Atiba University DVC under fire for calling protesting students ‘intellectually bankrupt’

By Adejayan Gbenga

A Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Atiba University, Oyo State, has come under criticism after describing some students protesting the suspension of the institution’s Law programme as “intellectually bankrupt.”

The remark was made on Monday when the university official addressed students demonstrating against the Council of Legal Education’s decision to place the university’s Law programme under a 10-year moratorium.

The students were protesting the regulatory action, which was reportedly linked to deficiencies in facilities and alleged non-compliance with regulations governing legal education.

However, in a video of the confrontation circulated online on Tuesday, the DVC appealed for calm and accused some students of speaking about issues they did not understand, telling them not to “talk rubbish.”

The situation became tense when a student attempted to draw the official’s attention to the immediate concerns surrounding the programme, prompting the DVC to say that “many of you are intellectually bankrupt” while defending his own achievements. Meanwhile, the students referred to an August 19 document reportedly signed by the Secretary of the Council of Legal Education.

However, the DVC dismissed the relevance of the date and said creating a crisis would not resolve the fundamental issues affecting the programme. He also claimed that the problems existed even before the programme was accredited, a statement that reportedly drew boos from the students.

Following the incident, reactions surfaced online, with many netizens weighing in on the issue. An X user @Davel questioned why the DVC would use such language and argued that he should have “just minded his business,” while @Ayo_not_bami criticised the treatment of students in Nigeria, comparing it with what the user described as greater professionalism among lecturers abroad.

Similarly, @Dapo_Ojo called on higher institutions in Nigeria to train their staff in interpersonal relations skills, particularly in their dealings with learners, amid the wider criticism of the DVC’s remarks.