The Vice-Chancellor, Kwara State University, Malete, Prof. AbdulRasheed Na'Allah, has  said that tertiary institutions should be vanguards of community development.

He added that it would be counter-productive for tertiary institutions to isolate themselves from the community.

He spoke in Ilorin on Monday during an open forum organised by KWASU to discuss the educational, political and socio-economic contributions of the late Second  Republic Senate Leader, Dr. Olusola Saraki, to the state and Nigeria.

He urged Nigerian leaders to be more committed to the education advancement of the nation, adding that Saraki played prominent role in the education development of Kwara State and that of Nigeria in general.

"As a Senate leader, he must have been responsible for bills and some issues regarding education. It is now our responsibility to go into the archives and find out what he has done and how he moved education for the young people forward.

"Other universities should borrow a leaf from what we are doing by documenting the wonderful legacies of great Nigerians.  This is what makes a university one.  It has no business isolating itself from the community.

"It must feel the pains, history and happiness of its immediate environment.  And it must be the platform for expressing this history to the world.  It must imbibe, reflect and convey the culture of the community.  This is what we are doing in KWASU and every university

in Nigeria must do that,' Na'Allah said.

The VC said the open forum was aimed at creating an avenue  for people to express their opinions on  Saraki, adding  that universities have a responsibility to preserve the culture of their host community.

Na'Allah said it was unimpressive that not many books were written in Nigeria, adding that efforts should be made to improve on writing of books in the country.

He added that an enabling environment and provision of infrastructure would attract more publishable book writings.

"This is a university for community development.  We see this forum as our responsibility to preserve the history of this icon (Saraki) for generations yet unborn.  We think that in writing and digitisation, electronic, cyberspace,  every forum possible, we need to preserve the activities of his life.

"As a university, we have not seen anybody that wrote a book on him. Saraki  has been responsible for creating the kind of enormous impact that he created in Kwara  State and Nigeria.

"Unfortunately, because of the way we are as a nation, we do not really write as much. This is an opportunity for us to find people who can come in future to write about those materials.   Those that would want to write books, articles or anything about him will have such materials readily available at KWASU," Na'Allah said.