The Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Professor Mobolaji Aluko, speaks with ADEWALE OSHODI on the challenges of building a university from scratch, his vision for the university, as well as the pressure of being the vice chancellor in the p resident’s hometown. Excerpts:
You were in the United States before you were appointed the vice chancellor of the Federal University, Otuoke. How has it been starting a university from scratch?
Before I took up this assignment, I had always come back home, so, it wasn’t a big deal. In fact, at some point, I was involved with the National Universities Commission (NUC) with a programme that was trying to bring Nigerian academics in the Diaspora back into the country to spend some time in our universities; so, it was a natural progression. I used to come home, and I had my sabbatical at the University of Ado-Ekiti in 2002. So, I can say I have never really been away from the country. The other issue is that I grew up in a university environment at Ife. The University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, was a new university when I was growing up, so I know that universities start from a day; no university is brought down from heaven, and you can only do your part, and leave. So, that is the attitude I brought to the job. When you are saddled with a responsibility, you give it a shot, and you surround yourself with good people, and hope that the government will support you in some way.
But how would you describe your pioneering experience here?
It’s been good. There were a number of things I told myself when I was given the job. When I told my people that I was going to become the pioneer vice chancellor of the Federal University, Otuoke, they were concerned about the security situation, and the first thing I told myself was that I had to be safe. This is because there is no point working in an environment that is not safe, and since I resumed, I have not really felt unsafe here. I have not felt any threat here. What I am seeing is completely different from what people who have not visited this place think about the region (Niger Delta). The second thing is that I wanted to be sure that I would still be able to maintain my family abroad. I didn’t want a situation whereby I would come in and I wouldn’t be able to take care of them. The salary is not that great, but as a vice chancellor, I am entitled to some allowances that are allowing me to maintain my family, thereby not making me have a big drop in my lifestyle. However, the most important thing is that I am able to do the job I am appointed to do, and that requires money, because as a new university, no money is ever adequate, but the little you have, you manage it well, so that people can note the difference between when you were appointed, and when you finish your work.
What are the challenges you are facing in the course of your job as the pioneer vice chancellor?
The challenges are in the area of recruiting staff and building infrastructure. You know, when you are building infrastructure, you have to plan it, look for money, get the contractors, supervise them and recruit students. I must say that getting staff is not really easy. The rate of unemployment is very high in this region, and when you want to employ a certain number of people to a position, you will receive applications in large numbers. There was a time we had about 11,000 applicants for some jobs, when there were only about two or three people available to sort all the applications. So, you can see that is really a challenge. The other challenge is that there is not enough money to do everything that we want to do, but even the United States does not have all the money it wants. So, the little money you have, you need to manage it well.
What is your vision for the university in the next five years?
At the moment, we have 1,337 students and I believe we will have more than 2,000 students by next year. We have two faculties now and I hope that in the next two or three years, we should have four faculties, as well as a graduate programme. We have 1,100 staff, but I don’t think we will have more because the number is huge already for the small size of our student population. However, the most important thing is that we want to make sure we get 100 per cent accreditation. A university that has programmes that are not accredited is not a university. The final thing is that the university will be known internationally for specific things. I always have my ears and eyes for the ranking of global universities, even though the absolute ranking at any given time is not important, but how you move up the rankings is. For example, if I was 1,200 two years ago, I expect that I would have moved up a bit this year to, like, 800. Then, I can move to 500 next year. So, I look at the rankings and try to ensure that the indices that go towards the rankings, especially academic wise, are given enough attention. We focus on oil and gas, marine and wetland studies, peace and conflict resolution, entrepreneurial studies. We want to be strong in these areas. What the university is about is real academics, not students rioting and staff going on strike. We are also engaging our staff and students in activities like the recent celebration of Professor Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God@50. This will bring more people in contact with our university. Even, during the Arrow of God celebrations, many people travelled from different parts of the country to Otuoke to witness the event, and most of them had never visited Otuoke before. People were surprised when they got here; they thought Otuoke was a village, but they saw a different picture entirely. So, the university will be involved in more activities like this.
You have expressed commitment to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and e-learning in building the university and linking the institution to the Nigerian Research Network (NRN), but do you think you can complete this project before the expiration of your tenure?
I am definitely committed to ICT and e-learning. We have a number of issues on ground already. We have just over 1,000 students and we do not have enough lecturers. Also, we do not have enough facilities, but we need to have more collaboration with other national and global universities, and we can only achieve this through ICT and e-learning. We can get more students using ICT; we can get more lecturers through ICT. In fact, our students can link up with many online lectures and training opportunities. So, it is important we develop our ICT and e-learning facilities. Research wise, our lecturers need to collaborate with other researchers and this can be done through video conferencing, remote laboratories, email, among others. So, this is really so important, especially because we are a new university, we need to be innovative with ICT.
Is there any pressure attached to being vice chancellor in the hometown of the president?
Not really, but people do visit. The one thing I feel people want to see is whether he is giving us special favour in relation to other universities. And when they see what we have done, they think it is special favour from the president. I will tell you that the only special favour is the sand we are getting. We have an ecological fund project that provides us with sand. Other universities do not need the sand, but here, we need it to fill the water-logged land before building. However, the president loves his town and every time he comes home, I have the opportunity to visit him, and I can say that after the president, I am one of the most notable people in the town and I hope it will continue to be like this for a very long time even after my tenure as vice chancellor expires. We have set up a company, the business arm of the university, and I have some shares in it, but the university has the majority shares, and I intend to keep my shares. This will make me continue my relationship with the university and the town for a very long time.
There are things you would love to do, but which time may not permit you to do. What are those things?
There are no two paths anyone can tread. The arrow of time is only one way, and I do not know the path I would have trodden. I can only know those things I have done, so, there is nothing like the things I would have loved to do. In fact, I am happy with what I am doing now. With what we have been given, we have done a reasonable amount of work. Maybe we could have done better, but I really don’t know. I am satisfied with what I am doing now.
You share your views on some online media on issues affecting the country, some of which may appear contrary to those of your principal. Are you not afraid for your job?
You must understand the fact that those who appointed me knew who I was before choosing me. When I was chosen, I knew this was not a job I could refuse. I knew it was a challenge but wisdom means knowing what to do, when to do it and how to do it. If I did not take the job and do it properly, then I should not have the guts to say anything. So, I am using the work here to do my talking. However, I am sensitive to the fact that I am in the town of the president and I am not going to criticise him unnecessarily. In fact, in my earlier articles, I was not criticising the government, I was only saying how we could do things differently and there was no indication that I was going to be appointed vice chancellor. However, the thing I like about the president is his loyalty. When he was deputy governor, he was loyal to the governor, and when he was vice president, he was calm. He was not too eager to assume the position of president when the late president was away. So, I valued the president and when I was made the vice chancellor, there was no guilty conscience. The president and I have met on many occasions and we had rapport. He is an academic and he values my work here.
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