Olusegun Aluko: A dream fulfilled By R. O. Adeosun

Olusegun Aluko: A dream fulfilled

By R. O. Adeosun

“_If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader._” Dolly Parton

For the Arc. O. O. Aluko, PhD led administration, the dream of making the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro the best and the most sought after Polytechnic in Nigeria by  admission seekers has been realised.

The dream did not just come into fruition by accident or sheer luck but it was realised through preparedness for office, hard work, a workable  blueprint, forthrightness and purposeful leadership. 

Well documented action plans in form of the Strategic Plan, Master Plan, Public Service Rules, stable Academic Calendar, Student Handbook and Directory of Courses were some of the instruments that guided his administration in attaining the desired dream.

And what more could a Polytechnic under the leadership of this astute administrator, which at a point in time had just less than five (5) PhD holders but now have close to One hundred (100) Doctorate degree holders ask for? This surely is no mean achievement.

Arc. Aluko has repositioned the Polytechnic in such a way that in no distance time, it could be transmuted into a University of Science and Technology as a result of well equipped classrooms and laboratories and the arrays of qualified teaching and non-teaching staff that manned the Institution.

This encouraged the Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE) to partner with the Institution for Top Up Degree and HND conversion programme through the Directorate of Linkage and Affiliation of the Polytechnic.

This feat can only be attributed to the enabling environment created by the Aluko administration.

Being a leader with vision, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, he assembled researchers from the various fields in the Polytechnic and then challenged them to design and fabricate COVID-19 related equipment. The team produced Mechanical Ventilator, hand washing machine, disinfectant booth, and mobile environmental sanitizer. This singular act got the attention of the then Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 chaired by Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation as the Polytechnic research team was invited for presentation and demonstration of various fabrications and equipment for the prevention and treatment of the dreaded disease.

Of equal importance was the e-learning Aluko introduced during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Instead of the students to remain idle while at home, they were fully engaged with the online class. The Polytechnic was the first public institution in Nigeria to preoccupy students virtually during the lockdown.

In order not to be left behind in the globalization and emerging technological advancement, Aluko, being a visionary leader, introduced the teaching of CISCO and Robotics Engineering Technology into the curriculum of the Polytechnic. He realized that for students to participate in global and high paying jobs of the future, he must learn cybersecurity, robotics, data analysis, computing and programming.

As part of the enduring legacy Aluko would be leaving behind, he came up with the composition and rendering of the Institution’s Anthem. The Anthem during rendition reminded all the stakeholders in the Polytechnic of  the vision towards making the Institution the first and the best in excellence. 

As it stands today in the teaching of Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET), it is easier to mention the name of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro as number one. This account for the exploit of the best graduating student in the Polytechnic in 2018 with only HND certificate but got seven (7) fully funded PhD scholarships in US Universities.

He brought innovation and creative ideas into the conduct of the institutional examination, processing and releasing of results. In this stance, he ensured that students mobile app was made available for easy access to results. 

The outgoing  Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Arc. Olusegun Olarenwaju Aluko, PhD deserves all the plaudits for creating the ambience conducive for teaching and learning for both the staff and students of the Polytechnic. 

Aluko would be remembered as a disciplined, selfless, dedicated and visionary Rector who turned around the Polytechnic within the eight years of his administration.

Aluko’s Rectorship could be regarded  as the “golden years” of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro.

As he bows out from office on September 26, 2022, he can look back and say, “I left the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro far better than I met it.”

Rasheed Olawale Adeosun is a staff  of the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State.