₦airaland Forum

As the news of a possible sanction by ASUU on the FUTO VC and her cohorts for their ignoble role in the illegitimate appointment of Dr. Isa Pantami as a Professor at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri broke on Monday the 14th of February, it has emerged that a fringe Alumni group that calls itself FUTO Alumni Elders is leading an image laundry campaign for the embattled Vice Chancellor.
The group has announced it will be hosting a dinner/re-union event with the Vice Chancellor attending on the 18th of February, 2022 with a deluge of media publicity to promote her image in the light of recent dirty splashes on the Vice Chancellor and the incumbent University Management. The event which is expected to have the entire University Management in attendance in Lagos has seen the University providing about N25m for mobilization, logistics and media expenses to the organizers. The organizers as part of the mobilization are offering cash of between N60,000 and N100,000 to get FUTO Alumni members across the country to fly into Lagos over the weekend to attend the event and cheer the embattled Vice Chancellor.
What is shocking is that the University is committing such money to an event when there has been a constant cry by the institution of lacking funds to provide basic services at the University. Just this week, ASUU announced it is commencing a strike action due to poor conditions at the Universities.
However, our source at the University bursary units confirmed that the funds being expended are not direct University funds but Alumni funds which the University Management is expending on Alumni related activity with the approval of the Alumni leadership. Even if so, is that the best the University or the Alumni leadership can put such funds to? Alumni funds which are funds paid by graduating students and other contributions by the Alumni members are said to be in excess of N450m even though this has not been accounted for by the University Management in recent times. At the last University Convocation, the University graduated over 4000 graduates who mandatorily paid N5,000 to the University coffers as Alumni fees. This will amount to about N20m in just the last convocation exercise. FUTO has had 33 Convocations since its inception.
While it may be argued that the University institution is as corrupt as the open society it is founded on, the story of FUTO and its current management has become of incessant stories of bad news.
Last year, the Vice Chancellor unilaterally cancelled the Special Convocation that would have elected an Alumni Representative to the University Governing Council for fear of the attendant checks that may come from the independent member of Council from the Alumni body.
Yours truly and others will be at the dinner event even though not invited and will be glad to provide the opportunity for the embattled Vice Chancellor to provide some perspective to her management style !


Charles Nwazuruba

As the news of a possible sanction by ASUU on the FUTO VC and her cohorts for their ignoble role in the illegitimate appointment of Dr. Isa Pantami as a Professor at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri broke on Monday the 14th of February, it has emerged that a fringe Alumni group that calls itself FUTO Alumni Elders is leading an image laundry campaign for the embattled Vice Chancellor.
The group has announced it will be hosting a dinner/re-union event with the Vice Chancellor attending on the 18th of February, 2022 with a deluge of media publicity to promote her image in the light of recent dirty splashes on the Vice Chancellor and the incumbent University Management. The event which is expected to have the entire University Management in attendance in Lagos has seen the University providing about N25m for mobilization, logistics and media expenses to the organizers. The organizers as part of the mobilization are offering cash of between N60,000 and N100,000 to get FUTO Alumni members across the country to fly into Lagos over the weekend to attend the event and cheer the embattled Vice Chancellor.
What is shocking is that the University is committing such money to an event when there has been a constant cry by the institution of lacking funds to provide basic services at the University. Just this week, ASUU announced it is commencing a strike action due to poor conditions at the Universities.
However, our source at the University bursary units confirmed that the funds being expended are not direct University funds but Alumni funds which the University Management is expending on Alumni related activity with the approval of the Alumni leadership. Even if so, is that the best the University or the Alumni leadership can put such funds to? Alumni funds which are funds paid by graduating students and other contributions by the Alumni members are said to be in excess of N450m even though this has not been accounted for by the University Management in recent times. At the last University Convocation, the University graduated over 4000 graduates who mandatorily paid N5,000 to the University coffers as Alumni fees. This will amount to about N20m in just the last convocation exercise. FUTO has had 33 Convocations since its inception.
While it may be argued that the University institution is as corrupt as the open society it is founded on, the story of FUTO and its current management has become of incessant stories of bad news.
Last year, the Vice Chancellor unilaterally cancelled the Special Convocation that would have elected an Alumni Representative to the University Governing Council for fear of the attendant checks that may come from the independent member of Council from the Alumni body.
Yours truly and others will be at the dinner event even though not invited and will be glad to provide the opportunity for the embattled Vice Chancellor to provide some perspective to her management style !


Charles Nwazuruba

As the news of a possible sanction by ASUU on the FUTO VC and her cohorts for their ignoble role in the illegitimate appointment of Dr. Isa Pantami as a Professor at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri broke on Monday the 14th of February, it has emerged that a fringe Alumni group that calls itself FUTO Alumni Elders is leading an image laundry campaign for the embattled Vice Chancellor.
The group has announced it will be hosting a dinner/re-union event with the Vice Chancellor attending on the 18th of February, 2022 with a deluge of media publicity to promote her image in the light of recent dirty splashes on the Vice Chancellor and the incumbent University Management. The event which is expected to have the entire University Management in attendance in Lagos has seen the University providing about N25m for mobilization, logistics and media expenses to the organizers. The organizers as part of the mobilization are offering cash of between N60,000 and N100,000 to get FUTO Alumni members across the country to fly into Lagos over the weekend to attend the event and cheer the embattled Vice Chancellor.
What is shocking is that the University is committing such money to an event when there has been a constant cry by the institution of lacking funds to provide basic services at the University. Just this week, ASUU announced it is commencing a strike action due to poor conditions at the Universities.
However, our source at the University bursary units confirmed that the funds being expended are not direct University funds but Alumni funds which the University Management is expending on Alumni related activity with the approval of the Alumni leadership. Even if so, is that the best the University or the Alumni leadership can put such funds to? Alumni funds which are funds paid by graduating students and other contributions by the Alumni members are said to be in excess of N450m even though this has not been accounted for by the University Management in recent times. At the last University Convocation, the University graduated over 4000 graduates who mandatorily paid N5,000 to the University coffers as Alumni fees. This will amount to about N20m in just the last convocation exercise. FUTO has had 33 Convocations since its inception.
While it may be argued that the University institution is as corrupt as the open society it is founded on, the story of FUTO and its current management has become of incessant stories of bad news.
Last year, the Vice Chancellor unilaterally cancelled the Special Convocation that would have elected an Alumni Representative to the University Governing Council for fear of the attendant checks that may come from the independent member of Council from the Alumni body.
Yours truly and others will be at the dinner event even though not invited and will be glad to provide the opportunity for the embattled Vice Chancellor to provide some perspective to her management style !


Charles Nwazuruba