He has lived in different worlds, first as a successful medical doctor, then as a politician and now as a school administrator. His grasp on leadership was recently put to test when he was appointed the Pro-Chancellor of University of Lagos. Within a short period in the saddle, he is already walking the talk as every move isn’t about experimenting, unlearning or figuring things out. It is about his commitment to the institution, his party and the nation. Senator Lanre Tejuoso in a recent encounter, tells Funke Olaode about his first assignment as UNILAG’s helmsman and his commitment to restoring the good old days of the foremost institution.
He has lived in the public glare all his life by virtue of his rich pedigree having come from the noble family of Tejuoso from Oke-Ona Egba in Ogun State. He would later serve for four years as a distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where he was held remarkably in high esteem.
But his grasp on leadership was put to test last year when he was appointed the Pro-Chancellor of his alma mater, the University of Lagos (UNILAG), following a protracted crisis that almost engulfed the foremost institution.
Smart, intelligent, diplomatic and peaceful in his approach to issues, the icing on his administrative cake was the successful installation of the first female Vice-Chancellor of the foremost institution. Professor Folasade Ogunsola recently emerged as the first-ever female Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG. As the 13th substantive VC of the institution, she will succeed Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, the current VC whose five-year tenure ends in November this year.
With the success of his first assignment, Senator Lanre Tejuoso is considered a breath of fresh air due to his mature way of handling crisis, dousing tension and returning normalcy to the embattled varsity.
How does he feel coming back to his alma mater to be a Pro-Chancellor? “Anybody will feel humbled. I believe it is a very divine intervention. God must have recognised me for what I am doing for me to be recognised in such a way. It cannot be man. It is God,” he said.
His life has revolved around the university. He started his nursery and primary school at the University of Lagos Staff School while his tertiary education was obtained at the same university from the College of Medicine, Idi Araba.
“I have practical knowledge of the positive and negative developments of the institution over 55 years! It is like being trained to be a Pro-chancellor in the same environment. It will be a failure if you were trained for 55 years and you have nothing positive to show for that. I am challenged to ensure that all that I have been privileged to experience in the good old days of this institution shall be restored and improved upon,” he said.
It is not surprising, but rather extraordinary, for a person of such high stature who lived in the public glare as a distinguished Senator from 2015-2019, within a short time to be held in such remarkably high esteem.
So, what is it about Senator Tejuoso that is different? It is simply this: he lives in accordance with his faith.
“I’m not perfect but I will, by the special grace of God, continue to exhibit a worthy character that’s befitting of such graceful elevation.”
He also alluded to his commitment to such principles as cooperation, democracy, and fair play. It is obvious that in his Christian faith, and the values it inspires, he has been brought up to cherish a sense of duty to others, and to hold in the greatest respect the precious traditions and responsibilities of the unique history of the University of Lagos and system of academia.
During the 51st convocation ceremonies of the institution, Senator Tejuoso made a clear commitment to strive for a united council where peace reigns and left no question that his Governing Council would do everything in its power to lead towards making the University a truly world-class citadel.
“I reaffirmed the One C for 3Cs Agenda of the University’s governing council, which can be interpreted as One Council for Cooperation, Creativity, and Consolidation, ” he said.
As he forges ahead in his responsibilities as UNILAG helmsman, Senator Tejuoso’s moves aren’t about experimenting, unlearning or figuring things out, it is about his commitment to the institution, his party and the nation.
He said: “Well, as a representative of the present government, and a senior leader of our party, All Progressives Congress (APC), I cannot be in a position and encourage things that will give the party or the government a negative name. So there is no problem that arises that we cannot solve amicably without involving the press and making noise. So, there is nowhere you get to that you will not see some little problems, but everything is just to find a solution and try to resolve it without exposing it to the public and make sure that you have answers for every aspect before you go public. I think that is a major aspect of the problems before my time,” he said.
Within a few months in the saddle, Senator Tejuoso is already walking the talk. And the recent exercise of appointing the Vice-Chancellor and Bursar without any rancour has introduced a new fresh air into the administration of UNILAG. “So far, it has been smooth sailing. And I will say it is work in progress as we have to keep on upgrading standards to a level expected of an institution referred to as the University of First Choice and the Nation’s pride.”
He continued: “You know, I am coming from the private sector and in addition, I have the expertise of being a senator for four years. I know the bureaucracy of the government in getting issues sorted out and I know the smoothness of getting things sorted out in the private sector. I was expecting to see a kind of private sector-like situation in the university, but I discovered that we have similar government bureaucracies in the university, which we will need to improve upon to move the university forward.”
For someone who has tasted both public and private sectors, he believes that bureaucracy can be jettisoned if internalising the teaching is a clog in the wheel of progress.
“I have realised that theory makes an insignificant difference, we need to be practical. We need to have testimonies, we need to have things to refer to as, ‘this is what we did and this is the result.’ The selection process we just had recently was done transparently by engaging a first-class accounting and human relationship company to conduct the interviews for both the Bursar and the Vice Chancellor under the watchful eyes of all. Everyone was there and we all agreed on the processes that they presented and at the end of the day, they chose the best candidates. It is unprecedented in the history of an institution of learning to have such a process. No one could complain because they saw everything the way it was done. Hence, we need to attract such positive interventions to make our universities grow and our country become better for it.”
In a few weeks, Prof. Ogunsola will be in the saddle as the new Vice-Chancellor. Senator Tejuoso said his expectations are not high.
“We need someone that is very accommodating, someone that can attract a lot of funding and grants to the university, someone that can be fearless, and ensure that you don’t promote just for promotion sake but meritoriously. Someone that can think out of the box and exhibit evidence of international exposure.”
And on his take on an alumnus of a university being a Vice Chancellor, he said: “Well, I will equate the University of Lagos to Nigeria. So that is what we are fighting for in Nigeria. We don’t want to know where you came from, or your tribe, meritocracy is the keyword. We want the best candidate to lead, whether you are from Zaria, Akwa-Ibom or anywhere, we just want the best for the institution.”
With incessant and prolonged ASUU strike and underfunding of Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, Senator Tejuoso is delighted that UNILAG has continued to make monumental achievements and landmarks both in Nigeria and outside.
“UNILAG ranks first in Nigeria, 401–500 globally in the 2023 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, out of over 1,799 institutions across the world. This is according to the 2023 rankings released on Wednesday, October 12, 2022. Nigeria’s University of Ibadan [436] and University of Lagos [449] ranked better than these UK Universities in 2023. We have to maintain this position,” an elated Senator Tejuoso exclaimed.
Senator Tejuoso has also been on the front burner canvassing for support for the institution. At the 2022 general meeting of the UNILAG Alumni Association, North America chapter held on October 9, 2022, he reiterated his determination to raise the bar of successes and achievements to greater heights, which all and sundry can all be proud of.
He, therefore, made clarion calls to his schoolmates scattered all over the world to be partners in progress. According to him, UNILAG is one of the foremost institutions in Nigeria and could boast of state-of-the-art infrastructure and qualified manpower to train, teach and mentor their students, who could compete relatively with their peers anywhere in the world.’ “But due to the gross reduction in funding of education, the reverse is the case which has pushed several of its manpower to seek greener pastures abroad.”
Enumerating his agenda for the institution, he said: “The first one is to make UNILAG a global university. By global, I mean all the students will have access to the internet and also have access to lectures online. So that even if they go on strike they will still be having their lectures ongoing. And apart from that, even when we are on strike we will not be affected, they will have recorded different lectures of our lecturers so that the students will continue to learn and we just have to call them for an exam and they will be ready. They would be learning at no cost to them.”
Speaking further, the renowned politician also will be delighted if the diaspora alumni can partner with the university to develop student hostels for the students and bridge the accommodation gap they are currently experiencing. “We have about 62,000 students and only beds for 10,000 students are available!”
Another area that is close to his heart is the restructuring of the University’s Microfinance Bank into a full-fledged Fintech Company in the mould of Kuda Bank but highly focused on educational and related products geared towards students, young graduates and budding entrepreneurs.
“We will invest to update the technological infrastructure of the MFB and increase conventional and digital marketing efforts nationwide. To ensure more transparency, we will invite representatives within the association to administer funds donated.”
In recent times, UNILAG has been making giant strides in partnering with foreign universities with the theme, “Partnership For Change.’ Senator Tejuoso said he believes in building on ‘worthy’ existing legacies. “Well, university management is a continuum, so the new management must get a handover brief from the old management and build on what they inherited.”
How would he assess Ogundipe’s led administration? His response was quick. “Well, Professor Ogundipe comes out to me as someone that believes there is no monopoly of wisdom or knowledge. So all the issues that you have heard, that we discussed between ourselves in the room, whenever he is not getting the right side of a stick, he gives up and accepts my position. And likewise, that is what I do when he has a better position for any issue.”
Within the space of 13 months, Senator Tejuoso was bestowed with two higher responsibilities: First as Pro-chancellor and as “Baba Ijo” of The Cathedral of St James African Church, Idi-Ape, Abeokuta, Ogun. This is indeed another call to duty and a challenge to give more. How does he feel?
“Well, I will start with the Baba Ijo aspect. I believe it is a privilege. My family is firmly rooted in the African Church, Idi-Ape. From my grandmother, my great-grandfather, and my father. And to have found me worthy enough to be the Baba Ijo, which is like an administrative head of the church, is humbling and I feel honoured. I believe it is also a challenge and also a favour from them to ensure that I work stronger towards the salvation of my soul.”
