Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has dismissed popular opinion suggesting that the new university created by his government constituted a waste of resources to the state. Critics, mostly members of the opposition party, had condemned the creation of the new university, saying there are already eight state-owned tertiary institutions to cater for the learning needs of the people.
Oshiomhole, in an interview with ThisDay, said the new university was not created to serve personal interests, describing the investment as well thought-out, timely and people-oriented.
“There is no amount too big to be invested in education that can be said to be a waste. Not even the location of the university can be faulted except for wolves in wolves clothing who would argue blindly and blandly because the decision for the investment either outshined their paymasters or intentionally join the bandwagons for the sake of chewing their jaw.” he said.
“The decision for a new university is easily the most significant investment in education any progressive and futuristic government can think of. This type of initiative has the capacity to change the lives of those who live in the host area and beyond and a lot of educational aspirations would have been made possible by that investment.”
Some of the critics had wondered why the governor decided to establish the new university in Iyamo, birthplace of the former labour leader. They had also argued that, considering the financial position of the state and the seeming neglect of existing institutions, the state government was wrong to have expended the state resources to create the new university.
Oshiomhole said: “To argue that the new university is unwarranted is to be short-sighted or parochial and at best, to be an ethnic irredentist who argues blindly because it (the university) was not hosted in their birthplaces.
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