It is true of the saying, “all that glitters are not gold”. So it is with the coming on board of Prof. Lillian Salami, the Vice Chancellor of UNIBEN who can also be tagged as OWAMBE VC.
When it was announced of her appointment being the vice chancellor of UNIBEN, it was graciously welcomed, because it was believed that being a woman, she would be able to right the wrongs in the institution without compromise.
Unfortunately, things continue to fall apart under her watch and she thinks she will remain the vice chancellor forever not knowing her time ticks faster in that position.
It is disheartening to see Prof. Salami over the places partying without being remorseful of her students not being in school for over seven months. She has suddenly turned herself to a ‘City Girl’ or better still, a socialite who goes about not only partying and making donations but erecting hotel structures and other commercial buildings secretly with various fronts while contractors who have worked for uniben in the of era her predecessors are still being owed. Some of these contractors have died while trying to get their claims but she has vehemently refused to pay because she doesn’t believe administrative function is continuous.
It is no news that staff and students have had it tough under her watch, leading to several protests which in one of the protests, she was shamefully dragged out from her lodge and made to trek a distance to address the protesting students at the Main Gate of the institution after days of her hiding. She has withheld due allowances of staff for her personal aggrandizement and also executing weird projects through her cronies tagging it as “direct labour jobs”. This nonchalant attitude of hers needs to be curbed, otherwise she will throw the institution into a more terrible state than she met it.
Her poor administrative acumen has landed the institution into litigations with no representative in courts. This could be considered as contempt and as a fact, a warrant of arrest will be served on her in due time as she continues with her nonchalant attitude.
It’s known that better days will come when staff, students and owed contractors of the institution will eventually smile. By then the Empress must have left but how long can she be tolerated till then? Only time will tell!
Dr Patrick Eholor, a human rights defender, writes from Edo State, Nigeria.
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