of knowledge as the University may desire to foster and in doing so to enable students to obtain the advantage of a liberal education;
• Promotion by research and other means the advancement of knowledge and its practical application to social, cultural, economic, scientific and technological problems;
• Regeneration of morality, not only through teaching and research, but also through informal means, so as to ensure stimulation of interest in national development from moral, cultural and religious perspectives.

WUSTO should produce and generate knowledge through teaching and research, the outcome of which should be properly synchronized with national development through advanced knowledge of Science and Technology. To be able to achieve this, the issue of funding should take the front seat. Three areas of fiscal management which WUSTO must not overlook are:

• Prudent management of funds;
• Investments;
• Sourcing Funds internally and externally.

There is no doubt that a developing nation like Nigeria should have centres of excellence where knowledge will be continuously created with a view to achieving moral regeneration and enhancing development in Science and Technology. If established on a solid foundation, WUSTO stands a good chance of being one of these centres of excellence in the country. Our core values should be to seek excellence in all our activities; ensure intellectual freedom; respect and value diversity of opinion and freedom of expression; operate on a high level of integrity; make conscious efforts to inculcate high moral values in students and all categories of workers and make truth and honesty our watchword.

What the events of the recent past have revealed in this country is that the interpretation of the objectives of the University as an entity must take a global dimension. We must redefine the goals of the University not just in content but in context to include an aggressive pursuit of teaching, learning, research, development, morality and public service at a level that will meet global standards. This is my vision as the foundation Vice-Chancellor of WUSTO.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

In as much as we have an unshaken faith in God that He will lead us through and right, we cannot but fall back on our ever-reliable reference – the Bible – which tells us that, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” James 217. “For the body without the sprit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” James 226. I am therefore set to combine both faith and hard-work to make those lofty visions a reality.

In my address to the Board of Trustees (BOT) on Tuesday March 18, 2008, I presented an Itinerary of Operations between now and when our first set of students would resume in October this year. The tasks ahead range from recruitment of different categories of staff, to the inauguration of the first anniversary ceremonial committee. I also listed infrastructural facilities that must be put in place before resumption. I am pleased to inform you that money has been released for the first item on the list i.e. completion of the Library building which is as important as the last on the list.

Other projects for which money as been released are:

• Renovation of the T-shaped building
• Completion of the Main Library
• Surface Dressing of major roads on campus
• Energisation of the campus
• Purchase of generator

Sometimes last year, the Government of Rivers State under the leadership of Dr. Peter Odili, gave us money to build a three-floor Science Laboratory. This donation was facilitated through the joint efforts of the immediate past administration of the Methodist Church under the leadership of the Prelate Emeritus, His Eminence, Dr. Sunday Mbang and the current administration under the leadership of the Prelate Emeritus, His Eminence, Dr. Sunday Ola makinde as well as our own Dr. (Mrs) Konya, a member of our church and the Commissioner for Environment in Dr. Peter Odili's Government. Dr.(Mrs) Konya is currently a member of our Governing Council.

The project started just before I became the Vice Chancellor. I am pleased to inform you that the foundation has been laid and the sod will be turned by The Osemawe of Ondo today. The contractors, Messers Guffanti Nigeria Limited have promised my administration that the project will be completed on schedule i.e. within 36 weeks. What this translates to is that by the time our students resume in October, a large laboratory in each of the basic science subjects that very few universities can boast of will be waiting for them.

Other projects which have commenced within the past two weeks include the following:

• 500-seater Lecture theatre by High Chief Akingbule, the Odunwo of Ondo kingdom.
• Two 64-bed hostel Blocks by Prince Adedinsewo an Ondo indigene based in Lagos.

Another project that will soon commence is the construction of our Chapel by High Chief Bayo Akinnola who has already requested for the Engineering drawing and other documents.

We have reached an advanced stage of negotiation with the following property developers who would like to invest in WUSTO. These developers and their projects are listed below:

Our immediate need for now in respect of hostels for our first set of students is 8 blocks of 64 beds each. We are sure of only 2 for now. We are hopeful that 2 or 3 more will commence soon. The options of Mrs Fawehinmi and Engr. Olowu will be suitable for the second set of students. For now, if there are no more offers, we will have no option other than to request for bank facility to erect the urgently needed Blocks. This is not a desirable option, but it becomes inevitable if by June 1, we do not have enough developers for 8 blocks.

Our emphasis on hostel stems from our resolve to make sure that WUSTO is purely residential. It is part of the Corporate Policy of this university. Experience has revealed that universities who do not provide adequate and decent accommodation for their students run into trouble. The students exhibit all sorts of abnormal traits that animals exhibit when subjected to substandard conditions in captivity. The WUSTO of our dream is not just a university that provides facilities for teaching and research but one in which moral regeneration of our children would be approached through formal and informal means, so as to ensure stimulation of interest in national development from moral, cultural and religious perspectives. One sure step towards achieving this is to ensure that our students are accommodated in the University campus and live under controlled conditions with strict compliance with laid down rules and regulations. This is not to say that they will not be allowed to mix with the Ondo community. They will mix, but under strict regulations. The modalities for this will soon be worked out by the management.

ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES

Of the five Colleges approved by NUC, we will start with two this year (i.e. 2008/2009 session). These are the Colleges of Natural and Applied Sciences and Food Science and Technology. All the programmes will be operated religiously as approved by NUC while efforts will be made to review them and those that are yet to take-off with a view to changing nomenclature and course contents to reflect the needs of the labour market and in line with the thinking of the academia at the global level. Research direction will also be in agreement with national needs and international standards. Efforts will be made to seek and attract research grants from both within and abroad. Universities owned by the Methodist Church abroad readily come to mind in this respect. We will seek co-operation and collaboration with them with a view to adding value to our operations in WUSTO.

Information & Communication Technology (ICT)

That we are ready to join the growing league of ICT universities in Nigeria is an open secret. But for those who are yet to know, I would like to reveal that Sir Bode Akindele Foundation has provided N100 million towards our ICT project in WUSTO. The first Phase of this Project has been completed with the installation of a satellite dish, a mast and the installation of network cables and sockets in every room. The Consultant, who has been managing the ICT Project from inception, has just submitted a proposal for the second phase of the Project. This second phase will include payment for Bandwidth service, running of fibre backbone, purchase of servers, switches and routers, and network set up and configuration. All these will ensure that there is internet connection in every office, laboratory and room. Provision for wireless connection is also on the way.

I am pleased to inform you that we have already embarked on the exercise of updating the information on our website as well as installing an ePortal which will enable our Staff interact with the public as well as make it possible for all registration activities of   prospective students to be done on-line. In WUSTO, manual registration and reliance on only hard copies of university documents will be kept to the barest minimum because we are serious about joining the growing league of ICT universities in the country.

In WUSTO, there is no provision for chalk and blackboard. Lecturers who have not updated their knowledge of ICT facilities are not welcome. Everybody must be internet compliant. Powerful audio-visual aids will be installed and activities such as giving instructions to students, submission of assignments etc. will be done on-line. I promise that by the end of my tenure, WUSTO will be a leading ICT university not only in Nigeria but in Africa.
 
PROVISION OF SERVICES

Efforts are on to register a limited liability company, WUSTO VENTURES, which will commence operations at resumption. This company will generate income for the university while providing valuable services not only for the university community but for the host community in general. A committee has been set up to identify areas of operation of this company and define the mode of operation. This company will require a take-off capital grant which we do not intend to saddle the BOT with. This is another opportunity for investment in WUSTO. Already, we have started discussing with MPI on the possibilities of collaboration in this respect.

Efforts will also be made to set modalities for the establishment of Staff Schools (Nursery, Primary and Secondary) as well as a Continuing Education Centre and a Centre for Distance learning which will include a Pre-Degree school. All these will not only provide services for our staff, Ondo people and Nigerians in general, but also generate revenue internally for the university.

Admission of Students

I have visited many dioceses of our church in the past few weeks on an awareness campaign for WUSTO. Everywhere I went, the question of admission of students was raised. May I seize this opportunity to inform all that our university will be among the first to admit students next session. We have decided to draw our calendar in line with the expectations of government. Our first set of students will be admitted from the candidates who will sit for the UME examination on May 17. We will allow all candidates who are interested in WUSTO to sit for our Post-UME examination irrespective of their first and second choice.

Our admission policy will be in line with JAMB & NUC Standards. We cannot afford to compromise on standards because MCN is known for excellence. This is not to say that the interests of Methodists, Ondo indigenes, as well as others from our catchment area will not be taken care off. We will exhibit our discretion during the admission process but we will stick strictly to the rules.

The Ondo Community

All my life, as a Lecturer, I have never seen a set of people with such a high degree of hospitality as Ondo people. His Royal highness, The Osemawe of Ondo gave us a lavish cocktail party on April 2, a day after the entire Secretariat moved to Ondo from Wesley House in Lagos. At this reception, the Osemawe in Council gave me a new name - Joshua. As from that day, my names now are Joshua Mosadoluwa Adetola Badejo. May I seize this opportunity to thank not only the Kabiyesi but also all the High Chiefs of Ondo for their support, high degree of hospitality and resourcefulness. In particular, I would like to mention a few names with who I have been in direct contact. They are; High Chief Akingbule; The Lisa of Ondo, High Chief Bayo Akinnola; Chief Gilbert Ikosare; Chief Alex Akinyele; Chief Dr. (Rev.) Adeniji, Prince Adedinsewo. These High Chiefs and Chiefs have been wonderful. They have kept the fire burning in me and I am convinced that with their sustained support, all will be well in WUSTO.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

As a member of the Methodist family, I have watched with keen interest developments on WUSTO as various groups worked relentlessly on the drawing board. The time has now come to implement all the proposals that the Governing Council has packaged together and improve on them. I promise to leave no stone unturned in turning this dream of the Methodist Church of Nigeria into reality.

I have spent all my academic life in and out of Obafemi Awolowo University, which is one of the best Universities in Nigeria. I intend to harness all the resources at my disposal into ensuring that WUSTO joins the league of first class Universities in Nigeria during my tenure as Vice-Chancellor. I am determined to face the challenges of this job with total commitment and dedication to duty as well as selfless service. With divine help from God Almighty, and support as well as goodwill from WUSTO staff and all stakeholders, success shall be ours.

On behalf of the Management team of WUSTO, I thank you all and wish you God’s abundant blessings.

Prof. ‘Tola Badejo
Vice-Chancellor