FOR quite some time, Governors Adebayo Alao-Akala and Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Oyo and Osun States respectively, have been at each other’s throat over the joint ownership of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), which establishment predated the carving out of the latter state from the Old Oyo State. Before the crisis, the two governors were, arguably, the closest friends in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) family. This had made not quite a few Nigerians to believe that nothing can come in between the duo.

Matters degenerated into a crisis between the two governors and got to head with the Oyo State governor recalling the state indigenes working in Osun State (a decision he later rescinded), saying that he was tired of a forced ‘marriage’ between the two states. On the other hand, Oyinlola took the matter to court and, during the week, unilaterally announced the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor of the institution. It was, however, reported in the media that the newly-appointed, an indigene of Ogbomoso, turned down the appointment.

Before then, former President Olusegun Obasanjo had summoned the feuding governors to his Otta country home where he was said to have admonished them to let sleeping dogs lie by reverting to the status quo namely, that Oyinlola should withdraw all cases pending in the court over the issue, while peaceful solution would be found to the crisis. However, Obasanjo’s intervention held no water as Alao-Akala and Oyinlola stuck to their guns to have things done their own ways.

It was also gathered that, even while the contentious issue remained unresolved, the utterances of former Governor Lam Adesina in the media over the issue was said to have thrown a spanner into the peace process as he was blaming the Oyo governor for the crisis. Angered by Lam’s vituperations, Alao-Akala allegedly retorted by saying that the former governor would still be alive by the time Oyo reclaimed the sole ownership of LAUTECH.

Infuriated by Alao-Akala’s response, Governor Oyinlola was said to have resumed a fresh hostility, believing that the Oyo State governor was not being truthful with the terms of the agreement reached after the Obasanjo intervention. Thus, a fresh press war ensued, with some of the principal mediators opting out. For example, the former president was said to have vowed not to intervene again.

In the heat of the crisis, the National University Commission (NUC), during the week, threatened to revoke the certification of recognition accorded the institution should the two governments fail to resolve the crisis within two weeks. Following the threat by the NUC, Governor Oyinlola, on Thursday, put a call through to his Oyo State counterpart on the need to have a meeting in order to find a peaceful means to resolving the issues generated by the crisis.

The meeting, which was initially scheduled to take place by 10.00 am at the Government House, Ibadan, could not hold until around some few minutes before one ‘o’ clock on Friday when Oyinlola arrived the venue with his entourage. This was after many had been pessimistic about his coming for the meeting. He was immediately ushered into the presence of Alao-Akala who gave him a warm embrace in an atmosphere devoid of the tension already built by the crisis.  

At the end of the closed door meeting, which did not last more than 20 minutes, the two governors decided to sheath their swords. Addressing newsmen at the end of the meeting, they said they had talked and had set an agenda for themselves in the quest for a peaceful settlement of the crisis.

“We have talked and I can tell you that we have set an agenda for ourselves towards a peaceful resolution of the crisis. More importantly, the war is over; we will work towards making things happen. The NUC threat remains what it is, a mere threat as we have settled our differences in a peaceful and brotherly way”, Alao-Akala said, while Oyinlola also said that the NUC threat was conditional, adding, “We have resolved our differences in just two days, even while the NUC gave us a two-week ultimatum.”

In a convivial atmosphere, the host governor saw his counterpart off, with the two of them giving the hope that the crisis over LAUTECH was really over. However, with the belligerent behaviour of the two actors, as well as fundamental issues raised over the LAUTECH ownership, many observers are not quite convinced that the war is really over as the two governors would want the people to believe.

Sources close to the two governments disclosed to Sunday Tribune that, while the meeting was a necessary step towards assuaging bruised egos and resolving the crisis, it was not an end in itself in the quest by the Oyo State government to cease from partnering with Osun State over LAUTECH.

Speaking strictly on condition of anonymity, one of the sources said that the main outcome meeting was the resolve by the two governors to revert to status quo, while the committee set up to look into the issues raised would continue with its work and seek to find a solution to the crisis without bringing up fresh issues. Attributing the crisis to a breakdown in communication between Alao-Akala and Oyinlola, the source said that the duo, at the end of the meeting, also decided to refrain from media war.

“The two governors have decided to allow peace to reign in the interest of the workers and students of the institution. The outcome of the meeting was a soothing, but temporary relief as the committee has been mandated to look into the issues raised over the dispute without raising a fresh crisis.

“The peace process would have been truncated by the decision of one of the top Oyo government officials to appear on a live programme in a Lagos-based privately owned television station. Governor Oyinlola was therefore initially discouraged from attending today’s meeting. But he later decided to attend after much persuasion, but on the condition that there would be no third party at the meeting”, the source said.

Another source, who was privy to the Friday meeting, told Sunday Tribune that notwithstanding the assurance by the duo that the crisis was over, they would have a herculean task convincing Obasanjo. He even said that while the meeting was going on, the former president put a call through to express his displeasure with the way the two governors were handling the crisis.

“Beyond the meeting, the uphill task before the committee set up has to do with how to separate the two states in terms of sharing the assets and liabilities of LAUTECH without bringing up fresh hostilities and stopping mudslinging between the main players in the crisis. It is also tasked with the responsibility of reconsidering, at a later date, the issue of separation on a mutual basis”, he said.

Indeed, while the two feuding governor brothers openly declared that the war was over and that LAUTECH remains, it remains to be seen how far the peace facilitated on Friday will be sustained.