for the
University
of Abuja
Professor
M. U.
Adikwu,
FAS, FPSN,
FSTAN,
MIPAN
1. The two problems with the University are
Human and Monetary. In dealing with the
Human Problems, I will focus on stimulating
every facet of the University through relationship
with all the unions including the students union.
I will take the challenge to their doorsteps very
regularly through meetings with each union at
least once in two months. I will allow for
development of team spirit and team work to
move the University forward.
2. Circulate annual work-plans to all
departments which will include the annual
budget of the University, for accountability and
transparency. With this, I will ensure that every
staff of the University is on the same page with
the Administration.
3. Create a Development Committee that will
prepare annual budgets and work-plans. Each
department and faculty is expected to indicate
what they are capable of generating annually.
The Development Committee shall comprise the
VC as chairman, the DVs, the Registrar and Deans
of Faculties and Directors of Institutes. The
Development Committee shall also be responsible
for creation of new departments and faculties
before it is sent to the Senate.
4. I will cause to be conducted an equipment
audit of all available research and other facilities
and commence a University Magazine or
newsletter to showcase what we are doing, what
we are capable of doing and also rigorously
campaign to the Abuja community and beyond
the facilities and services that are available. For
this purpose, I will create an advancement office
with a director not more than the post of a senior
lecturer, who will in turn hire some temporary
staff to be paid purely by that unit. They will be
responsible for going out to solicit for funds.
Carrying out annual equipment audits of all
equipment will establish those that are faulty,
those that are reparable, those that are in good
form and those that are commercialisable.
5. I will institute what I will call Tea Day when I
will meet with each Faculty or two faculties and
when I will challenge them with what they
should do with the available facilities to generate
funds for themselves and the University.
6. My first vision is to make the University of
Abuja, be among the first 3 in Nigeria and
among the first 10 in Africa and among the first
200 in the world. The University of Abuja is the
image of the Federal Universities based on its
strategic location at the Federal Capacity. In
driving for funds this will be our key word. We
will drum this; we will sing this to the ears of the
Federal Government.
7. I will focus on the completion of all ongoing
projects including the abandoned ones. My
theory in life is that there is nothing that cannot
be done! Over 150 years ago it was unthinkable
that human beings could invent a flying
machine. As a pharmacist, we were told in our
student days that many diseases cannot be cured.
Today, they are being cured.
8. I will improve on the relationship between the
University and the contiguous communities by
using them largely as experimental points to
demonstrate our innovations. Thus the principle
of “town and gown” will be brought to the fore.
This is one good way to generate funds where
such extension services are provided.
9. Focus on making the University a self-reliant
one. Sustainable education is the only way to go
in this generation of scarce resources. One
international organisation calls it “Teach a man
to fish” approach to education. There will be a
curriculum for entrepreneurial education that
will be taken by all students irrespective of the
field and tested in a centre owned by the
University for fund generation.
10. Establish a Directorate of Research and make
it functional to attract foreign grants to the
University. The centre will be required to foster
collaborations with various national and
international institutions. All the collaborations
we fostered when I was coordinator of the STEP-
B Project will be revitalised.
11. Ensure that our Admin Staff receive adequate
training both locally and international on
strategic management of higher education. Good
institutions for this type of training are the
Galilee International Management Institute in
Israel, the MDF in the Netherlands and the World
Bank Institute in the USA. Bringing them to train
our staff will enhance productivity while a few
our core staff will also be sent there for further
training. Notably are the DVCs, the Registrar, the
Bursar, the University Librarian, and few Deans
such as that of Agriculture.
12. Commence a postdoctoral research system
that will attract foreign based researchers to
Nigeria. Within the first few years, we will focus
on those who have background in areas that can
easily yield funds from available facilities. Part of
the annual funds from the ETF for staff training
will be used for this. The era of bringing people
from other nations to our university is now. This
will properly internationalise the University of
Abuja and bring in the expertise in the key areas
to turn our fortune around.
13. Establish a Faculty of Pharmacy and
commence pilot drug production on a
commercial scale. The pilot unit will anchor the
pharmaceutical technology department for
training students. The faculty will be made to
also establish a model pharmacy and money
provided on a revolving loan basis. This will also
be a centre for practice in community pharmacy.
14. Nigeria is one of the highest consumers of
second hand cars popularly known as
“Tokunbo.” The University deserves a
mechanical workshop that should compete with
the best mechanical workshop for repair of
vehicles. This combined with a unit of
mechatronics will be formidable in capacity
building of both staff and students and also
bring in the necessary income.
15. Focus on the acquisition of skills and other
creative abilities by the staff that will transform
the University and the entire nation. One of the
major problems of our universities is the lack of
creative skills. There may be a unit dedicated to
creative sciences and people identified with such
skills will be hired. This will be rigorously
advertised and people with certain skills brought
in to kindle the place. While, on STEP-B I meet
people with such skills. One developed a human
mind computer, another developed a machine
that could predict disease and drug resistance.
16. Concentrate on ensuring that many fresh PhD
graduates of the University of Abuja that are
staff are sent for postdoctoral research overseas.
This will also enhance their capacity and when
they return the University will be better for it.
An Advancement Office will be created for this to
be headed by a director. Nothing is as good as
boosting the moral of staff. As a young academic
in those days, I attended an Alexander von
Humboldt Fellowship in Germany. I now had to
encourage all my PhD graduates to attend. Three
are already full professors and one is an
associate professor. In fact, one is already a
Deputy Vice Chancellor at Nnamdi Azikiwe
University, Awka.
17. Ensure the usage of staff and student skills to
carry out direct project implementation to save
cost and enhance staff and student skills.
18. Ensure more ICT compliance by connecting
the University to the Nigerian Research and
Education Network (NgREN) located at the
National Universities Commission and making
the University more visible on the web. All the
fee collection will be domesticated in the MIS
unit of the University for enhanced effectiveness
ann accountability.
19. Create a safer secure environment for
teaching and learning.
20. Create boreholes for water generation and
paying adequate attention to power generation
and campaign for use of power-saving devices
including bulbs and other appliances. Our
Engineering faculties will be challenged with this.
21. Establish strong relationship with the
industry and other the local business community
such as commercial banks to ensure that they
participate in the governance and projects in the
university.
22. Establish more departments and units to meet
the dynamics and complexity of modern day
society such institute for corruption studies,
institute for peace studies, institute for project
management to focus on project management,
procurement, monitoring and evaluation, etc.
Where they already exist, they will be made very
functional and challenged with the need for
revenue generation. Many people will prefer
weekend and certificate courses from a
university than those from consultancy firms that
are run ad hoc.
23. Include labour market observatory and
labour market management system in the office
of the Alumni Relations. Institute an Alumni day
to bring members back to make contribution to
the development of their alma mater. The
institute will be responsible for studies on job
creation nationally. We will work closely with
the Ministry of Labour and Productivity.
24. Include National Vocational Qualifications
Framework (NVQF) in the Centre for
Entrepreneurship Studies. I will work closely
with the National Board for Technical Education
(NBTE) on this. In this regards, we will hire some
skilled workers who are not necessarily
graduates to help in pushing this. They will be
helpful in some of the areas mentioned above.
25. Domestication of some aspects of our
curricula to meet local needs and maintain some
of our good value systems. Let’s take a look at
the market around us and see what we can do
with millet, groundnuts, nunu, even the oil
sector, tc.
26. Establish a reward system for performing
lecturers who publish in high impact journals
including accelerated promotion. Those who are
bring in new ideas and funds also deserve
similar treatments. Publication in high impact
journals may attract a Vice Chancellorship Prize.
27. Enforce the timely completion of
postgraduate studies within the stipulated
periods. Currently, many postgraduate students
are over-delayed in schools for lack of
researchable topics and close supervision.
Enlarge the course base for PG courses.
University of Abuja is a metropolitan university
where civil servants may want to come and do
some course. We may want to take a second look
at evening and weekend programmes.
28. Establish a unit for Technology Policy
Analysis to explore areas of Academic Research
we can suggest to all our academic units so that
we will defeat the on-going counsels of
"Ahitophels" in our educational sector at
whatever level and what kind of funding we can
access.
29. Encourage the Departments and faculties who
are already engaged in the publication of
Journals and Newsletters with some funds and
ensure wider marketing of such publications;
Textbook publications will be encouraged and
also publication of inaugural lectures for
marketing.
30. Encourage departments and faculties to
organise more national and international
seminars, workshops and conferences and
encourage them with some funding. This should
be in key demand areas and areas of
international interest such as bioinformatics, ICT,
STEM cells, etc.
31. Widen the scope of the consultancy unit.
There should be a legal unit where people can
come and hire lawyers. The University Abuja
should be able to have bottled water. It should be
able to produce fruit juice; and other agric
products.
32. Fix a day in a year or in two years for
exhibitions of innovations, discoveries and
inventions. We can then bring in people from the
business community to come and see those that
they can help us to commercialise.
33. The so called public-private partnership will
be strongly called to the fore. There are many
people that can help with infrastructure that they
can slowly recoup their funds with time and
after handover completely to the university.
34. Liaise with the Songhai Centre in Port Novo
to see if the Centre can be replicated at the
University here. This will certainly enhance the
revenue base of the University. The Songhai
Centre is owned by a Nigerian and is recognised
by the United Nations as a model Centre for
Agricultural Entrepreneurship. Places like Grand
Square in Abuja should be able to have
University of Abuja chicken supplied to them on
a weekly basis.
35. I will make revenue drive a strong aspect of
the University life. I will be in constant with
various firms and individuals. Those that cannot
build for us or make other donations should be
able to Institute a Faculty or Departmental Prize
for a graduating student.
36. I will ensure that any money not yet released
from TETFund due to unretired advances will be
retired and further funding commenced.
37. Ensure some level of discipline in terms of
fees. Any student who has not paid fees within a
month shall be liable repeat the year and/or pay
some late registration fee.
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