L-R: Vice Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Tale Omole; Wife of Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Prof. Ademola Ajayi; and Bursar, Mrs. Ronke Akeredolu, during the foundation laying ceremony of Erelu Bisi Fayemi Gender Centre Building, at OAU, donated by the governor's wife.
Wife of Ekiti state Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, has donated a multi-million Naira Gender Centre building to the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; her Alma Mater.
The donation was part of the 50th anniversary commemoration of the establishment of the institution.
The ceremony took place the same day she delivered the institution’s Faculty of Arts’ annual conference lecture entitled: ‘Re-enacting leadership in Nigeria: the place and role of the humanities.’ Performing the foundation laying ceremony for the building, Erelu Fayemi stressed the importance of alumni of education institutions to give back to their Alma Mater.
Besides the donation, the governor’s wife pledged to partner other alumni of OAU to build a club house where young people could be mentored as a payback for the ideals the university imparted to her.
On hand to witness the ceremony were the Vice Chancellor, OAU, Prof. Tale Omole; Deputy Vice Chancellor, Admin., Prof. Ademola Ajayi; and Director, Centre for Gender and Social Policy Studies, Prof. Olufunmilayo Soetan.
Among other principal officers of the institution that turned up for the ceremony were the Registrar, Mr. Ayo Ogunruku; and Bursar, Mrs. Ronke Akeredolu.
The governor’s wife graduated from the then University of Ife, now OAU, in 1984 for her first degree in History before returning to the institution in 1988 for her Masters Degree in the same discipline. She called on other alumni of the OAU to support the institution’s efforts aimed at reclaiming its status as a citadel of learning in Africa.
Erelu Bisi Fayemi said, “All the 82,000 alumni who have passed through the walls of this great university can make a difference, you might not find all of them, but you will find some of them. “So, I am happy to be standing here today with my own token contribution to this project.”
The Ekiti First Lady promised to raise fund for the project using the goodwill she had built over the years with various local and international organizations, including the African Women’s Development Fund, which she co-founded.
She added, “For those of you who are wondering how this is going to be accomplished, and those who might have mischievous thoughts about the possibility of resources of Ekiti State finding their way into this project, I would like to assure you that this will not be the case.
“What I know I do have in significant amount by the special grace of God is goodwill. This I will use in raising fund to complete the project.”
The VC commended Erelu Bisi Fayemi for her passion for the university, which he said she had demonstrated through her various efforts targeted at improving the standard of the college.
Prof. Omole, who described the gesture of the First Lady as one of the very few defining moments in the history of the university, said she had raised the hope that other products of OAU would contribute their quota to its development.
He appealed to the over 82,000 alumni of the college to come back and assist their Alma Mater and make it a shining example to others.
Earlier, while delivering the annual lecture, the governor’s wife advocated the establishment of strong movements to fight gender injustices and ensure zero tolerance for all forms of abuses.
She added that the society could not effectively sustain the gains made in the policy arena without well-grounded scholars and practitioners who have been adequately exposed.
The First Lady urged policy makers to ensure that there were constitutional guarantees for effective representation and participation of women in decision-making, specifically through affirmative action and quotas.
Erelu Bisi Fayemi added, “The women we have in position of influence today in business, politics or public life generally should be able to use these positions to advance policies and laws that will protect women, provide for their needs and guarantee their wellbeing.”
The governor’s wife called on women in the academia to intensify efforts at creating identities that would protect their rights as full citizens.
She noted, “We need identities that affirm our rights as full citizens, with rights of participation, engagement and protest.
“We also need to assert our rights; to use the power of our numbers as a critical voting mass and bring to power men and women who will truly
transform our societies and create enabling environment for all marginalized people to thrive.”
Last modified: October 22, 2012
