15th September 2020
The Honourable Minister of Education
Federal Ministry of Education
Block 5A, Federal Secretariat Complex
ShehuShagari Way
Abuja
Attention: Mallam Adamu Adamu
Dear Sir
LETTER OF RESIGNATION
I would like to thank the President of the Federal of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari for giving me the opportunity to serve as the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (the “University”) from May 2017 till date. I am also grateful that I was considered fit to be the Chairman of the Federal Government Negotiation Team on the Agreement reached with university unions in 2009, from 6th January 2017 till date. I equally want to thank you sir, for your role in recommending me to the President.
Recent events have made my position in these two offices untenable.
I led the Governing Council of the University to remove the Vice-Chancellor of the University from office for amongst other reasons:
I did not receive any sitting allowance.
I did not receive any tickets or travel allowance.
I did not receive or use any official car.
In the University of Maiduguri and University of Lagos, I did not allow the institutions to provide me with food or drinks. I paid for every right or privilege that was conferred on me.
Even when I travelled to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, I paid for my ticket and my expenses.
I did not obtain any contract from the education sector in my relative long sojourn in the sector.
My motivation for my actions is that I had the best education that an intellect could provide in Nigeria and abroad. It is my fervent desire that every Nigerian should have the sort of opportunities I had.
I remain very grateful to all the members of the Federal Government team on the Governing Council of the University of Lagos, namely:
Alhaji Ali Hussein;
Rev. Yomi Kasai
Dr.BayoAdaralegbe; and
Dr.SaminuDagari.
It would be very difficult to find a group of more selfless personsthan these individuals. It is acutely hurtful that I am leaving before achieving our goal of sanitizing the University of Lagos, and turning it to a reference point in Africa and the world, rather than the unenviable poor position it now occupies. Unfortunately, I must stand by principle. In a situation where my employers believe that the actions I took may not be right, the appropriate thing to do is bow out in honour.
Sir, may the Almighty Allah continue to bless you.
Yours faithfully,
Dr. Wale Babalakin