SSANU tackles FG over appointments of Vice-Chancellors

•Decries poor funding of varsities

THE Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, (SSANU), has raised concerns over the appointment of Vice Chancellors in Nigerian universities, saying that government has turned such important position to constituency project.

SSANU also decried poor funding of the universities saying that what ought to be citadel of learning now look like local government headquarters. This is as the association has lamented the deplorable conditions of Nigerian roads, saying that the roads in the country are worst than roads in Rwanda and Southern Sudan.

The National President of SSANU, Comrade Mohamed Haruna Ibrahim, stated this in his opening remarks at the 50th Regular National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State.

While expressing worry over the condition of Nigerian universities and inter university centers in terms of funding ,Comrade Ibrahim said: “We have said it before, and we will re-echo it again. We have clearly seen that government is not serious about education in Nigeria, especially university education.

“Why do we say this? Funding is at its lowest ebb. And the new challenge, we used to have problem of funding, capital, but what is new or the emerging trend, is that even personnel cost, personnel project is not properly funded. And I wonder how we will run universities without properly funding it. University is about teaching, research and community service.

“How do you do this? You can’t teach, you can’t do any research, neither would you be able to do any community service without money, without funding. Universities are supposed to attract the best friends around the world. From the name University, it is universal. In Otuoke here, we should have Indians, Americans, Europeans, other Africans as members of staff, both in teaching and even non teaching. This is what makes a university.

“But today, most of our universities are becoming like local government headquarters. Even the appointment of vice chancellors have been so localized to look like a constituency project that a vice chancellor must be from the community hosting the university. This is most absurd.

“It is a very big setback for international standards. People should apply, vacancies should be open to both internal and external candidates. Recruitment of principal officers and even other members of staff is now becoming like a constituency project.

“Our union frowns at this development because it’s a negative development. We have no quarrels you employing any professional it can be from the next village, but let it be competitive, so that our students will have the best of experiences having to meet different people from different backgrounds.

“And even our admissions today, students are only admitted, not even from the catchment area, but from the host community, some of us that have graduated over three decades ago, we have mixed with people from different backgrounds, and we are thankful for this. Till today, we appreciate it. We have friends across Nigeria and even abroad.

“So if you do your primary school in Otuoke, or in Yola, or in Maiduguri, or Lagos and you do your secondary school, even within the university demonstration school and you do the university education within that same community. And tomorrow you aspire and be appointed as Minister, you will see things from that perspective. You will not appreciate how others behave, how others do things, how others do things.

“So we use this voice and this platform to say that government should be deliberate in returning universities to what they should be in terms of funding, in terms of support and in terms of making sure that discipline is adhered to.”

Furthermore, SSANU commended the management of the Federal University, Otuoke on how staff development is handled to allow members to progress and rise to the peak of their career.

Ibrahim said: “Mister Vice Chancellor, we want to congratulate you for supporting our union, and, by extension, other unions. we’ve been told that your staff development is very excellent, and this is what makes us tick, allow our staff to rise to the pinnacle of their chosen careers.

“Give a level playing field for workers to showcase their best. I’m happy the chairman of the branch is a member of the Governing Council of this university. This is also another plus, that non-teaching staff will not be shortchanged. And in addition to this, we have seen this happening in other universities too. So SSANU is growing in leaps and bounds, and SSANU will continue to grow. Inshallah.”

On the condition of Nigerian roads, the SSANU President said: “Nigeria has the worst set of roads. The roads in Rwanda are better. In fact, the ones in southern Sudan, they are better than what we see in Nigeria. So our roads are bad. They are in bad condition. So government should wake up to its responsibility.”

Christian Appolos