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The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has delivered a scathing critique of the administration of outgoing Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Kayode Oyebode Adebowale, and called for a probe by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by NANS President, Babatunde Akinteye, the student body accused the outgoing VC of presiding over “anti-student policies” and ruling “like an oppressor.”
NANS said it monitored Adebowale’s activities throughout his tenure and waited until his valediction to speak out.
“In your role as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, an administrative position where your character was tested with power, you ruled with oppression,” the statement read.
The association alleged that Adebowale’s tenure was “characterised by anti-student policies, many of which subjected students to hardship, strained them beyond their limits, and made learning frustrating for them.”
Worst of all, NANS said, “whenever students rose to fight for their rights, you went out of your way, as a narcissist and an unrepentant oppressor, to intimidate, suspend, and ultimately expel them.”
“You did the unimaginable, punishing student leaders who sought better welfare for students. The height of it all was that you ultimately silenced the Students’ Union and made it appear like a dog that can only bark but not bite,” the statement added.
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NANS also cited “controversies and several allegations of corruption” during Adebowale’s administration.
“On behalf of the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), I call on the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the tenure of Professor Kayode Oyebode Adebowale as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan,” Akinteye said.
The association warned that Nigerian students, who account for more than 19% of the country’s population, have “lost trust” in the outgoing VC.
“Be informed that, following your tenure, if you are nominated for any position in this country, Nigerian students will mobilise massively against you,” NANS said.
NANS also congratulated the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Olamakinde Olapegba, and urged him not to “toe the path of your predecessor.”
“We hope that you will champion the liberation of students. Furthermore, we enjoin you to be prudent in all your dealings, be student-friendly, and ensure improved welfare and a better academic environment for students,” the statement further read.
