The management of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Sunday, explained why it declined approval of the proposed venue for an event, where the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, was scheduled to deliver a lecture in the institution.
The clarification follows an alarm by Obi over what he described as a disturbing pattern of cancelled university engagements across Nigeria, warning that intellectual freedom in the country’s institutions of higher learning was increasingly under threat.
Providing details of the events that eventually led to the refusal to approve the request for the venue of the proposed event, OAU management, in a statement made available by the Public Relations Officer of the university, Abiodun Olarewaju, explained that the organisers of the lecture did not provide details of the calibre of the guest until Friday, just a day before the scheduled programme.
The OAU management further said the short notice made it impossible for it to carry out proper security and logistical arrangements necessary whenever high-calibre personalities are visiting the university.