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• Says Izevbigie, Lawrence varsity VC
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By Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Vice-Chancellor of Margret Lawrence University, Abuja, Prof. Ernest Izevbigie, in this interview, provided guides students could follow to ensure peaceful and successful academic journey.
Your institution was established four years ago. What societal challenges were your school established to fix?
Margaret Lawrence University (MLU) is a product of a divine vision revealed to its Founder, Mr. Paul Odili. A few years ago, he desired to establish a university that will serve as Oasis of Academic Excellence and Intelligentsia. So, this university is known as Oasis of Academic Excellence.
Oasis connotes finding a water in the midst of a desert. It also means a fertile land in the midst of a desert. No one can deny the fact that our school is a fertile land for academic excellence and intelligentsia. When you have a group of intellectuals, then strong academic excellence is guaranteed.
In summary, the school was established to provide solutions to myriad of socioeconomic challenges in the country and beyond. We are dedicated to the advancement of learning and the development of character across our two world-class campuses located in Abuja and Delta State.
What do you offer students?
At Margaret Lawrence University, we offer students the choice between two distinct learning environments, both equipped with world-class facilities and unified by our culture of excellence. Hence, we are determined to be a world-class university recognized for excellence in teaching, learning, and research; and also provide high-quality education through a rigorous curriculum, modern technology, and a supportive environment.
You kicked off academic activities with faculties of Law and Medicine fully in place.
Yes, it is, but it was not really a magic. I can say it was a show of determination by our founder and Pro-Chancellor, Mr. Paul Ufoegbunem Odili, who conceived the idea of the university, and with the support of the management and staff of the university. Margaret Lawrence is one of the privileged university to achieved that feat, and we are proud we did.
Is that not being overzealous?
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Not at all. We knew we could achieve that because we were determined, and that’s why we embarked on the project, and we succeeded. We kicked off the university with the Faculty of Law fully functional and our teaching hospital also fully equipped and functional. However, work in the phase two of the hospital is currently ongoing, and it’s expected that the project will further strengthen the healthcare delivery services in the immediate community and the country in general. The Margaret Lawrence Teaching Hospital serves as a training ground for our students, while the second phase of the project will offer conventional hospital services.
Your school broke into the competition in Abuja as regards private university services. What was the secret?
There’s really no secret other than dedication and desire to offer the desired services as regards educational development. I may not be able to speak about other universities. But in terms of what is responsible for our growth, I can say that God is strongly behind us. Other factors are resources, clarity of purpose and determination from the management. I don’t think it has happened in the history of Nigeria to have medicine and law as take-off courses. In fact, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, the former NUC Executive Secretary, informed me that most institutions begin law and medicine programmes several years after take-off. Some take as much as 30 years after running some other programmes, before they go for medicine and law.
What could be the reason for such?
It’s because these two programmes are capital intensive. A lot of resources and professional manpower are required to run such programmes. For instance, there are about 27 departments within the faculty of medicine, and each requires a professor to run. It costs a lot of money. I will not be surprised to be presented with a request to hire more people in the department. So faculty of medicine is very expensive to run. The same thing with law. So that’s why most institutions don’t do it or takes their time to start. Additionally, the faculties require buildings for each, and that doesn’t cost a little amount of money.
At your matriculation speech, you mentioned that usage of smartphones is prohibited in the school premises. Why that decision?
Focus! It’s for the students to focus on their studies. Usage of smartphones has become a pure distraction, and the students all know that. Their parents also know that. As a matter of fact, that is one of key disciplinary measures in the university even though some other faith-based universities also enforce the ban on usage of smartphones. Please note that we are talking about smartphones and not other non-smart phones. They have several non-smartphones that the students could use to make calls, and to also connect with friends.
Similarly, there are restrictions to internet usage. We see the need for the students to focus on their studies, and not spend time on the internet or social media doing something that’s not useful to their studies. The students are also allowed to seek exit from the school when there’s need for that. So, when they are not in school, they can do anything they like with their phones or any other internet-enabled gadgets. But not when they are in school. They are not allowed to use smartphones.
Are there penalties for students caught using smartphones?
Yes, there are penalties, and it comes in different ways. Such student could face two weeks suspension for the first violation. The penalties become stiffer if a student is consistently caught with smartphone or other prohibited devices.
Tell us about the recent matriculation
It was the third in the series. It was an opportunity to officially onboard over 270 new students in both campuses (Abuja and Delta) into the school system. The admission cut across all our faculties including the faculties of Medicine and Law. From the data, 70 per cent of the new students are female, while 30 per cent are male. The essence of the matriculation is to bring the students under the full authority of the school. During matriculation, oath of allegiance is often administer on the students, and they are also made to sign some dotted lines to obey the rules and regulations of the school, and accept punishment that could accompany the violation of the rules and regulations.
