SIR: It is laughable to read the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma chapter list abuse of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) as one of the sins of Prof Ignacious Onimawo, the vice chancellor. The truth is the AAU is now a construction site as works on various projects are ongoing. Through TETFUND, Prof Onimawo has completed the Faculty of Life Sciences while the construction of the Faculty of Physical Sciences, Faculty of Education, a 1000-capacity Auditorium at the College of Medicine and a new Department of Mass Communication are ongoing. On the whole, 31 projects have been completed.
Some of the challenges inherited by Prof Onimawo when he assumed duty as vice chancellor were high rate of examination malpractices, ‘blocking’ sex for marks, violence and squabbles during students union elections, infrastructure deficit amongst others.
Having been in the saddle for over two years, Prof. Onimawo has confronted the challenges by ensuring his vision of making AAU one of the 10 best institution and the best state owned university in Nigeria became a reality. He, perhaps, knew that his vision will remain a mere pipe dream and fleeting illusion if he does not take steps to tackle those challenges.
He has embarked on reinventing the institution by digitalizing all administrative and other processes in the institution. The e-voting for students union elections ended squabbles and violence usually experienced in students union politics. They are now consigned to the dustbin of history.
To put an end to the filthy spectacle of sex for marks being perpetrated by some morally aberrant lecturers, he introduced the Computer Based Examination (CBE) and it brought sanity in the conduct of examination in AAU. The CBE has put a stoppage on blocking which lectures used to extort money from students and this is a major source of anger amongst some lecturers.
The recent strike action by ASUU had to be suspended in the institution to ensure financial stability because the monthly subvention from the state government to AAU is N300m, a sum that could not pay salaries of the staff. The resistance by the combative leadership of ASUU in the university led by Prof. Monday Igbafen failed because many lecturers and non-academic staff are impressed with the works of the VC. Accusation that the vice chancellor promoted his wife from a Typist to Lecturer 1 is from the imagination of the accusers. The vice chancellor’s wife is a Phd holder in Public Administration from the lgbinedion University, Okada.
Onimawo’s giant strides should be supported by all stakeholders in the university for the development of the university.
- Prof. James Onaivi, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma.