Niyi Osundare, an alumnus of the University of Ibadan (UI) and retired New Orleans University emeritus professor, has criticised the UI management for their decision to fell the row of trees that formerly lined up at Heritage Park, a popular green space on campus.
In a video shared on X by Molara Wood, a well-known Nigerian writer and journalist, Osundare stated that trees were a significant component of notable universities. He also shared how trees could be an inspiration for scholars.
“Did anybody raise a voice in defence of those trees?”Niyi Osundare laments the large scale felling of trees in University of Ibadan to make way for a U.I. Heritage Bank. Says “Forest Echoes” in his collection “The Eye of the Earth” was written in the U.I. Botanical Gardens. pic.twitter.com/E7shsTCKEY— Molara Wood 🍉 (@molarawood) December 12, 2024
“Universities are known for the state of their trees. Go to Harvard, go to Yale, go to Oxford, go to wherever… Trees tell stories. A professor wrote a dissertation on a moss (a tiny-leafed flowerless plant) at the University of Toronto. What is wrong with us?”
Osundare also said that he had protested in the past against the university’s decision to cut down some trees in the school.
“They were going to cut a number of trees. They said those trees were falling and destroying houses, they were falling on cars. We told them to manage the trees; cut down some of the branches. It was so embarrassing that we had to explain this in the Department of Forestry,” Osundare added.
“I’m a literature teacher. Education is what we call it. You don’t destroy the environment and expect that you will be at peace. I say this all the time: if you don’t love the trees around you, you are not likely to love your neighbour.”
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Wood also attributed some words to Niji Akande, a Nigerian screenwriter and film producer who is also a former student of UI. In Akande’s words, he described the University management’s decision as a crime and that someone ought to be held accountable for it:
“I actually think someone should be held accountable for this because a crime is what it is. I also think the global UI Alumni should ensure that nobody and nobody in charge of affairs ever has the power to order this devastation again.”
“I actually think someone should be held accountable for this, because a CRIME is what it is. I also think the global UI Alumni should ensure that nobody and no body in charge of affairs ever has the power to order this devastation again.” ~ Niji Akanni#UniversityOfIbadan https://t.co/7wK2y9oxro— Molara Wood 🍉 (@molarawood) December 13, 2024
In November, FIJ reported how alumni and students expressed environmental concerns about the university’s decision to clear up Heritage Park which was one of the school’s foremost green spaces.
READ MORE: Alumni, Students Cite Environmental Concerns About Tree Felling in UI’s Heritage Park
Bolaji Aweda, the school’s student union president, however, said he knew that the university had planted replacement trees in another location in the school.
FIJ contacted Kayode Adebowale, the school’s Vice Chancellor, in November to confirm Aweda’s claims and also ask other questions on the decision but someone else answered the call and said the VC would call back. FIJ did not receive another call from him.
Adejoke Akinpelu, the school’s Public Relations Officer, also refused to respond to FIJ’s text that was sent to her in November.
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