Tribute to late LASU VC, Hussein

By Yemi Aselebe

Lateef Akanni Hussein, you happened to be the 6th Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU). You were “imposed” on LASU when the existing professors wished that the new VC should emerge from among them. You came from University of Ibadan (UI) and within a few years you did great work, though efforts were said to have been made to force you out of the office by some groups.

When we saw and reported that your office front gate was decorated with fetish sacrifices (juju), all this was done to prevent you from the promised surgical operation you wanted to carry out on LASU. But in the end, you accomplished great and mighty things.

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Hussain, you did great work on LASU. It Is on record that you promised in the interview I had with you on our campus’s monthly newspaper (CW news) that,” LASU will be under Surgical Operation”. During my days as a student and also a campus news publisher you completed the operation in all areas.

We saw results with the transparent theme members you appointed to head various campuses and departments. It will interest all to be told that, it was during Hussein’s era that one of the professors appointed to head GNS (Dapo Asaju) returned unspent cash. The first in the history of LASU, and he Still made profits in the GNS department. Hussein fought sex-for-mark. You all remember “Mr Gori”, the English lecturer sex-for-mark saga. How many should we start mentioning about the surgery VC? What about cultist activities? He brought their actions to almost a halt.

Like a man or woman who is physically undergoing surgery, the pain truly was much then, but like the Yorubas will say “O un tami, o un romi, lafinkola, to bajina tan adi oge”, meaning (planting days are always painful, while harvest time is sweet). Permit me to put it that way after all I have not seen a white man wearing tribal marks.

Hussein, it is too late to pray for you because there is no repentance in the grave. I only advise those of us at the helm of affairs in LASU to please keep the surgery work going; remove all the removable, plant all the plantable and please be heavenly conscious, knowing fully well that we will all give account someday.

Yemi S. Aselebe

Theatre Arts Dept (1998 – 2007)