12012020 - Northern youths disown critics of Amotekun S/W security outfit

PAGE 22— SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 12, 2020
By Josephine Agbonkhese
08054650907
Email: jossynovia@gmail.com
OBASI, NIGERIA’S
2ND FEMALE VC:
Proving her
mettle
The Vice-Chancellor, VC, Imo State
University, Professor Victoria Adaobi
Obasi, is the first woman to
superintend over a state university in
Nigeria and the second woman to ever hold
the position of VC in Nigeria after Prof
Grace Alele Williams of the University of
Benin broke that jinx in 1985.
A go-getter, Obasi had served at different
times as Commissioner for Education and
then Commissioner for Local Government
and Rural Development in Imo State. In
2012, she was adjudged ‘Best
Commissioner of the Year’ in the state.
The passionate educationist who began
her higher education at the prestigious
Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri,
where she bagged a Certificate in
Education, proceeded to the University Of
Hull, England, where she obtained a
Bachelor’s degree in education in 1984,
Master’s in 1985 and a PhD in 1989.
While at the University of Hull, her sterling
performance earned her the Bursary Award
for three consecutive times.
A prolific writer, Obasi has authored
several books and articles in different
national and international journals.
She is a member of various professional
organisations including the Nigeria
Academy of Education, NAE; Fellow of the
Curriculum Organisation of Nigeria,
FCON, and Fellow of the Gender Studies
Association of Nigeria, FGSAN. She shares
her experiences with AMAZON.
et us start from the beginning of
Lyour tenure as VC up till now. How
has it been as a woman superintending
over a university?
I came in as Acting Vice-Chancellor
and, by the grace of God, was elevated as
substantive Vice-Chancellor. I would not
be fair to myself if I say I have not
encountered challenges. We are living in
a man’s world, so, no matter how hard a
woman tries to showcase herself in
whatever position she occupies, it may
seem as if she is not proving her mettle. I
have had my ups and downs, but stood as
the Rock of Gibraltar because the
position I occupy is built on God. So, it
can only be God who has seen me through
all the achievements I have accomplished
thus far. I have moved the university to an
enviable level since I came on board.
Cultism has abated on campus. The
university is a beehive of construction
activities. Staff members receive their
salaries as and when due. Promotions are
released. There is job satisfaction among
staff members. Students’ complaints are
given prompt attention. There is harmony
between management, staff members and
labour unions on campus while we give
our best on corporate social
responsibility regardless of our lean
resources. To crown it all, we have enjoyed
academic and administrative tranquility
since I assumed office. If there are
challenges, they are minimal as we have
individual differences and being human,
we will always disagree to agree.
In what other ways will you say your
administration has made a major
difference in Imo State University?
Management, in conjunction with the
Senate of the university, has prepared a
new Code of Conduct for staff members
of the university to engender maximum
input into the system. I am tackling the
issue of sorting and sexual harassment
and other matters that are detrimental to
the goals and objectives the university
stands for. Anyone found guilty shall be
shown the way out. New faculty
complexes are completed while some are
nearing completion. When all the
complexes are completed, they will raise
our carrying
capacity and, in
addition, change
the skyline and
ambience of the
university.
TETFund’s
intervention
Already, the
university has one
of the best Senate
Administrative
Buildings with a
well-spaced and
equipped Senate
C h a m b e r .
TETFund has
greatly assisted us
on staff
development as
some of our
academic staff
members have
embarked on
studies abroad to
u p g r a d e
themselves. We
have entered into
l i n k a g e
programmes with
f o r e i g n
universities and,
in conjunction
with the Chinese
E m b a s s y ,
We are living in a
man’s world, so,
no matter how
hard a woman tries
to showcase
herself in whatever
position she
occupies, it may
seem as if she is
not proving her
mettle
mounted a Chinese Language Learning
Centre in our university. This makes us
one of the ten universities in Nigeria
running the programme. Staff members
of the university have keyed into the
Contributory Pension Scheme awaiting
•Prof Victoria
Adaobi Obasi
government to do the needful by paying
the percentage accruable to them to
complete the cycle of the Pension Scheme.
The founding fathers established the
university as non-residential, but that has
changed as we can boast of two female
hostels built by TETFund and a male
hostel courtesy of Niger Delta
D e v e l o p m e n t
Commission, NDDC.
We have quality
academic and nonteaching
staff members
who are working round
the clock to achieve the
vision and mission of the
founding fathers of the
university to provide
quality education to all
who desire and are
qualified.
What were the goals
you set for yourself upon
assumption of office and
how much of them have
you achieved?
One of our goals is to
ensure that there is
adequate infrastructure
for teaching, learning and
research. I want to ensure
that during my tenure and
beyond, our university is
ranked among the best in
the world. My resolve is
to see that staff members
are motivated to put in
their best, and to keep the
system running and
contribute to the making
of our institution one of
the best. I want to leave
the university better than
I met it and, with the type
of lieutenants I have, the dream of
repositioning our university is what each
and every one of them carries like a cross.
Our desire is to be the best and turn out
the graduates that can compete with their
counterparts from top universities
anywhere across the world.
Funding is always a big problem in
universities. How do you cope?
Funding is crucial to the survival of any
university. Dearth of funding impairs dayto-day
activities of any university. I
implore our financiers to do the needful
by releasing funds for teaching, learning
and research purposes for which the
university is established.
If the university is adequately funded,
we will break many grounds in research
to strive to be among the Ivy League
universities in the world. Entrepreneurs
who love education should join in the
provision of infrastructure in tertiary
institutions.
I need to extol TETFund for their
interventions in various universities
through the provision of buildings,
equipment of laboratories, etc.
Students can sometimes be unruly;
what has been your experience with
them?
My students are my children. What I
wish for my children is also what I wish
for them. They should not be lost in the
maze of societal challenges like ‘Yahoo
Yahoo’, prostitution, cultism,
examination misconduct or actions that
are inimical to the completion of the
programmes that brought them to the
university. The sky should not only be their
limit but their launch pad to greater
success. They should take their studies
seriously and refrain from ‘sorting’
because this is a lazy student’s way of
cutting comers to graduate. They should
be proud of earning their certificates to
complete the mantra of being worthy in
learning and in character. Our students
should, at all times, remember the motto
of Imo State University which is
‘Excellence in Service’ so that at the end
of their stay in the university, they will
become worthy ambassadors of their
alma mater.