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Q: What is the role of Alumni Association in higher institutions?
A: Alumni is not only meant for the upliftment of the University, which is the alma mater, it is also for the development of its members across the globe. For instance, I came from the United States of America to contest for this election as I had seen the way it is done outside the shores of this country. However, with the way the University is being run in this country, Alumni needs to come in. For instance, majority of the secondary schools in this country have benefited immensely from Aumni interventions, especially through the Parents Teachers Association. The University is also gradually tilting towards that.
Cuts- in: Now, you mentioned Secondary Schools, we realised that Alumni Associations in Secondary Schools seem to be more organised by those in the Higher institutions, why is this so and what could be done about it ?
A: You see in the past, government shouldered all the responsibilities of the tertiary institutions, but the situation is gradually changing and with the way things are going now; with the trajectory of events government is beginning to hands of the role, so once government is gradually reducing its influence on the running of these institutions, it is expedient for the Alumni Associations to begin to come in gradually. For instance at FUNAAB, we the Alumni Association, we are already on ground doing a lot of things to assist the government in its responsibilities to the institutions. We have been engaging in different interventions including payment of tuition fees. Last year alone, we paid no less than N20 million niara in tuition fees. We also gave food palliatives. For instance, two weeks before their exams, we gave them food items including some cash supports.Not only that, we are contributing to the educational development as well. Recently, we just started a programme at FUNAAB which is to support the students academically. We organised extra moral classes for them which are paid for by the Alumni. This is done to ensure that there are lower numbers of students that may be advised to withdraw from the University.
Q: What are those experiences you are bringing from the diaspora that you think the Alumni in Nigeria could take a cue from?
A: Every Universities have their peculiarities, but FUNAAB is known for Agriculture being a specialist University. We have a lot of Universities of Agriculture in the Unitesd States and in other countries of the world and we know how much they are contributing to the economy and food security in those nations. So, in views of that, immediately we came in last year, we requested for 2,000 hectares from the University and we are flagging it off and this will see to the distribution of the lands to our members.This is a way of contributing our own quota to food security in the state and in the whole nation. This is because, when you talk about Agriculture in Nigeria, the first University to reckon with is FUNAAB and the products of the institution are doing well. Our members are everywhere all over the world and we are harnessing all the experiences of our Alumini to push things forward.
Cuts-in: How many Alumni are you rallying for this purpose ?.
A: Sincerely, I must tell you, majority of our diaspora members are coming in to farm. We are allocating the lands. For instance, we have a single individual that is taking up no less than 100 acres and our alumni showing interest in this straddles both those that are localy and in the diaspora. So, farming will commence immediately on those lands. I can assure you about that.
Q: What are the line up of activities for the Alumni programme coming up ?
A: We have the allocation of Alumni farm land which comes up on Wednesday, 26 th of March on the alumi farm land. We are expecting a lot of people including all the past Vice Chancellors of FUNAAB, all the past Chairmen of the Alumni Association, the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture in Ogun State will be there as Special Guest of Honour and we have other dignatories comprising of people that are into Agriculture in Nigeria.
Q: In terms of contributions, what are you looking at ?
A: Whatever is produced at the farms is going to be operated like a buy- back because we have already established an Alumni venture. So, we are going to act as off- takers to buy those products and the people that will benefit first would be the people from Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, followed by Ogun State in general and Nigeria as a whole. So, our impact would be felt from this planting season onward. Also, there are lots of agricultural equipments that would be bring both within and outside the country. We would also partner with all other Agricultural establishments and even the University itself which has a lot of facilities that we would leverage on to benefit our members on the farm.
Q: What is your advice to other Alumni Association and members?
A: I want to tell our people that wherever they are, this is the time. This is the time to practice what you learnt. This is the time for you to come in and contribute your own quota to the development of this nation. The simple message is : " If you are not in the Alumni farm land, you are missing out".
Q: What is your view about proliferation of Universities in the country ?
A: The issue is one, the population of Nigeria is skyrocketing and the few Universities we have, the government capacity is not enough. However, most Universities being established by the government are just being given stipends for the take-off . In view of this, we need private people and investors to come in and invest as well as assist. For instance, Universities outside the shores of this country are largely being driven by the private investors, so our private investors have to come in . FUNAAB is meant for intellectual development in terms of research. All these Agricultural institutes they have the capital to come in and invest. So , I would say there is the need for more Universities because of our population but there is the need for a paradigm shift in funding model.
Thank you sir.
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