JONATHAN MUST REVERSE THE INJUSTICE DONE TO IKOLE

However, something mysterious happened between the time the benefiting states were made public and the time the specific locations of the varsities were announced.

In the case of Ekiti, Ikole was the unanimous choice proposed to the president. But by the time the location would be revealed, it had been moved to Oye, leaving Ikole and its newly selected king dumbfounded. While other benefiting states are already making progress with the development of the sites for their various universities, a roiling controversy continues to envelope that of Ekiti. It has become a subject of controversy between Ikole and Oye communities.

In this interview, Dare Oguntuase, a prominent citizen of Ikole, and Chief Executive Officer of DARB T & I Limited, a human resources and investment consultancy outfit, traces the genesis of the crisis that claimed the lives of some indigenes of the state during a recent protest match that trailed the alleged relocation of the proposed university from its original site of Ikole to Oye. He blames the crisis on outgoing Senator Ayo Arise, who, he says, used his position as senator representing Ekiti North Senatorial District to rob his (Oguntuase's) community of what rightly belongs to them. He maintains that opponents of Ikole, like Arise, have been voted out for their injustice against the town, and warns that the last may not have been heard on the matter. Excerpts:

For some time now, there has been no love lost between the people of Oye and Ikole over the proposed site of the Federal university for Ekiti. What really are the points of disagreement between the two communities?

Well, it's true that the university that was meant to be in Ekiti resulted in crisis between Ikole and Oye. Actually, the crisis has not resulted in loss of love between the two communities. The two communities have co-existed for several years. It is still our belief that there is still peace between us.

Well, I represent Ikole, and the issue shouldn't have degenerated to a point where it would cause crisis. The university was actually located in Ikole. And it was just a few individuals from Oye that wanted to show how big they are, how powerful they are that have allowed it to degenerate to an issue that would cause fracas between the two communities. But, certainly, the issue would be laid to rest very soon and the two communities would continue to relate like brothers as it had been in the past.

You say it has not resulted in any bad blood, but we know that some persons have lost their lives over the matter. Are you saying an issue that has gone to that level is not serious enough?

It's unfortunate that it happened that way. Ikole people have the right to protest. Ikole never asked for the university. It was the design of God. God actually wanted to compensate Ikole. And we need to go into history so that we'll understand this issue very well. Ikole is the third largest town in Ekiti. And Oye as a community had been a suburb of Ikole all these years.

Ikole was the headquarters of Ekiti North local government that comprises both Ikole and Oye itself. So, Oye has no reason to struggle over an issue like that with Ikole. Secondly, Ado-Ekiti, which is the state capital and most populous town in Ekiti, there are so many institutions in Ado-Ekiti. You have the University of Ado-Ekiti, you have the Federal Polytechnic in Ado-Ekiti, College of Education, School of Nursing; they are all in Ado-Ekiti. Ikere, which of late became the second largest town, too, you have so many institutions in Ikere. When Governor Segun Oni was in the saddle, he located a university there. And a College of Education has been existing in Ikere since the 80s.

Ikole, the third largest town, has no single tertiary institution at present. No higher institution from the Federal Government or the state, and that is the third largest town in Ekiti. When this issue of university cropped up, Ekiti did not have to lobby for the university, as claimed by Senator Arise, who said he lobbied for it to be sited in Oye. Naturally, Ekiti deserves a university, being the only state in the South West that doesn't have a Federal university.

So, we didn't have to lobby for it. Besides, the Governor of the state, Dr. Fayemi was in contact with the president on the issue, and the president told him that Ekiti didn't have to lobby for the university; that naturally it fell into Ekiti, that all he (the president) demanded from him (Fayemi) was that he should go and give the Federal Government a suitable location for the university. Governor Fayemi consulted widely with every stakeholder in Ekiti before he arrived at the decision to site the university in Ikole-Ekiti; it was a decision taken by all the stakeholders.

The Oba in Ekiti were involved in it, the prominent sons and daughters of Ekiti were involved in it. It was not a unilateral decision that it should be sited in Ikole. Governor Fayemi, too, realised the fact that Ekiti North axis, represented by Ikole-Ekiti, had been unjustly treated in the allocation of Federal institutions, and therefore, it's not just in his own wisdom - it is in the wisdom of everybody - that the university should be sited in Ikole. Besides that, there's already a structure in Ikole where the university can take off, that actually belongs to the state government. So, all the misinformation that has been going round that Governor Fayemi didn't consult anybody before advancing Ikole is all rubbish.

He took the Federal Government delegation that came to Ekiti to Ikole. Let's look at the issue critically. We are in a federation; the component units have a right to decide who (should host the university). The university is to be sited in Ekiti. Are we saying the governor of the state does not have the right, in conjunction with the president, to decide where it should be sited? These are issues that we actually want them to address. Fayemi did not do it unilaterally.

It was done in conjunction with the people of the state, and they've agreed. And that's why you see that there's no prominent town in Ekiti that has not spoken against what Senator Arise did. It is sad that Senator Arise reduced himself totally to a councilor. Here is a senator representing the interest of five local governments in the Senate, Ekiti North. And that Ekiti North, the major town there is Ikole-Ekiti. One would not expect Senator Arise (to say), as he widely said on television, in newspapers and everywhere, that he lobbied for the university to be sited in Oye.

Specifically, who are these 'persons' you claimed came into the matter to oppose the choice of Ikole for the university?

The principal person is Senator Ayo Arise. And all he wants to do is just ego; egoistic problem. And now he has lost the election. We're beginning to see the effect of this university crisis. You see, there's no reason for a sensible person, and a senator for that matter, to come into the university issue the way he came into it. You, as a son of Oye-Ekiti, can lobby for the university. But your position as a senator representing the interests of five local governments demands that you must be an impartial person. He became openly partial, not only in the build-up to the siting of the university, but even thereafter.

When the governor had taken the Federal Government delegation to Ikole and they found it suitable… To be honest, when you talk of topography in Ekiti, Ikole has the best. You can't find any hill in Ikole. The location is good for anything. Besides that, the Federal Government delegation confirmed that, that place is suitable and they agreed that it should be sited in Ikole. It was a misinformation when the said it was Fayemi who announced (the site of) the university. A press conference was called by Gbagi, the Minister of State for Education. Professor Okojie of NUC was in that committee. All of them went to Ikole with the governor, and having realised that this is a suitable place, they all said there was no need to go to any other place.

You claimed that it was only Ikole that fought for the university, that was interested, is that possible?

I have not said Ikole showed direct interest.
Were there not others that were also struggling for the university to be sited in their on locations?

When the Federal Government agreed that it should be sited in Ekiti State, other towns showed interest… Continued

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