By Cyriacus Nnaji
Prominent Lagos politician, Dr Ade Dosunmu, has called on Lagos indigenes to take their rightful place on issues that concern them.
Dosunmu made the call in his capacity as the Chairman of the maiden edition of IBILE Celebration which took place at the Lagos State University (LASU) at Ojo on Thursday.
At an event which has the theme “Lagos for Lagos: Past, Present and Future (LASU: An Inevitable Nexus between Lagos and its Development), Dosunmu added “We must make sure to take our rightful place in issues that concerns us as Lagosians.
“Let us not look at this platform (IBILE) as an opportunity to promote mediocrity. Our people must strive to be the best and we must make sure that the best of our people are the ones we promote to the position of responsibility, Dosunmu stated.
IBILE Forum is made up of Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos and Epe.
Dosunmu stated further “We must let people know that as Lagosians, we are decent people, we are well-read and we are responsible.”
Dosunmu thanked God for the giant strides that have been recorded through the Vice Chancellor. “But one day, he must leave. He has laid a good foundation. We must get involved in who succeeds him and ensure that while he is still here, we give him the needed support.”
According to the Vice Chancellor of the Lagos State University, Prof. Olarnwaju Adigun Fagbohun, who bagged an Excellence Award on the occasion; disclosed that the orientation in LASU has changed and called on stakeholders to work as a team for there to be progress and sustainability. “Unlike before, all of us: Unions, staff, students are all working in unison.”
He stated that without peace there would be no development “Without peace, we will not have development. All the investors coming to LASU won’t be coming if there was no peace.”
Fagbohun said that there is no conflict in the institution “There is no conflict between the indigenes and non-indigenes. We must recognize that the IBILE day symbolizes that Lagosians are given a pride of place in what is theirs. We do not advocate that some people should go. All of us must come together and work as one in LASU.”
The Vice Chancellor maintained that the Management, Unions must remain responsible if the university must sustain its development.
He called on the stakeholders to use their energy to sustain the University. “Stand together as one. Today, this initiative is to protect the peace that we have. To do this, we need everybody on board. It takes time to build an institution; it takes a day to destroy it. We must not allow what we have achieved to be destroyed. We must remain together,” Fagbohun advised.
Earlier, the Convener of the Forum, Dr. Sanni Habeeb explained what IBILE is all about “LASU IBILE Day is a day set aside by those of us indigenes from the five divisions in LASU to celebrate our history, culture and heritage. We have tried to establish a common front to meet and discuss issues that are germane to the development of our only university, LASU.
We are so passionate about its development and the need to ensure that it continues to serve as the training ground for manpower development of Lagos State and Nigeria in general.”
Habeeb made it clear that the essence of IBILE was not to engage in conflict with non indigenes. “I must state clearly that we do not intend to engage in any struggle with non-indigenes in LASU. Rather we are all partners in progress in its development. The IBILE Forum that we are launching today will always ensure to be friendly with all,” he said.
He further stated that IBILE was designed to “Ensure that the rights of our people as enshrined in the university statutory laws are not trampled upon.
“Today’s occasion is a celebration of our own achievements, our heritage and culture; we hope to further showcase what Lagos is known for.”
He pleaded that every 27th Day of May should be declared IBILE Day “I wish that every 27th Day of May be declared as IBILE Day. This has been given a proclamation by Governor Raji Fashola at the twilight of his administration, but his successor did not act accordingly.”
Highlights of the occasion include merit awards, cultural displays from the five divisions that make up IBILE, keynotes an entertainments.
