Read Prof. Wole Soyinka's Statement on the renaming of Unilag

“This is one gift horse which, contrary to traditional saying, must be inspected thoroughly in the mouth”, he said in a statement entitled “Goodluck Jonathan’s gift horse.”

“Primary from all of us must be a plea to the MKO Abiola family not to misconstrue the protests against the naming of the University of Lagos after their heroic patriarch. Issues must be separated and understood in their appropriate contexts. The family will acknowledge that, among the loudest opposing voices to Jonathan’s gift horse, are those who have clamoured tirelessly that MKO Abiola, the Nigerian nation’s president-elect, be honoured nationally, and in a befitting manner.

“Next is my confession to considerable shock that President Goodluck Jonathan did not even think it fit to consult or inform the administrators of the university, including Council and Senate, of his intention to re-name their university for any reason, however laudable. This arbitrariness, this act of disrespect, was a barely tolerated aberration of military governance. It is totally deplorable in what is supposed to be a civilian order.

UNILAG’s new name must remain – Maku

Minister of Information, Labaran Maku

The Federal government has announced that it will not revert its decision of renaming the University of Lagos after the late winner of the 1993 presidential elections and business mogul, MKO Abiola.

Speaking to state house correspondents after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku said  that what the president did was an answer to the outcry of concerned Nigerians who witnessed the events of June 12 and the subsequent demise of the man that was the acclaimed winner of the election.

The Minister called on Nigerians not to allow the protest by some students to overshadow the significance of the president’s decision to immortalize  Abiola.

Honour my Father by Fighting Poverty, Hafsat Abiola tells Jonathan

Daughter of the late winner of 1993 presidential election, Hafsat Abiola-Costello, has hailed the decision of the federal government to re-name the University of Lagos (UNILAG) after her father but urged the federal government to work more on fighting poverty, as that will be her late father’s utmost desire.

Mrs Abiola-Costello and other prominent citizens in Abeokuta, the hometown of the late politician, described President Jonathan’s announcement as a long overdue but welcome development

In an interview with journalists in the Ogun state capital, she urged the federal government to give more priority to reduce the prevailing poverty level in the country, than naming schools and roads.