By Ugochukwu Iwuji
Imo State has some sterling peculiarities in Nigeria one of which is its very high literacy rate. The state has the highest number of academic doctors and professors. By implication, it has the highest number of admission seekers. Every family wants to produce graduates many of who pursue their academic dreams to the zenith. There is nothing wrong about this as it has to do with satisfying some priorities in a people’s hierarchy of needs. Some other states may have people who are just interested in sending children to learn a trade after basic education. Some others may not see the need for basic or higher education at all. The reality of high number of admission seekers (Jambites) had created a yearning for more Universities in Imo State.
Prior to the advent of Gov. Hope Uzodinma in the state, there was only one state-owned University, Imo State University. Against all odds, the Governor set up a committee for the establishment of the University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (UAES) to be located at the agrarian town of Umuagwo, about 26 kilometers from Owerri. He had to relocate the Imo State Polytechnic which was using the site to a permanent location at Omuma that had been freshly built up. Thus, the dream of UAES became a reality in May 2021 with the appointment of some Principal Officers. Full academic activities in the Institution formally began in January 2022.
The realization of the UAES dream is a significant milestone in the history of higher education in Imo State. The Governor also established another State University in Ideato which he named: Kingsley Ozuomba Mbadiwe University (KOMU). This followed the recovery of the Institution from an opaque arrangement which ceded a greater percentage of its shares to a private individual, even though it was built with state funds. Imo today boasts of three state-owned Universities that significantly reduce the number of admission seekers on annual basis. This is a call of leadership which Senator Hope Uzodinma effectively answered upon becoming Governor in January 2020.
It is remarkable that the UAES dream has been quite dear to the heart of Gov. Uzodinma because in November 2022, he effected a symbolic change of guard in the Institution with the appointment of Professor Christopher Chiedozie Eze, a distinguished Professor of Agricultural Economics as its Acting Vice-Chancellor. Events have proven that the Governor made a wonderful decision by that move. The Acting Vice-Chancellor hit the ground running from November 25, 2022 that he reported for duty, after a thorough assessment of the state of activities at the Institution. Quickly, he called a General Assembly where he announced his lofty vision to progressively develop the young University with innovative ideas that would cut cost and achieve efficiency. He also pledged to be accessible to everyone in a bid to achieve the mandate given to him by His Excellency, Dist. Sen. Hope Uzodinma. The Vice-Chancellor did not just dwell on the side of rhetorics, he matched every word with action.
In just one year, it is gratifying to note that the vision of a better and greater UAES has materialized. Every sector of the University is growing almost at the same pace as others. His focus on human capital development has remained unwavering as a result of which there had been no month that the University did not organize one workshop or the other. He has ensured that more than 170 members of staff attended professional conferences. In December 2023 alone, over 150 staff were trained in FUTO Ce-SESS in sustainable Procurement, Environmental and Social Standards. This is in consonance with his position that human capacity receives great boost at conferences and workshops. The Vice-Chancellor has also ensured that classrooms, lecturers’ offices and laboratories are well-equipped and conducive for learning and research.
Upon realizing that most of the lecturers of the University, many of whom are academic doctors had had little or no prior teaching experience, the Vice-Chancellor facilitated marathon workshops on how to prepare lecture notes, mark and grade scripts, compute grades as well as abide by the rudiments of the Core Curriculum Academic Minimum Standards (CCMAS) and of course, the Basic Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) of the National Universities Commission. This made lecturers to be conscious of what was expected of them in the realization of their tripartite role of teaching, research and community service.
Earlier, Vice-Chancellor Eze was able to inaugurate the Quality Assurance Unit of the University with the lone mandate of enhancing academic standard in the University. The achievements of the Unit were palpable in the just concluded NUC Accreditation Exercise as the various teams commended the University for ensuring that the objectives and philosophies of each of the programmes accredited were realized. Prof. Eze also inaugurated the Directorate of Academic Planning which has effectively served as a go-between with the National Universities Commission (NUC), thus the University is always up-to-date with the regulations and guidelines of the commission.
It is reassuring that the University Library has been digitized in line with the demands of the 21st century. There is virtually no material a lecturer or student is searching for that may not be found at the e-library section of the University. This is a phenomenal achievement because the University Library is the hub or centre of academic activities. It is where students and lecturers gather to update themselves. It is where scholars are forged and knowledge is discovered. The Library Development Project of Prof. Eze gave the University maximum scores in the just concluded Accreditation Exercise as each of the teams commended the digitization of the Library. It is remarkable that the physical library section was not left out as relevant books, foundational and current, from each discipline run in the University, were procured and stocked in the main Library of the University. Indeed, it bears saying that there is virtually no excuse for anyone not to read and research at the University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Umuagwo, Imo State. The physical and digital resources are available to be exploited by every staff and student.
In the area of linkages and collaborations, the young University has posted superlative results. For instance, UAES leads two other Universities in Nigeria (University of Agriculture Abeokuta and Al-Hikma University, Ilorin Kwara State) in a European Union sponsored agricultural programme on digital solutions for rural farmers in Nigeria at a time of climate change. UAES has made great progress in this programme, leading to a validation workshop of the programme which was held in Abuja, early December 2023. As if that was not enough, UAES has entered into another collaboration with the European Union and Erasmus Plus ecological agriculture in West Africa. This project which involves only two Universities in Nigeria, UAES and another, has eight other institutions from Africa and Europe. Already there is a collaboration from Majoe University, a major agricultural University in Asia, in the area of cassava, root crops and exchange programmes. The linkage with the Advanced Space Technology Applications Laboratory produced results early December with a workshop on the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). In less than one year, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), National Productivity Centre, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Sheda Technology Complex Abuja and National Institute of Management, among others had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UAES.
Then came the much awaited maiden NUC Accreditation of Bachelor of Science Programmes in the University. The exercise took place between November and December, 2023. Preparations were made with vigour and rigour. The Acting Vice-Chancellor organized seminars on how to achieve a successful accreditation. The programmes accredited were drawn from the Faculties of Environmental Sciences, Science and Computing and Arts, Social and Management Sciences. Programmes in the two faculties of Agriculture and Engineering would only face accreditation next year, 2024, because they are run for five years. The programmes which faced accreditation were: Biotechnology, Entrepreneurship, Cooperative and Rural Development, Computer Science, Information Technology, Biology, Business Administration, Criminology and Security Studies, Marketing and Taxation. Others included: Biochemistry, Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Psychology, Microbiology, Accounting, Estate Management and Valuation and Environmental Management and Toxicology. It is historic that each of the teams commended the Vice-Chancellor for the warm reception accorded them. They confessed that in some other Universities, the Vice-Chancellors would delegate others to receive them. It is also commendable that the exit reports of the various accreditation teams were quite favourable to the young University.
Today, hostels at the University have been made more attractive with the installation of solar-powered lights in and charging points. The University Medical Centre has been considerably equipped, with an annexe established at the hostels to cater for medical emergencies. The Sports Unit has been revitalized as a brand new UAES FC was recently launched to participate at the maiden Governor’s Cup among Imo Tertiary Institutions. Sports facilities at the institution have been revamped to cater for the demands of sports. Volleyball and Lawn Tennis Courts have been renovated. A maiden Inter-faculty Tournament has been organized and the sports sector is already booming. The Vice-Chancellor has inaugurated the Parent-Student-Staff-Forum (PSSF) to enhance the synergy among the triumvirate of parents, staff and students. This is a historic move aimed at developing the University further. The University Choir has been inaugurated to cater for the musical and entertainment needs of the University.
There is an ongoing 500-capacity ultra-modern lecture hall ongoing, courtesy of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, which has also given grants to about 23 staff for Institution-Based Research and scholarship grant to about 7 staff for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree. Soon, the same agency of government will start a high-impact Senate Building and an ultramodern hostel project in the University. A masterplan for the University has already been established by the Vice-Chancellor. The Surveyor-General of the State has placed beacons at the boundaries between the University and the host community to reduce tension of any kind. In his wisdom, the Vice-Chancellor has launched a programmed tagged: Donate, Plant and Nurture a Fruit Tree, for the greening of the environment and provision of food. Indeed, Prof. Eze has made it clear that gone are the days of planting flowers that do not bear any fruit. The future seems to be aglow with great prospects for the University.
Today, the University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Umuagwo, Imo State has added another feather with the publication of the UAES MIRROR, a newsletter of the University which carries a periodic report of the activities of the University. The University seems to be experiencing a renaissance in all sectors. The Ag. Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Christopher Chiedozie Eze, has been described by the Registrar as a unique personality who is passionate about the growth and development of the University.
It is interesting that there is no other University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences anywhere around except UAES Umuagwo. The vision-bearer of the University, His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma, has been variously commended for the rare vision of establishing UAES, a model University that can favourably compete with any other in the world, moving forward. His foresight in recognizing the nexus between Agriculture and Environment has been acknowledged as a milestone in the history of University establishment in Nigeria, a case of Imo blazing the trail. The name of the University is in the news again as a staff, Dr. Francis Madu and his team, who applied for the National Research Fund (NRF) of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) came out with flying colours. Some Universities and higher institutions that put in papers for the fund were not successful.
The population of the young University grows by the day. It is no longer the young University of Agriculture of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences located at Umuagwo. It is now a University leading others in a European Union project of finding digital solutions for farmers. It has also become the first Nigerian University to be enlisted in a consortium of ten (10) global Universities in a European project of establishing ecological farms. Interestingly, the young Institution in December 2023, played a lead role in training over 120 staff of tertiary institutions in Imo and environs through its partnership with the Advanced Space Technology Applications Laboratory (ASTAL), a subsidiary of the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. The three-day intensive capacity building workshop was aimed at training participants on the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for tackling environmental and security challenges in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. The UAES dream has truly transcended expectations. God bless the University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Umuagwo, Imo State.
• Dr. Ugochukwu Iwuji writes from Owerri and can be reached via [email protected]