Ibadan Poly Students Protest Over Renaming Institution After Omololu Olunloyo
•By Oyebukola Awojoodu
IBADAN – Some students of The Polytechnic Ibadan took to the streets on Tuesday to protest the renaming of their institution by the Oyo State Government. The students were reacting to Governor Seyi Makinde’s announcement to rename the polytechnic after Dr. Victor Omololu Olunloyo, the institution’s first Rector.
The Students Union President, Olamide Oladipupo, stated that the protest was a peaceful one, aimed at seeking the reversal of the governor’s decision.
Oladipupo emphasised that the students were not opposed to honoring Dr. Olunloyo’s legacy but were concerned about losing the institution’s heritage and history, which spans over 50 years.
“Now, sincerely, as a bona fide student of the Polytechnic Ibadan, we are not here to fight, we are not here to revolt, we are not even here to protest.
“This is not a protest, sincerely. This is a way of us channeling our grievances. Since that particular day we heard in the news about renaming our institution after Dr Victor Omololu Olunloyo.
“We have been dropping press releases and letters to show our displeasure.
“I personally came here to submit letters at the office of the Governor.
“What we want is for our school to remain our school. This is an heritage, a history of over 50 years, of different alumni all over the world.
“We don’t just want the heritage to get swept away. Sincerely, it is not about how easy it is to pronounce TPI. It is not the name. It is the heritage that is associated with the name of our school.
“This is the first Polytechnic with the article ‘The’. But as it stands now, it would cease to be the only The Polytechnic with the article ‘The’ if the name changed.
“This is a movement that other people have followed, the origin of a lot of heritage,” Oladipupo said.
The students appealed to the government to reverse its decision, noting that renaming the school would also require rebranding. Oladipupo urged the Governor to attend to their grievances and allow The Polytechnic Ibadan to retain its name.
Oladipupo noted that renaming the school would also come with rebranding the school.
“We want it to stay. We are here to plead with the Governor. We are not here to fight. The placards that we see here, there is no particular placard that is speaking against the Governor.
“We are here to plead with the Governor.
“We want the Governor to attend to us. We want The Polytechnic Ibadan to remain as The Polytechnic Ibadan,” he said
Deputy Governor Adebayo Lawal attended to the protesters and appreciated them for their peaceful conduct. He assured them that their demands would be placed before the Governor, but asked them to return to their campus while awaiting a response.
“You have conducted yourself in a very peaceful manner. We have heard what you are demanding for. But the Governor is not around and your agitation will be placed before the governor,” Lawal said.