AAUA Vice Chancellor seeks host community’s support for infrastructure development
By Julius Alabi, Akure
The Vice Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA), Prof. Tomola Obamuyi, has called on sons and daughters of Akoko South-East and South-West, both at home and in the diaspora, to support efforts to upgrade infrastructure and improve the learning environment of the institution.
Obamuyi made the appeal during his strategic engagement visits to traditional and political stakeholders across Akoko land, where he highlighted the urgent infrastructural needs of the university and solicited collective support for their development.
The Vice Chancellor, who was accompanied by members of the university management and other senior officers, visited the Olubaka-in-Council, the Chairman of Akoko North-East Local Government, Alhaji Mohammed Olawale, at the council secretariat in Ikare-Akoko, as well as the Chairman of Akoko South-East Local Government, Isua-Akoko, Engr. Omolehin Ayegbo.
He stressed that the development of AAUA should not be regarded as the sole responsibility of government, urging individuals, corporate organisations, philanthropists, alumni and other well-meaning Akoko indigenes to complement the efforts of the university management.
According to him, AAUA remains a strategic institution to Akoko land, Ondo State and Nigeria, given its contributions to human capital development through the training of students and production of graduates across various disciplines.
Obamuyi identified the construction of additional students’ halls of residence, improvement and construction of access roads within and around the university, provision of a mega auditorium and construction, renovation and refurbishment of lecture theatres and classrooms as some of the priority areas requiring urgent attention.
He said the provision of the facilities would improve students’ welfare and safety, strengthen academic activities and create a more conducive environment for teaching, learning and research.
The Vice Chancellor therefore urged stakeholders across Akoko land to regard the development of the university as a collective responsibility and an investment in the future of the people.
He particularly appealed to successful Akoko indigenes in Nigeria and the diaspora to come together and adopt specific infrastructure projects, saying their intervention could leave a lasting legacy at the institution.
Obamuyi also called for stronger partnerships between AAUA and the communities it serves, noting that such collaboration would promote sustainable development and further strengthen the relationship between the university and its host communities.
He explained that the engagement visits were part of the management’s ongoing efforts to mobilise support and resources for the development of critical infrastructure across the university.
The visits, he added, also provided an opportunity to deepen the institution’s relationship with traditional rulers and local government authorities while drawing attention to the pressing infrastructural challenges confronting the university.
Responding separately, the trio pledged to mobilise their people and institutions towards supporting the development projects presented by the Vice Chancellor.
