Uzodimma is right that the current state of Nigerian universities is fraught with challenges that hinder their ability to contribute effectively to national development.
By Emeka Alex Duru
Settling for the headline of this conversation is deliberate. Apart from the topicality of the subject, it is partly lifted from the 52nd Convocation Lecture of University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) delivered by Imo State governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, on Thursday, May 9, 2024 at the Nsukka main campus of the institution.
Uzodimma’s title for the lecture was “Why Universities should lead the way to a new Nigeria”. This is instructive and demands interrogation. Certain clarifications, however, need to be made in approaching the discussion. The governor is a big-time player in the nation’s political system, no doubts. He is equally of smart, street wisdom and native intelligence but certainly not on the same radar with Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Dr. Michael Iheonukara (MI) Okpara, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Professors Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Chuba Okadigbo, Ibrahim Tahir (Talban Bauchi), Chukwuma Soludo or Alex Otti, in academic records and attainments.
To be sure, he had delivered the 14th Eni Njoku Memorial Lecture in UNN in 2018. But that does not make the university environment his familiar turf. Uzodimma is more on the other side of the political divide – the rough and tumble. His audacious incursion into the academic terrain, therefore, deserves to be commended and situated appropriately.
On this space and other platforms, I had severally taken on the governor and other political leaders from the South East and Imo in particular on the glaring leadership failure in the region. Uzodimma and his predecessors in Imo had in particular, come under criticism on the parlous state of security in the state especially in, Orlu senatorial district, where both of us hail from. But as it is, baring the Monday sit-at-home and the accompanying fear of attacks by hoodlums against violators in some parts of the state and other pockets of incidences, the atmosphere in Imo, is comparatively coming down. That, however, is a story for another day. Let’s return to his UNN outing.
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The aim in the governor’s lecture was to provoke a debate on the role universities play, through research and technological inventions, in the economic development of nations and why the universities in Nigeria must do the same. In doing so, he threw a challenge to the universities to become drivers of social change and lead the way to a new Nigeria. This is because a university is the brewer of fresh ideas that facilitate the development of societies.
Uzodimma made a sketch of the Nigeria of his dream. “This new Nigeria we desire should also be prosperous and industrialized with ample employment opportunities for our graduates. The new Nigerian society should also be functional and dynamic and should be devoid of such ills as corruption, inequality and poverty. That is the new Nigeria we all desire and deserve, and this is not too much to expect in a society like ours with a very high degree of literacy”, he stated.
He added that the universities should provide the compass that should lead to that new, prosperous and great Nigeria that is also capable of addressing the emerging challenges such as the challenge posed by climate change. The governor cited the efforts of University of California in driving the economy of the State of California with about $82 billion annual contribution to its economic output, for illustration.
No matter your perception on the governor, you cannot fault him on this postulation. Universities all over the world are known as the centres of learning and excellence. Because they offer advanced education, society looks up to them for knowledge and for guidance. Thus, universities play a vital role as leaders in education, research and technology. They are important to all sectors in society’s development. Since 1088 when the first university in the world, the University of Bologna, Italy, came into being, the society has always looked up to these higher institutions to provide the professional training and skills for high level jobs as well as the education necessary for the development of the personality.
The first-generation universities in the country and those that came afterwards, were established for these purposes. They were considered the bedrock of development and acquisition of advanced skills for the benefit of society. Importantly, university education goes beyond the mere accumulation of knowledge. It is more about nurturing critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills; hence universities are referred to as citadels of learning or ivory towers. That informs university degrees and certificates, being conferred on graduands on attestation of character and leaning.
What is therefore surprising is how the Nigeria university system has lost its past glory and has today, become a shadow of itself. The rot in the sector is pervasive. Apart from corruption among the managers of the institutions, government’s neglect has done much harm to the universities.
UNN, where Uzodimma delivered the lecture is a victim of the dilapidation. Up till the 1990s, the institution held out much to be envied. Nearly all its students were accommodated in the hostels. But the situation is different, currently. The entire Zik’s Flats that took in the freshers of the university, are presently in ruins, desolate and taken over by reptiles and rodents. The other hostels are in various shapes of decay, forcing the bulk of the students to live outside.
Elsewhere in the country, other universities suffer similar fate. The libraries and laboratories are mere empty halls with obsolete books and equipment. A classroom meant to accommodate 50 students now takes over 150 to 200 students in most federal and state universities. The lecturers are leaving in droves for other countries due to inadequate motivation. Same culture of decay is also visible at sports centres. Without avenues for positive engagements, the students turn to cult activities and other social vices. The immediate result, is that students leave the institutions not gaining much in developing their cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains.
Between February 14, 2022 and October 14, 2022, the universities in the country were under locks because of strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over funding and other demands. A whole academic session was lost in the process. The strike was the 17th in the series since the commencement of the present civilian dispensation in 1999.
Uzodimma is thus, right that the current state of Nigerian universities is fraught with challenges that hinder their ability to contribute effectively to national development. The political class, as he admitted, has a share of blame in the morass. Most if not all the current players, are incidentally beneficiaries of university education.
A system that stifles its university education, mortgages its future. Governor Uzodimma has led in the clarion call. It is left for the political class, which he belongs to and the university administrators to do the needful. That sector must not die.