The Project Internal Candidate (PIC) is a noble initiative by some concerned members of the University of Abuja Senate that should always be supported and actualised by its stakeholders. Hence, all genuine lovers of the progress and development of the University should be alarmed by its current trajectory, in which the ongoing transition towards a new substantive Vice-Chancellor is tailored to bring in a new chief executive from outside the institution. A university of its age and size should ideally be producing its leadership from within.
However, the current scenario where the incoming Vice-Chancellor is likely to be appointed based on the unfolding joint script of the Minister of Education and the Pro-Chancellor is not only tailored to rule out an insider from emerging. It will also mean that outside forces will take over the University of Abuja, moving forward. Already, the Bursar and the University Librarian have been appointed from outside the University despite having qualified and better-suited candidates in terms of knowledge of the terrain and the system.
As someone who believes and subscribes to the idea of an internal person emerging and occupying the exalted position, I am particularly alarmed and worried that the well-grounded laudable Project Internal Candidate (PIC) may not be actualised, and instead, be sacrificed to the benefit of the Chicago Third Force at the behest of the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa. If such an eventuality were to occur, it would constitute a grave misfortune and a double tragedy, given that the university had,through the last transition earlier in the year, duly produced an internal Vice-Chancellor only for external forces to intervene and impose a new appointee from outside.
Specifically, it will simply mean that Dr. Alausa has capitalized on the internal agitations against the appointment of Professor Aisha Maikudi to unleash and realize his agenda on the university. The agenda is to impose a candidate from the Chicago axis in the United States of America (USA), his erstwhile operational base. Only recently, following the leadership crisis at the University of Nigeria,Nsukka, a new substantive Vice-Chancellor and an associate of the Minister with strong links to the Chicago axis, was appointed by the Governing Council.
This is, therefore, not a speculation without justification, and the indications for this are self-evident.
Firstly, in the composition of the current 11th Governing Council of the University of Abuja, Dr. Alausa not only ensured the appointment of his medical colleague, fellow University of Lagos alumnus and friend, Senator Lanre Tejuoso, as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman. He also facilitated the appointment of three other fellow medical professionals with links to the Chicago axis who now constitute the majority of the external members. This is a very formidable bloc in the Council that could prove to be the game-changer when it comes to the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor for the University.
Secondly, and related to the above is the authoritarian manner the Pro-Chancellor has so far been conducting the affairs of the Governing Council which has subdued the new internal members. Elected with very high hopes by the Senate and Congregation during the tenure of the immediate past acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Patricia Manko Lar, it is now clear that the six internal members with their various conflicting interests cannot withstand the intimidating Chicago force and be able to influence the appointment of an internal person as the next substantive Vice-Chancellor.
Given that the appointment of the current acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mathew Adamu, was carried out without their input, and even without any whimper of protest from them after the second imposition by the government, it is an unsavoury indication that our dreams of producing the Vice-Chancellor internally may be unrealised with the calibre and inaction of the current internal members.They appear timid and subdued to the extent that the Council has been operating at the whims of the Pro-Chancellor, with no involvement of statutory committees that he has not yet deemed it necessary to put in place.
The internal members will have to prove themselves by staying true to their responsibilities and counteractthe narrative being peddled by some internal critics that the University is still saddled with a one-man Governing Council at the helm of affairs. This is necessary because power is not ordinarily given or obtained on a platter; rather, as representatives of the university community, they must not be seen to be only marking time on the Council without actively promoting its interest. Like in other Nigerian universities of comparative age, appointing the leadership internally should be a major eternal duty and goal of internal members of the University of Abuja Council.
Furthermore, the advertisement used by the Council to source candidates for a new substantive Vice-Chancellor has suited the political calculus of the Chicago axis in two ways. One, the inclusion of a PhD professional equivalent as part of the eligibility criteria must have allowed their targeted candidates to apply and be available for the selection process.These are the so-called clinical professors in the medical sciences without doctoral degrees. This is notwithstanding that under existing government regulations, the emergence of professors without PhD degrees was discontinued after 2015; and by implication, that only those equipped with doctoral degrees can now become Vice-Chancellors and preside at the University Senate. It was a clinically executed political game plan by the dominant Chicago bloc in the Council.
The second way the Chicago enforcers used the advert is the strange clause that allows the Council to review, cancel, or withdraw the enforcement of the advert at any time or stage of the selection process without prior notice. Undoubtedly, this can be a red flag for the Council if the selection process is not proceeding according to a predetermined plan, which may not serve the University well. This could be akin to a hidden agenda!
What the foregoing implies is that despite the overwhelming desire to produce a Vice-Chancellor internally, the University of Abuja community may be unable to do so because the process has been hijacked by forces linked to the duo of the Minister of Education and the Chairman of the Governing Council, who are determined to appoint one from outside the University. This should not be acceptable because the institution is old enough, has the requisite human resources, and is legally empowered to influence its leadership process outcome, as dictated by its peculiarities, needs, and goals.
With over 200 professors in its fold, it would be a slapdash university were it to recruit its Vice-Chancellor from the Chicago axis. It is up to members of the university community to translate the advocacy of internally produced leadership into a reality. The docility of internal Council members, staying on the fence, or the indifference of other staff members, is not an option.
Dr Folorunsho writes from the Faculty of Communication & Media Studies, University of Abuja
