Author: Optimal Times

By  Odunayo Agboluaje The Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities, University of Ibadan, Prof. Ayoola Akinwole, has  said the federal and state governments must resolve the conflicts between the Nigerian government, the working masses, and Nigerian students in the university system. The ASUU boss noted that the government needs to “resolve these conflicts by addressing the concerns of all three groups, and prioritizing the development of Nigeria’s education sector”. Professor Akinwole stated this while presenting the 556th inaugural lecture entitled “Aquaculture Engineering: Reconciling the Balance in The Triad Of Fish, Plants And Man”, at the university of Ibadan. According to…

….Says Nigeria must show passion, patience, commitment to achieve food sufficiency By   Bukayo  Agboluaje A former Vice Chancellor, Osun State University and the current Executive Secretary-CEO, African Forest Forum, Nairobi, Kenya, Prof. Labode Popoola has lamented the unwillingness of some Nigerian youths to work in farms, saying over the past 15 years, he has been hiring workers from Togo to work on his farm. Popoola, who is of the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources, University of Ibadan, said Nigeria and Nigerians must show commitment to agriculture in order to feed its citizens. The professor stated this in…

By Wuraola Oyedokun  The Class of 1984 Graduates of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Ibadan [UI], Ibadan has held its 40th year anniversary and reunion. The three-day event started on Friday August 2 and ended  Sunday August 4, 2024 with a thanksgiving service at the Chapel of the Resurrection of the premier university. The alumni and alumnae graduated from the faculty 40 years ago. The old students consist of several professors, serving and former vice chancellors, captains of industry, current and former executive directors of blue chip companies, multinationals and the Central Bank of Nigeria; renowned scientists,…

Undoubtedly, the political matrimony between President Bola Tinubu and Northern Nigeria is at Talaq stage. Talaq is the Islamic unilateral repudiation of a marital union. There are no sobs, no wails. No dabbing of the face with a handkerchief. But, the dusts provoked by the matrimonial dislocation hang notoriously in the sky. Even bystanders miles away can see them. The marriage is only 15 months old but the couple’s patience for each other is rope-thin. As our elders say, right in the presence of the kolanut seller, irreverent worms slide inside his pods. A matrimony celebrated with pomp and ceremony…

Dr. Yemi Farounbi is a former Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines and veteran broadcaster.   In this interview, the elder statesman there is no viable opposition in Nigeria  yet, stating that Abubakar  Atiku of the Peoples’ Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party  have not articulated policies  different from those  of President Bola  Tinubu.                                                   By Wuraola Oyedokun Recently, it has been observed that Peter Obi is moving around the country to build alliances and bridges.  Does he still stand the chance of becoming the President of the country come 2027? For me, there is no viable opposition now. That is why…

 By Philips Osunsami, Ibadan The Proprietress, Tenderlift Care Mission School, Ashi Bodija, Dr. Rosemary Odigbo, on Monday, called on parents to be friends with their children. Odigbo made the  call during the end-of-the-session party which was  held at the school premises, along Ashi Bodija Road, Ibadan. The Oyo State Coordinator of Child Protection Network {CPN} said this  would  help in building trust and ensure proper communication among students and parents. She stated that when parents become friends with their children, it helps in reducing the impact of negative influences on them and also allows parents to be more aware of…

As part of their firm stance against potential breach of tradition and due process, the Agunloye royal family, Isale Oja, in Oyo have reaffirmed its stance on strict adherence to ‘Ifa’ (oracle) divination in selecting the next Alaafin of Oyo. This was as the royal family under the aegis of Agunloye Youths lamented the continuous insistence by some vested interests on going ahead with illegality as an attempt to frustrate the smooth process embedded in a deeply rooted tradition and also to hoodwink the state Governor, Seyi Makinde, to support what was described as mere shenanigans. Prince Siyanbola Tella who…

The 10-day nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests that end today, known by the   reduplicative compound “Zanga-Zanga” in Hausaphone northern Nigeria, have ruptured the coalition that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu managed to build with a portion of the northern Nigerian Muslim political establishment since 2014, which put Muhammadu Buhari in power in 2015 and 2019 and him in 2023. But this Zanga-Zanga-inspired rupture also reveals the initial precarity and fragility of the strange-bedfellows coalition. Buhari and Tinubu were previously fierce political adversaries who distrusted each other’s motives and undermined each other. Their alliance was more accurately a political scaffold that papered over their…

By Wuraola Oyedokun  The Rector, Federal Polytechnic,  Ayede,   Ogbomoso, Oyo State,  Dr.  Taofeek Adekunle Abdul-Hameed, on Saturday, underscored the importance of the new admission benchmark of 18 years into all higher institutions of learning in the country as recently announced by  the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Speaking as a guest on a radio programme,Abdul-Hameed said the new benchmark will bring sanity to the education sector in Nigeria. He said anyone who is conversant with the education curriculum of 2013 will not be shocked at the new policy of the JAMB. Speaking on what Senator Shehu Sanni said on…

The relationship between your good self and my humble self, Baba Ayo Banjo, was vertical. Those you taught at Government College Ibadan, and in the Department of English, University of Ibadan taught my teachers. Although you lived to a ripe old age of 90 you were too precious for us to have ever contemplated your ever leaving us. The last time I met with you in person was in December 2023. Although you had been homebound for some months before, then you still managed to crack jokes with your ‘twin brother’, Baba, Professor Emeritus Ayo Bamgbose. You even made…