Patience and courage key as Olatunji-Bello hands over LASU to Badejo

Outgoing Lagos State University (LASU) Vice-Chancellor, Distinguished Professor Ibiyemi Ibilola Olatunji-Bello, has urged her successor, Professor Ayodeji Olawunmi Badejo, to combine patience with courage in steering the institution, prioritising staff and student welfare while avoiding hasty decisions.

Speaking to journalists on Monday at the Vice-Chancellor’s office in Ojo, Olatunji-Bello stressed that leading LASU requires “long-suffering” and deliberate leadership. “LASU is another story entirely. There is long-suffering; she should be patient. When I mean patience, it means you’re not hasty in taking decisions. But whatever needs to be done, Prof Badejo should do it. Be courageous,” she said.

She expressed confidence in Badejo’s capacity, noting that the university’s staff are ready to support impactful leadership. “I encourage her that she has the best hands to work with. The university staff are all willing to work with her if she’s able to push them and make an impact on them. Staff welfare is very important. She should take care of the staff welfare and student welfare. It is very important; it is very key,” Olatunji-Bello added. She predicted that under Badejo’s leadership, “LASU will be greater than it is now.”

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Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Visitor to the university, appointed Badejo as the 10th substantive Vice-Chancellor on Wednesday, 9 September 2026, in line with the LASU Law 2004 (as amended). Olatunji-Bello’s single five-year term ends on Saturday, 19 September 2026; Badejo assumes office the following day, Sunday, 20 September 2026, for a non-renewable five-year term. Some earlier reports had cited a 21 September start, but official university and state announcements confirm 20 September.

Badejo, a Professor of Counselling Psychology (also referred to as Guidance and Counselling), was born on 4 August 1962. She obtained her Nigeria Certificate in Education in 1983, Bachelor of Education in 1986, Master of Education in 1988, and PhD in Guidance and Counselling in 1998, all from the University of Lagos. She has more than three decades of experience in teaching, research, administration, and mentorship.

Within LASU she has served as Dean of the Faculty of Education, Chairman of the Senate Curriculum Committee, member of the Governing Council, and Chairman of the Research Ethics Committee. As Dean she is credited with raising the faculty’s capital reserves from about ₦88 million to ₦121 million and eliminating structural deficits while growing staff strength and enrolment. Between 2012 and 2026 she supervised 23 PhD graduates, one of whom received the 2024 Best PhD Thesis Award. Her scholarly output exceeds 80 major works, including four books, 17 book chapters and over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles; she also holds a patent for a Youth Anthem for LASU.

Olatunji-Bello, who assumed office in September 2021 as the university’s ninth substantive Vice-Chancellor and the second woman to hold the post, leaves behind a strengthened institution.

She highlighted LASU’s status as Nigeria’s most subscribed university and among the most digitally advanced of its peers. Internally generated revenue rose from about ₦3 billion to ₦13 billion under her watch. The university also recorded a 96 per cent success rate in its first-year accreditation exercise, with 31 of 37 programmes securing full accreditation.

The orderly transition continues a recent pattern of female leadership at the state-owned university. Both the outgoing and incoming Vice-Chancellors have underscored continuity, institutional stability, and the central place of staff and student welfare in LASU’s next chapter.