Professor Igbekele Ajibefun is the Vice-Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State. He talks about the challenges facing higher education among other issues in this interview.
How has it been serving as the Vice-Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University in the last two years?
The last two years have been challenging but also rewarding in the sense that we have been able to make progress on what I met on the ground. On assumption of duty, I promised to build on that and I want to say that God has been helping me to do that to move the university forward. There have been challenges, especially in the area of finances, but we have been able to cope and the government has been able to give immense support to ensure that the university makes progress.
What is your take on the conflicting policies about admission into universities in Nigeria?
I see Nigeria as an unserious country where things are done wrongly and you see people agitating that they should continue to do it that way. These days, everybody is qualified to enter the university because there is no Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. I was at Abuja for a meeting of VCs. We met at the National Universities Commission and the road to the venue was blocked by youths carrying placards with the inscription, “Cancel Post-UTME.” People prefer to take certificates without even going to the university. Our system is bad and unserious. We know what is right and we will never do it and you will see people agitating for the wrong thing.
The National Assembly approved that JAMB result should last for three years. If a candidate doesn’t read anything, it means that the knowledge the candidate acquired three years ago without going to school is still the same. It will destroy the university system. People want free things. They don’t want to make effort.
There is a belief that students in private universities are doing well academically than their counterparts in public universities. Do you share this view?
Our definition depends on so many factors, in what area? Is it in churning out 50 first class graduates in a convocation ceremony?
In 2014, two students of AAUA made first class in the Nigerian Law School. This year, the faculty also produced a first class graduate. We base our discussion on facts. People may be saying private universities are the best, I don’t see it that way. They are trying and they have to develop, but with the statistics that I have, I still believe they have a long way to go.
In spite of the challenges the AAUA is facing, in specific terms, what have you been able to achieve so far?
The university is rated as the best state university in Nigeria. It has been rated twice. The first was by the National Universities Commission while the second was by an international organisation; the United States Transparency International. I met that of the best state university before I came in 2014 and like I said, I have been building on what I met on the ground and that has been one of my major focus. For instance, in term of academic development, the university is making connections and trying to build partnership with foreign universities.
Interestingly, in 2015, I was able to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with four different universities in the USA and Canada, specifically with Troy University, Alabama State University, Alcorn State University, and the University of Winston in Canada. The MOUs come with benefits not only to the university but also to the students and lecturers.
How are your graduates faring in and outside the country?
Our graduates are part of the criteria used to measure our performance. They have been doing well. In 2014, two of our graduates that made first class in Law went to the Nigerian Law School and also came out with first class. Not only that, they also took all the prizes available for that year and I am glad to say that in 2016, the result that was just released, our product also came out with first class in the Nigeria Law School. They are doing great. For this year, we have only eight candidates from all Nigerian universities that earned first class in Law and AAUA has one. Our faculty of law is ranked one of the best in Nigeria presently and in other areas, we also have our products doing well. One of them, a student in the Faculty of Arts, just graduated and won scholarship that will cover his doctoral studies in the US. The report was recently released.
How is your relationship with labour unions in the school?
My relationship with the labour unions has been very robust since I got into office. It is still robust and the relationship has been great. The objective of unionism is to improve the welfare of members and I want to say that the welfare of members of different unions has improved greatly since I got into office. The recent strike in the school was by the Academic Staff Union of Universities and not because of bad relationship.
Members of the union were agitating for their salaries and they were at home for three months. Although at the inception I told them the reality that irregular payment of salaries is not limited to Ondo State alone, it is all over. In fact, federal universities also have the challenge. I told them from inception that going on strike would not solve the problem, it may even compound it but after three months of the strike, they discovered that the university lost a lot to the strike.
Was that why you suspended some of the union leaders?
The suspension of some lecturers was not related to union activity at all. It was as a result of misconduct. When somebody takes a job, he takes it as an individual. When they wanted to go on strike, I did not make any effort to break the strike because they started it as a result of non-payment of salaries. Up till now, I have no problem with them regarding that. But after calling off the strike, we fixed a Senate meeting; it is the highest academic body in the institution. Some individuals started sending text and WhatsApp messages to Senate members not to attend the meeting. This was confrontational to the authorities of the university and those behind it knew it was counterproductive. People attended the meeting and two issues were discussed. One of the issues was the resumption of students who had been at home for three months then and the second, was the release of students’ results.
These individuals, having heard about the decisions of the Senate, started sending messages that no member of faculty or department should attend. They reasoned that if they didn’t meet, there would be no way they would prepare for resumption and upload the results.
They also sent a text message to the Dean of Agriculture not to call any meeting of his faculty. The Dean replied them because they sent me those messages. When I heard of it, I quickly called for an extended management meeting. It was shocking, particularly the one from the Department of Earth Sciences and Agriculture. They wanted to close down the university. As the vice-chancellor, it is my responsibility to ensure law and order. Having received verbal and written reports from the HODs as well as the Deans that were harassed, I looked at the law of the university and I quickly took the necessary step. One, queries were issued and they refused to respond to them and they were then issued suspension.
Is it not probably because they are acting as the leadership of ASUU?
There should be basis, for instance, you cannot go and slap someone because you are a leader of ASUU or you go to the classroom to beat students because you are the VC. I have no right to disturb other individuals from doing their job. If I have anything against anybody, I will take the necessary steps. If they have anything against anybody, we have due process of handling things. My feeling and that of the university community is that these individuals are not ready to work. For people to have stayed at home for three months and one week after resumption went round to disturb others, it is clear that they are not ready to work. It is very shameful.
There was an allegation of lopsidedness in the appointment of HODs, deans and that you employed lecturers who were above 70 years. What is your reaction to this?
It is a total lie. Since I got into office, I have never appointed any person above 60 years. I met some senior professors on the ground. Some of them, may be two or three, were above 70 years of age. The agreement of ASUU with the Federal Government is that a professor should not be retired before the age of 70 and not above 70. This is where they are getting things wrong and that is why we have to educate these people who find themselves in the position of ASUU leadership. These days, they do not allow knowledgeable people, who understand the system and the culture, to be their leaders. One sees junior people as leaders of ASUU.
These are lies. If the VC is appointing HODs and deans, does any individual have the right to go and beat others because the VC is not doing the right thing? Is it for them to fight the VC? On the appointment of those over 70 years, are the people they assaulted over 70 years of age? Their colleagues understand the whole issue.