KING’S COLLEGE: Old boys deny plot to take over institution
King’s College Old Boys Association, KCOBA, has dismissed allegations that it is seeking to take over ownership of King’s College, Lagos, saying the institution remains a public national school.
KCOBA said what would change was the framework through which the institution is managed, maintained, financed, modernised and developed, adding that such a framework would help support and rebuild the institution that has shaped many Nigerians.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees for KCOBA, Femi Okunnu, SAN, raised concerns over reports of an admissions culture in which places meant for deserving children were compromised by money and influence, saying investigations and inquiries had established these issues.
According to Okunnu, the mission of the Old Boys was to restore King’s College to a place where a brilliant child from a modest Nigerian family could aspire to gain admission through a fair and transparent process.
He said: “There is no sale. There is no transfer of ownership to KCOBA. The college remains, today and always, a public national institution. What is changing is not who owns King’s College, but the framework through which it is managed, maintained, financed, modernised and developed.
“We are not acquiring King’s College. King’s College is not for sale. We are returning to serve it to help manage, support and rebuild the institution that shaped generations of Nigerians. This is a matter of stewardship, of responsibility, of service rendered in gratitude, not a bid for possession.”
On KCOBA concerns, he said: “There are serious and long-standing reports of an admissions culture in which places meant for deserving children can be compromised by money and influence. There are equally troubling concerns that state-based admission quotas have, in some instances, been diverted through improper arrangements to candidates from outside the relevant states. Our discreet investigations and inquiries have established these troubling concerns, which strike at the heart of merit, federal character, inclusiveness and access for the children of modest means the very children King’s College was built to serve.
“There has been in the past an established admission racketeering where affluent parents have made monetary payments to secure admissions. Some of the current agitations are being sponsored by those who for years have been benefiting from this corrupt admission process. We can confirm that some of the students purportedly admitted to fill the slots reserved for some states of the Federation have been shown to be from other states but gained admission because the racketeers sold those slots. The ill-profits of that endeavor led to over-admissions and at a time there were over 3800 students in King’s College whose carrying capacity should not be more than 1200 students. This has exerted undue pressure on the facilities and taken its toll on proper monitoring and discipline of the students.
“The concerns extend well beyond admissions. Kingsmen have witnessed, and repeatedly raised alarm over, deteriorating infrastructure, poor maintenance, and conditions in parts of the College unworthy of the institution we remember and cherish.
Some buildings and facilities have fallen into such disrepair that their very structural integrity raises grave concern for the safety of students, teachers and staff alike. This is unacceptable, and it cannot be allowed to continue.
“There have also been instances of students drawn into substance or drug abuse, some resulting in expulsion. Our answer to this must combine firm discipline with compassion counselling, early intervention, and genuine student welfare.
“Perhaps most painfully, Kingsmen have encountered students asking for money on King’s College campus, reportedly because they were hungry. Whatever the particulars of any individual case, the mere possibility that a child within King’s College may go hungry enough to beg should trouble the conscience of every adult who claims to love this institution.”
On the Victoria Island campus, he said: “Our Victoria Island campus is being operated as a commercial car park, which accommodates the cars of a multitude of people who daily visit the visa application centre and other commercial building around the Churchgate Towers rendering the premises prone to infiltration by undesirable elements and exposing the students to grave security risks. These are not mere allegations. This state of affairs is confirmed. The toll for the car parks is collected in cash and there is no transparent accounting for the proceeds. These matters deserve thorough investigation and corrective action. The agitators know that the King’s College Old Boys would cut off these sources of irregular and corrupt income and are thus fighting to protect their corrupt and illegitimate means of livelihood. Every attempt to dismantle corrupt structures results in a counterattack by corrupt elements.
“The PTA collects PTA levies which run into several hundred million Naira which they utilise for the purpose of procurement and contracts. This has become a huge industry and may account for the vehemence of the opposition of the King’s College PTA which circulated messages threatening to shut down King’s College and several other Unity Schools across Nigeria. No single stakeholder should simultaneously control the collection of substantial levies and the award of contracts financed by those same funds, absent transparent safeguards. The PTA knows that the KCOBA would not allow any opaque levies and improper contract awards to continue.”
On the purpose of the proposed management arrangement, he said: “It is simple: to build the capacity to restore, operate, maintain and develop King’s College professionally and sustainably. We are not coming to take King’s College. We are coming to help save it.
“The Old Boys lay no claim to private ownership of King’s College. It is, and shall remain, a national institution, and its public character must be jealously preserved. What we seek is the responsibility to manage and operate it in a manner that restores standards, strengthens systems, protects assets, improves student welfare, supports teachers, and cultivates an environment in which excellence can once again flourish.
“This is a not-for-profit mission. Its purpose is not to extract gain from King’s College, but to ensure that every resource serves education and the children who pass through its gates, not personal enrichment. We choose the word rescue deliberately, for there is too much at stake to treat the present challenge as routine administration.
“Rescue means safe buildings, clean classrooms and hostels, functioning laboratories and libraries, reliable digital systems, high academic standards, disciplined administration, genuine student welfare, and world-class sporting facilities. It means restoring King’s College to a place where a brilliant child of a modest Nigerian family may aspire to gain admission through a process that is fair and transparent, a place where poverty is never a barrier to excellence.”
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