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• My plans to place UNIZIK among nation’s best-rated institutions
From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
Ugochukwu Bond Stanley Anyaehie, Professor of Physiology and Clinical Measurements, is the Vice Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State. He was appointed substantive VC on 16th November 2025. Coincidentally, the date is his birthday and birthday of the Great Zik of Africa whom the university is named after. Before his present appointment, he had served as Provost and Visiting Professor (pro-bono), College of Medicine, Imo State University, Owerri and Deputy Provost, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria.
In this interview, he talks about university administration in Nigeria, his mission and vision as well as his intentions of pushing UNIZIK among the best rated universities in Nigeria.
Your appointment as the substantive Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University surprised many who thought that the position would have come from within the university. What is your vision and mission at this point in time for the university named after the great Zik of Africa?
Power and authority comes from God. Like I said in my acceptance speech after my appointment by the Governing Council, it is my pledge to work closely with the Governing Council towards ensuring that UNIZIK ranks among the best universities in Nigeria and in sub-Saharan Africa. I’ve always felt universities can be better and God has given me that opportunity to make one better. Everyone talks about mission and vision but for me, I want to be realistic to do things that are feasible. One of such is the digitalisation of our classrooms, completing all uncompleted projects and improving on the staff and students welfare. The key thing is that Nnamdi Azikiwe University will be one of the best rated universities in Nigeria within the next year.
That is a tall ambition. How do you intend to achieve that feat?
What I’ve seen here is that we are underrated because our website is poorly managed. I’ve been to other universities and have not seen any other university where more academic programmes are going on more than this university. I’ve not seen any university where more entrepreneurial programmes are going on more than this university too. First thing is to report what we are doing here to the global world. I know there are patents here but they are not registered and there are no evidence on our university website. We are going to develop more patents, there is a pay app they have subscribed to and I’ve challenged them that we are going to make our own app and register the patent as our own. We are paying so much to get metered for the people that are here and I’ve also told the engineering department to develop our own meter. I’ve also mandated the pharmacy people that we must make our own multivitamins. Likewise, the agric department to make the best feed for our fishes better than what others produce outside. We must have products that serve the society, our own rice mill, and our own blends of different crops contributing to the society. We are talking with some people and with our engineers here, we can develop drones for monitoring of oil pipelines. By the time we do all these things and they are reported effectively, I don’t see any other university that can beat us in Nigeria. As we continue to build a vibrant and inclusive academic community, my vision remains rooted in feeling the pulse of staff and students and finding a solution. This means listening deeply, understanding genuinely, and acting decisively to improve the experiences and well-being of everyone within our institution. Together, we are creating an environment where voices are heard, challenges are addressed, and innovative solutions are embraced.
Funding is a major challenge in Nigerian universities. How do you intend to bring to life and fruition, all the lofty plans of your administration?
I don’t think funding is actually a major challenge in our universities. Rather, it is misplaced priorities that are killing Nigerian universities. Can you tell me that if you are given this university to manage and someone is paying the whole staff salaries, you will be complaining about finance? We may have funding gaps but I don’t take it as a major challenge. What we need to do is to partner with students, alumni and relevant stakeholders to make things happen in our universities. When I went to Imo State University as Provost, College of Medicine, there was no fund anywhere but we had a meeting with the students and we agreed to raise funds and we were able to achieve a lot. We raised voluntary donations and when they see that you are doing something with the money raised, there will be a rush to do more. You just need to convince them that it is a joint project and you see them cueing in. I have an unimaginable level of acceptance and I’m wondering why but I know why, partially. My mother’s name is Grace and I go with grace. Laughs. My name is Bond and we have to ‘bond’ the university community into one strong , united and happy family.
When you came in, you also indicated a special interest in ensuring that the university is properly lit. What is your long term plan to sustain the power generating issue in the university?
I’ve always been interested in light, maybe it’s because of the family I came from, because as far back as early 70s when I started to see things clearly, we had light in my place. I was among the first people that veered into solar light supply in my house in Enugu over 13 years ago. Power supply is very important and not a luxury and we shall utilise every option like the FGN Power Holding, TETFUND and the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) to fix back our solar farm in UNIZIK. The contractors that handled the initial project are back on site reviewing the project though they said they can’t do much in the place unless there is security. We looked at the contract, it’s not friendly but I’ve set up a committee, a team of five departments from the Faculty of Engineering to form a team that can implement that project for us so it can be cost effective. One of the things we must do is to secure the place .The solar farm must work and all hands are on deck to make it happen. When I came in, the electricity distribution company was being owed millions of naira but we have paid some and gave commitment that we must pay. I repeat that light is a necessity and not a luxury.
You have emphasised severally that you came prepared for the job of a vice chancellor. Two months plus in the seat, what can you say are the challenges so far and the things you are doing to wriggle out of the challenges?
Yes, I really came prepared and even for the worst too but I’ve not seen the worst actually. The thing is that whatever you meet, you tackle it and not actually see it as an insurmountable challenge. You see members of staff trying to do things their own way. Trying to give them a new orientation is a task we are pursuing with renewed vigour. It’s a bit difficult getting them not to do things the wrong way. If you look at the social sciences faculty, we have made some interventions there but that is not all we intend to do. We are doing things in phases. The place is supposed to have an ultra-modern public address system to make it a digital auditorium but we’ve taken the ones we’ve done now and planning to give the place a 100kva generator and in addition to that, have a solar system that can carry the fans and other gadgets in case the public power source is not available. We are modernising our security on campus too. If you go abroad, you don’t see police checkpoints everywhere like it is in Nigeria but everywhere is well secured. If you are having CCTV cameras, you must have the one that is motion sensitive and a control room where someone is dedicatedly watching and monitoring. We have plans to even digitise the UNIZIK FM station such that the live stream can be accessed online through the internet globally. The welfare of students is paramount to me. We must ensure that living in the school becomes more comfortable and are investing on that to ensure that university life passes through the students while they are on campus among others.
The unpaid staff which you inherited from previous administration is still a lingering issue. You assured them of getting their first salaries by December. How far about that promise?
I had a meeting with them to iron out the issue of how to share 140 slots already secured for payment out of over 500 persons. We are going to get more slots by February but everyone among them is struggling to be on that first batch of 140 which is not possible. I’ve told them, -look , you have missed December and by this January month end, federal government might say, don’t pay anybody that was not paid in December, so the earlier we get these things sorted out , the better. I told them to be considerate by taking care of those whose names are in the first list, the physically challenged among them and even those from other states so as to balance the number but many are still insisting that they must be included. Right now, some traditional rulers are calling me for their subjects and because of the pressure, I’ve set up a committee to harmonise the list and even recused myself from the committee so they can do a transparent job and we can send the list to Abuja to perfect their payment process. With time, everything will be sorted out. I so much believe.
