He made this known on Thursday at an award programme for
five distinguished Nigerians by the Mellanby Hall of the University of Ibadan
held at the Trenchard Hall of the university.
The awardees were Professor Tekena Tamuno, Professor Shehu
Umaru, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin, Dr. Tonnie Iredia and Ambassador Dapo
Fafowora.
Randle, who was Chairman of the occasion, lamented the chaos
and news of discord that had seized the Nigerian nation, stating that it was
regrettable that his generation was unable to bequeath greater legacies to the
incoming generation.
Citing the headlines of some newspapers in recent time, he
said that news of crises and discord had become the order of the day in Nigeria
and lamented that the incoming generation was a recipient of the outcome of the
disorder of society.
He also predicted that the political crisis in the nation
which had pitched both the north and the south in a supremacy battle, in the
contest for the 2015 elections, may lead to greater crisis as the presidential
election gets nearer.
While commending the organizers of the event for choosing
the notable five awardees, Randle said that each of them was worthy of
recognition and that even if a nation was lucky to have one of them, that
nation would consider itself blessed.
While commending the Ajimobi infrastructural developments in
the state, Randle said he was a regular visitor to the state in the last couple
of decades and said that the renewal he had noticed in the state of recent was
remarkable and phenomenal.
Speaking at the occasion, the Special Adviser to Governor
Ajimobi on Media and his representative at the occasion, Dr. Festus Adedayo,
said that being a generation of the awardees and who knew the state of
excellence that Oyo State used to be, Governor Ajimobi’s administration decided
to focus on restoring the glory of the state to that of the First Republic when
it used to be first among its equals.
He said this necessitated the decision of the state
government to focus on urban renewal and massive infrastructural renewal,
stating that government had made significant contributions to society in this
regard.
He commended the organizers of the event for recognizing excellence
in society, stating that the likes of Professor Tamuno who were legends that
his generation read in history books, demanded to be venerated by any sane
society.
