Ekiti Varsity Gets 500-Seater Goodluck Jonathan Lecture Theatre

Recently, the multimillion naira 500-seater ultra-modern Lecture Theatre built by the Alumni Association of Ekiti State University was inaugurated.

Former Special Adviser on Niger Delta Affiars to the immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan, Kingsley Kuku, commissioned the magnificent edifice, named after his principal.

Since his appointment by the President, Kuku had been a regular guest of the institution, which is also his Alma mata.

In his speech at the occasion, Kuku commended the Vice Chancellor, Professor Oladipo Aina for midwifing the various developmental projects in the institution.

According to him, Aina had changed the face of the university, noting that "you have brought a change in this university and we can come here and run programmes."

Kuku thanked him for all he had done and said "those who have made you to work this very hard and achieved this feat should also have to be commended also."

He said "there is no bad peace, no good war and he conceded the election without any pain or persuasion and thereby scored another first in Nigeria. He should be commended and we should also note that God brought him to save the country from the realisation of doomsday soothsayers."

He said the honour bestowed on Jonathan was one of many more to come and thanked the EKSU Alumni for the honour.

He said: "Nobody advised President Goodluck Jonathan to accept defeat. He did that based on personal conviction and divine advice from God. "Jonathan, to me, was a God sent.

"Even at a time when the results were being announced, President Jonathan was in his office working on some files. When I got to him, I was wondering how a man that was involved in an election of that magnitude could be busy working in his office.

Adding, "He even called Major General Muhammadu Buhari before the final result was announced. Buhari himself never expected this.

"Jonathan was brought into politics to rescue Nigeria from war. People will wonder how a man who controls the Army, Police, FRSC (Federal Road Safety Corps), Prisons, Immigration and others could have lost election. Though, I quite believe it was an act of God.

"Mr. President was of the opinion that if a man that was elected by every Nigerian in 2011 could be asked to go in 2015, then, he had no option than to respect the will of the people and that he actually did". Kuku said.

Commending the association, wife of Ekiti State Governor Mrs. Feyisetan Fayose, who also represented her husband on the occasion, commended EKSU Alumni for the project and reiterated that education was a legacy not to be toyed with in any way by any administration. Many people had prophesied that the 2015 election's outcome would either make or break Nigeria.

Mrs Fayose,a First Class product of the university noted that the institution has come of age as it had surmounted the challenges of infrastructural deficits often associated with it."The time has come for the university to feature prominently in the ranking of the Nigerian universities, Africa and globally and this is my challenge on this occasion, "she added.

In his welcome address, the National President of the alumni association , Dr. Matthew Ayeni, gave the rationale for naming the building after President Jonathan saying it was as result of "his remarkable achievements in the area of education which are undoubtedly unquestionable," and explained that "this is true when one considers the establishment of nine federal universities in Nigeria and approval of several private universities to take care of teeming Nigerian youths seeking for admission into Nigerian universities every year."

Also, he said that President Jonathan "equally performed creditably well in road construction and rehabilitation throughout Nigeria. Thus the president deserves our commendation for this."

Furthermore, he said that EKSU was "one of the greatest beneficiaries of the TETFUND," owing to the "doggedness and intellectual connect ability of the Vice Chancellor, Professor Oladipo Aina," they also commended President Jonathan and described him as a man of peace who has proved with his disposition to political office that peace and development were required for the continued growth of the Nigeria.

"Nobody will deny that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan is a lover of peace, his position and disposition in the just-concluded election is a manifestation of this assertion," and said these justified the naming of the building after him.