Vice Chancellor, Prof John Obafunwa
THE 19th convocation of the Lagos State University (LASU), was yesterday marred with violence as its Vice Chancellor, Prof John Obafunwa, narrowly escaped being lynched.
The event which started around 10:00 am at the new auditorium complex of the Ojo Main Campus of the institution was disrupted by members of its chapter’s Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) which had been planning to boycott the event which coincided with the institution’s 30th anniversary, over unresolved demands.
Members of the union went on a protest to the auditorium when the event was going on and waited outside for the Vice Chancellor to come out for a group photograph before rushing forward to attack him.
His saviour was the intervention of the police who quickly rushed him out of the crowd into a pick-up which took him away to his office.
Members of the union led by the Chairman, Mr. Saheed Oseni, headed straight for the Senate and waited downstairs to display their grievances by chanting solidarity songs and saying that the event which is the award of higher degrees to graduands would not be permitted until the management meets their demands.
During the protest, Registrar of the university, Mr. Lewis Oladapo addressed the members and told them that the issue of no-work-no-pay that affected salaries of the members was forced upon the management by the Lagos State Government as he appealed to SSANU members to exercise patience and allow the convocation ceremonies to go on without any discrepancies.
Before the event was disrupted, the Vice Chancellor had told the graduating students to be focused saying the world ahead of them is full of challenges.
“My dear graduands, today is your day, be happy, celebrate, revel in the euphoria of your new status as graduates. You have worked long and hard, burnt candles and skipped meals. You have endured confrontations and oppositions and today, your heads are held up. Congratulations for making it”, he said.
He told the 9,169 graduands that they are going into a world of endless opportunities where hard work and persistence are rewarded and where the value they add equates the rewards they get and where their talents and skills will create opportunities for them.
He urged them as alumni of the university to contribute their quota to the development of the university.
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