Former Registrar, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Dr. Omojola Awosusi, has advised the Federal Government to de-emphasise the concept of the son of the soil in the appointment of employees into the university system.

He also said that the detrimental use of the principle should be discontinued to enhance meritocracy.

The don decried a situation where a state of origin is being used for admission of students into universities and charged the government with expanding infrastructural space to enable students with disabilities to be enrolled.

Awosusi stated this during the eighth lecture series of the Redeemer’s University Registry yearly workshop held at the South Atlantic Petroleum Auditorium of the university.

Similarly, the former Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Emeritus Prof. Olufemi Bamiro, has urged local universities to proffer local solutions to national problems and advised them to influence what goes on in their national development strategies.

Bamiro said that helping to translate new knowledge and evidence into policy for the government should be a key priority for universities if they want to address the sustainable development goals, adding that the significant challenges in Africa when tackling issues such as health, education, and climate change was substantial, but where most of the relevant research was done by academics in the U.S. or the UK.

Meanwhile, the Registrar, Redeemer’s University, Mr. Olukayode Akindele, has reiterated the need for effective leadership in Nigerian institutions as very important to the system’s success.

He stated that leadership is not about a glorious crowning act but about keeping a team focused on the goal and motivating them to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences matter.

He added that leadership is about laying the groundwork for others’ success and then standing back to let them shine.