It was an interesting moment for members of the University community, as they listened to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. KolawoleSalako, while sharing some of his experiences as the Chief Executive Officer of FUNAAB. The Vice-Chancellor described the last two years as very eventful, smooth and bumpy. During a live broadcast on FUNAAB Radio 89.5 FM, Prof. Salako appreciated God for the journey so far saying, “It has been bumpy and it has been very smooth and I think it is natural to expect that, but you must pick up and never give up”.

Speaking on his vision to take the University to greater heights, which revolves around his 12-point agenda, the Vice-Chancellor said, “I can assure you that I have kept faith with the 12-point agenda because they were not written frivolously when I was applying for the position of VC. For each of them, I can list the achievements that we have made within the last two years and the ones we are still going to have within the next three years”. Prof. Salako, who explained further that his vision was on track in a bid to making the University a centre of academic excellence through the training of students and other stakeholders to be impactful in terms of societal development and living in an environmental-friendly world in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

According to him, “I am focusing myself on the vision and mission of the University but I set my agenda, for me to be able to say these are the milestones that I must achieve within five years. So, I am consolidating within those 12-point agenda and you can be rest assured that if there must be variation, they can be accommodated”. Enumerating some of his achievements in office, the Vice-Chancellor revealed that within his first month in office, the bakery was expanded in terms of production, equipment and within the first year, the Fufu factory was expanded and the second year had been about development and progress within the 12-point agenda. When I came on board, I met four functional buses in the University and I went ahead to provide money and by April or June last year, about 19 buses were functional”, he stated.

Prof. Salako reiterated that over the last two years, his administration had improved on service delivery, efficiency of staff, and security. Responding to some malicious information making the rounds on social media, the Vice-Chancellor described the reports as false and attributed such to the gimmicks of mischief makers. “In the last one month, we have been having some negative news online but I must say we are not bothered because we are standing on a solid rock”. He described as falsehood, the report that robbery cases were being experienced within the University, stating that rather, they had occurred in private hostels outside the campus. “The Vice-Chancellor has a mandate to administer FUNAAB. Anything outside the University is within the purview of law enforcement agencies”, he said.

Speaking on the University’s contribution to agriculture, the Vice-Chancellor said under the present administration, FUNAAB had increased the hectares of farmlands being cultivated and further extended the sales of agricultural produce to Ogun State. Prof. Salako said the University was one of the foremost institutions that had made use of multimedia equipment during lectures and was already working towards having smart boards in the lecture theatres in tandem with international best practices.

Salako, a Professor of Soil Physics and Fellow, Soil Science Society of Nigeria (SSSN), assumed office as the sixth substantive Vice-Chancellor of the University on November 1, 2017.

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