History Of Unilorin

......Probitas Doctrina....

The University of Ilorin is located in the ancient
city of Ilorin, about 500 kilometres from Abuja,
the Federal capital. Ilorin, the Capital of Kwara
State, is strategically located at the
geographical and cultural confluence of the
North and South. University of Ilorin was one of the seven
institutions of higher learning established by a
decree of the Federal Military Government in
August, 1975.
This step, taken to implement
one of the educational directives of the
country’s Third National Development Plan, was aimed at providing more opportunities for
Nigerians aspiring to acquire university
education and to generate high level man-
power, so vital for the rapidly expanding
economy.
The then University College of Ilorin was
initially affiliated to the University of Ibadan. Dr.
T.N. Tamuno, Professor and Head of History
Department at the University of Ibadan, was
appointed the first Principal of the College in
September, 1975.The then new Principal, Professor O.O.
Akinkugbe, made several visits to the second
Military Governor of Kwara State, the late
Colonel Ibrahim Taiwo in connection with the
new institution, such that by March 1976, he
had established residence at Ilorin. The support given to the fledgling Institution by
Governor Taiwo continued even more
vigorously under the third Military Governor of
the State, Brigadier George A. Innih, who
ceded a portion of the temporary site of the
Kwara State College of Technology to the University. The site, up till now, serves as the
mini campus of the University.
Academic/Physical DevelopmentFollowing an entrance examination, 200
foundation students were admitted into
residence on Saturday, October 23rd, 1976,
and academic activities commenced on
Monday, October 25th , 1976, after the
Principal’s maiden address at about 10.00am in the Africa Hall. The University College had
three foundation Faculties namely: Arts,
Science and Education. The Institution began
to develop its programmes in a way that not
lees than 60% of its effort was directed
towards science-oriented programmes.
In October 1977, the Institution attained full
autonomous status and has since then
developed by leaps and bounds. The student
population of 200 in 1976 has increased to
20,084 by the 2005/2006 session, while the
total staff strength of the University stood at approximately 3,040 as at March 1, 2007. Up
till January 1982, the University carried out its
academic programmes, involving the Faculties
of Arts, Science, Education, Engineering &
Technology, Business and Social Sciences,
and the Pre-Clinical aspect of the Health Sciences on the Mini-Campus. The completion
of the Faculty blocks for Natural Sciences and
Engineering as well as 8 blocks of student
hotels by December 1981, made it possible, on
the 2nd of January 1982, for the actual
movement of over 1,000 science-oriented students to the Main-Campus to pursue their
various academic programmes.
The law degree programme was initially
established in 1983/84 session as a
department in the Faculty of Business and
Social Sciences. Though cancelled in 1986/87,
it was resuscitated in 1993/94 as a full fledged
Faculty. The Main Campus currently houses the
Faculties of Science, Engineering &
Technology, Agriculture, Education, Law, Arts,
Business and Social Sciences, (following the
completion of the new seven-storey Senate
Complex), the Unilorin Sugar Research Institute, Postgraduate School, the Main
University Library, Computer Services and
Information Technology (COMSIT), Works
Yard, Conference Centre, Unilorin Resources
Development and Management Board
(URDMB), Student Canteens, the newly completed 2,000 seat multipurpose Auditorium
and the Alumni/ Endowment Office. The Mini-
Campus presently houses the College of
Health Sciences, a mini Library, Canteens and
Shopping Complex, the Institute of Education,some of the Revenue-yielding projects which are under the URDMB such as the Unilorin
Computer Centre (Training Wing), Unilorin
Bookshop, the Bakery, the Printing Press, and
the Guest Houses. Each Campus has a Health
Centre, a Post Office and Banking facilities.
Aside from two lecture theatres commissioned in 1997, there is an upsurge, from 2002 to
date, in the physical development of the Main
Campus. Five new Hostels were completed in
2002. Other projects were the Faculty of
Education blocks and Lecture theatre; Lecture
rooms, Offices and Lecture Theatre for the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences;
Faculty of Science Chemistry block;
Department of Agricultural Engineering block;
offices for the Department of Human Kinetics
and Health Education; COMSIT building
(Phase I) among others. A water Dam and Treatment Plant to provide
uninterrupted water supply to the main campus
has just been completed. The University will
soon construct a rail-line to boost
transportation between the University Main
Campus and the township. Apart from the renovation of buildings, a
systematic upgrading of teaching and
research facilities is being undertaken by the
University within its lean resources. This
includes provision of computers, laboratory
equipment, etc.

Growth Of Faculties

From three faculties in 1976, today there are
ten faculties: Arts (1976), Science (1976)
Education (1976), Engineering & Technology
(1978), Business & Social Sciences (1981),
Agriculture (1982), Law (1993, after an initial
start-up in 1983), Basic Medical Sciences (2004), Clinical Sciences (2004) and
Communication and Information Sciences
(2008).
Altogether, there are 60 academic
departments in the existing ten faculties.
Undergraduate degree programmes run for
3,4,5, or 6 years, depending on entry
qualifications and discipline. The University
started with the traditional British “Three Term System” but later changed into a modified form
of the American “Two Semester System”
called Harmattan and Rain semesters with
effect from 1979/80 session.
Each semester comprises one half of an
academic year as determined by Senate. Also instruction in the various Faculties with the
exception of the Health Sciences is by the
course system. These courses are quantified
into credits. The University has teaching
support units which include the Computer
Centre, Central Workshop and Stores, Biological Garden, Community Based
Experience and Services (COBES), Medical
Educational Resources Unit, General Studies
(Use of English/National Awareness) Division,
and Teaching & Research Farm.There are also the Public Units which are the University School, the University Secondary
School, Institute of Education and Educational
Technology Centre. Although an academic
unit, the Library is actively involved in
rendering service to the University and the
public. In addition, there is a Sugar Research Institute which is mainly a research unit served
by academic mainly from Science and
Agriculture Faculties.

The case of the 49 sacked lecturers

What eventually assumed the toga of a
national crisis started within the domain of
University of Ilorin in January 2001. Those
involved are ASUU-Unilorin branch activists
who were battling the then vice-chancellor,
Professor S. Oba Abdulraheem and the institution’s authority over delay in the payment
of salaries, allowances and other sundry
welfare issues. They were so vociferous in
their demands that the authorities considered
them as a cog in the wheel of its plans for the
institution. In such conservative environment, the university authority considered such
radical demand for rights a taboo.
The allegations against the institution’s
authorities were still on when the parent ASUU
commenced a national strike in April 2001. The
nationwide university strike was embarked
upon against the backdrop of the general rot in
universities across the country. Problems of poor infrastructure, poor funding, university
autonomy, conditions of service for academic
staff and academic freedom budgetary
allocation were among the demands of ASUU.

As usual with successive administrations,
attempt were made to break the strike. In most
of the universities including University of Ilorin,
attendance registers were opened for
lecturers who came to work to sign. This sent
jitters down the spines of most of the lecturers who for fear of losing their jobs rushed to the
institution on a daily basis to sign the registers.
Those of them who believed strongly in the
cause of the struggle shunned the register
daring the institution’s authority threat to sack
those lecturers who defied its order.
At the end of the day and consequent upon
series of negotiation between the Federal
Government and the ASUU leadership, the
strike was called off not without an agreement
to be implemented by both parties. ASUU
reportedly ensured the insertion of a “no victimisation clause” into the agreement. The
essence of this was to guarantee that none of
its members who partook in the strike would be
persecuted because of their involvement.
However, the University of Nigeria, (UNN),
Nsukka and University of Ilorin terminated the appointment of some lecturers perceived to
have played prominent roles in ensuring the
success of the strike by ASUU. UNN
authorities after public hues and cries
reinstated its sacked lecturers. But in Unilorin,
its authorities that refused to reverse itself. 103 lecturers were given sack letters that did
not state the reasons behind the decision.
The breakdown of these figures are: 15
professors, two associate professors. 15
senior lecturer, 18 lecturers: 40 doctors and 12
medical school lecturers out which 11 were
consultants. Consequent upon this sack, the
Banjo-committee was set up to look into the crisis. The committee report did not find any of
the UNILORIN 49 guilty. While several others
were pardoned and re-absorbed into the
system, the institution’s authorities, did not see
any wisdom in recalling the UNILORIN 49
lecturers out of the whole 103 that were sacked. Afterall, they were seen as a minute
fraction of about 700 lecturers in the
university. Some who could not immediately
get alternative accommodation were forcefully
ejected from their staff quarters.
Recourse to litigation: When the University of
Ilorin authorities remained recalcitrant in its
resolve not to reabsorb the Unilorin 49, several
external bodies acting as pressure groups
intervened, sometimes pleading with the
institution’s authorities to reconsider its position. Traditional rulers, Yoruba Council of
Elders, National Assembly and Nigeria Inter-
religious Council (NIREC), all tried to no avail to
bring back peace to Unilorin and the entire
university system in the country. At this point,
five of the Unilorin 49 approached the Federal High Court, Ilorin to seek redress on behalf of
their other colleagues.

Precisely on July 26, 2005, the Federal High
Court, Ilorin under Justice Peter Olayiwola,
ruled that the termination of the appointment of
the affected lecturers on account of
participation in the strike without fair hearing
was “illegal and unconstitutional.” The termination exercise was declared “null and
void:” and the court ordered their earnest
reinstatement.
Nevertheless, the institution exercised its right
of appeal when it challenged the judgement at
the Court of Appeal. On July 12, 2006, the
Court of Appeal sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State
upturned the judgement of the Federal High
Court by declaring that the University was in order by sacking the 49 lecturers. Out of the
three Justices that sat over the case, two
Justices, Muntaka Coomasie and T. Abdullahi
ruled against the lecturers while Justice Helen
Ogunwumiju ruled in favour of the lecturers.

The Court of Appeal ruled that the lecturers
should have taken their case to the National
Industrial Court being a trade dispute matter as
Union leaders: that the lecturers were not
sacked for their role in the strike: that since the
lecturers were not sacked for any offence, the issue of fair hearing did not arise. At another
point, the court upheld the university’s claim
that the lecturers were given an opportunity for
fair hearing while observing in another part Dat
the lecturers were not sacked
The judgement of the Court of Appeal was
challenged by the lecturers at the Supreme
Court.

After about eight years and 10 months of a
tortuous legal battle, the 44 sacked lecturers of
the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) in Kwara
State were ordered to be reinstated by
Nigeria's Supreme Court on December 11,
2009. The apex court ordered their immediate reinstatement and the payment of all their
entitlements from February 2001, the date of
their illegal disengagement, to date. The 5
UNILORIN ASUU leaders had earlier had their
sack reversed by the same Supreme Court on
June 12, 2009.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS(Click Here)

Established
1975

Chancellor
HRH Alhaji Abdulmumin Kabir Usman, Emir
of Katsina

Vice-ChancellorAbdul Ganiyu Ambali

Students
30,000

Location
Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria

Campus
Urban

Websitewww.unilorin.edu.ng

This institution is the only Federal University
to dissociate itself from the
Academic Staff Union
Of University.

My Contact:	09028928927
	Author:	Oke Oluwashina Stephen
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