. VIDEO: Ijesa leaders laud governor
How 44 years of waiting, community sacrifice, strategic mobilisation and Asiwaju Yinka Fasuyi’s purposeful leadership helped turn a longstanding aspiration into reality
Every enduring community project begins with a problem that someone must first recognise, understand and resolve mentally before others can be mobilised to act. Identifying a community challenge is one thing; possessing the vision to examine its underlying causes, conceive a fitting solution, develop a feasible strategy and summon the determination to pursue it to fruition is quite another. This is the critical distinction between merely identifying a need and originating an initiative capable of meeting it.
Before there can be mobilisation, there must be an idea worth mobilising around. Before there can be planning, there must be a clearly conceived objective and a practical pathway towards achieving it. And before implementation can begin, someone must first do the intellectual work of transforming a long-standing problem into a defined, actionable and achievable project. Without that initial conception and the birth of a workable initiative, there would be no meaningful project for the community to rally behind, no coordinated plan to execute and ultimately nothing concrete to implement.
This principle is central to understanding the tortuous journey to the establishment of the University of Ilesa, Osun State. The university did not emerge simply because Ijesa people were united, because stakeholders were eventually assembled, or because financial and technical resources were later mobilised. Those contributions were indispensable, but they belonged to a process that first required an initiative capable of directing their collective energy towards a defined result.
For decades, the desire for a university in Ilesaland had remained alive. The establishment of the Osun State College of Education, Ilesa, in March 1978 provided an important foundation for the aspiration. Over the years, individuals, associations and community groups pursued the dream through different interventions and engagements with successive governments. Yet, despite the efforts made under sixteen administrations of the old Oyo and Osun State governments before the administration of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, the desired result remained elusive: Ijesaland still had no university.
This history is essential to the documentary account. It demonstrates that the existence of a genuine community need, widespread support for a cause and repeated approaches to government do not automatically produce the intended outcome. The decisive question is how an enduring aspiration can be converted into a workable proposal, supported by an organised structure, presented persuasively to government and pursued through the necessary technical, financial and administrative processes.
It is at this point that the initiative of Asiwaju Olayinka Fasuyi deserves specific recognition. A fair and evidence-based documentary must distinguish between the long-standing aspiration shared by a community, the initiative conceived to advance that aspiration, the mobilisation that followed, and the collective efforts that ultimately contributed to implementation. These are connected stages, but they are not interchangeable. Recognising the contribution of those who participated in mobilisation and implementation should not result in overlooking the person whose initiative gave the process its direction.
To proceed directly to the mobilisation phase without adequately documenting the conception and origination of the initiative would leave a significant gap in the historical record. It would also create an avoidable ambiguity about who originated the particular intervention that eventually produced the desired result. In a documentary intended to preserve institutional and community history, such an omission would amount to an injustice to the person whose contribution is supported by the relevant evidence. Proper attribution is not an attempt to diminish the contributions of others; it is the foundation of a balanced account in which every contribution is recognised at the appropriate stage.
The chronology is instructive. On 10 April 2019, Fasuyi met Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and advocated the upgrading of the Osun State College of Education, Ilesa, into a university. The governor requested a formal proposal. On 18 April 2021, Fasuyi conceived, initiated and established the University Project Consultative Committee (UPCC), creating a structured platform through which the university proposal could be developed, coordinated and advanced. The subsequent stakeholder engagements, technical subcommittees, formal presentation to the governor and his cabinet, and community funding commitments formed important parts of the process that followed.
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| Asiwaju Yinka Fasuyi, Chief Akin Akinola & Prof. Isaac Adewole |
These stages must be understood in their proper sequence. The UPCC did not replace the collective contribution of Ijesa people; it provided a coordinating framework for advancing the initiative. Nor does acknowledging Fasuyi's role mean that one individual alone established the university. Rather, it recognises the distinction between originating and structuring an initiative and the wider community's participation in moving it towards realisation.
The broader context also matters. Many of the challenges that later became the focus of Fasuyi's interventions had existed in Ijesaland for years before his installation as Asiwaju. The challenges were not new, and the community's needs were not unknown. What distinguished his approach, as reflected in the initiatives he championed, was his willingness to confront problems directly, apply his intellectual capacity to developing appropriate solution strategies, and pursue a defined pathway towards implementation. The success of a project should therefore be examined not only through the mobilisation it attracted or the activities that followed, but also through the quality of the original thinking, the feasibility of the proposed solution and the strategy that connected the identified problem to the eventual result.
The university project is particularly significant because it emerged from a history of unsuccessful attempts. If sixteen successive government administrations had been approached in different ways without delivering a university to Ijesaland, a documentary cannot adequately explain the eventual breakthrough by merely listing the stakeholders who were mobilised afterwards. It must also investigate what changed, what initiative was developed, how the proposal was structured and how the process was organised to overcome the barriers that had frustrated earlier efforts.
The ability of Ijesaland to mobilise resources for other major community projects further demonstrated the importance of translating an aspiration into a credible and actionable proposal. The construction of the ultra-modern Owa Obokun Palace and the development of the Ijesaland Geriatric Centre, with community contributions running into hundreds of millions of naira and approximately ₦1 billion respectively, illustrated the capacity of the people to undertake ambitious projects. Such achievements strengthened the case that the university dream could be supported by collective commitment when a convincing pathway towards its realisation was established.
The central argument of this documentary, therefore, is not that the university was the achievement of one person acting alone. It is that the contribution of every participant must be situated within the correct historical sequence, beginning with the identification of the problem and the conception of the initiative, followed by consultation, mobilisation, technical planning, resource commitment and implementation. The collective achievement becomes clearer, not weaker, when the origins of the process are accurately documented.
How can an initiative that helped produce the very result earlier interventions had failed to achieve be omitted from the account of that achievement? That is the question the history of the University of Ilesa compels us to confront.
The journey from the long-standing aspiration to the establishment of the university was neither automatic nor effortless. It required an idea to be conceived, a proposal to be developed, a coordinating structure to be created, stakeholders to be mobilised and the necessary institutional processes to be pursued. The sections that follow trace this journey, giving due recognition to the originating initiative while documenting the collective efforts, engagements and milestones that helped transform a 44-year aspiration into the University of Ilesa.
For 44 years, Ijesaland waited for a university in Ilesa, the capital of the ancient kingdom. It was a prolonged journey marked by persistent advocacy, repeated consultations and successive government administrations, against the backdrop of an enduring community conviction that Ilesa deserved a full-fledged university.
The irony was striking. The Osun State College of Education, Ilesa, established in March 1978 by the administration of Colonel David Jemibewon, had existed for decades, with substantial infrastructure and an established academic foundation. Yet, the aspiration to transform the institution into a university remained unrealised. Seventeen successive administrations, spanning the old Oyo State and the creation of Osun State on August 27, 1991, came and went before the long-standing demand received the decisive attention it needed.
For Ijesaland, this was more than a question of upgrading an educational institution. A university in Ilesa represented expanded access to higher education, opportunities for young people to learn closer to home, and the prospect of building a lasting centre of knowledge, research, innovation and economic development. The community had long argued that its educational heritage, human resources and developmental contributions justified the establishment of a university in its capital.
The journey, however, was not without obstacles. Among the reasons previously advanced by the State Government for its reluctance to approve the university was the constraint of inadequate financial resources. Even the promise by Ijesaland to contribute ₦500 million towards the proposed university's take-off, as contained in the feasibility proposal submitted to the government, did not immediately secure approval.
What eventually helped change the conversation was not advocacy alone. Ijesaland demonstrated, through two major community-funded projects, that it possessed the organisational capacity and financial commitment to undertake development initiatives of considerable magnitude.
The construction of the ultra-modern Owa Obokun Palace and the approximately ₦1 billion Ijesaland Geriatric Centre, undertaken in close succession through community mobilisation, provided compelling evidence of what collective effort could achieve. These projects strengthened the argument that Ijesaland could make a meaningful financial contribution to a university project rather than depend entirely on government funding.
This demonstration of community capacity became an important part of the renewed push for the University of Ilesa. It helped address a major concern that had previously stood in the way of the aspiration and reinforced the case for government to reconsider the proposed transformation of the existing College of Education.
The Turning Point: A Structured Campaign Takes Shape
A significant turning point came on April 10, 2019, when Asiwaju Olayinka Fasuyi personally met the then Governor of Osun State, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, to present the case for upgrading the Osun State College of Education, Ilesa, into a university. According to the record of the engagement, the Governor requested that a formal proposal be prepared and submitted for consideration.
Although the Governor reportedly expressed personal support for the idea, financial constraints prevented the administration from making the decisive commitment Ijesaland sought at that stage. The challenge, therefore, was to move beyond an appeal for approval and develop a credible proposal supported by technical preparation, broad stakeholder participation and evidence of community ownership.
Fasuyi recognised that a project of this importance required a coordinated structure capable of bringing together Ijesa professionals, academics, traditional institutions, community leaders and other influential stakeholders. It was this thinking that led to the conception, initiation and establishment of the University Project Consultative Committee (UPCC) on Sunday, April 18, 2021.
The establishment of the UPCC was a defining intervention in the renewed campaign. Initiated and constituted by Fasuyi, the committee was designed to assemble respected Ijesa personalities into a coordinated force capable of advancing the university agenda. Rather than leave the aspiration dependent on scattered individual appeals, the committee provided an organised platform for consultation, technical planning, government engagement and community mobilisation.
Chief Akin Akinola, the Sawe of Ilesa, was appointed chairman, while Fasuyi served as First Vice Chairman. Professor Isaac Folorunso Adewole became Second Vice Chairman, and Engineer Yemi Oguntominiyi served as General Secretary. Other members included Alhaji Lateef Bakare as Financial Adviser; Mr Babatunde Aiku, SAN, as Legal Adviser; Professor Rotimi Tayo; Hon. Gbenga Onigbogi; Mr Supo Shadiya; Sir Ademola Aladekomo; Lady Dupe Ajayi Gbadebo; and Mr Olaniran Olayinka.
The committee subsequently expanded to include additional Ijesa professionals and representatives, among them Professor Kola Kazeem, Professor Duro Oni, Chief Gbola Akinola, SAN, Barrister Funmi Obisan, Prince Abimbola Olashore, Professor Olusoji Ilori, Prince Lowo Adedeji, Chief (Mrs) Oluremi Olowu, Mr Tayo Ayeni, Professor Babatunde Agbola and Architect Dokun Odekunle. Further appointments brought in Mr Adewale Idowu and Rt. Hon. Timothy Owoeye to strengthen public awareness and political engagement in the fundraising effort.
This deliberate expansion reflected the conviction that the university project required both professional competence and broad community ownership.
From Advocacy to a Formal Proposal
Following the constitution of the UPCC, consultations intensified. The committee engaged stakeholders across Ijesaland, including the leadership of Pan-Ijesa societies and clubs, Ijesa elders, traditional rulers and prominent personalities in public service.
An important milestone occurred on June 26, 2021, when an all-stakeholders meeting was held in Ilesa to consider and endorse the university proposal. The participation of organised Ijesa groups helped demonstrate that the demand was not the initiative of a few individuals but a collective aspiration supported by a broad cross-section of the community.
The process culminated in a meeting with Governor Oyetola and members of his cabinet at the Governor's Office in Osogbo on Friday, August 6, 2021. The delegation comprised UPCC members, leaders of Pan-Ijesa societies and clubs, and Ijesa elders. At the meeting, a formal feasibility proposal for the University of Ilesa was presented and submitted to the State Government.
The proposal set out the case for transforming the existing institution and included a commitment by Ijesaland to contribute ₦500 million towards the university's take-off. The community's willingness to make this financial commitment was a significant part of the case being advanced.
Following the presentation, the UPCC established four technical subcommittees on August 19, 2021, to address key requirements for the proposed university and the community's financial contribution. These covered university law, under Mr Babatunde Aiku; the master plan, under Professor Babatunde Agbola; the academic brief, under Professor Rotimi Tayo; and finance, under Chief Akin Akinola, with responsibility for mobilising the pledged funds.
The original ₦500 million fundraising target was subsequently increased to ₦1 billion, reflecting the scale of the community's ambition and the financial support being proposed for the institution's take-off.
The creation of these specialised teams was a practical step towards turning a longstanding demand into a workable proposition. It demonstrated that Ijesaland was prepared to participate in the planning, preparation and financing necessary for the university's establishment.
The Importance of Persistence and Collective Ownership
The university campaign did not produce an immediate outcome. The proposal, stakeholder engagements and community commitment had to contend with the realities of government decision-making and the financial considerations surrounding the establishment of a public university.
Yet the campaign remained alive. Its proponents continued to pursue engagement, strengthen the proposal and sustain public interest in the objective.
Fasuyi's role in this phase was significant. Beyond initiating and assembling the UPCC, he helped champion its activities and the wider process of stakeholder mobilisation. His contribution lay in connecting the community's longstanding aspiration to an organised structure capable of pursuing it with greater focus and continuity.
The records also recognise the participation of numerous individuals and institutions whose contributions were important to the journey. These included the late Owa Obokun Adimula, Oba (Dr.) Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran II; former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola; the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke; Dr Charles Akinola; Rt. Hon. Timothy Owoeye; Chief Akin Akinola; Professor Isaac Folorunso Adewole; members of the UPCC; and the wider Ijesa community.
The university's eventual establishment must therefore be understood as the outcome of collective endeavour, sustained advocacy, community sacrifice and government action. No single individual can reasonably claim to have accomplished every part of such a complex undertaking.
Nevertheless, the conception and formation of the UPCC by Fasuyi on April 18, 2021, represented a crucial organisational intervention in the renewed campaign. It gave the aspiration a more structured vehicle through which technical expertise, political engagement and community support could be coordinated.
From a 44-Year Wait to a Lasting Institution
The transformation of the former Osun State College of Education, Ilesa, into the University of Ilesa brought an end to a prolonged period of waiting. What had remained unrealised through successive administrations eventually became an established institution under the administration of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.
The university's significance extends well beyond its institutional status. It offers greater opportunities for young people to pursue higher education within Ijesaland, while creating prospects for employment, research, innovation, investment and wider economic activity. It also strengthens Ilesa's position as an educational and developmental centre within Osun State.
For Fasuyi's decade of stewardship, the University of Ilesa project stands as an important example of how purposeful leadership can help advance a longstanding community objective. His contribution, as reflected in the record, involved identifying an opportunity, initiating a coordinated consultative structure, mobilising stakeholders, supporting technical preparation and sustaining the campaign for government consideration.
The broader lesson is that major community projects rarely emerge from aspiration alone. They require the ability to organise people, build consensus, develop credible proposals, demonstrate commitment and maintain pressure for implementation.
The story of the University of Ilesa is therefore both a record of a decades-old aspiration fulfilled and an account of the collective effort that helped bring it to fruition. It recognises the role of Fasuyi as a leading advocate and initiator of the UPCC, while acknowledging the contributions of the traditional institution, successive community leaders, professionals, organised Ijesa groups, government and the wider people of Ijesaland.
After 44 years of waiting, the birth of the University of Ilesa stands as a defining chapter in the educational history of Ijesaland — a reminder that when vision is matched with organisation, sacrifice and sustained collective action, even a long-delayed aspiration can become reality.
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