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The fight between
the governors of Oyo and Osun State, Adebayo Alao-Akala and Olagunsoye
Oyinlola, over who has control of the Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, recently took a turn for the worse. The
two governors flexed muscles over the appointment of principal officers
for the institution as well as its funding.

A bit of background on the ownership of the institution is not out of place here.

The University of
Technology was established in 1990 by the defunct Oyo State government
with the main campus located in Ogbomoso and the Teaching Hospital in
Osogbo. In 1991 when Osun was carved out of the old Oyo State the two
states became joint owners of the institution. Under this arrangement,
students of medicine underwent their initial training in Ogbomoso and
attended clinicals at the Teaching Hospital in Osogbo. This arrangement
was kept in place until what belonged to one now became the property of
two.

In the ensuing
face off, other settled practices were also overturned including the
procedures for appointing the vice chancellor and other principal
officers as the power tussle came into the open, The Oyo State governor
decided to sack officers whom he suspected were loyal to his Osun
counterpart. Other staff were asked to leave because they had suddenly
become Osun State indigenes and vice versa.

It was this ugly drama that plunged the institution into crisis that threatened its academic future.

By the end of last
week the National Universities Commission (NUC) decided to put a stop
to the dangerous game that the two states were playing with the future
of the students of the institution. The NUC’s decision to take over the
running of the institution for a period of three months was its own way
of stopping the bleeding.

It is unfortunate
that the two governors have allowed their egos and lust for power to
jeopardise the education of the students of the institution. Whatever
the differences between them were, they should not have been allowed to
come into the open or to colour their judgment in and influence the
behaviour the tow executives have been displaying in the way it has in
the last few months.

Leadership is all
about maturity and the ability to manage crisis. In this instance,
Messrs Alao-Akala and Oyinlola have failed woefully. It is instructive
that the two men at the centre of this drama belong to the same
political party, Peoples Democratic Party. Despite this they couldn’t
settle their differences at party level until it blew out of proportion.

What would have happened if they belonged to rival political parties?

This brings us to our argument in an editorial on creation of
states. In that editorial, we argued that the exercise rather than
unite leads to disunity. There is no better example than this. Finally,
we call on the NUC to quickly find a lasting solution to this mess.