The Executive Council meeting of the University of Nigeria Alumni Association held at Ile-Ife in Osun state might have come and gone, yet the memory still lingers.
The choice of Ile-Ife in the ambience city of Osun state could be seen as very strategic. Apart from being the cradle of the Yoruba,the Paramount ruler of the ancient town, the Oonirisa of Ife, Imperial Majesty, Oba Enitan Babatunde Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ojaja 1, is the Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State.
Therefore, it is pride of joy for the Alumni to see the city of Ife as a home coming.
The delegates started arriving from across the forty branches in Nigeria for the meeting on Thursday, 21st September 2023 to the warm embrace of the local chapter in Osun state headed by Dr. Femi Ogunbamiwo and members of the Local Organising Committe.
On the following day, Friday, the delegates led by the National President, HRH Dr Mrs. Linda Agua-Onyekwelu, paid a courtesy visit to the Chancellor of the University, Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye at his palatial Palace, where the foremost Royal Father was honored and decorated as the UNAA Grand Patron.
After the award, the delegates were taken on a tour of the palace of His Imperial Majesty, by the Royal Court escorts detailing the rich heritage of Ile Ife people and its monarchy. This was followed by the pre-NEC meeting to cap the day’s activities.
On Saturday, September 23, the delegates in the morning embarked on Road Walk and site-seeing round the highly ecstatic Ojaja Resort and Industrial Hub, Ife.
After that, the NEC meeting proper began with the Opening Ceremony, Lecture and Awards in one. Later that afternoon, the business session was convened and strictly for the Officers of the Association. There, members brainstormed on the way forward for both the Alumni Association and their University.
In the lecture, titled ” Nigeria’s Natural Resources And Their Impacts On Her National Economy” delivered by the Guest Speaker, Prof. Michael Ologunde, delineated natural resources as everything that comes from the environment through various natural processes and which aids the daily lives of mankind.
He avered that the economy of Nigeria is heavily dependent on the crude oil and gas sector, which accounts for 95% of export revenue and 76% of government revenue, yet, most Nigerians live below the poverty line despite the country’s abundance of potential to build a prosperous economy.
The erudite scholar said that there is still a considerable loss of the crude oil revenue of Nigeria occasioned by crude oil theft and vandalization of crude oil pipelines and thereby continues to rob the country of funds needed for economic development.
He lamented that the productive capacity of the non-oil manufacturing sector is dwindling, and that the efforts of the government to improve its contribution have not produced good results.
Observing that these abundant natural resources contribute significantly to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and infrastructure development, create jobs, attract foreign exchange earnings, provide energy, encourage agriculture, and guarantee food security, Prof. Michael Ologunde, therefore, advocated that the substantial revenue which the country generates from the extraction, export, and sale of these natural resources could be used to finance social development programmes such as education, healthcare, and social services to help reduce poverty and improve the quality of life for Nigerians.
He added that the revenue could also be used for infrastructure development, financing the importation of essential goods and services, promote international trade, and support the country’s economic growth.
However, in a communique released after its NEC meeting, the association resolved as follows
1. Government should refocus attention on the exploration of other natural resources such as palm-oil, groundnut, cocoa, aluminum, californium, and steel as critical perspectives on national development.
2. Efforts should be made to recover the huge sums not remitted to the government. This will go a long way to ameliorate the poverty conditions of the masses through early payment of emoluments.
3. Nigeria is known as an agricultural society because of climate conditions. So, agricultural resources should be developed to the extent of encouraging MSMEs.
4. Nigeria’s forestry resources do not belong to individuals. For national development, there is urgent need to protect, restore, promote and sustainably manage its forests, reduce deforestation and stop unnecessary environmental degradation and biodiversity loss.
5. There is crucial need for good public management in order to conserve public finances Nigeria needs for national development and economic growth and to promote poverty alleviation strategies and the well-being for all at all ages.
6. The 108th NEC Meeting of UNAA, after observing that there is a great deal of relationship between natural resources management and national development, calls on the Federal Government of Nigeria for good public management and ensure that the huge sums of money accruing from the country’s abundant natural resources are remitted by
individuals and corporate bodies to the national purse for national development.
In conclusion, NEC, after due considerations, condemned in its entirety and appealed against the unhealthy interference of the University of Nigeria management in the affairs and administration of the University of Nigeria Alumni Association (UNAA).
