Host Communities Withhold Agric Varsity Land

Vice Chancellor of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Prof. Ikenna Onyido, has expressed fears that the master plan of the university would be seriously altered due to the refusal of land donors to allow the school access to about 90 per cent of the original land space mapped out for the institution.

Onyido said in Umuahia, Monday, that the university was operating only within 10 per cent of its original land area, adding that the school authorities have dragged the “recalcitrant” landlords (some host communities) to the state government for amicable resolution of the problem without violence.

“Land mapped out for the school is very large but we are operating just within 10 per cent because some landlords have not allowed us access to significant portion of the land,” said the Vice-Chancellor who assumed office on March 1, 2006 .

Hosting journalists to a breakfast meeting to mark his four years in office, Onyido said that problems arising from this restriction, included limitation of the school to areas where there was no resistance.

This, he said,  would in due course, alter the school’s master plan because of population growth resulting in lack of space to install special training facilities and denial of internally generated revenue since the school lacks the space to farming and agro-processing.

Commenting on the efforts of the school authorities to recover the lands, he said “it is because we have been talking with them (host communities), that is why there is no blood shed.

“You know that the issue of land here is very emotive. Many communities are responding but there are some recalcitrant ones.”

He explained that the university authorities had to race to the Abia State government, which acquired and donated the land to the Federal Government to intervene so that the matter would be amicably resolved.

The Tide gathered that the State Government has directed the Ministry of Works and Housing to build perimeter fencing along the original boundary of the school.

The Ministry, he said, has warned all land speculators near the school boundary to stop erecting buildings forthwith until the fencing was completed.

The government said nobody, whose property was fenced into the school compound would be compensated.

Onyido said during the interaction, which also marked the beginning of his last year in office that his administration  has positively impacted on every aspect of the university.

According to him, 28 academic programmes of MOUAU have been accredited by the National Universities Commission, while a Research Policy and Plan  to drive the research efforts of the university has been created by his administration.

Also, a blueprint for implementation of the MOUAU Extension Centre has been created.

He added that his administration has built a state-of-the-art ICT Resource Centre and established a Centre for Molecular Biosciences and Biotechnology.

According to him, an Abia-born, American-based Professor of Biochemistry have been attracted to it, stressing that MOUAU has established linkages for exchange programmes with many foreign universities which would take-off as soon as the security situation in the state improves.

On industrial relations, Onyido reported that MOUAU has been enjoying industrial peace as he has carried all the unions on campus along with transparency, adding that his administration has restored stability and cohesion on campus, as opposed to the discord it met on ground, through a novel MOUAU Family Meeting, which involves all staff of the university.

“We have in the past four years worked extremely hard to make this institution a frontline university, a Centre of Excellence, a first among equals where our students are given the best.           He continued that the students are also  “prepared for life outside the university as relevant and conscientious citizens of Nigeria and the world, not only  through the knowledge and skills acquired while here, but also through the positive attitudes and the character component in our training that are passed to them in preparation for life in the larger society,” he said.

Principal officers of the university, including the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof. Enoch Akobundu; the Registrar, Bernice Adeniji, the Bursar, Mr S.O.Sunmonu and Acting Librarian, Rev. O.C.Chukwu, were present during the breakfast meeting.