By Wole Adedeji, Ilorin
In it’s avowed determination to find final solution to the perennial transportation challenge facing staff, students and stakeholders, the University of Ilorin may in no distant time be introducing electric bus services to ferry its students to and from the institution’s campus and Ilorin metropolis, the Vice Chancellor, VC, Professor Abdulwahab Egbewole, has said.
Egbewole, the varsity’s new VC made this known while speaking at a maiden media chat he hosted after his assumption of office, where he also disclosed that talks are ongoing between the institution and the China to introduce commuter light rail services for the same purpose.
Recall that there had been serious transportation challenge of late, for both the students, staff and other members of the academic community, said to be occassioned by the ongoing construction of an overhead bridge along the University road at Tanke area of Ilorin.
However, the institution is said to be thinking outside the box and looking beyond the construction issue, especially against the backdrop of the growing subscription to the university every year by prospective candidates, seeking spaces and their subseqeunt admission into the school, which in turn had resulted in steady and persistent growth in it’s population base.
An official of tbe university who pleaded anonymity disclosed that this was the reason why the university management embarked on strategic thinking and plan of action to find permanent and lasting solutions to the problem, even post the construction and completion of the overhead bridge.
Listing areas where the institution had been breaking grounds in recent time, Professor Egbewole said that the university had produced 11 out of 500 celebrated authors ranked in the world, while it is in good academic partnership with other universities for academic excellence.
Egbewole also disclosed that a total of 31 professors and 38 readers had been elevated recently, while models are being designed to make research work results become marketable enough with a view to generate funds, which would help to serve as alternative sources to run the university.
The VC revealed that a large scale poultry farm, worth about N500 million, is to take off through a bank loan, which repayment is scheduled to be completed withing a year of it’s operations, which would also serve as another alternative source of income generation and survival strategy for the university is planned be be offset within one year of its operations.
Meanwhile, Egbewole said that his immediate target was to lead the University of Ilorin to be ranked among the best 10 in Africa and the best 1,000 in the world.
He added, “My dream is to produce the best of first class graduates of the University of Ilorin, whose academic acts and deeds would justify their feats by all standards.”
