The planned elaborate burial ceremony of Ogun State government for the late Iyalode of Yoruba Land Chief Mrs. Alaba Lawson has been greeted with condemnations from some stakeholders and students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY).
Recall the late academician who served as the chairman of the governing council of the state-owned polytechnic died last Saturday after a brief illness.
Her death has since attracted glowing condolences from notable individuals across the country with President Bola Tinubu describing her as an epitome of enterprise, brilliance and ingenuity adding that her death is a great loss.
On its part, the Ogun state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun led members of his cabinet to pay a condolence visit to the family of the late industrialist on Saturday night where he announced a state burial for the deceased. He also assured her family that the state will be them “throughout this very trying period.”
“We will be with you throughout this very trying period. We are setting up a committee of the state to interface with the family so that we can begin to plan the final rights to give Mama a very befitting passing.
“Your mother was many things to many people. She was a very hard-working woman, a very principled woman; she would call a spade a spade; she would say it as it is. Whatever she wouldn’t say in your presence of you, she would not say it behind you,” Abiodun said.
Reacting to the swiftness of the state governor’s decison, students and other stakeholders of the school, especially the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) MAPOLY have called on the state government to get its priority right adding that the late academician would have wanted the current situation of the school given deserved attention if she was alive.
The union chairman, Tomisin Adegunle via a statement obtained by Theliberationnews mourned the passage of the illustrious businesswoman adding one of the best ways the state governor could honour her in death is to, as a matter of urgency, look into the problems that have grounded academic activities in the institution.
“The statement titled exit of an icon, read: “A ku ilede Iyalode Alaba Lawson.
“Even the death of Mama is teaching us some lessons of how to be more concerned for the living and the youth being the future of the nation.
“It is rather very responsive that Mama died yesterday and the government had already set up State burial arrangement before the end of same day.
“Whereas, the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic where Mama was the Council Chairman had been in comatose for years and closed down for the past four weeks now, its students had been out of school, the workers’ salaries had been unpaid for almost 4 months and members are dying due to lack of means to cater for their health.
“Yet, the same government had not find it necessary to do anything whatsoever for restoration of the Polytechnic for almost one month now.
“Yes, Iyalode Alaba Lawson deserves a befitting grand burial and should be celebrated, but it is a misplaced priority where the living and the future of the State (students and youths) are left unattended to.
“We demand that attending to MAPOLY matter should now be given an accelerated consideration, at least in honour of our Iyalode Alaba Lawson being a past Chairman Governing Council of that institution.
“May the soul of Iyalode Alaba Lawson rest in perfect peace,” the statement read.
“The decision of the state governor to swiftly attend to the burial arrangement of Iyalode Lawson over the pressing issues in MAPOLY calls for serious concern. It shows the lack of concern the governor has for academics activities. Mama deserves the best burial arrangement in the world but I hope the state governor can get its priorities right and attend to the issues bedeviling the school and help the students get on with life,” said Kazeem Akinboboye, a student of the institution.
