This advice was given by a Professor of Educational Management, Oluwafemi Durosaro while speaking as the guest lecturer at the First Leading Light Award presentation ceremony for distinguished alumni of the University of Ilorin last Friday (September 7, 2012).

The ceremony, which took place at Banquet Hall, Government House, Ilorin, was organised by the national body of the University of Ilorin Alumni association to honour four of its leading members, the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfattah Ahmed; the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede; the Vice-Chancellor of the Kwara State University, Malete, Prof. AbdulRasheed Na'Allah; and the Managing Director of UTC Nig. Ltd, Mrs. Folusho Olaniyan.

In his lecture entitled, "University Alumni Association as a driving force for a visionary leadership", Prof. Durosaro said that taking part in the periodic planning process would provide the associations the opportunity to indicate members' vision for the universities in terms of future academic programmes, facilities, and goals.

The lecturer, who is also an alumnus of the University of Ilorin, said, "Wealthy alumni could, through their associations or even individually, donate generously towards the execution of some development projects in the universities", adding that "such rich alumni could endow professorial chairs, researches, scholarships, and facilities in the university".

Noting that funding is the bane of university development in the country, Prof. Durosaro said, "Until recently, the funding of universities in Nigeria had been mainly government's business with little private involvement, However, education financing faces competing demands on government from other equally crucial sectors of the economy, hence there is the need for private involvement, particularly of the Alumni Associations".

The don pointed out that another way by which the alumni associations could be on the driving seat of the visionary leadership in universities is by showing keen interest in the day-to-day management of the institutions.

He said, "Alumni associations have representations on some political and administrative boards and committees of the universities and if members of the associations participate actively, they would be opportune to contribute their expertise in various forms to the benefit and growth of the universities".

Prof. Durosaro also charged alumni association members to endeavor to share ideas, innovations and equipment in their fields of specializations with the relevant university departments, saying, "This would foster the university – industry relationship while the products of the universities that operate the industries could help bridge some gaps between the theories and the modern practice in their fields of specialization".

Other ways by which the alumni associations could contribute to the development of their alma maters, according to the guest lecturer include: assisting the institutions to source for patronage of university consultancy services; finding time to visit the institutions to serve as mentors to the current crop of students; playing advocacy roles by helping to reach out to governments and Non-governmental organizations to come to the aid of the universities in various ways; returning to serve their alma matters as lecturers and professors, hall wardens, advisers and patrons to students' organizations.

Prof. Durosaro noted that universities are under great pressure to ensure they operate on world-class standard, which implies greater needs in the areas of funds, personnel and other facilities. He therefore charged the stakeholders in education, particularly the alumni of the institutions to find a way of intervening to help in the development of their alma maters.

"The current dispensation of government in Nigeria encourages more of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) that could provide a variety of avenues through which the alumni could contribute their quota, both in kind and cash, to the development of the universities," he said.

Prof. Durosaro commended the contributions of the four awardees to the socity in their various areas of endeavours, noting that they eminently deserved the honour being conferred on them by the Alumni Association.

He described Governor Ahmed as an "amiable, indefatigable, action man" who "is a visible driving force for visionary leadership in Kwara State", adding that Prof. Oloyede "had worked relentlessly to contribute immensely to the development of the University as Vice-Chancellor".

The guest lecturer also said Prof. Na'Allah "is a worthy ambassador of Unilorin Alumni Association, as he had worked tirelessly to translate the vision of a model university for Kwara State to a reality". He also described Mrs. Olaniyan as "an astute manager and a woman of valour whose visionary leadership had taken the UTC of Nigeria Ltd, Lagos to lofty heights".