…as DVC Omotola harps on ethical rearmament Chinedu Okafor and Otitoju Femi
The Vice-Chancellor, Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina has tasked Rural Sociological Society of Nigeria (RUSAN), an umbrella body of professional of Rural Sociologists and other Researchers in Nigeria on ideas and resolutions which would terminate poverty and underdevelopment bedeviling developing continent of Africa especially in the rural settings.
He said this at the association’s 31st Annual Congress held at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) on Tuesday December 6, 2022. The Congress entitled “Poverty, Governance and Social Values in the rural context” which was declared open by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Fasina, paraded giant scholars and past Vice-Chancellors of Nigeria’s universities and other eminent intelligentsia of note.
However, FUOYE VC, Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina while declaring the RUSAN 31st Annual Congress open, said he would at the end of the brainstorming session expect the association to come up with various intelligentsia and theoretical resolutions that would address myriads of decadents of poverty and underdevelopment bedeviling Nigeria and the continent of Africa. He said: “I was expecting this conference to come up with ideas and resolutions on how to improve our rural settings, to alleviate poverty from the societies as there are so many things wrong with this country and I think this conference should come up with ideas, resolutions and suggestions on how to improve our rural settings and communities.
“You have a lot of roles to play. The idea is that for us to be relevant to our community, we really need to impact them. Rural sociology as a discipline, you have a lot of roles to play to change things in the community and bring about needed things to alleviate and bring about good governance. ”Earlier, the RUSAN President, Professor Grace. M. Adebo maintained that “the level of poverty is increasing on daily basis especially in the rural areas. ”She went on: “According to the National Bureau of Statistics 2022, 23% living in Nigeria are poor, 64% of the poor people are in the North while 35% lives in the South. Poverty level across States vary significantly with the incidents of multi-dimensional poverty ranging from the lowest in Ondo State to the highest in Sokoto State. “It is obvious that we have lost our values right from the home which is the foundation of our society to the school, market place, religion as well as in politics. Bribery and corruption have gone into every aspect of our lives in Nigeria and that is one of the major challenges in the nation today.
”In his keynote address, former Vice-Chancellor, Adekule Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Professor Igbekele .A. Ajibefun, stressed that there was a strong link between poverty, governance and social values in our societies as well as development.He said: “Governance is a critical issue that determines the development of any nation. Why are poor countries getting poorer and losing their value system and the rich countries of the world are getting developed and rich? All these are around governance issues.
“A good governance system will lead to development and prosperity. But you will notice that most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have been underdeveloped because this region of the world has been very unfortunate to have bad governance systems. This is because we have incompetent, we have greedy leaders, the leaders that will take several millions of Dollars to foreign lands. That is why these countries remain very poor. “A good governance system is a reflection of exemplary, competent, committed and accountable leadership. But in sub-Sahara Africa, no leader is accountable to the people.
That is why things are done with impunity because of bad governance, most sub-Sahara African countries are trapped in vicious circle of poverty and underdevelopment. Corruption strives under bad governance.”Also speaking at the Conference was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Prof. J.S. Omotola, who is also doubled as a discussant stressed the need for ethical rearmament.
According to him, ethical rearmament, admitting that as a nation, we got it lost somewhere, something was automatsically wrong somewhere and because we got it wrong, it was going to be extremely difficult for us if not impossible to address the problems.Professor Omotola said: “It is also an invitation to return to the old order or something better than the old order. Another thing we can talk about is what the journalist called ‘state thieves.’ When we talk about ‘state thieves,’ there is every tendency that we focus our attention on those occupying political positions. “We need to begin to ask ourselves in those little pocket of spaces that we occupy as H.O.D, class governor, President of students union association even as a father or mother in the house.
Those are the small pocket of space that we occupied that provide us the opportunity to demonstrate leadership to show that we are different.”
