The alumni of the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) have kicked against calls to rename the institution after the late former president Shehu Shagari.
President of the FUTA Alumni Association, Olaitan Adesomoju, on Wednesday appealed to the federal government to disregard the suggestion, adding that it might mar the varsity’s brand.
After Shagari’s death, there have been calls for the former president to be immortalised by renaming one of the federal universities, established during his administration between 1979 and 1983, after him.
Mr Adesomoju said the focus for the institution should be how its infrastructural and academic advancement would be uplifted by the federal government.
“Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), in his tribute to the late Alhaji Shehu Shagari with the title ‘Name Federal University of Technology, Akure after Shagari’ published in several National daily newspapers.
“We, the entire members of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) Alumni Association worldwide, view this as a personal opinion or a mere suggestion from Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), whom most of us refer to as a father.
“After extensive consultation and discussions with alumni members globally, we wish to state clearly that the overwhelming majority vehemently oppose any name change to our great alma mater.
“Evidence abounds that previous name changes for purposes of immortalization have done a lot of damage to institutions of higher learning than good and there is nowhere in the world that institutions of higher learning over five years old are abruptly renamed after the demise of a leader.
“For example, Harvard and Oxford have kept the same name since their creation and establishment; these brands are globally respected and identifiable,” Adesomoju said.
