A first class traditional ruler in Kwara State, the Olomu of Omu Aran in the Irepodun local government area of Kwara State, Oba Abdulraheem Adeoti, has said that there is a low number of tertiary institutions compared to present population in Nigeria.
Speaking at the foundation laying ceremony of proposed Moses Orimolade University (MOU), Omu Aran established by the Cherubim and Seraphim Church worldwide, the traditional ruler decried a low number of tertiary institutions in the country.
The Olomu of Omu Aran, who said that the number of tertiary institutions, especially universities did not match the exponential growth in the country’s population, urged religious organisations and well-to-do individuals to complement government’s effort by investing in the educational sector.
Oba Adeoti also urged the owners of the institution to make it a specialised university for easy acquisition of a license from the National Universities Commission (NUC).
“Though C and S members are happy today, the entire community of Omu-Aran is happier. We are happy that this is happening in our own time. There is no doubt that the existing number of universities in the country cannot match with the explosion in a Nigerian population.
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“I promise you all here that my chiefs and I will continue to monitor the progress of work for speedy completion of the project. We are laying this building on Jesus Christ who is our solid rock. I believe he, who started the good work, will complete it,” he said.
Also speaking, the spiritual father of the church, Most Reverend Samuel Abidoye, said that the church would commit all resources at its disposal for accelerated completion of the project.
He also said that the college building project is expected to gulp a sum of N300 million, adding that the construction of the college would last for 18 months.
He said that all the church leaders had committed themselves to a minimum personal contribution, urging other church members to donate a minimum amount of N1,000 each for the college’s construction.
In his remark, Chairman, Planning Committee of the MOU, Thomas Fakile, aligned with the traditional ruler, saying that the number of universities in the country did not tally with the population.
“There are limited spaces for student admission in the Nigeria universities. Apart from this, the quality of education in the country has dropped drastically. We have a situation that some of the products from the Nigeria universities
cannot compete favourably with their counterparts in other parts of the world.
“Another issue is that in the next 15 years, the population of Nigeria is likely to double according to the United Nations statistics. If the universities do not grow correspondingly with the population, it means we have an educational problem.
“Even with what the C and S are doing currently, it is like a drop in the ocean. As a matter of fact, this should be the church’s second or third universities it will be establishing ideally. If anyone is interested in assisting the institution, we will welcome it. But I must tell you we do have an educational crisis in our hands in the country,” he said.
Fakile also said that the church is desirous of seeing the project come to fruition in record time, adding that “we are committed to the speedy take-off of the university. Other faiths realised that gap in our tertiary education about 20 years ago. C and S church realised this belatedly. The church is just waking up and because of that we are in a hurry to catch up in recouping our losses,” he said.
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