According to President Jonathan, "every family in Nigeria has benefitted from UI. If you are not a UI graduate, somebody from your family must have graduated from UI. If nobody from your family attended UI, then, one of your family members must have been taught by someone who was taught by a UI graduate. In other words, UI belongs to all Nigerians."
Obviously, nothing could be truer than this assertion. I would like to corroborate the President's position by adding that anybody who has ever read the literary works of Professors Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and John Pepper Clark (who are all UI graduates anyway), has equally drunk from the ocean of intellectualism, flowing from Ibadan to different parts of the world. Indeed, without any embroidery, UI, as one has said repeatedly, is a national patrimony that must be treasured by all Nigerians.
At 63, it is still young compared to many older universities across the globe, some of which are as old as 500 years. It is not doing badly given its enviable antecedent.
Against this background, there are still prospects and challenges facing the Nigeria's oldest university. Let us consider the gleaming and the gloomy sides of our dear university with a view to sharing both its joy and toil, after all, light is yoke when it is shared.
Judging by various positive developments in the university, engineered by the current Vice Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole, it is evident that UI is fast moving towards becoming a world-class institution. For the first time in many years, the university has substantially expanded the scope of its documentation. There are various publications on different issues affecting the University. Surprisingly, UI produced annual report, similar to the standard practice in private sector. In the glossy annual report, Prof. Adewole gave various account of his stewardship, including all the contracts awarded, the cost, the contractors, the completion period, payment up to date as well as the progress recorded.
This is incredible. Observers were dazed with the level of transparency, creativity and accountability that this novel idea of annual report advertised. Clearly, this is a radical departure from the past practice where contents of this annual report would have been shrouded in secrecy. The credit goes to the VC, Prof. Adewole who seems to be shocking the university community with an enviable unique approach to university administration.
Apart from the annual report, Prof. Adewole has equally made available other new publications such as profile of the recipients of the university's honorary degree, a compendium of his many of speeches, report of the disaster wreaked by the August 26 flood in UI among others. Obviously, information flowed freely from the transparent Adewole's regime.
Another heart-warming development coming from UI is the award of automatic post-graduate scholarship for all first-class graduates of the university. Prof. Adewole had promised, while campaigning to become the VC, to give post-graduate scholarship award to first class students. The promise was greeted by sheer cynicism, as some of his detractors described the promise as a political gimmick. But with the promise gaining full expression, the enigmatic VC has recorded yet another credit, difficult to dismiss.
As noted by The Nation newspaper's editorial of 24 November, 2011 "encouraging the best graduating students to stay back and pursue post graduate studies has been an old tradition in the academia until Nigeria's educational system became seriously dysfunctional about two decades ago." Prof. Adewole is by this gesture, reviving the cherished old tradition, thus, setting pace for other universities. At a time that the country is in dire need of quality manpower to take charge of a legion of universities dotting our landscape, Adewole's initiative, designed to produce adequate scholars for our needs, should be generally applauded and emulated.
But despite his missionary zeal to truly transform UI with his agenda of enthronement of good governance, improvement in academic activities, infrastructural upgrade and enhancement of welfare of staff and students, Prof. Adewole is confronted with some challenges that call for collective collaboration and support.
One of the major challenges militating against meaningful development in UI is electricity problem. Although, this is a national albatross, a university of Ibadan status ought to have overcome this challenge if all the considerable technical expertise are harnessed and synergized. The VC wanted a short-term solution upon his arrival on board: at least to serve as a palliative measure, he wanted to buy gigantic generators that could serve the university community. But he was told that it would take close to seven months before he could take a delivery of his desire. Power outage is still creating helplessness in the academic community albeit amidst spirited effort of the silent achiever.
While Prof. Adewole is fighting hard to actualize what he has conceptualized for the uplifting of the 63 years old institution, vicissitude of life appeared to have slowed him down with the flood disaster of August 26, 2011. The flood which delivered debilitating blows on the institution destroyed property worth close to N10billion. The fish ponds were washed away, bookshops, library, teaching and research farm were badly damaged. The UI is still writhing in pains as a result of the disaster.
It is certainly appropriate at this point to call on all those who have benefitted from UI, including the alumni and alumnae, friends and well-wishers as well as philanthropists to come to the aid of this highly priced university. By a way of donation, Ibadan will appreciate every little contribution that may come its way at this point in time. Interestingly, a 400 level student of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Mr. Akinkunmi Ajisafe who was probably touched by the UI plight did the unusual recently. Ajisafe went into his small saving account and donated the sum of five thousand naira into the UI Flood Disaster Relief Fund. Prof. Adewole thankfully received the donation as it was publicized all over the campus.
A challenge: if a student could donate, what are the UI graduates of many years waiting for? Ironically, there are thousands of successful UI products all over the world. They must come to the aid of UI. Prof. Adewole has much innovative ideas to greatly transform the university to a world-class institution. But he is incapacitated by paucity of funds. This is when UI should harvest the fruits of its labour. All over the world, alumni play critical role in the affairs of their alma maters. UI is equally waiting for its products. Let us come back to Ibadan for a flashback. Let UI alumni remember the university that made them and history will be kind to those who respond to this call.
One of the greatest ways of immortalizing one' name is to give back to the university that made one. Yes, some have done well for UI, but they can still do more. Thousands are still hiding, let them come and donate so as to make UI truly the first and the best.
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