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Mr Olusegun Alebiosu, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), and other dignitaries have commended, Professor Sunday Abayomi Fasina, the outgoing Vice Chancellor of the institution for documenting his five-year stewardship in a new book.
They spoke, on Wednesday in Oye-Ekiti, at the public presentation of Professor Fasina’s book, ‘Holding the Rudder: My Years Steering FUOYE’, which chronicles his tenure as the fourth substantive Vice-Chancellor of the university between 2021 and 2026.
Mr Alebiosu, who served as chief launcher at the event, described the university’s infrastructure expansion, enrolment growth and programme development as indicators of institutional progress, noting that the scale of change surpassed what he encountered during an earlier visit to the university years ago.
He recommended the book as a reference material on leadership and institutional management.
On his part, Senator Ndoma-Egba, SAN, also congratulated Prof Fasina for finding time to write, describing the book as a practical guide for current and aspiring university leaders, saying his incoming successor, Professor Joshua Ogunwole, would benefit from the book.
“FUOYE is a university, but in many ways, a school of its own because what you will learn in Oye-Ekiti, especially in management, you will not learn elsewhere. I believe the peculiar experience he has had has informed this book. I have not been here for so long, but I am already writing a book. So, how much more of a man who has been here longer and steered the wheel of the university in the last five years,” Mr Ndoma-Egba said.
Also speaking at the event, Professor Abdul-Hameed Sulaimon, representing the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Professor Folasade Ogunsola, described Professor Fasina as a longstanding friend of UNILAG and congratulated him for documenting his leadership experience for future university administrators.
Speaking on behalf of alumni, the President of the FUOYE Alumni Association, Mr Taye Ojo, described the author as “The architect of new FUOYE,” citing the scale of institutional transformation recorded during his tenure.
Delivering a goodwill message on behalf of the FUOYE community, Professor Mojisola Oyarekua, described the outgoing VC as “A supersonic Vice-chancellor”, acknowledging that his administration had made significant progress.
Book Launch
The book reviewer, Yisa Yusuf, a professor of English Language at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), said the over 300-page book is an account of how the fourth substantive Vice-Chancellor of FUOYE, Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina, navigated the treacherous waters of university administration from 2021 to 2026.
Quoting from the book, Professor Yusuf recalled the author’s reflection: “When I assumed duty as the fourth substantive Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), I did not walk into a position, I walked into a storm.”
Professor Yusuf explained that the metaphor effectively captured the complexity of university leadership, encompassing the challenges of navigating student agitation, staff relations, union engagement, host community expectations, governing council dynamics, and chronic funding constraints.
He noted that beyond personal reflection, the book contributed to Nigeria’s limited tradition of institutional documentation, offering a resource for university administrators, policymakers, and scholars involved in higher education planning.
“One of the challenges we have as society is the inadequate documentation of our history. In writing this book on running FOUYE as the fourth Vice-Chancellor, Professor Fasina has made available to posterity a wealth of institutional memory, a remarkable landmark and an invaluable roadmap. Indeed, the book is an invaluable resource for those who are aspiring to be Vice-Chancellors or those who are already holding the position, but wish to renew their insights for better service delivery. It would also be of immense value for drawing university strategic plans, especially for new or young universities,” he said.
Responding to the review, Professor Fasina said the book was not written as a defence of office, but as a reflection on leadership under pressure.
He acknowledged what he described as “spiritual destiny helpers and destiny helpers” who supported him in prayers and counsel throughout his tenure.
He especially appreciated his wife, Dr Bosede Fasina, an Associate Professor at Ekiti State University (EKSU), describing her quiet strength, steadfast faith and support as central to both his leadership journey and the writing of the book.
He also thanked the Pro-Chancellor “For upholding due process, for the high level of wisdom he poured into governance, for allowing the vice chancellor to be heard before judgement, and for defending process over pressure, truth over noise, and institutional memory over manufactured narrative.”
Five years of institutional expansion
According to Professor Fasina, between 2021 and 2026, his administration expanded FUOYE’s academic footprint, executed over 160 infrastructure projects, grew the university’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by 310 per cent, and recorded gains in national demand and international visibility.
He said the administration pursued revenue growth through the expansion of university-owned ventures and professional services rather than fee increases. These included bakery operations, table water production, printing services, agricultural farms, consultancy activities, the FUOYE Business School, and the establishment of the FUOYE Microfinance Bank.
“Over 106 capital projects, according to the records, were funded through IGR during this period.”
Infrastructure development included a new Senate Building, the 1,000-seat Ndoma-Egba Auditorium, a modern Computer-Based Test (CBT) centre, science and professional faculty buildings, and student hostels delivered through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements.
Among the projects delivered during the period was a 2,000-capacity student hostel situated on 33-hectare site, named after the vice-chancellor and inaugurated by the Pro-Chancellor after the book launch.
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