Follow Us on Google
By Emmanuel Umohinyang
“History is not the past, but the map of the past, drawn from a particular point of view, to be useful to the modern traveller.” – Anonymous
That the setting up of private universities is one of the most informed decisions of government in our recent history, without doubt one of the most progressive initiatives ever taken, is unchallengeable.
While we cannot but agree that some of these institutions have lived up to their billing as citadels of learning and excellence, that a huge void still exists within the system cannot be overemphasized.
Take the case of Baze University, Abuja, for instance. One cannot but agree that the situation in this institution is a mixed grill.
Like the Nigerian state, which started with a lot of hope, the institution, from what one can observe, is a visitor’s delight, with a superb layout, landscaping and an environment to behold.
This should not be surprising to anyone familiar with the dream of the founding founders, who anchored the vision of the school on production of exceptional graduates across different endeavours.
In fact, that Baze University ranks very high in some faculties, including Medical Science and Law, is a testimony to that vision.
This is aside from parading a multibillion-naira teaching hospital dedicated to producing the best of Medical Science graduates, which was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari, represented by the Minister of Special Duties, Senator George Akume, late last year.
However, there seems to be a decline in terms of infrastructure in some faculties in the institution.
There are unofficial reports about how students and lecturers have to cope with leaking roofs, especially in this rainy season. The Faculty of Law is one example, even though this is the faculty that lays the golden egg.
Worse still, furniture in the lecture halls are far from adequate because what is available is not enough for the student population. Thus, most times, students have to go to nearby lecture halls to look for chairs, which is not good for learning. The unlucky ones are usually stationed at windows to hear lecturers teach.
Indeed, the scenario is a sad reminder of the situation in public universities, which made some parents send their wards to private universities instead, in spite of the high cost.
What about the library? To say that Baze is far from owning a university library cannot be far from the truth as some public universities have libraries that are far better in quality and quantity.
For a university that has some of the best lecturers in the country, having a standard library that can truly complement teaching and research cannot be overemphasized.
Curiously, social critic and spokesman of the Northern Elders’ Forum, Mr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed, is the director of strategy and a lecturer of this institution.
One would have expected him to apply the same zeal with which he attacks government on different issues to address some of the ills affecting the institution.
Moreso, Ahmed’s younger brother is the brain behind Baze University and his suggestions and advice would be most needed in moving the institution forward, but we are yet to see such.
There is also the issue of examination malpractice, which is a global phenomenon; it is far from being appropriately tackled by Baze University’s top management.
For instance, there allegations abound that, while lecturers have caught some students involved in malpractices on a number of occasions, the school’s management most times turns a blind eye to these infractions.
A student allegedly caught in the act during an exam was said to have openly challenged a lecturer and eventually escaped in his car from the varsity.
Today, what you see in most lecturers is indifference towards malpractice, as they are said to be uncomfortable due to the attitude of top management.
Like students, some lecturers heaved sigh of relief in respect of office accommodation, as the air conditioners in their offices recently started working.
Sensing sanctions from the National Universities Commission (NUC), the institution was said to have hurriedly fixed faulty air conditioners in the lecture halls and lecturers’ offices.
However, these problems are not restricted to Baze University, as there are many other Nigerian universities guilty of similar or even worse infractions.
Students of Baze University pay over N4.5 million annually, yet some of the rest rooms in the institution are nothing to write home about, even as there are cobwebs in many places, pointing to a lack of maintenance.
The scenario is similar at Crawford University, Igbesa, Ogun State, where water supply is a serious challenge, making students go for weeks in the hostels without water.
In the case of Caleb University, Imota, Lagos, overcrowded hostels constitute a nightmare, as students claim the institution admits more than it can cater for.
For Baze University, that it can take its rightful place in line with the dreams of its founders cannot be overemphasized. As of today, Baze is an orphan, her parents are dead, and her beauty at infancy has been marred by shenanigans and her guardians have shown little or no interest in her depreciating wellbeing due largely to poor remuneration.
Key among the issues that need to be addressed is the restoration of lecturers’ confidence in the institution’s top management.
Given the strategic role of lecturers in educational development, this void must be filled as a matter of urgency for discipline to be restored in the institution.
What obtains has no doubt affected the morale of the lecturers and, if not urgently addressed, is a time bomb waiting to explode.
In this connection, appropriate sanctions must be applied on erring students nabbed for examination malpractices by way of suspension or expulsion.
Baze management should equally begin the immediate fixing of decaying infrastructure in the institution without much ado.
For an institution that has someone of the caliber of Baba Ahmed as one of its eggheads, what the country needs is a solution provider to our many problems. That is when the criticisms of Ahmed can be said to be ‘solution-oriented,’ as he would have, from his own corner, practically demonstrated the strategies he has up his sleeves by showing that charity begins at home.
As a university that has “Learn to live” as its motto, it is time to go back to the drawing board as a way of returning the institution to the vision of its founding fathers, so that Baze may not learn to die.
On the part of the NUC, this is a major challenge to the commission that it needs to step up in monitoring of universities.
The Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed-led NUC must put on its thinking cap. It needs to come up with proactive ways of carrying out its oversight duties because its assignment is critical to national development.
Observers believe, if the NUC cannot quickly respond to issues in Abuja, where its headquarters is, the commission has many questions to answer, especially at a time when Nigeria is not doing well in global universities’ ranking.
•Umohinyang, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Abuja
