Professor Ayotunde Adeagbo, a professor of physiology and pharmacology at the Federal University of Technology in Akure, has advised lecturers and professors in the Nigerian university system to participate in initiatives to improve university funding by advising the government and governing councils to levy fees as necessary on a school-by-school or faculty-by-faculty basis.
According to him, if reasonable costs are levied, students will likely put more effort into their studies than they presently do, and the system’s facilities will be more useful to them.
On November 29, 2022, in Akure, Professor Adeagbo gave his valedictory lecture titled “Life Journeys through National and Diasporic Biomedical Science Education: Gaps and Bridges.”
It has become obvious that the idealized notion of a tuition-free university system is incompatible with the realities of the present, he said. Instead of engaging in time-wasting activities, we need to start guiding the administration toward effective answers to pressing national challenges.
Adeagbo urged system stakeholders to call a meeting to discuss fee payments, stating that the government could no longer maintain the delusion of a system of public universities with free tuition.
He believes that the best approach to assist the public is to bring back the universities’ former glory, when parents paid set amounts for quality degree programs that companies required.
The don also emphasized the need of researchers working together to achieve scientific discoveries that can contribute to the advancement of the country.
He claimed that production is the ultimate goal of academics around the world and that it is frequently measured in the three fields of endeavor of research, teaching, and service.
He contends that society can easily grasp the significance of study when efforts are focused on finding answers to particular issues.
He outlined the crucial requirements for research productivity, including motivation, the ability to observe and ask questions both intrinsically and extrinsically, a commitment to lifelong learning, work ethics, the ability to learn across disciplines through collaboration and team building, independent project management skills, and the ability to multitask.
A successful academic career, according to the don, must be productive in at least one of these five areas of scholarship: discovery, teaching and learning, integration, application/engagement, and community service.
He pleaded for Nigerians to prioritize their health in order to prevent fatal conditions like diabetes and hypertension. These illnesses, according to him, are not demonic assaults as most people tend to think, but rather a warning indication that the body has been neglected.
The vice chancellor, Professor Adenike Oladiji, said Professor Ayotunde Adeagbo joined the staff of FUTA in 2015 and made a substantial contribution to the growth of the university in her capacity as the event’s chairperson.
Professor Adeagbo, she continued, has significantly advanced the body of knowledge in the fields of physiology and pharmacology.
She characterized Adeagbo as an intellectual scholar who, during the course of his lengthy career in academia, gave academic leadership to the university community.
