Posted by By Mary Ekah on
The Yaba College of Technology Governing Council chaired by the newly appointed Rev. (Dr.) Alexander Lar has brought to the fore the strategic importance of Yaba College of Technology to the technological quest of the nation.
The Yaba College of Technology Governing Council chaired by the newly appointed Rev. (Dr.) Alexander Lar has brought to the fore the strategic importance of Yaba College of Technology to the technological quest of the nation.
Lar, in a media chat during the Council Inaugural meeting held recently in Lagos, said that the newly-constituted and inaugurated Council members of the College, which came from different parts of the country has enjoyed the liberty of familiarizing itself with the facilities, programmes and areas of operations of the College.
He revealed that from the observation of the council, Nigeria has an unexplored treasure in Yaba College of Technology and this he said has only touched the members of the Council to be motivated towards greater action of exploring these potentials.
"We have seen the indigenous technology at work here. We have noted with excitement the potentiality of the institution. We have observed the creativity, very high level of commitment and motivation of the staff. We have also seen that Yaba Tech has crops of eager, ready-to-learn students and managers who are propelled by patriotic zeal. It will be a tragic mistake to close our eyes to the potentiality of a great institution like this". Lar noted.
He however said the College was not oblivious of the stark reality on ground, which he said also greatly hampers.
He noted that the College has over time acquired the unfortunate reputation of being the most congested institution of its own kind as shortage of funds was impeding the much needed progress of the College.
Lar therefore said that more funding would match the zeal and creativity of the College staff, administrators and students, adding that members of the
Governing Council are thoroughly convinced that Nigeria as a developing nation needed dearly the indigenous technology being churned out from Yabatech.
Citing the example of Asia, he said, "After all, the Asian nations that we so hurriedly import from and so eagerly give our orders for all manners of goods also started this way. Today they have refined their crude, indigenous technology and are today very prosperous".
Wondering what would stop Nigerians from developing its own and showcasing it for the world to see, appreciate and also use, Lar added that the main thrust of his tenure as the chairman of the Governing Council of the College was to give added and effective impetus to the potential of the College and raise it to become even more than what it was established for. The Chairman promised that the Council will do what it can to encourage the College to achieve what it must and make itself absolutely relevant to the nation's contemporary situation.
Consequently the chairman of the council called on private sector, especially the manufactures and industrialists, public and private institutions, agencies concerned with policy formulation and execution and all those who believe in the Nigerian project to invest in Yaba-Tech and get value for their money.
"They should come and tap from the very deep well of wealth of knowledge, skills and expertise of the college to move their organization forward", Lar said.
Assuring staff and students that the Council will work very hard to create the enabling environment for their work to reach it peak, he said, "we believe in you and the work you are doing. "In an era where some people out of lack of deep appreciation for technical knowledge place a very unhelpful dichotomy between university and polytechnic education, we want to assure students and parents that education at YabaTech is relevantly holistic, touching both the intellect and the body".
Lar said.
He implored student, aspiring and former students to hold their heads up with pride that their education in YabaTech was geared towards making them self-reliant and helping them adapt technology to improve the lives of the people of the nation.
Lar pledged that he was convinced that with his calling as a Minster of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, his undiluted service to humanity through the church over 40 years have only prepared him better for his present assignment as the Chairman Governing Board of the College.
Asked what area was available for private investors to come in he said, "There is no point going out of this country and then seeing what other people are doing self-reliantly and then come back and do nothing about it. So I feel that Yaba Tech is doing quite a lot to make our people self-reliant by establishing a Centre for Entrepreneur Development.
"I also discovered that there are area in which well-to-do Nigerians could invest in, for example look at the school of engineering, computer, cafeteria and the rest, where people can be trained and become self reliance. There is a lot here for them to invest in, rather than put their money to waste away somewhere", he noted further.
The Rector, Mr. Olubunmi Owoso, who revealed that the Council during its inaugural meeting, acknowledged the increase level of funding by government which has removed the serious problem of payment of staff, however said that the level of funding has increased particularly in the personnel.