The Vice-Chancellor, Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Professor Odunayo Clement Adebooye, has characterized the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Emmanuel Osodeke, as a careless talker for referring to universities that are not on strike as 'quacks’.
According to Professor Adebooye, the state university has 481 full-time academic staff and among them, 387 are full-time Ph.D. holders.
Recall that Prof Osodeke, while featuring on Arise TV’s' The Morning Show’ on Thursday, named state universities; Osun State University, Kwara State University, Lagos State University, and Kwara State University as quacks.
In his words, "Kwara State University is not a member of ASUU. Osun State University was suspended from ASUU for misbehaviour. We are in court with LASU (Lagos State University) because they sacked all our executives more than five years ago. They were not part of this struggle."
In response to this statement, the UNIOSUN Vice-Chancellor organised a press conference on Friday where he addressed the ASUU president’s statement.
According to him, Osun State University takes very serious exception to having mentioned the institution as a quack university and demanded the withdrawal of the statement from Professor Osodeke.
According to him, the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUA), where ASUU's President teaches, does not have UNIOSUN’s achievements.
"ASUU President, please check my profile; I cannot preside over a sham university.
"He has expressed his opinion, which is his, and the university where he teaches does not have our accomplishments."He was here this year and commended the quality of what he saw here: the infrastructure, only a few universities.
Osun State University takes very serious exceptions to having mentioned the institution as a quack University. "He shouldn’t talk about what he doesn’t know if he wants to continue being a true Professor."
A true Professor finds facts and basis for whatever they say.
"He should get educated. I challenge him to get educated. "Referring to UNIOSUN as a quack university is a careless statement and not expected from an ASUU President who is a professor; must not make a statement without facts," The VC said.
In the same vein, the Director of University Relations at Kwara State University, Dr. Saeedat Aliyu, on Friday, announced that the institution was founded on the vision of advancing the frontiers of knowledge for the good of society and not a quack university like the ASUU President addressed it.