THE TRAVESTY OF A NAME: UNILAG, MAULAG et al

On the 13^th year commemoration of the return of Nigeria back to democratic rule, precisely on the 29^th May, 2012, Nigerians woke up to the jolting announcement by their Commander-in-Chief that the University of Lagos (UNILAG) has been renamed the Moshood Abiola University, Lagos (MAULAG). The manner of presidential (or is it monarchical?) fiat with which the christening was done brought back to mind, alas with bitter nostalgia, the days of the uniformed men and goggled faces when orders were given and decrees were carried out with utmost alacrity without due recourse to existing laws nor to the prevailing mood and circumstances. It was a phase in our history, where unpredictability was the order of the day and we basked in the fear of the unknown.

All that seemed to change with the advent of the 4^th Republic on the 29^th of May, 1999. We rejoiced merely in the fact that our ‘head of state’ from then on would no more subject us to the harrowing and traumatic experiences of ‘pleasant’ surprises, albeit the guiding arms of the rule ensured that all our policies, decisions and proceedings are done in a responsible, respectable and responsive manner. The presence of our 3 arms of government was meant to function as a check and balance system that would not allow any arm of the government to arbitrarily overrule the law and take decisions it considers best in whoever’s interest and in the prevailing circumstances.

Alas, all that seemed to reverse with the manner President Jonathan renamed the University of Lagos which coincidentally would be celebrating the Golden Jubilee of her existence this year. The University of Lagos, I am told is Nigeria’s first Federal University, considering that others before her were established by Regional Governments.

Immediately the announcement was made, the Akokites, as the UNILAG students are famously known, sprung out in protests against the name change of which the protests have led to the institution being shut down for a 2 week forced leave. Many notable Nigerians have commended the President for the noble gesture of honouring President Moshood Abiola, owing more to the refusal of the greatest beneficiary of the ultimate price that MKO paid, President Obasanjo, to accord him the honour in the 8 years he headed the State. This commendation has however, attracted not a few knocks here and there, especially for the choice of UNILAG as the sacrificial lamb.

While for most students of MAULAG, their reason for protests is not farfetched as they are finding it unusually hard being called Moshoodites, MAULAGites, MAUites

or worse still, their females, formerly known as UNILAG babes now having to be called Moshood babes. However, I want to look beyond the above sentiments and focus on real issues pertaining to the renaming saga.

Foremostly, President Jonathan erred in changing the name of an institution without due recourse to the extant laws establishing that institution. Some have argued that the President as visitor to the University could do and undo in the discharge of his duties but anyone with an understanding of law would agree that there is no place for absolute powers in a democratic setting. The laws establishing the university only permit the Visitor to the university to discharge his duties provided they do not go in contravention of the Act establishing the University. The proper way would have been for the President to send an amendment to the Act to the National Assembly stating his intention to change the name of the university, before effecting the change or better still, the announcement should have been in the fashion of an intention and not the decree it was. That’s if the President was duly interested in giving honour to whom honour is due.

Alas, even though it had been the desire of a vast majority of Nigerians to have the winner (not presumed!) of the freest and fairest election in the nation’s history honoured and recognised, one calls to question the sincerity in motive of Mr. President in doing this and at this time. Part of the antipathy expressed by Nigerians at the move is directed at the fact that the President could have chosen a more centrally placed monument or institution, preferably located in the Federal Capital Territory and that reflects the ideals and principles for which MKO lived and was committed to. How about the National Assembly or the International Conference Centre? And even if a university is what appealed more to our president, how about building a world class university in Abiola’s home town and naming it after him or better still, converting one of the newly established federal universities, preferably one domiciled outside the South West? This would have gone a long way in showcasing the sincerity of Mr President and in reinforcing the long held belief in the nationalistic persona that President Abiola was said to represent.

Much more than that, I do feel that the brouhaha is not just about the name itself but the legacy which the UNILAG brand represents. To buttress this, I would employ the example of the most imitable name change in the history of universities the world over: from the University of Ife to the Obafemi Awolowo University. Admirable it seemed at the time the name change was effected in 1987, considering the excellent and venerable roles that the Patriarch, Chief Obafemi Awolowo played in the creation and nurturing of the University of Ife. I was recently intimated about the manner in which Baba approached Professor Ige Grillo, then of the College of Medicine, Ibadan to come over to the University of Ife to pioneer a fresh Faculty of Health Sciences. Such was the love he had for his baby that one would have anticipated a ‘chaos-less chaos’ when the University of Ife was re-christened the Obafemi Awolowo University. Not a few people at that time felt it was going to lead to a change in the entire legacy and outlook for which the then Great Ife represented. Truth is they have been vindicated today as evidenced by the disconnect that the pre-OAU graduates currently show towards the institution. For most of them, it is a ‘tale of 2 schools’ – the University of Ife and the Obafemi Awolowo University. Well, same thing is about to happen to the University of Lagos and any other school that the President is about to re-baptize. I bet the President did not expect the outburst of scorn and venom that greeted his announcement in less than 24 hours.

On a lighter note, trust Nigerian youths, we now have variants of the MAULAG saga – LAUI (Lamidi Adedibu University, Ibadan) for the University of Ibadan, PEJU (Patience Ebele Jonathan University) for the University of Port Harcourt, IOU (Ikemba Ojukwu University) for the University of Nigeria, Nssuka, et al.

Conclusively, I would want to append to this piece, a comment I placed on the Facebook wall of Amanda Anuforo, when she attempted to downgrade the Akokites protest over an ordinary change of name –

“In my own opinion, the whole protest is not just about the change of name but the loss of an identity and prestige. It might be needful to say that the loss of virtue that the former University of Ife has experienced was actually partly occasioned by the change of name to its present status. Is changing the name and identity of the University of Lagos the best 50^th anniversary gift that the president could give them? How about renaming one of the freshly created universities, probably the Federal University, Oye Ekiti in MKO’s honour? In reality, this whole renaming saga smirks of a dangerous political move that the Government is making. I’m learning to look below the surface for answers.”

Finally, permit me to end with the words of the man who reeks of eruditeness, Professor Wole Soyinka –

“Next is my confession to considerable shock that President Goodluck Jonathan did not even think it fit to consult or inform the administrators of the university, including the Council and Senate, of his intention to rename their university for any reason however laudable. This arbitrariness, this act of disrespect, was a barely tolerated aberration of military governance. It is totally deplorable in what is supposed to be a civilian order…

Let me end by stressing that my position remains the same as it was when the University of Ife was renamed Obafemi Awolowo University. I deplored it at the time, deplore it till today, have never come to terms with it, and still hope that some day in the not too distant future, that crime against the culture of institutional autonomy will be rectified. Let us not compound the aberrations of the past with provocations in an era that should propel us towards a belated new Age of Enlightenment."