The Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, has inaugurated a first campus television station with a commercial license for broadcasting in the country.
The Rector of the school, Dr. Mukail Akinde, disclosed this on Wednesday, saying the commissioning of the campus television was another giant stride in the history of the institution.
This, he said, was part of an effort to propagate the cultural values and development of the host community, Yewa land.
Akinde acknowledged the support of TETFUND in providing equipment for the first campus TV station, hinting that several millions of naira had been expended on the studio.
He, therefore, sought for the assistance of well-meaning indigenes of Yewaland to connect the institution to a 33KVA line for regular power supply.
Akinde lamented the daily rise in cost of diesel which he said had hindered the school from putting into use so many technological innovations developed by it.
He said, “I want to thank our supporter, the equipment at the TV station was provided by TETFUND.
“We have spent a lot of millions of naira to put that studio there. I’m still emphasizing that the studio will be meaningless if we don’t have a constant supply of electricity, we will not be able to sell the community without constant electricity, so I’m here presenting myself to you as a son, that I’m asking for your support, and it is doable to connect the institution on a 33KVA line, because the cost of diesel now is high, that is why I’m presenting my challenges to you rather than my achievements.
“Let me say this, we have a lot of things which we have produced. What is the essence of manufacturing equipment by electrical and electronics engineers that can be used by our people here?
“We have a machine that can process Kokoro, gaari, and palm kernels that within a second we have produced oil. We have all those equipment here and without electricity, we can’t use them. And I know that if we have electricity we are going to give prosperity to the community. We are not going to be using it alone because whatever we are doing, using it is going to be a benefit to the community.
“We can only say thank you to the federal government by developing this polytechnic. The institution is standing on about 898 hectares of land, the land doesn’t create value if we don’t use it. If we use it properly, it will bring a lot to the community and a lot of us will be happy, and we have a lot of things to gain there, so if we have electricity as I said, the students, staff, and community will benefit tremendously.”
Akinde also posited that the essence of polytechnic education is to train students on the practical aspect of the course alongside the theory.
The Olu of Ilaro and Paramount Ruler of Yewaland, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, called on the federal government to address the challenge of epileptic power supply to the institution in particular, and the community as a whole.
The monarch sought for FG’s intervention in the area of allocation of more funds for the school to enable it to deliver than expected.
Oba Olugbenle said,”I can say that the federal government is going to do something for us, what we need now is more support for this Federal Polytechnic Ilaro. The allocation of funds to this institution is not enough to drive what they have been invested here, that is just the truth.
“There are so many courses that were added and so many courses are coming, being a preferred Polytechnic in Southwest. I think the government needs to look at the area and ensure that more allocation is allocated to the institution to enable it to meet up with that which the government themselves kept in their hand.
“I do not doubt that the Rector will use judiciously those resources when they are deplored so they can continue to train our children so the development of this nation can be sure and secure.”
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