Bowen varsity in peace with host community –VC

The Vice-Chancellor of the Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, Prof. Mathews Ojo, has said the institution has no problem with its host community following the sitting of a power project.

Ojo said this in Iwo on Monday at the opening of a seminar on Alternative Dispute Resolution organised by the Faculty of Law of the university.

Some youths in Iwo, who claimed that the university refused to assist the town when they sought the school’s assistance over the power project, had vowed not to allow the institution to benefit from the project.

But the VC said the university was not at war with its host because its management had been in dialogue with community leaders toward ending the crisis.

Ojo said, “Bowen University even before this has been dialoguing with various groups in Iwo community towards resolving some grievances of the youth. We have been reaching out to the Iwo traditional council, Iwo Board of Trustees and that is why there is no form of violence in the community.”

Ojo, who recommended alternative dispute resolution as a means of resolving crisis, said the measure would help in decongesting the courts.

The acting Dean, Faculty of Law at the university, Prof. Mosunmola Imasogie, also said that ARD would expose law students to mediation alongside their training on litigation.

She said, “Alternative disputes resolution is also a part of law and recognised in law because before you make a divorce from any marriage, you have to make an appeal to both the husband and wife first before moving to the court.”

A lecturer from the Centre for Conflict Management, Kennesaw State University, Georgia, USA, Prof. Adebayo Akamu, also hailed the ARD initiative, saying it should be encouraged by disputants and the government.

He said, “If you use the court, the people who are in dispute really do not have a control over what happens, the attorney and the judges take control of everything.”

“The ADR actually empowers the disputants, it gives them the opportunity to have a say on how their cases are handled and in what decisions are made or how those decisions are implemented.”