The arrival of a new vice chancellor to a university raises apprehension, curiosity and outright doubt. Undoubtedly, Professor Okechuku Onuchuku is aware of this as he occupies the exalted office of the helmsman of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Rumuolumeni.
In his maiden address titled, “Behold the Dawn of A New Era” to staff of the university at the auditorium on Friday, December 3, 2021, Professor Onuchuku restated his readiness to serve with the best of his ability through inspirational and transformational leadership that would usher in a new dawn that would take the university to greater heights in the academia.
The Acting Vice Chancellor, who declared to the audience that he holds the position in trust for members of the university community, and the government and people of Rivers State, expressed gratitude to God for His abundant mercies and the Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Nyesom Wike, for finding him worthy for the position.
He also paid glowing tribute to the university community for contributing to growing the institution to its present level of academic and infrastructural development, and specifically, acknowledged his predecessor, Professor Ozo-mekuri Ndimele, for the infrastructural development and impressive expansion of academic programmes.
Describing a university as a “work-in-progress”, he told the gathering to accept the fact that a new era and way of doing things has begun, emphasising that his style of administration would not be the same with that of his predecessors, and pleaded with all men and women of goodwill to work with him in the journey of taking the university to a new destination.
According to him, even older universities still adapt to changes in order to keep abreast with the changing times in a new learning ecosystem, and IAUE would not be different, if the dream of the founding fathers of the institution must be actualised.
The Professor of Econometrics and Mathematical Economics further acknowledged the commendable accomplishments the institution has recorded in manpower development, which he noted, are sometimes taken for granted. He explained that as a leading institution in the comity of specialised tertiary institutions in Nigeria, the expansion of its scope of academic activities in recent times has placed it in a unique position in national development in the years ahead.
And to cope with these new responsibilities, Professor Onuchuku disclosed that he would seek the approval of the governor of the state to construct some legacy projects that would add to the aesthetics of the university, as well as facilitate its operations. The proposed projects include: a senate building; convocation arena; sports complex; and Vice Chancellor’s lodge. Others include purpose-built staff quarters; more students’ hostels and classroom blocks, and construction and resurfacing of internal roads, while the St. John’s and Ndele campuses would be put into maximum use to serve the university better.
The university helmsman equally hinted of some urgent reforms in the postgraduate programmes of the university to align with National Universities Commission (NUC)’s minimum benchmark. These reforms will affect the admission process, course duration, examination, supervision, carrying capacity and thesis defence. In the same manner, the undergraduate counterpart would be harmonised in line with the practice in other Nigerian universities.
To this effect, all programmes leading to the award of degrees in education, such as BA. Ed, BSc. Ed and B. Ed would be domiciled in the Faculty of Education. Similarly, Agricultural Science would be upgraded to full-blown faculty, whereas its Technical Education component would be housed in the Faculty of Education. In the same vein, Onuchuku has directed that all school charges be reverted to the old school charges approved by the senate, while indigent students would be allowed to pay their charges in two installments if they are unable to pay once. In the same way, he directed that the fees portal earlier closed be reopened to enable all returning and extra year students pay their charges and continue with their programmes.
The postgraduate students will also benefit from this generosity. However, he cautioned that the concession should not be abused. To retain public faith in the capacity of higher education to lift the society out of its many challenges, the VC said the research and development unit would be strengthened to engage in high impact research that would be useful to the industry.
Likewise, the quality assurance and quality control unit would be restructured to deliver on its core mandate. Another area of concern to this administration is entrepreneurship education, which would be bolstered to prepare students to launch themselves out on their own as industry-ready graduates.
He attributed the decision to the new process of wealth creation through creativity and innovative thinking in what has become the new knowledge economy, which has replaced the era of using raw materials to create ‘wealth of nations’. To achieve this, students would be taught business management and customer management skills, team-spirit, financial, analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as critical thinking and planning.
On students’ welfare, the erudite economist declared that his administration would proactively provide prompt and quality municipal services that would create enabling environment for the students to excel in their academic endeavours.
For the staff, he mentioned that all legitimate issues concerning their welfare and other entitlements would be addressed within the enabling laws. However, the students’ disciplinary committee and the security department, he stressed, would be reorganised to confront all acts that are adjudged to be at variance with the terms of each student’s admission.
He also added that security of life and property of staff and students would be given adequate attention, and warned that all vices and acts of brazen impunity from staff and students would not be tolerated.
While lamenting the negative publicity about the university in the last few months, he reminded all morally bankrupt lecturers and administrators that the reputation of the university is predicated on the degrees awarded to the students, insisting that ethical matters most be taken seriously, and warned that criminal elements would be punished.
As a stickler to extant rules and regulations, Onuchuku assured that he would not circumvent the University Act, which he described as the yardstick upon which his actions would be anchored, as he advised against cutting corners and making cheap compromises. He appealed to the staff to join hands with him in an unbroken comradeship to tackle the challenges that are confronting the university, while pledging not to take such support for granted.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the institution, Comrade Endurance Joseph, his Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) counterpart, Comrade Chisa Egwu, and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) chairperson, Comrade Florence Fiberesima, have pledged to create the enabling environment for the VC, while also demanding for the welfare of their members.
In addition to teaching and research, Onuchuku is also a seasoned administrator and, therefore, not new to administration in and outside the university environment.

By: Tunde Uchegbuo

Uchegbuo wrote from Port Harcourt.