The World Bank has commended the excellent leadership style evolved by the management of the University of Ilorin under the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, saying this has largely accounted for the Breton Woods institution's interest in assisting the University to realise its objective of becoming an international centre for academic excellence.

The Bank's Senior Education Specialist and Co-Task Leader of STEP-B Projects, Dr. Tunde Adekola, made this known last Tuesday (October 29, 2013) during the commissioning of the N95 million campus-wide Fibre Optics Network sponsored by the World Bank assisted Science and Technology Education Post-Basic (STEP-B) Project. 

Dr. Adekola expressed happiness that the University of Ilorin had demonstrated transparency and diligence in all its activities, saying, "Such a university deserves to be assisted and supported in order to encourage her to do more."

The World Bank chief however charged those managing public universities in Nigeria in particular and in Africa as a whole to be prudent with funds and embrace accountability, which he said are "the basic elements of public morality."

According to Dr. Adekola, "any institution that wants to benefit from World Bank-sponsored projects must be accountable. In Nigeria, we have a problem because those who are accountable are not responsible and those who are responsible are not accountable."

The World Bank representative stated further that the University of Ilorin was one of the few universities in Africa that have been able to achieve the objectives for which the STEP-B project was initiated.

Dr. Adekola therefore commended the management of the University for the achievements it has been able to make with the little funds it has received under the STEP-B scheme.

The Senior Education Specialist, who is an alumnus of the University of Ilorin, disclosed that the World Bank's interest in assisting African universities under the STEP-B scheme was to connect them to global knowledge using Information and Communication Technology (ICT), saying "With ICT, you can sit in Ilorin and do partnership, video-conferencing, research and collaboration, anything with anyone anywhere worldwide."

In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Ambali, echoed the submission of the visiting alumnus, saying "All that you said are well acknowledged and we are proud of  the contributions of the University of Ilorin to the educational sector in Nigeria and beyond".

Expressing gratitude to the Bank for the STEP-B project, the Vice-Chancellor said that the stable academic calendar of the institution has continued to endear it to admission seekers.

Prof. Ambali said, "In the last Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board Examination, 97,000 students chose this University as either their first or second choice. Unfortunately, only 7,000 can be admitted and that tells a lot about access.

 "At Unilorin, we plan ahead. Beginning from this session, all our students will have PC tablets. This is to prepare them for the challenges ahead because we know ICT is taking over every field of human endeavor.

"The Senate proceedings at the University of Ilorin are paperless. Every Senate member goes to the meeting with his laptop. All our activities are digital. Also during the last Council meeting, it was decided that Council activities would become paperless. We are expanding our paperless infrastructure, and very soon we shall have smart boards in strategic locations on campus so that student leaders, union leaders, Heads of Departments, lecturers and staff can communicate more effectively. Sooner or later, our notice boards will become obsolete."

The Step-B Project Manager at the University, who is also the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI), Prof. Felix, A. Oladele, explained that the Fibre-Optics project would enhance internet and intranet connectivity in the University through the deployment of ICT equipment at the Network Operating  Centre (NOC) and campus-wide fibre-optics network.

Prof. Oladele said, "Before this project, internet connectivity was poor as browsing on the net was very slow, epileptic, and erratic. Downloading and uploading of documents were slow, time consuming and cumbersome but now the connectivity is good, consistent and fast, especially with the expansion of our bandwidth from 15megabits per second to 155mbps as approved by the University Council."

In his own remarks, the Director, Communication Services and Information Technology Centre (COMSIT), Prof. I.A. Adimula, explained the capabilities of the University fibre-optics networks.

Prof. Adimula said, "Among others, the University of Ilorin has deployed Voice over-IP (VoIP) communication Network across various units and departments in the campus providing efficient high speed video and voice communications that are being applied for digital surveillance system (e-surveillance), e-administration and document management system."