LAUTECH: Makinde’s Bittersweet Legacy | Muftau Gbadegesin

Of all the factors that led to the defeat of the late Abiola Ajimobi’s APC in the 2019 gubernatorial contest, the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH)’s widely publicized industrial action and the confrontational verbal exchange that ensued between the late governor and the protesting students at the state secretariat, Agodi, stood as one of the most consequential.

One viral moment in 2017 captured in the short video clip sparked nationwide outrage. The video showed a male student rage-baiting a visibly angry governor, Ajimobi, who instantly unloaded on the fearless but clever student in a way that sent chills down the spines of the general public.

Livid and pissed, late Ajimobi barked at the student and ordered the security agents to fish him out for his rudeness and disrespectful invectives, perhaps for possible incarceration and punishment, but he was held down by his fellow students who stood in solidarity with their comrade.

That chaotic scene gave birth to the popular catchphrase ‘constituted authority’ and haunted the late Ajimobi’s government till its last day in office when his party suffered an excruciating defeat in the hands of Seyi Makinde’s People Democratic Party. But LAUTECH wasn’t the only state-owned institution that embarked on industrial action during the late Ajimobi’s era.

The Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo, in another instance, had such a running battle that management and the staff of the school stood on each other’s necks over issues bordering on welfare packages. In both instances, the combined factors of administrative malfeasance and sharp reduction in the monthly subvention by the state government obviously made matters worse. That effectively turned the organized labor unions, who have always advocated for better welfare packages for their members against their respective management. Apparently, it was the televised LAUTECH students’ rampaging demonstration that turned an otherwise quiet industrial action into a formidable mobilization force that changed the course of history.

On campaign trails back in 2018/2019, Governor Seyi Makinde spoke to the many issues paralysing and plaguing tertiary education with practised confidence. His calm demeanor, a sharp contrast to the late Ajimobi’s unfiltered tongue lashing, animated many electorates to buy into some of his ideas. In his first term, for instance, Governor Makinde successfully negotiated the sole ownership of LAUTECH with the Osun State government. That near-impossible diplomatic success underscored the kind of leadership that endeared him to many.

To succeed where others failed felt surreal to the public. But the successful negotiation of the school’s ownership was only one out of many other issues confronting the institution. The rest, as the recent declaration of indefinite industrial action has exposed, is the downside of his leadership: one that actually gets things done but still downplays other fundamentals. As many have come to realize, the rapid increase in the monthly allocation from the Federation Account into the coffers of the Oyo State Government ought to have been reflected in the amount of subvention that flowed into the purses of the tertiary institutions. That would have brought huge relief to the system. Instead, Makinde’s tertiary education policy has only slowed down the pace of work and frustrated any innovative ideas from gaining a foothold.

Interestingly, the latest industrial action embarked upon by LAUTECH actually followed the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued by the union of the university management over outstanding demands, including implementation of the 2025 Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN)-ASUU Agreement and the payment of consequential arrears dating back to January 2026. Part of the union’s demands also included the immediate payment of outstanding Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) and the promotion arrears covering the period from 2013 to 2025.

Prior to the declaration of the industrial action, the unions have repeatedly engaged the Makinde government with a view to resolving the growing issues amicably. The lack of commitment on the government’s part frustrated the diplomatic channel. As J.F. Kennedy once asserted, those who made peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable.

One disturbing fact in this quagmire is that every month, the Makinde government only drops a paltry N200,000,000 as a subvention to LAUTECH to settle its wage bill. For such a workforce, that amount is a drop in the ocean. The troubling part is that LAUTECH, according to an insider who pleaded anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak on the matter, coughed up a whopping N1 billion to pay its workers’ salaries every single month. As a result, students have been made to bear the brunt through an astronomical hike in school fees, among others. Most faculties and departments, to cite another effect of that misnomer, have overstretched their admission quota just so they meet up with the revenue target. What about the toll on the infrastructure and, most importantly, the staff capacity to sustain in such a grueling workplace?

Of course, the story is similar in other state-owned tertiary institutions, where, as this columnist prepares this story, an updated claim has made the news: Oyo Tertiary Institutions’ workers issue a fresh ultimatum as the 14-day deadline expires. The truth is, most state-owned tertiary schools struggled under late Abiola Ajimobi. In many instances, it became extremely difficult for their salary to be paid promptly.

Makinde’s promise of a better deal with the public workforce turned the tide in his favor. Still, it seems he is also caught in the crosshairs of tertiary institution politics. That ultimatum implies that students may suffer from prolonged industrial action by their lecturers, thereby extending the number of years they ought to spend in school. When workers abandon their work, productivity lags and the system they toil in grinds to a halt. Again, such confrontation may also end up benefiting politicians while the system rotates without any notable progress.

The proximity of the industrial action to the electioneering period is also instructive and telling. But it also speaks to the growing trend in the polity where public officials only offer listening ears when caught in dirty politicking. Nationally, there’s equally a reason the NLC and TUC are at loggerheads over the template for the new minimum wage. This absurd trend must not be allowed to gain ground or become normalized. Finally, when Governor Seyi Makinde announced the successful ownership of LAUTECH many years ago amid jubilation and excitement, he may have had no idea that the ‘sweet’ of that time may turn around to leave a ‘bitter’ taste at the most critical time of his political career. Makinde’s handling of the LAUTECH matter will show whether the pendulum of his LAUTECH experience continues to swing sweetly or bitterly.

PLAIN TALK is Muftau Gbadegesin’s commentary on contemporary socio-political issues affecting Oyo State and beyond. He writes every Saturday and can be reached on X and at muftaugbadegesin@gmail.com