Ruling class becoming enemy of Nigerians — OAU professor

Retired Professor of Botany at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Prof Omotoye Olorode, expressed concern that the ruling class has turned against the people. He also warned that Nigeria is now a bourgeois state. This was a key point in his second Osun State University, UNIOSUN, annual lecture titled, 'Collective Bargaining in Labour Relations: Interrogating the impact of FGN-Staff Unions Agreements on the Nigerian University System'.

Delivering the lecture on Thursday, Olorode stressed the importance of university lectures as they provide a platform to tackle issues affecting society directly. He lamented, "We do not have opportunity to address questions. It only what we hear on the broadcast stations and the studios things we see in the social media. This is really dangerous. The university system is in danger and it is in a really terrible position."

Olorode also criticized attempts to convert public universities into private ones and highlighted the issue of inequality. He clarified that the call for university autonomy and academic freedom is not a demand for licensing and elitism. He criticized the ruling class for purported plans to make Nigeria resemble developed countries, which already face their own societal challenges.

He attributed the insecurity crisis in Nigeria's public-funded education sector between 1978 and 1988 to attacks on public sector and trade unions. UNIOSUN Vice Chancellor, Prof Odunayo Clement Adebooye, welcomed the lecture, noting its role in proposing solutions to societal issues and influencing government responses. He also highlighted the importance of public lectures in the global dissemination of knowledge.