The trouble with UniAbuja – Pioneer DVC Olatunde

How did you join the University of Abuja? University of Abuja was founded in 1988 with the University of Agriculture, Makurdi and University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. The three were founded in the same session. I said let me change habitat. And because we usually passed through this place to my village, which is Ogidi—any time […]

How did you join the University of Abuja?

University of Abuja was founded in 1988 with the University of Agriculture, Makurdi and University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. The three were founded in the same session. I said let me change habitat. And because we usually passed through this place to my village, which is Ogidi—any time we were going to Ogidi from Zaria, it usually took us almost one week of preparations—we would look for fuel, we would look for this, that. Then we had to spend about seven hours on the journey. From Zaria to this place [Abuja] is four hours, from here to Kabba is three hours, making seven hours.

I said if I got a job here I’d cut away the four hours. Sometimes if I left here around 3:00pm, I reached my village before 7:00pm. This motivated me…I applied [for job in University of Abuja].

Fortunately, the first vice chancellor, who was also a Vice Chancellor at Calabar [University of Calabar] at that time—was managing two universities. He was Dean in the Faculty of Science at ABU so we were very familiar figures. I applied, we were called for interview and I was employed among the few who applied for academic positions.

I arrived on 30th November 1990. After recruiting many staff, the vice chancellor put people in positions. I was one of those put in position as dean. We were only five professors: Professor Onobi was dean of faculty of arts, Professor Jegede was dean of education and Professor Ekpong was dean of social sciences. The rest were senior lecturers. That was how we started. We had to write the syllabus from the scratch.

But because of the high handedness of the pioneer vice chancellor, instead of concentrating on developing the university, he was witch-hunting. You know, as usual, students had their own trouble. Sometimes, he would say we were the ones instigating the students against him. We told him, “some of us are already used to you so why would we come here and begin to foment trouble?”

Trouble broke out and that crisis shook the University of Abuja and affected us. Much of the money that was generated or sent to the university by government, instead of using it to pursue the development of the permanent site, was  used in pursuing court cases.

That was why when Makurdi and Abeokuta were developing their permanent sites—up till today, we are still in the mini-campus, the old primary school which we started from.

What do you mean by pursuing court cases?

We took him [former vice chancellor] to court, challenging our wrongful dismissal. He dismissed us saying that we were the ones instigating students to riot. As you know, litigation in Nigeria is not something that will enable you get your justice tomorrow. No!

This crisis started in 1994, around June, and it lasted for about four years. We won the cases and the court forced them to call us back. But before that time, the vice chancellor was changed. The vice chancellor didn’t want to leave. He was asking for this, asking for that.

What was his name?

Professor Isa Mohammed. There was interim VC, administrator they called them. The man was there. We were called back. All of us that were sacked were called back, that was in 1999. But some had got jobs elsewhere, some died and so on.

We resumed duty. I went back to my department and I started teaching again. Then a new vice chancellor, a woman who was from the University of Abuja [Laraba Gambo] was appointed.

And because she was part of us, right from the creation of the University of Abuja, she knew about all the crises. The new vice chancellor was appointed in 1999. By 2000, she thought that there was need for a deputy vice chancellor because the university laws have provision for two deputy vice chancellors.

I didn’t know she did consultations underground. We went to senate that day and she said, “Well, I’m ready to appoint my deputy vice chancellors and I will bring their names for approval.” My name was mentioned! I couldn’t believe it because she didn’t tell us anything like this. And this was how I was appointed deputy vice chancellor.

There was another woman who was DVC Administration. She was a senior lecturer then. Maybe she wanted gender balance. I was chosen as DVC (Academics). By the provision of law, we were to do it for two years and it is renewable. But maybe…I don’t know her reasons, she decided that we should stay for two years only. When the two years elapsed, she chose other people.

After that I taught for one session and then went on another sabbatical. This time at the Benue State University, Makurdi. Why the choice of Benue State University? One of my classmates, Prof Charles Vajime, who was the pioneer vice chancellor of Benue State University was there. In fact, during the time of crisis, he kept asking me to come. But I said no, I would not come until the crisis was over because I still belonged to the University of Abuja.

How did the crisis between staff and the vice chancellor lead to failure of university to develop? Does it mean resources were not coming to the school or the money came but the vice chancellor diverted it?

One thing with finances is unless you are an insider, you may never know how money comes and goes. There are people who are in charge of that—the vice chancellor himself, the university bursar are the two. Of course, we have the auditor and so on but when it comes to university finances, these two are the major controllers. So you say so so amount comes in, it might be speculation, particularly from people like me.

But sometimes the ASUU members, that is Academic Staff Union of Universities, can probe and know the actual amount that came to the university. For me, my own was to do the teaching. I was not disturbed by whatever was going on. I did not usually attend the meetings because it was grammar, grammar, grammar there.

But we knew that government which was the proprietor of the university could be sending money. They could not create the university and say go and look for ways to fund it.

Moreso, peer universities were progressing…

Exactly! That was why we suspected that all the money that was sent, at least he knew we were to move to the permanent site. Where was he sinking it into? Then during the crisis, there were lawyers. Of course, as we were getting our own lawyers, they too got their own university lawyers pursuing the case. That was why we suspected that the money coming to the university was used to pursue the case instead of pursuing movement to the permanent site.

The education minister recently announced closure of some faculties in the university. Some people point fingers at the vice chancellor, saying he failed to do the right things.

That one is dicey. Frankly speaking, most universities in Nigeria are underfunded. No university will come out and say we have enough funds to do everything we want. That is why government will always say go and generate funds internally. Government says this is much we can provide. Go and get more and add. That is how most universities in this country, whether state-owned or federal government-owned are managed. And of course, the little resources they give to the universities, I assume that they use them to the best of their abilities. It may not be glaring to some of us who are just teachers and just interested in doing the work. But people in unionism are eager to know what comes in.

These faculties that were not accredited and closed, it is the same problem. Because when those faculties were to be created, the former vice chancellor [Nuhu Yaqub], I think, he just created them to make name, that “during my own time, four faculties were opened, 10 centres were opened.” He didn’t really do the arithmetic on how some of these things would be sustained as time went on.

It is just like buying a car. Maybe in the first year or six months you can manage. But later on, if you are not very careful, that car will be parked and before you know it, you don’t have a car any more.

When these new courses were mounted, they managed to survive. But after that, the effect of lack of funds began to show on them. These are professional courses. One thing with professional bodies is they don’t compromise. We have two bodies regulating the standards in the universities. One, the owner of the university which is the federal government. Government doesn’t regulate directly. It regulates through the NUC [National Universities Commission] so the NUC will send in its accreditation team, that is one.

Then the second regulator are the professional bodies for courses which have professions like law, engineering, veterinary medicine, medicine also send their own teams to come and see what structures you have on ground—how many lecturers do they have? How were their syllabus? What are the courses they are running? Where are their classrooms? Do they have lecture theatres?

And there is ratio of professors to student, ratio of general lecturer to students. If these ratios are below what they want, you won’t be accredited. Even if NUC comes and accredits you, the professional body will not agree.

What would have been the best option for the minister of education in this instance?

In this instance, the best option is what the minister is doing. That is she is now listening to both the vice chancellor and the students to know the real problems. When these problems are identified, they will see how they can be managed.

So closing those courses is the best option.

No! No! That is what she did. And when something is done, you cannot be talking about whether the step taken is good or bad. It is what next, how do we wriggle out of this situation that matters. She has done the closure which is not in the interest of the students or staff. If the students can be transferred to other universities or other courses, what of the staff? They have been employed by the university council. Do we say they [staff] should be looking for jobs now?

The minister should give the university time to see how these facilities can be put in place and then normalise everything. This means government should now give the university money to put those things in place and see how far we can go with accreditation.

What is your worst experience as a teacher?

I may not say much because during our own time, Nigeria was still Nigeria. At that time, they provided your writing materials. Where I started from, we had very standard offices. As a scientist, I had a laboratory attached to my office which meant I could do research within my office.

But as time went on, facilities began to shrink down because the population became larger and larger. And everybody wanted their children to be in the university. When the option was given, this were polytechnic, this was college of education, most took the university. With the pressure from parents, if the vice chancellor was to take only 100 students, they would take double that 100 and the facilities were not there.

The worst experience, in terms of my teaching, I can’t say much because it has never got to a stage where I would regret and say had I known. As experienced teacher, you can always manage. For example, if you cannot take students to Kainji lake because of Boko Haram, insecurity or because of lack of funds, then you can take them to our local vegetation here. That is what we do nowadays.

Maybe in the course of your work a colleague of yours or a student does something funny which irritated you much.

I have not had that.

Is there anything that has made you so happy as a teacher?

When I see some of my students become professors, I usually feel that this is somebody I taught and is now a professor like me. In fact, most of the people who come to the department as our external examiners now will say “Ah prof, you taught me” at so so and they are professors. Some said the year and even the course, how I taught them and some of my notes are what they are still using.

There is a conference I attended at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. I met one madam, she is now a professor. She said, “Prof, you taught me at undergraduate, you taught me at M.Sc. also. Your notes I used at that time are what I still use.” I said, madam, those notes should be discarded. She insisted that they are still fresh. Because the textbooks are not there—we are not importing textbooks and the ones produced locally are not of standard. When I meet people like this, I feel happy and fulfilled.

What has ASUU strike done to you as a teacher?

It has improved the lot of us lecturers. They always said that the reward of the teacher is in heaven and we are telling them that we want to have our reward here in this world, not in heaven. So when they fight and government agrees to increase the salary and improve the condition of lecturers, it makes me happy that at least the ASUU strike has partially achieved something. Then sometimes the facilities are not there, we fight and government puts them in place.

So you would always encourage strike.

Nobody encourages strike. In fact, we often go against strike. It is when there is no alternative…we always say it in the meetings, what alternative(s) can we use? All these warning strikes are to make government see that these people are serious. When they don’t do anything, the lecturers have no choice than to go on full-scale strike. And this is yielding results.

Having done so much for your country and getting to this age, what should Nigerians learn from you?

People should take their work seriously. Working culture in this our country is very poor. You see some lecturers who are supposed to be in classroom elsewhere either doing private consultancy or doing marketing, selling things around. Some of them through sheer laziness, you know, for lectureship, nobody marks the register for you to show whether you are in office today or not. Some people relax, take advantage of that and don’t do their work.

I tell people that if you are still being paid for this job, you have to put service into the money you are earning, not to take money for doing nothing. When you ask a teacher to invigilate exams, some of them come late. If you are invigilating 8:00am exam, you stroll in 8:30am and then you begin to muddle up things…

And then some of the notes they used 10 years ago, they are still using them. There are so many things in the internet they can access and then refresh their notes. People should take their work seriously. That is the bottom-line.

When you retire and stop teaching completely, what will you be doing?

One, I have retired. At present, I’m on contract and that contract, I don’t intend to renew it. The VC tells me that with my package of years of experience, the university doesn’t want to lose me. But I tell him, one day, they must lose me.

You know, I’m a fishery man by my profession. If you go to the back now, you will see some tanks I keep fish. I keep them for food but sometimes if people who know that I’m keeping them come and knock, I sell to them.

They say that when you are idle, various types of sicknesses will be coming to your body but when you get something doing…when I wake up in the morning, I will go look at the fish, give them food and take my breakfast, relax with newspapers and so on. And of course, we pray for long life but somebody at 70 is quarter to go already [laughter].

What has the vice chancellor, Prof James Adelabu not done right that you would love to advise him to correct? Is there anything you have told him to do which he did not to heed?

I have not told him to do something and he has not done it. The only thing is when it comes to senate meetings, the meetings are not regular as they are supposed to be. Sometimes the senate meetings are not called for months whereas it is supposed to be a monthly affair.

Then there was a management committee—every university has a management committee which comprises the vice chancellor, all the principal officers and some selected individuals based on their experiences. When he started, he was calling this committee meeting regularly, including senate. But suddenly, he declined which is not good.

But when it comes to general administration, he is doing well. Student welfare, he is doing well. Sometimes he uses his personal money to buy foodstuffs for students. When there was fire outbreak, students complained that their foodstuffs had been burnt. He put his hand in his pocket and bought rice and so on for them and gave them some cash too.