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A great speech does not just capture eternal truths of our time. It must address contemporary issues that confront us. Such issues must suit the mood of the nation. All great speeches are like a window onto a great occasion. They must contain good, uplifting words that encapsulate the principles of decency and liberty that we cherish. As a rule, the simplicity of language and the delivery matter a great deal in making a superb speech or lecture. Perhaps even more critical, a great lecture does not shy away or afraid to pinpoint with splendid language and moral rigour, why a particular Guest Lecturer is chosen above all other personalities for such a great occasion. Imo state Governor, Hope Uzodimma, is acutely aware of what makes a great speech, a unique lecture worthy of the event. As the guest lecturer at the recent 52nd Convocation of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN),held on May 9, Uzodimma knew what was at stake.
The rarefied atmosphere of a university environment is uniquely different from the husting of a political campaign. Choosing the right topic is crucial in getting the attention of a largely academic audience. A great lecture must also sustain the audience all through. It was therefore appropriate that Uzodimma chose as the theme of his lecture: “Why Universities should lead the way to a New Nigeria”. Apt. Without a doubt, the current state of Nigerian university system, as well as the challenges of national growth, top the list of contemporary challenges that require collective urgent attention. I believe that Gov Uzodimma knew that the occasion at the UNN, the first indigenous university in the country, could be his finest hour outside politics if he delivers on such unique academic turf.
It is important to recall that the event of May 9, was not his first visit to that great citadel of learning. He was there in 2018 as a senator, when he was given the rare privilege to deliver the 14th Eni Njoku Memorial Lecture. On that occasion, he did challenge Nigerian academics to step up and play their assigned role in national development. But, a convocation lecture carries a different cadence and rhythm – an atmosphere that sets it apart from others. The style should be different. It must sparkle. No wonder, the whole university community was aglitter to receive their august guest lecturer. The excitement was noticeable. It turned out to be one of the stirring and eloquent convocation lectures delivered by a politician in recent memory. Uzodimma said it the way it’s – the problems facing our universities – and why Nigeria is not making the required progress after 63 years of Independence. As drivers of social change, it was timely to challenge our universities to assume that vital role of change agents and drive the country in a new direction. That is an important intervention, but sadly, this role has, to some extent, been undermined by the government and even the university administrators themselves.
In my view, Uzodimma hit the right chord when he revealed a recent survey on the needs and desires of Nigerians. These needs and desires include: good leadership, good road network, improved health facilities, constant power supply, affordable homes, security, quality education, employment opportunities, and great human capital that will drive the realisation of these desires of a New, prosperous Nigeria. And, you ask: why has successive governments failed in meeting these aspirations? Should the universities alone be blamed for not playing that pivotal role as generators of ideas for national development, even when, according to Uzodimma, the evidence of history proves that universities across the globe have played such pristine roles in the past? If Nigerian universities have failed to meet that standard, what are the factors responsible?
Did Gov Uzodimma ask the right question, yes, he did. His posers why Nigeria remains where it’s today despite past and present governments’ efforts, should be a big concern to well-meaning Nigerians. These germane posers are: why do we still have a relatively low level of industrial production and export? Why have we continued to export mostly raw materials? Why is our economy still overtly dependent on the export of crude oil? Why do we still have a high degree of poverty and inequality? Why have we failed to integrate the different ethnic groups in the country into one united nation? Why do we have a high degree of crippling corruption in our public institutions, including the universities? Why the low degree of patriotism among our people, including those who have benefited immensely from the country?
Again, why is it that many Nigerian graduates sent abroad on government’s scholarship refuse to come back at the end of their studies? What excuse do those in government have for the poor state of our roads, power supply , health, education, etc? Why has Nigeria’s GDP remained relatively low at about $374bn, and why is our economy growing at such ridiculously low rate of 2.51 percent, while for instance, the University of California in the United States is a major contributor to the GDP of that state? It is important that Gov Uzodimma has asked these relevant questions. But they are posers that the political leadership should provide answers to. In fact, what excuse does the present administration have for its poor economic reforms that have made the economy worse than the President met it?
Reports from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria last week said that Nigeria’s quest for a diversified foreign exchange earnings away from oil is not feasible for now as revenue from the manufacturing export sector has plunged 166 percent to N778.4bn from the N2.1trn recorded in 2019. The trend since 2019 has witnessed a steady sharp decline. Also within the same period, the share of manufacturing export to non-oil exports dropped to 24.8 percent in 2023 from 82.4 percent in 2019. The World Bank in its recent Africa Pulse report blamed Nigeria’s dwindling foreign trade on poor infrastructure and inefficient logistics, among other factors. The bank also said that the cost of trade in Nigeria is about five times higher than what obtains in the United States due largely to the intractable insecurity, higher transportation costs, topography and poor road infrastructure in Nigeria.
The good news, however, is that Gov Uzodimma is a key player in the politics of the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC). He should help tell the President in these issues he ably marshalled out in his UNN convocation lecture. It’s important that the Governor admitted in his lecture that “our [political] leaders have variously underperformed”. That’s being honest. However, as he explained, with reasons, in the course of his lecture that the universities have their role cut out for them, just as his colleagues in the political class have theirs as well. In all of that, I agree with Gov Uzodimma, that the “new Nigeria, which we all seek, is like a rock in the hands of a sculptor. If the sculptor is learned, skilled and disciplined, he can turn the rock into a monument to behold. But if he is uninformed and undisciplined, he will turn the rock into a nuisance to deride. The rock therein becomes an obstacle or hindrance to humanity”. This is an unvarnished truth that the government of the day and university Vice Chancellors and even graduates should always bear in mind.
There are many other takeaways from the lecture. Governor Uzodimma was spot on when he said that a university is a place where students can learn how to turn a rock into a monument, and not a nuisance. When that happens, universities can serve as the compass that leads nations to development. The question is : Why has that golden era, the ‘good, old days’ of our universities far gone now, especially the government-owned universities? A recent visit to the UNN where I graduated from many years ago, is like a horror movie. Same with so many other universities across the country that look worse than a modern village. Most facilities are now virtually broken down. The present poor state of Nigerian universities is not a surprise. The latest threat by the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) to embark on strike for the umpteenth time amidst the marginal position of Nigerian universities in the global Universities ranking, speaks volumes of the terrible state of our institutions of higher learning in Nigeria. It calls for deep reflection.
Such grim picture painted by Uzodimma requires urgent attention, including his own state-owned university. This worrying state of affairs also confirms the statement three years ago by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TEFUND), decrying the research deficit in indigenous universities in the country. It called for a declaration of state of emergency on education. The attendant laxity and lack of urgency by federal and state governments seems to have dragged the institutions into a potentially irredeemable state. The present apparent lack of interest by the political class, many of whose children are schooling abroad, has found a sorry place in the universities. It is appropriate that Uzodimma forcefully underscored this malaise in his UNN lecture almost two weeks ago. Recent reports indicate that our university system is being run aground by administrators who lack the requisite knowledge and capacity and experience to manage the 21st century university system.
It is not unkind to say that some VCs have become crude politicians, to borrow the words of Uzodimma, “who sacrifice merit and excellence on the altar of ethnic and religious parochialism”. The lecturers are not different. Many of them have lost the passion for the job, and as the governor noted, some often embark on ‘sorting’ and other unwholesome behaviours. In many universities, students are crowded into small available classroom spaces, many without access to good libraries and modern laboratories. For a lot of students, cultism has taken the place of knowledge. Undoubtedly, this is an indictment on the governance system of the National University Commission(NUC). Worse still, ASUU that should be in the forefront of problem-solving has consistently become a ‘weeping child ‘, very often, indecisive about what it wants for the university system and its members.
Can our universities lead the way to a New Nigeria, as Gov Uzodimma suggested? Can our higher institutions still have original thinkers to make better things happen? You can’t divorce all of this from what has emerged as a systematic and deliberate attempt to undermine tertiary education in the country. It’s good that Uzodimma did not spare the political leadership in the anomalies afflicting national development. I am inclined to side with him in this quest for a New Nigeria. If it ever happen, it should be for a higher level of productivity, driven by advances in technology. Nigeria has the technology experts who have made their names abroad to make this desire become a reality. Uzodimma mentioned some of these tech icons. Besides, this ‘New Nigeria’ should be prosperous and industrialised with ample employment opportunities for our teeming jobless graduates. All of these, as laudable as they are, cannot materialize with the present corruption in high places, inequality and extreme poverty and hunger in the land. As Uzodimma suggested, it’s time to invest heavily in our universities and prioritize research and innovation in our education system. The same goes for the economy that is in dire need of well-thought out policies. It’s time to ‘walk the talk’.
