I left JAMB better than I met it — Ojerinde

Forum 7 years ago

I left JAMB better than I met it — Ojerinde

A former Registrar/Chief Executive of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. ‘Dibu Ojerinde, has said that he was leaving JAMB better than he met it after nine years in charge.

He added that he had done virtually everything he needed to do to move the organisation forward.

According to him, his achievements could only be built upon by his successor, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede.

He urged the management of JAMB to continue to work to keep the philosophy on which the body was established.

Ojerinde spoke in an exclusive interview with SUNDAY PUNCH in Abuja during a send forth dinner organised for him by JAMB and attended by senior management staff, directors and stakeholders in the education sector.

He said, “I feel good that I am leaving JAMB better than we all met it at that time. I am sure the person who has come to takeover is going to be as good if not better than I am. I have done everything I wanted to do. There is no other thing I want to do and that is why God says it is time for me to leave. That is it.

“Through the grace of God a lot of things have been done. My wish is that the management should continue the way they used to do it. We used to have a philosophy of ‘yes you can do it’ and things are being made possible.

The former JAMB Registrar, who is returning to the academics at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, said his removal from office did not come to him as surprise.

He said, “It was a big relief for me because there were so many things in my head. In fact, I started packing my luggage five months ago, precisely since March 2016. So, it didn’t come as a surprise to me.

“Any reasonable person would have seen it coming because there was a change in regime and everybody was clamouring for office. Definitely, I think I have paid my dues and I was ready to go.”

He also recalled that the most challenging period in his years in JAMB was when he lost his wife in 2007.