I want to give back to society before God calls me back – Clark
What is the motivation for setting up university at the age of 86?I really want to give something back to society knowing that God may call me home any day. When I was 85 last year, it came to my mind that I should do something by way of leaving a legacy behind, such that […]
What is the motivation for setting up university at the age of 86?
I really want to give something back to society knowing that God may call me home any day. When I was 85 last year, it came to my mind that I should do something by way of leaving a legacy behind, such that after it has pleased God to take me home, there would be something for many Nigerians to still use and remember me for. It is better than building estates, which have split many families. I am even trying to reconcile many families, which have been set apart as a result of sharing family estates left behind by their parents. Some are in court and there is no end in sight despite intervention by elders. There is a case of brother and sister of the same parent, who are already at the Supreme Court over their father’s property. So I feel that it is better to learn from those experiences that one should have legacies that their children will be proud of and be of benefit to other Nigerians.
So I thought about it and came to the conclusion that leaving a legacy in the education sector would be the best thing for me to do. I also remember that when I was young, I taught as a pupil-teacher that was in 1947. I remember that I wanted to go to Government College, Ughelli like my brothers and when we went before the officials-made-up of S.U.Etuk father of the Joe Irukwu’s wife who was then the Senior Education Officer for the Delta, and Anthony Enahoro’s father and Chief Ighrakpata, at the panel for the Government College Warri, they said I was too old to be admitted and I was therefore rejected for my younger brother, Ambassador B.A. Clark, who was Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Prof. J.P.Clark. So I had to go and teach as pupil-teacher in 1947. I later became headmaster of schools. Therefore, I went to Great Britain to study Law. So when I returned in 1965, I started practice and was appointed by the then Col. Samuel Ogbemudia in 1968 as the Commissioner for Education. I was very interested in education and I started working to improve the situation for the interest of our people.
Do you think that you will have the required human capital to run such a specialized institution given the high level of brain drain to other parts of the world?
First of all, charity they say, begins at home. I have been making contact and people are available for the job. To start with, the University of Benin, which I helped to set up, has agreed to be part of the preparation for my own university. UNIBEN has set up an eight-man committee of professors to liaise with the upcoming university to see what they can do to make the new one a success. We will depend on them and others to make it work. We have gone abroad to seek help for the new institution, we have made contacts with the Chicago State University to supply us with some of the technological things we require. We will soon sign a memorandum of understanding with the institution and others around the world for the strengthening of the new university.
What is the name of the university and what target have you set for it?
We have put all the things required by the NUC in place. First, we have met the three mandatory requirement put up by the NUC. One, we have the master plan, we have acquired over 124 hectares of land in my hometown and the building is going on, we have provided an academic brief for ten years and the law governing the university.
These documents have already been submitted to the NUC. I personally went there because of my interest and they were surprised to see me with other key official of the EK Clark foundation. They were happy with us. With regard to the name of the university, the first thing that came to my mind was Niger Delta University but it was rejected by NUC on the grounds that there was already the Niger Delta University in Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State. I was advised to choose another name; they even suggested to me that given my numerous contributions to education, the new university could be named after me. I reluctantly accepted that the university be named after me and that is why it is called, named and addressed as Edwin Clark University of Technology, Kiagbodo.
So what targets have you set for the university?
I may not be around in the next ten years but I have a dream that whether I am around or not, the university will make its mark in the world. I am certain that all will be well with it. That is my dream and hope. Nigerians will one day be proud of the setting up of the university and through it remember that there was a man like Chief EK Clark, who believe in the unity of Nigeria through education.
Who is going to provide the funds for the university to make the required impact you have talked about?
Funding can never be a problem for the university, given the fact that it is what has been on the drawing board for some time. I had looked at it before coming to the stage. I have consulted widely and I don’t think that money would be a problem because of the huge goodwill we have established over the years and the high level of consultation with credible individuals and experts in the field.
When will the first set of students start classes there?
Immediately we get the go-ahead from the National Universities Commission, we will fling our doors open to the first set of students. We have applied and paid all the prescribed fees and some of the NUC officials have been going to the site to see what we have done. Once the launching has been done and we get the green light, we hope to start in January 2014. I want to see the first set of students and personally welcome them to the village and give them my blessings as a lover and promoter of education in Nigeria.