A former Registrar of the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife, Mr. Ayorinde Ogunruku has said that those at the top echelon of the university enterprise must commit to raising people like themselves through deliberate mentorship and building a culture of excellence in all the members of the community thus ensuring the sustainability of global standards.
He stated this during the 12th Registry Annual Lecture of the Federal University of Technology Akure, FUTA held on the 25th of March 2023.
Speaking on the topic: Attaining and Sustaining Global Standards in University Administration through Mentoring, Mr. Ogunruku whose also served as Director Vice Chancellor’s office of the Federal University of Technology Akure, said a situation in which participants in the university community are competing among themselves rather than complementing one another can only lead to institutional chaos and a natural catastrophe.
He said mentorship can be deliberately organized to pair the younger ones in the system to the excellent leaders and facilitate camaraderie that leads to a good understanding of roles expected of them and commitment to best standards in service delivery.
He said, “Good mentorship keeps organizations going and that sterling leadership qualities and requisite knowledge are essential required for mentors just as willingness to learn and devotedness are of essence for the mentees.”
The lecturer reiterated that there is no way that a university can thrive and actualize its objectives where there is distrust between the key officers and other stakeholders.
He said there is therefore the need to ensure a process of getting all members of staff committed to the university’s vision and mission as well as the mode of operation that is transparent.
Ogunruku said there’s the need to improve on the quality of human resources being recruited into the university as academic or non-teaching staff and to expose all members of the university to the core values driving the ethos of a university and to commit all the members of the university to ensuring excellence in the provision of best practices.
Speaking in her capacity as chairman of the occasion, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Adenike Oladiji, said the role of the Registry in the affairs of any higher Educational Institution cannot be underestimated as all official records except financial are kept by the Registry and they facilitate all the meetings of the university committees and guide the proceedings with the established rules and regulations.
She said there is therefore the need to ensure that the baton of leadership of the all-important Department is passed with intentionality from one capable leader to another.
The Vice Chancellor said that there are expectations of institutions that are in black and white while some are imbibed by following the footsteps of leaders or by observing how they get things done. “That is why deliberate efforts should be made to guide new members of an organization to ensure that their actions promote its advancement and values.”
In his address the Registrar, Mr. Richard Arifalo said there is the need to preserve culture and pass on cherished values and knowledge to the coming generations in the interest of the society.
He said there are university cultures and traditions that must be passed on to the coming generations in the system, adding that we cannot afford to lose our values as we adopt progressive change, advancement and development strides arising especially from Information and Communication Technology.
Highpoint of the occasion was the presentation of the Awards of Excellence to the Vice Chancellor, the guest lecturer and the Registrar, whose tenure as the 5th substantive head of the Registry ends on May 31, 2023.
