Often times, as a standard global practice, Chief Executives recount their achievements when rounding up their tenure in order to avoid distortions.
In this light, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Felix Kolawole Salako on October 20, 2021, featured on the popular programme on Splash 106.7FM tagged, “The Chat”, to ventilate his remarkable feats in commemoration of his fourth year in office as the Sixth Substantive Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB).
Responding to a barrage of questions from the Programme Anchor, the Vice-Chancellor stated that his achievements cut-across infrastructural and human capital development, community engagement and relationship management, staff welfare, research, harmonious co-existence and attitudinal change, including teaching. According to him, he stated that his achievements were anchored on the 12-Point Agenda, he enacted upon his assumption of duty as the Vice-Chancellor.
Professor Salako, Fellow of the Soil Science Society of Nigeria and the Agricultural Society of Nigeria, stressed that all the infrastructural projects, including the dam and the positive impacts on people were dearest to him in the course of his duties as the Vice-Chancellor. He added that the students, who fondly refer to him as a “Student-Friendly Vice-Chancellor”, were very important to him, saying that the University cannot be complete without them.
On how he would like to be remembered, the Vice-Chancellor who grew through the ranks of University Administration, from the Head of Department of Soil Science and Land Management (SSLM), to Director, Agricultural Media Resources and Extension Centre (AMREC), to the Pioneer Director, Community-Based Farming Scheme (COBFAS), and to becoming the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Development on a two-term basis, stated that the students would remember him for the unfettered access they enjoyed during his stewardship.
Describing the last four years of his administration, the Vice-Chancellor disclosed that it has been the normal trajectory of life of ‘ups and downs’, noting that his four year in office has been mostly ‘ups’ and not ‘downs’.
Reminiscing on his childhood, Professor Salako said he was the last of the seven children of his parents, saying that he had an opportunity to leave the country in 1983 when he travelled to the United States of America (USA), for his brother’s wedding but he chose to come back. Believing in the country, Nigeria, to be a leading black nation in the world, he said he chose his course of study in the University because he was not accustomed to following the bandwagon, stressing that he specifically chose Agriculture and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka due to his personal convictions.
Commenting on the nation’s food security, the Vice-Chancellor stated that there were many factors mitigating against food production in the country, noting that inadequate storage system, deplorable roads from source of production to the market and insecurity were among the factors hampering food security in the country.
Shedding more light on the race of Vice-Chancellorship in the country, Professor Salako emphatically stated that competence should take precedence over religion, locality, state of origin, while appointing a Vice-Chancellor.
Accompanying the Vice-Chancellor in the studio were the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Development, Professor Clement Adeofun; Chairman, Ceremonials Committee, Professor Akinola Akinlabi; Head, Directorate of Public Relations (DPR), Mr. Kola Adepoju as well as Asst. Directors of Media in DPR, Mr. Ayo Arowojolu and Mrs. Stella Kayode.
