The Giant Strides of Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun in RUGIPO

The Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO), may soon be the most sought after polytechnic by candidates seeking polytechnic education in Nigeria, if going by the level of transformation being made possible by its rector, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun. The 34-year old polytechnic has, in the last three years, been witnessing a profound spectrum of re-engineering, ranging from structural revolution to academic and attitudinal regeneration. A situation which education watchers have described as unusual in the history of the Ondo State-owned polytechnic. Prior to the appointment of Prof. Ajibefun as the rector of the institution, by the Ondo State governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, in 2010, the polytechnic was, no doubt, a glorified secondary school structurally but a higher institution nomenclature wise. Industrial crisis was at its peak, academic culture was in decline owning to incessant strike; and the buildings in the polytechnic were not only in a state of dilapidation but also an eye sour. However, things began to fall apart with the advent of Ajibefun-led administration. Since his assumption of office as the rector of the institution in November 2010, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun has taken the polytechnic to a height many never envisaged a few years back. To restore the lost glory of the polytechnic, Prof. Ajibefun banned the sale of hand outs and imposition of textbooks by lecturers. This is, no doubt, a paradigm shift in scholarship among students as they are now scholarly-minded. Today, industrial harmony is now at its peak! The robust relationship between the polytechnic’s management and the various unions in the institution: ASUP, NASU and SSANIP is now like that between a couple. No wonder the polytechnic’s chapter of the Academic Staff union of Polytechnic, ASUP refuse to join their counterparts in other polytechnics in the on-going nationwide strike by polytechnic teachers in the country. With this, the school now runs an uninterrupted academic calendar. Another revelation of Ajibefun’s revolution is in the area of improvement on the programmes run by the school. The rector floats some new programmes; a new faculty of Agriculture Technology was established with 5 departments, department of Public Administration; and the proposed faculty of Applied Sciences is scheduled to commence at the beginning of 2013/2014 academic session. Moreover, all the new academic programmes presented for accreditation in the last 2 years scaled the hurdles of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), thus making it the second consecutive time the institution was recording 100 per cent success in the exercise. Unarguably, Information Communication Technology ICT has brought unprecedented improvement to all sectors of the economy, without leaving education sector to a chance. Besides, the importance of ICT towards students’ registration, checking of results, payment of school fees, examination planning and internet connectivity cannot be overemphasized. On assumption of office, Prof. Ajibefun introduced online registration. Happily today, students of the institution now register, pay their school fee, and check their results online, which is the hallmark of a 21st century educational system. Structurally, the polytechnic has also leapt; no thanks to about N1 billion capital vote released by the Ondo State government in 2012 to develop infrastructural facilities in the institution. With this whooping sum, a number of monumental projects have started springing up, transforming the physical landscape of the polytechnic in an unprecedented manner. Some of these projects include: accommodation for the principal officers, the central administrative complex, comprising a 3-storey building for the rectory and 2-storey building for the registry and bursary. These projects are key because the 34-year-old institution has no staff quarters. These structures have, indeed added breath-taking beauty to the hitherto unfanimorous institution. Equally noteworthy are the central laboratory for the faculty of Environmental Studies which is nearing completion, a 3 in 1 millennium auditorium, a big complex which has three different auditoriums is 70 per cent completed; a newly completed ultra-modern ICT Centre that is well equipped with multimedia equipment, artisans’ quarters whose part A has been completed, among others. Significantly, in order to enhance the academic standard of staff and students, the polytechnic, under Prof. Ajibefun recently secured Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with highly-rated world-class institutions within and outside the country for exchange of staff and students, especially in the area of science and technology. Thus, RUGIPO is now the first polytechnic in the south-western part of the country to embark on such programmes. For instance in the department of Banking and Finance, RUGIPO has signed a MoU with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. Besides, the institution has also secured a technical agreement with the Centre for Agricultural Landuse and Landscape Research in Germany; University of Virginal in the United States of America, and also in partnership with the Galilee International Management Institute in Israel. More importantly, these memorandum are beginning to operate. In fact, in the last six months, more than eight members of staff have gone for one training programme in Israel. The institution is about finalizing another Mo U with institute in Israel on training of students. Another major path which past rectors could not tread but which Prof. Ajibefun has successfully trodden is convocation. The institution under Ajibefun held its 11th convocation last December after 11 years of deviating from such exercise. Since the polytechnic is a microcosm of Ondo State government, then the state government must, indeed, be commended for prompt release of fund to the institution, which has helped in breaking new grounds of transformation in the polytechnic. Consequently, the recent ranking of the polytechnic as the best state polytechnic by an US-based agency is of the unprecedented leadership style of Prof.Igbekele Ajibefun. One cannot but commend the Ondo State government for its contribution to the success story of Prof. Ajibefun in the institution. There is no doubt that Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun has etched his name in gold. He is an innovative and creative polytechnic administrator who has brought his exemplary leadership style to bear in RUGIPO; and the manifestation of this is the rapid transformation going on in the polytechnic. Ajibefun’s track record of hard work, diligence and commitment to success speak volume of his capacity to further make RUGIPO the ‘place of pride’ that we all desire. And this can only be possible, if the state governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko could allow this astute Professor of Agricultural Economics to head the institution for another four years, because “ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER”.