By Khadijat Subaru, PhD
Lokoja Nigeria:
I recently read an article purportedly written by one Femi Oyekola from Kaduna, titled “Federal University Lokoja Succession Controversy: A Call for Merit and Diversity.”
However, considering all that has been heard and seen since Prof. Gbenga Ibileye was declared the winner of the contest, with other contenders confirming that the process is credible and flawless, one can state with confidence that the alleged “controversy” exists largely in the imagination of the writer, who appears to be operating under the pseudonym Femi Oyekola.
The argument advanced by the writer betrays a fundamental confusion between merit and ethnic balancing. Ironically, in the same breath that the writer demands merit, he simultaneously advocates its sacrifice on the altar of ethnicity. That contradiction alone exposes the intellectual weakness of the position being canvassed.
Merit, by its very nature, is blind to ethnic origin, state of birth, religion, or political convenience. It is measured by objective criteria, academic pedigree, administrative competence, leadership vision, track record, performance at interview, and compliance with established procedures. To insist that a more qualified candidate should be set aside simply because he comes from a particular ethnic background is the very negation of merit the writer pretends to defend.
The Vice Chancellorship of a Federal University is not a zoning arrangement, an ethnic compensation scheme, or a rotational entitlement. It is a competitive national appointment governed by law and process. In the case of the Federal University Lokoja, FUL, that process has been completed, and the outcome is clear.
The Chairman of the Governing Council has publicly and unequivocally affirmed that Professor Gbenga Ibileye emerged the winner of the contest cleanly. This statement alone should have settled any genuine debate anchored on transparency and due process.
What exactly does the writer want beyond this? A reversal of merit because of ethnic sentiment? A cancellation of a lawful process to satisfy an abstract theory of diversity? Or the imposition of an outsider’s moral preference over an institution’s duly constituted governing organs?
More troubling is the author’s apparent distance, both geographical and factual, from the realities of the Federal University Lokoja. One must legitimately ask, how does someone sitting in Kaduna claim superior insight into the internal processes, assessments, and deliberations of a university in Kogi State, especially when those directly charged with responsibility have spoken with clarity? Assertions made without proximity to facts, documents, or participants amount to conjecture, not informed commentary.
The selective outrage is equally revealing. Nigeria’s university system is replete with precedents where leadership continuity occurred without national uproar. Why then is FUL suddenly projected as a moral battlefield simply because the most qualified candidate happens to be from a particular ethnic group.
The uncomfortable truth the writer avoids is this, Professor Ibileye is not a beneficiary of ethnic favoritism, he is a product of sustained excellence.
He almost emerged Vice Chancellor five years ago, losing narrowly. In the current exercise, the figures speak louder than sentiments. According to the overall performance index generated during the selection process, Professor Ibileye scored an outstanding 91.9 percent, while the two closest contenders recorded 82 percent and 72 percent respectively.
These are not marginal differences that can be wished away, they are decisive gaps that clearly establish superiority. That trajectory speaks to growth, consistency, and preparedness, hallmarks of merit, not mediocrity.
To argue that such a candidate should be disqualified or viewed with suspicion solely because of where he comes from is not a defense of merit, it is an endorsement of mediocrity masked as moral righteousness. Diversity is desirable, but it must never be weaponized against competence. Federal character must complement merit, not replace it.
Ultimately, the folly of the writer lies in this contradiction, you cannot credibly demand excellence while campaigning for its abandonment. A Federal University best serves Nigeria when its leadership is earned, not engineered. In choosing merit over sentiment, the Governing Council of the Federal University Lokoja has strengthened, not betrayed, the very essence of a Federal University.
Anything else would indeed have been a betrayal, a betrayal of standards, of fairness, and of the future of Nigerian higher education.
