“It was taken out of context” — Aide defends ex-LASU VC over N1m fee remark

LAGOS — A remark on university fees attributed to former Lagos State University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, has stirred controversy online, prompting her media aide to step in and insist the comment was misinterpreted and stripped of its original context from a PUNCH interview.

ValidViewNetwork can confirm that the spokesperson’s clarification comes as social media users circulated a clipped version of the remark suggesting the former VC had casually endorsed steep tuition hikes, a characterisation her aide says misrepresents what she actually said.

LASU’s tuition fees have long been politically sensitive terrain. The university has weathered fee crises before, most notably in 2011 when a steep hike sparked student protests that forced a government climbdown to a reduced rate.

Olatunji-Bello herself assumed the vice-chancellorship in 2021 amid promises to prioritise student welfare, including plans for micro-enterprise schemes to help students earn income while studying, a track record her defenders say makes the current characterisation especially unfair.

What the aide is disputing

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According to reports gotten by ValidViewNetwork, the spokesperson maintains that the N1 million figure was referenced in the PUNCH interview as an illustrative point about the true cost of running world-class tertiary education, not as a statement of LASU’s actual approved fee structure. Furthermore, the aide claimed that the comment was excerpted without the surrounding context that made her meaning clear.

Findings show that claims of being “misquoted” or “misinterpreted” have become a recurring rescue manoeuvre for Nigerian public figures caught in viral fee or cost-of-living controversies, from politicians accused of tone-deaf remarks to university administrators navigating the always-charged politics of tuition.

Whether the clarification satisfies critics or simply adds another layer to the controversy will likely depend on whether the full, unedited interview eventually resurfaces to settle the matter definitively. ValidViewNetwork reports.