Steven Abayomi Oduntan, a deputy director at Lagos Federal Science and Technical College and a person with a disability (PWD), has spent over six years intertwining his personal and professional life at the institution. Now, he is at the centre of a controversy that has raised serious questions about professional conduct, manoeuvring, and personal involvement in administrative matters.
After years of balancing his disability with his duties, Oduntan finds himself locked out of his own office amid what could be described as a witch-hunt and plot to sack him by the new principal’s aggressive reforms.
He sheds light on his situation while accusing the newly appointed principal of misconduct and questionable actions earlier this year,
Oduntan’s professional and family life has revolved around the school. His wife has served as his personal assistant for several years, a role he mapped for his own convenience, as he explains. “I configured everything for my convenience,” Oduntan said, describing how he arranged for his wife to run a shop at the college to assist with administrative work. His children also attended the same school, which explains the family’s deep-rooted connection to the institution. While this arrangement worked well for many years, it has become a point of contention with the arrival of a new principal.
According to him, tension began in January when the new principal, who took over at the college, quickly aligned with other officials, creating what he described as an “alliance” to challenge him. The principal’s decision to remove external vendors from the campus, which included Oduntan’s wife, became a point of conflict.
However, the principal’s directive to ban all outside vendors was met with strong resistance from Oduntan, who pleaded with the authorities for his wife to continue selling at the school. “I had to plead with him,” Oduntan stated, recounting his efforts to protect his wife’s business. Despite his appeals, the decision was firm, and Oduntan was forced to seek intervention from higher authorities.
Oduntan reached out to the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Education in an attempt to resolve the issue. During this time, he was warned that his professional position might be at risk. “I was told to write an undertaking,” Oduntan explained, referring to the official request. Despite this agreement, according to him, the situation only escalated from there.
The principal’s leadership style appeared to surpass the situation. Oduntan found himself at odds with the principal on multiple occasions, struggling to arrange meetings and resolve the issues at hand. He recalled that his efforts to meet with the principal were delayed and complicated, a direct contrast to the smooth, professional communication he had experienced with previous superiors.
He also described how he had to wait for several hours just to have a brief conversation, only to face further delays and a lack of clarity regarding the next steps. “I thought it was a joke at first,” Oduntan said, but soon realised that the principal’s actions were part of a broader, systematic attempt to challenge his position and undermine his authority.
One of the most striking actions taken by the principal was the sealing of Oduntan’s office. “She sealed my office on Tuesday,” he said, emphasizing how this unprecedented move affected his ability to perform his duties. He further revealed that the principal instructed the security staff to deny him access to the compound, which he found both shocking and unjust. “Why should they stop me from entering?” Oduntan questioned, noting that no prior principal had ever taken such drastic measures against him.
The principal’s actions raised serious questions about fairness and bias within the institution. According to Oduntan, this was not the first time that irregularities had occurred at the school, yet he was being singled out for actions that he deemed to be relatively minor.
As the conflict unfolded, Oduntan also noted a pattern of systemic issues within the school, pointing to the fact that some individuals in positions of power were able to exploit the system for personal gain. “Some directors eat from the school’s resources,” he revealed, hinting at a culture of corruption that had gone unchecked.
The lack of support from other authorities compounded Oduntan’s frustrations with the principal’s conduct. He described how he felt blindsided by the principal’s actions, particularly when he was asked to comply with a bureaucratic procedure that seemed designed to inconvenience him further. Despite having made multiple trips to various offices, including one to the director of education in Lagos, Oduntan found himself running in circles as he tried to resolve the matter. “I had to go to Ikeja and Obalende, running back and forth,” he said.
The situation reached its peak when Oduntan was told that his letter from the Federal Education Quality Assurance agency would require additional processing in Abuja before it could be submitted. “I will have to take the letter first to Abuja,” he noted, criticising the inefficiencies of the process and the additional financial burden it would impose. Despite these challenges, he remained determined to see the issue through to the end, stating, “I offered the statement and walked out.”
He also expressed disbelief at the speed with which the principal had moved to take drastic action against him, suggesting that it was premeditated and designed to remove him from his position. “She was only there for one week before she started acting against me,” Oduntan stated.
Oduntan, therefore, appeals that he is allowed to return to his position. He believes that relocating to another place would create unnecessary stress for both him and his wife, particularly due to the added transportation costs and logistical challenges. Oduntan suggests a solution where his wife can continue her sales activities outside the office while still being available to assist him with administrative work when needed.