BEING THE REPORT OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY COALITION FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OVER THE APPOINTMENT OF A SUBSTANTIVE VICE CHANCELLOR FOR UNIVERSITY OF ABUJA AND THE ENSUING ABSURDITY OF PROTEST , CAMPAIGN OF CALUMNY AND OBVIOUS GANGUP AGAINST YOUTH AND WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP.
The twenty five member Civil Society Coalition for Educational Development after painstaking interrogations, independent investigations and review of the leadership crisis that have engulfed the University of Abuja over the jostle for the position of Vice Chancellor, wishes to present our report and recommendations to the public as already sent to the honorable minister of education for immediate action.
We wish to express our deepest disappointment that the almost recurrent chaotic selection process of Vice Chancellor in the university of Abuja has roared its ugly presence this time again. It will be recalled that the same scenario played out during the appointment of the erstwhile Vice Chancellor, Prof Adelabu which our recommendation to the then minister of education saved the situation and restored peace to the institution. We recall also with nostalgia, our role in the appointment of the immediate past Vice Chancellor, Prof Abdulrasheed Na’Allah, we are therefore bold to state unequivocally that we are familiar with the trend of leadership selection succession in the citadel of learning in also two decades now and have adopted same method for the current crisis being orchestrated by a political vested interest among the ranks of professors in the institution.
We wish to begin by expressing unequivocally, our frustration and disappointment over the recent protest by professors from University of Abuja over the appointment of a substantive Vice Chancellor in the institution, describing it as absurdity and a direct attack on due process, betrayal of their experience and direct assault on the globally demanded agenda to have more women and youths in leadership.
This group under the aegis of Civil Society Coalition for Educational Development states that the protest that took place was a sponsored exercise by individuals who have vested interest in the system and are resistant to change.
After our careful investigation, our intel reveal that the protest was sponsored and engineered by vested interests for nefarious intentions and not out of genuine concerns to reposition the sector, we wonder why highly educated and knowledgeable individuals will allow themselves to be used for sinister purposes. Although we have written a demand to the Nigerian Police to swing into action by investigating and prosecuting certain names who attempted to bring in the CSOs to caus chaos and crisis to paint the Vice Chancellor in bad light before the unsuspecting public.
We observed with incontrovertible evidence that the entire protest is about orchestrated plan to discredit Prof. Aisha Maikudi, the acting Vice Chancellor who had previously served as Deputy Vice Chancellor without any record of failure or non qualification, the desperation to pull her down because she is a woman, a youth and a northerner is antithetical to the development of education in Nigeria, especially at a time the global attention is on harnessing the numerous potentials of young people, especially women to boost growth.
“In a long time, Nigerians have not seen professors involving in such a vexatious and demeaning absurdity, just to satisfy certain quarters that believe it is their exclusive right to decide what happens in the educational system. This act in academic circle is preposterous and requires to be nipped in the bud by ensuring that punishments are handed on those involved in the dance of shame.
The antecedents of leadership selection in the university of Abuja suggest that many have been victims of such satanic manipulation which eventually denied them their rights to be at the very top echelon of their careers, hence the need to step in and ensure a competent hand is not denied her opportunity to bring greatness to the institution.
After looking dispassionately at the allegations, we discovered that the claim that southerners were not included in the selecting committee was untrue and a desperate attempt to discredit the process, acting the script of their sponsors.
“The council members from the South West and South East are acting a script and this must be clearly spelt out. Their grouse is that they were given assignments that would prevent them from serving on the selection board.
‘’Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye and Mrs. Chisom Dorcas Obih have no right, as Council members of the university to decide which assignment suits them, unless they have interests they are yet to tell the academic community and indeed Nigerians.
“Again, how many times have professors staged a protest against the appointment of another professor as VC? Why was the appointment of Professor Aisha Mekudi as Deputy Vice Chancellor not challenged if qualification is indeed the issue? Why was her appointment as the Acting Vice Chancellor not challenged or is the qualification for acting VC different?Why is it now that a productive younger female professor is involved that her colleagues have remembered that they have a protesting skill to display. This is pettiness taken too far as stakeholders in this sector, we must urge the Honourable Minister of Education not to bow to pressure from these anti-development quarters.
We find the qualification allegation very strange, unbelievable and distracting. This is so because Prof Aisha Mekudi has served meritoriously as a Deputy Vice Chancellor, a position that has almost equal qualifications as Vice Chancellor yet not challenged by anyone then, the same person here is also the current Acting Vice Chancellor, it is therefore baffling that same person who is a sitting Vice Chancellor in acting capacity could suddenly become unqualified for a position she’s still holding.
Reading on the news that a certain person who has been a professor for 16 years and a woman at that was among those raising dust on issues of marginalization is most unfortunate. For her, a younger, more agile and creative professor should not sit as the Vice Chancellor while she is there.
We also hold that there is no law restricting job-seekers from being interviewed on holidays. Their argument that the process of inauguration of selection committee and schedule of interview is rushed does not hold water as every stakeholder involved has been duly notified on dates for each activities, according to our findings.
OUR RECOMMENDATION
1. We hold very strongly and in unmistakable term that Prof Aisha Mekudi among all the applicants for the job of Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja is the most qualified and the closest person to the job and should be immediately announced as substantive Vice Chancellor having served as Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Institution and currently acting Vice Chancellor of the same school
2. We demand that President Bola Tinubu through the honorable Minister of Education wade into the ensuing crisis and give needed protection for the acting Vice Chancellor who is obviously a victim of ethnic gangup, political orchestration and desperate power mongers in the University of Abuja, to stop those who are desperately attempting to ridicule his efforts in getting youths and women involved in leadership, maintaining that women have so much to offer in raising the bar of national development.
3. We demand that the Nigeria Police invite trouble makers as espoused in our petition to the force to serve as deterrent to others.
4. We demand that the Minister after announcing Prof Aisha Mekudi as recommended by us, should set up a truth and reconciliation panel for post VC tussle era
Thank you,
Dr Wisdom Ohalete Chinedu,
Concerned, Civil Society Coalition for Educational Development
