Let Ibadan Technical Varsity be

The establishment of a technical university is supposed to be a welcome development in any society, especially in any state in technologically under-developed countries like Nigeria. Resulting from its massive population of about 200 million and decades of poor economic performance, Nigeria has the largest informal sec­tor in Africa with an average national unemployment rate of 24.7 per cent in 2013 and poverty incidence of about 70 percent in 2010. It is a settled issue in development literature that a robust and dynamic informal sector can contribute significantly to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP), create employment and reduce poverty, only when practitioners are equipped with requisite technological skills. Technical university/education therefore remains a critical tool of empowerment for nations. This is because such venture has the tendency of raising the capability and expertise of the students and, as a consequence, increases the output and eventual developmental drive of such societies. It is on this prism that the raging debates about the propriety of a technical university in Oyo state are situated.

For some reasons, some right, many other clearly incomprehensible and apparently politically-laden, there have been debates about whether or not Oyo State Government should venture into establishing any type of university at all. Part of the arguments is the prevalence of economic recession affecting virtually all the states of the federation, except, perhaps Lagos, with the state owing its workers some month salaries, and with the LAUTECH debacle unresolved. Given the foregoing, some critics would not even want to hear of establishment of any capital project, which they consider a misplaced priority at this point in time. I have looked at some of the issues raised by critics of the establishment of the Technical University Ibadan (TUI) critically and come up with my views on why the establishment of the university is a laudable project for which kudos should be given to the governor for his foresight and his uncommon courage.

First and foremost, the importance of education cannot be over-emphasised as it is the pinnacle of universal knowledge and a platform for global development. Indeed, one of the factors that indicate development in any society is the provision of access or avenue for universal knowledge. Thus, Oyo state, and in particular Ibadan, being the largest city in West Africa, undoubtedly deserves the establishment of its own university with prospects of not just access to indigenes and non-indigenes of the state to universal knowledge, but also the tendency for job opportunities for teaching and non-teaching staff alike. The issue of access to higher education has been particularly problematic in Nigeria year in year out. On the average, while about two million candidates seek admission to higher institutions annually, the total carrying capacity of all the universities combined is less than a quarter of admission seekers. This scenario becomes a big challenge especially in states without own university, forcing parents to seek alternative avenues for their children and wards, including private and foreign universities for those who can afford them.

In addition, the newly established Technical University Ibadan is not just any university; it is a special type specialising in engineering, technology, applied science and natural sciences to solve societal problems. These special courses not readily available in the regular universities and which would be provided by the institution will give tulip to technological advancement at this period in the life of Nigeria. According to Governor Ajimobi the Technical University is founded on the “principle of unique innovation, research collaboration, exceptional service, integrity, excellence, and uplifting of the human condition, knowledge, skill, classroom, industry and theory and practical”. The university, he added, would provide succour for parents who often send their wards to neighbouring countries for higher education. As argued by the Pro-Chancellor of the university, Professor Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, the twelve programmes to be offered in the university are in line with tackling unemployment in the country, with teaching emphasis being on “building skills, aside from imparting knowledge”.

The newly established Technical University Ibadan is the first technical university in Nigeria. It is a specialised university with prospects of achieving highly trained professional for driving the technological advancement of the country, particularly at this time when global development agenda is largely driven by access and use of technology and innovation.

Prospects of employment creation. The main objective for establishing the university, according to governor Ajimobi, is to produce professionals that are technically competent and imbued with requisite entrepreneurial skills, and graduates that can solve numerous societal problems using science, technology and engineering. At inception, twelve programmes will be offered all of which will be geared towards tackling unemployment in the state.

Perhaps the loudest criticism of the establishment of the university is from Oyo State chapter of Accord Party (AP), which has criticised the location, not the merit of establishing the university. The AP wants the state government to be sensitive to the geographical composition of the state by siting the newly created Technical University Ibadan (TUI) in Oke-Ogun zone, which has 40 per cent of the state’s landmass; 10 Local Government Areas and population next to Ibadan, the state capital. In truth, Oyo state is made up of five geo-political zones, namely Ibadan (11 LGAs), Oke-Ogun (10 LGAs), Ogbomoso (5 LGAs), Oyo (4 LGAs) and Ibarapa (3 LGAs). The party had argued that Ibadan and other towns jointly owned the state, hence there is need for fair and equitable distribution of projects in the state.

In countering this argument it is noteworthy that Oyo state is not the only state that has established its University at the state capital. Osun state university is located in Osogbo, the state capital, while the newly approved university of science and tehcnology in Ogun state is located at Abeokuta. It is my sincere wish that all stakeholders and lovers of Oyo state will have the necessary political will to rise above partisan politics and support the noble effort of Governor Ajimobi in the task of repositioning and restoring the lost glory of the pacesetter state. I am deeply convinced that what Nigeria needs at this time are institutions which could offer career development to the middle level needs in the field of technical knowledge. Such middle level technical know-how is necessary for the country to achieve inclusive development, tackle unemployment and conquer poverty. Nigeria can no longer totally depend on the traditional system of University education. It has served a good purpose, and it is still serving a purpose. But, in my view the immediate need is to diversify the tertiary education system with an emphasis on technical and vocational education, which is the focus of technical university Ibadan. At a minimum, this effort should be supported by all and sundry.

Technical education, like University education, should become an integral aspect of the development process in the country. Only an Institute of this nature, with varied products of highly skilled labour, can respond to labour market demands in a country like ours. The reason is that such Institution can operate multi-disciplinary programmes in various technical fields and the TUI promises exactly that. I want to end this piece by quoting from Albert Einstein to wit: “Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything learnt in school.”

Abubakar Oladeji, PhD sent this piece vide [email protected].