A University Don, Professor Hassan Salihu, University of Ilorin, has charged professors of Ilorin indigene in Kwara State to liberate Ilorin community from its economic and political bondage.
Professor Hassan, president of the National Political Science Association of Nigeria (NPSA), said for the Ilorin-born professors to meet the expectations of their immediate community and society at large, they must among other measures bridge the gaps between the political wigs and intellectual resources.
Salihu, a professor of Political Science and International Relations in the University of Ilorin, gave the admonition at the annual General meeting of Ilorin Emirate Professors Association (IEPA) held in Ilorin, Kwara State on Tuesday.
The event was themed “Ilorin Professors, Academia, Challenges and Solutions.”
In his paper titled ‘Pressing Challenges,’ Salihu noted that IEPA with about 300 membership strength has little or no influence in making decisions that will be of collective interest to the emirate.
The university teacher also lamented that the culture of Ilorin Emirate is being “assaulted by other ravaging cultures that are alien to the community.”
He urged the Emirate to spread its administrative system to the suburbs and new settlement areas of the emirate to stem the tide.
In his speech, the president of IEPA, Prof. Abdulfatai Olokoba, said “the association is a non- profit and non -political association with the cardinal objectives to contribute to socio-economic development of Ilorin Emirate, Nigeria and humanity at large.
“What unites us is Islam, our culture and heritage in Ilorin emirate.
“IEPA is a body of intellectuals at the highest level of intelligentsia and our membership include all professors of Ilorin Emirate origin at home and abroad and we have members in virtually all fields of human endeavours in all the continents of the world,” he added.
