Funmi Olaitan, Ibadan

From a renowned professor of virology and former President, Nigerian Academy of Science, Mr Oyewale Tomori, on Thursday, came a damning verdict on situations in the country, declaring that Nigeria is fast drifting into a state of total collapse.

He warned that unless urgent step is taken to reinvent the country in a new process of creative thinking, the entire system will shut down.

Tomori, a former Vice Chancellor, Redeemer University, who delivered the 19th Benjamin Oluwakayode Osuntokun memorial lecture titled, "Rescuing Nigeria: Restoring her health and her sanity",  at the College of Medicine auditorium, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, bemoaned the state of infrastructure in the country, stating that the sad part of Nigeria's life is that it pretends not to know that it is sick.

 Tomori  wondered how the country gradually came to this sorry state having been endowed with all the natural resources.

At the event organised by Benjamin Oluwakayode Osuntokun Trust, eminent Nigerians poured encomiums on the virtues of the late Professor of Neuroscience, Mr Benjamin Osuntokun, one of Africa's foremost neuroscientists, describing him as a great man with uncommon brilliance.

Tomori described Nigeria as a sick country, where there is aversion to excellence, desire to accept and settle for second best, culture of subtle and barefaced corruption, disdain for paying attention to details and talent for misapplication of resources, noting that despite having all that it takes to achieve greatness, the country chose the path of retrogression.

On how it all started, he said it was not as if the change came on Nigeria as a "Tsunami " without warning.

He said, "the change came as the relentless dripping of the acid of corruption. It was gradual; it was slow but regular and that fall is a continuing journey; a step by step march into the new and decadent future."

While drawing a comparison between old and new Nigeria, he said, "So, Benjamin Osuntokun died, and even before his death, we had begun to carve out a new country out of the old. Then and gradually, we let down our guard. Politics, ethnic rivalries, and the inordinate love of money all crept into the orderly excellence of our community life."

He expressed shock on the decadence in the nation's education sector, asking rhetorically, how did we get to this point?

He said, "I think the problem started with the neglect of proper education at home, at our educational institutions and our government offices and houses of assemblies; where our representatives and senators gather to determine the the future of our nation".

Lamenting the decay in the university system , he said "we need to take a hard and  serious review of our university system with a view to restoring the university to it former glory".

Tomori who did not shield university administrators from corruption charges, said the system had become so serious that Vice Chancellors are now competing with seasoned politicians to enter the  Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) net. 

According to him, the first step is for the academic community to accept that there is a major problem with the university system.

"The system needs to examine itself and focus on being relevant to national development... Second, our government should not approve the establishment of more universities but upgrade existing ones and fully maximise the utilization of the resources.

"The federal character policy has contributed in no small measure to the problem of Nigeria. We need to pursue an educational policy that will ensure that in 30-40 years from now, no part of Nigeria will be described as educationally disadvantaged. Having achieved that, we will not need to give undue federal character advantage to any section of this country. Time is ripe for all Nigerians to be treated with justice and fair play in issues of appointment and promotion at federal and state civil service," he stated.

Present at the event were  management of the University College Hospital ( UCH) led by its Chief Medical Director ( CMD), Mr Temitope Alonge, former Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Mr Kayode Oyediran, Chairman of the occasion, Mr Fola Esan, professor of Haematology, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Mr Jide Osuntokun, and other members of Board of Trustees of Benjamin Oluwakayode Osuntokun Trust, amongst others.