Ekiti State University (EKSU) Alumni have moved to revert the name of their institution to its original name, University of Ado-Ekiti, UNAD, charging the newly inaugurated 13-member Committee on Membership Harmonisation and Chapter Reorganisation headed by Mr Kole Ajayi, a governorship aspirant in the state, to do its utmost best to glorify the institution and all its products.
National President, EKSU Alumni, Asiwaju Oludotun Adetuberu, gave this charge in Lagos, while inaugurating the Ajayi committee, saying some of the ways to glorify the institution and its products would be to address the issue of name change that had tended to cause disunity among the alumni, find out why graduates of the institution don’t like to come back for their master’s programme, the delay in release of students’ transcripts, among others.
The university at inception started as Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) but was later changed to Ondo State University, Ado-Ekiti (OSUA), then University of Ado-Ekiti (UNAD), and now EKSU.
According to Adetuberu, who spoke at the event attended by the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), EKSU Alumni, Mr Olawale Jegede, among others, part of the assignments before the committee is how to glorify the institution and unite all the alumni, contending that the name change from its original OAU down to EKSU needed to be addressed to ensure that the University bears a name that would be commonly agreeable.
Adetuberu, who sadly noted that the last effected name change was done for a selfish reason, also charged the Kole Ajayi committee to identify four prominent alumni of the institution for the distinguished doctorate award ahead of the next convocation of EKSU.
Specifically, the Alumni has been charged: “To review the current status of the association, conduct its SWOT analysis, prepare and present a status report. To harmonise all factions in the association and ensure genuine reconciliation of its leaders and members. To agree and prepare a workable alumni structure that is all-inclusive for the common goal of University Development. To prepare a chapter development and extension strategy for genuine alumni growth. To set up the Alumni endowment process. To establish the Alumni Eminent Persons Group for contact and support mobilisation,” among others.
Adetuberu, while expressing confidence in the ability of the chairman of the committee and his members to deliver on their mandate, said: “I believe they would help us realise our dream and write their names in gold.”
Chairman, Alumni Committee, Mr Ajayi, while thanking members for charging his committee with the task, noted that the challenges looked gigantic, but quickly said as a lover of challenges, he together with committee members who were blessed with track records were equal to the task.
“I want to assure you that we would not disappoint you. We would move into action immediately and we need your support.
“At our level, we would need our structure so that it would not conflict with the Alumni secretariat work,” he said.