From Oyewale Oyelola, Ilorin
“When I heard that Prof Oloyede would be leaving, I was not happy at first but later I concluded that he had to replicate his act of leadership in other sectors of the society.’’
These were the words of Ipoola Dapo, a 400 Level Zoology student of University of Ilorin as Prof. Ishaq Oloyede completed his five-year tenure as vice chancellor of the institution.
Without mincing words, the recent appointment of Ogun State born Oloyede as Registrar of Joint Admission Matriculation Board ( JAMB) by President Muhammadu Buhari is laudable and commendable.
Many believe that the 61-year-old don will restore the lost glory of the board and reposition the institution for effective service delivery of conducting entrance examination for candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
Oloyede, who was elected as vice chancellor of that institution in 2007 lifted the institution established in 1975 from crisis to national and international prominence with his unique leadership style.
He initiated the Computer Based Test (CBT) for conducting mid semester test and examination for students.
The CBT initiative was to turn the institution into an Information Communication and Technology (ICT) hub as the school can now boost of over 2,000 computer systems strictly for CBT.
Evidently, Oloyede’s dogged and resilient leadership qualities led to the introduction of online course registration. This initiative reduced stress as well as man hours devoted to course registration.
Although, the school invested so much in ICT infrastructure, the innovation paid off as it had reduced the cost of administration.
The prompt release of certificates and the successful launch of CBT and online course registration set the standard for other institutions.
The icing on the cake was the stability in the academic calendar which had made it the university of choice in the UTME.
JAMB statistics show that the 41-year- old institution now attracts over 100,000 candidates annually, a worthy salute to focused leadership hinged on innovation and creativity.
These qualities, it is expected, Oloyede would bring to bear in the conduct of business in JAMB.