LocalChamp: Sagay, others differ over renaming of UNILAG in honour of Abiola
On May 29, 2012 · In News 3:13 pmEmail0

Lagos – Some prominent lawyers on Tuesday expressed mixed reactions over the decision of the Federal Government to rename the University of Lagos (UNILAG) in honour of the late Chief MKO Abiola.

The lawyers gave their views in separate interviews in Lagos.

President Goodluck Jonathan had on Tuesday made the announcement during a nationwide broadcast to mark the 2012 Democracy Day.

He said the name change was in honour of the late Abiola’s contribution to the nation’s democracy.

A constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), said the president should be praised for his effort to immortalise Abiola, adding that he, however, made a wrong choice in choosing UNILAG.

Sagay said: “The president should be praised for his effort to immortalise Abiola. It was done out of good intention but he chose the wrong institution.

“UNILAG is too well established and has its own individual personality which will be difficult to overshadow”.

He noted that the president could have named one of the nine federal universities being constructed by the government in honour of the late acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

“This would have been less contentious because they are yet to be given any names and have no identity of their own unlike UNILAG”, Sagay added.

Mr Bamidele Aturu, a human rights activist, said the president had the power to change the name of the institutioņ stressing that nothing was actually wrong with the name change.

He said: “The renaming itself is not the problem it is was a populist gesture. This must not been seen as a way to garner the sympathy of the people of the South West.

“The Federal Government has the power to change the name of any of its institution but it must be done with approval of the university’s council.

“If the UNILAG Council did not approve the name to be changed, then there will be a problem because it means that due process has not been followed”.

Also speaking, Mr Wale Ogunade, President, Voters Awareness Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, said the proper way to honour Abiola would have been to recognise June 12 as a national holiday.

“MKO Abiola is not known to be an educationist. The best way to have honoured him is for the Federal Government to recognise June 12 as a national public holiday”, he said.

Ogunade said lawyers in the country would challenge the change of the institution’s name in a court of competent jurisdiction if it was not reversed by the government.

He said: “The University of Lagos was enacted by an act, so nobody can unilaterally change its name without an act by the National Assembly.

“I can assure you that this will be challenged in the court because it is an illegality”. (NAN)


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/05/sagay-others-differ-over-renaming-of-unilag-in-honour-of-abiola/

OYINBOGOJU: Jonathan is just exposing his incompetencies

I pray the court over turn that decision

Again i will have enough pride to tell the world that

THIS GOVERNMENT HAS NEVER GOT ANYTHING RIGHT

ebamma: some students are fools,if them like dem name am boko haram university that wan go stop u from getting your certificate?,abiola was a hero of our democratic struggle and he deserves it.abi una been want make him rename am sani abacha university?

ebamma: some students are fools,if them like dem name am boko haram university that wan go stop u from getting your certificate?,abiola was a hero of our democratic struggle and he deserves it.abi una been want make him rename am sani abacha university?

timmy1999: Nice move GEJ for naming unilag after the great leader, philanstrop, the people warrior, are ona kakanfo .symbol of democracy we enjoy now
After waiting for this move all my life.what obj can't do for us yoruba. GEj did it.
GEj u just gave me a reason to vote for you for second term
Thank u GEJ..egbe omo yoruba salute you
Great moshood abiola university,lagos

OYINBOGOJU: Jonathan is just exposing his incompetencies

I pray the court over turn that decision

Again i will have enough pride to tell the world that

THIS GOVERNMENT HAS NEVER GOT ANYTHING RIGHT

Raxxye: They should waste no time in taking the matter to court, and I pray they win and reverse the rubbish! If had named the new Federal University of Oye-Ekiti(FUOYE) after MKO, it wouldn‘t make the late man less important. It‘s all part of insincerity and pretence that has come to chracterize Nigerian leaders at all levels. It‘s bull sh.it!!

LocalChamp: Sagay, others differ over renaming of UNILAG in honour of Abiola
On May 29, 2012 · In News 3:13 pmEmail0

Lagos – Some prominent lawyers on Tuesday expressed mixed reactions over the decision of the Federal Government to rename the University of Lagos (UNILAG) in honour of the late Chief MKO Abiola.

The lawyers gave their views in separate interviews in Lagos.

President Goodluck Jonathan had on Tuesday made the announcement during a nationwide broadcast to mark the 2012 Democracy Day.

He said the name change was in honour of the late Abiola’s contribution to the nation’s democracy.

A constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), said the president should be praised for his effort to immortalise Abiola, adding that he, however, made a wrong choice in choosing UNILAG.

Sagay said: “The president should be praised for his effort to immortalise Abiola. It was done out of good intention but he chose the wrong institution.

“UNILAG is too well established and has its own individual personality which will be difficult to overshadow”.

He noted that the president could have named one of the nine federal universities being constructed by the government in honour of the late acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

“This would have been less contentious because they are yet to be given any names and have no identity of their own unlike UNILAG”, Sagay added.

Mr Bamidele Aturu, a human rights activist, said the president had the power to change the name of the institutioņ stressing that nothing was actually wrong with the name change.

He said: “The renaming itself is not the problem it is was a populist gesture. This must not been seen as a way to garner the sympathy of the people of the South West.

“The Federal Government has the power to change the name of any of its institution but it must be done with approval of the university’s council.

“If the UNILAG Council did not approve the name to be changed, then there will be a problem because it means that due process has not been followed”.

Also speaking, Mr Wale Ogunade, President, Voters Awareness Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, said the proper way to honour Abiola would have been to recognise June 12 as a national holiday.

“MKO Abiola is not known to be an educationist. The best way to have honoured him is for the Federal Government to recognise June 12 as a national public holiday”, he said.

Ogunade said lawyers in the country would challenge the change of the institution’s name in a court of competent jurisdiction if it was not reversed by the government.

He said: “The University of Lagos was enacted by an act, so nobody can unilaterally change its name without an act by the National Assembly.

“I can assure you that this will be challenged in the court because it is an illegality”. (NAN)


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/05/sagay-others-differ-over-renaming-of-unilag-in-honour-of-abiola/

kolexy:

You must be high on Cocaine. What happened to UNAAB.

1025: when i was listening to bro. joe, fear catch me because he could rename chelsea fc to ijaw bombers but thank God his mind no go there. still putting new wine in an old jah.
this is one of the reasons why many nigerians don't believe that we are in a democratic country. farida waziri former efcc boss was watching tv one day only to hear on news that she has been relieved of her job on tv. one professor of unilag was on silverbird this morning to discuss democracy day when he heard that unilag is now mko abiola university. why is this man acting as if nigeria is his private business? whose consent did he seek in renaming this university? above all, unilag is yet to bury their vc who died of recent and this one is coming.
it is a shame. even ur wife will not take certain imposition of certain weird decisions on her talk-less of a country.
it is important bro.joe go back and look for advisers because he has proved that he has none.
why on earth is bro joe not getting any thing right.
like i said, could somebody pls tell this man not to change my clubs(chelsea fc) name to kin saro wiwa fc.