Gunning for UNICAL VC’s seat

The race for the Vice Chancellorship of the University of Calabar is on. Although the current occupant of the seat would not be due to leave until November, many are already bandying their credentials for the plum job. CLEMENT JAMES reports from Calabar

At the last count, no fewer than nine Professors have joined the race for the envisaged vacancy which will, from November 30, exist in the Vice Chancellorship office of the University of Calabar.
Indeed, the university authorities, early June this year, carried an advertorial in the state government owned newspaper, the Nigerian Chronicle, advertising for the position of the Vice Chancellor of the university where the current occupant, Prof. Zana Akpagu, would be finishing his five-year single tenure come November, 30.
The aspirants include Profs. Offiong Offiong of the Department of Chemistry: Joseph Asor (Biological Science); Ndiyo Ayara (Economics); Francis Bisong (Geography) and Florence Obi, (Education). Others are; Profs. Patrick Asuquo (Education Administration); Eyong Ubana (English); Benedict Ita (Chemistry) and Anne Asuquo (Medical Microbiology).
So far, both tacit and direct lobbying have started with interested parties going round to curry acceptance from those who matter, and they include the state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade; the Minister of Education, Minister of State for Education and other officials of influence who might tilt the favour in their direction.
One of the contestants who spoke to Journalists recently, Prof. Offiong Offiong, said: “I am interested in the office as advertised by the governing Board of the University as the incumbent will cease to be the Vice Chancellor soon. I promise to move the University forward.
“As a product of the University of Calabar, I am sure the University can bring development to our state. You know, God has been preparing me for position of leadership; there is something God wants to use me for. I will transform University of Calabar within my tenure.
“In my Administration, everybody will be happy. When a system is large, issues will come up; nobody will be left out because I will reintroduce strong committees system where everybody will play his or her part in our University.”
However, many people who spoke to our correspondent during an investigation insisted that since the university was established in 1975, no single female has occupied the position of Vice Chancellor.
A lecturer who appealed to be left out of the issue when our correspondent called said he would not comment on it. But after persuasion and a promise not to mention his name, he said; “Well, if you promise not to mention my name, I will tell you what some of my colleagues think. I am a man but since the university was established, we have not had a female Vice Chancellor.
“Remember Professor Grace Alele-Williams who was Vice Chancellor of University of Benin? She left so many legacies behind. In Cross River State, Prof. Eka Braide was the Vice Chancellor of the Cross River University of Technology (CRUTEC) and she did a great job there.
“We believe Prof. Florence Banku Obi should be given a chance in the spirit of gender equality. If you know the woman who goes by the name Prof. Florence Obi, you will understand why many of us think she should be given the job. Honestly, in terms of sound academic qualification and administrative competence, she stands tall above many of the contestants.”
Another Senior Lecturer, who also declined to give his name because of the sensitive nature of the issue lined up behind his colleague, saying allowing a woman would be a huge plus to the University.
“We know that everybody will claim to know more than the other and claim to be the best. But we have had women Vice Chancellors in the country and they have never disappointed. In fact, women Vice Chancellors have worked harder; built more infrastructure and united their universities than some of their male counterparts.
“This thing is just five years. For over 40 years the university has existed, only men have held the forte. Are we saying that a woman cannot be Vice Chancellor of our university? Is the position meant for men alone? We should be fair because we have wives and mothers, and we would not allow them to be stifled,” he said.
Obi is a mother of four and grandmother of 6 from Bansan – Osokom, Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State. The erudite Professor who spoke to our correspondent said with sheer grit and tenacity, she overcame all hurdles to sustain a successful academic voyage. The journey, she said, began from St. Bridget Primary School, Ogep-Osokom in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State, through St. Thomas’s Teacher Training College, Ogoja, Cross River State, to the University of Jos, Plateau State, and from Jordan Hill College, Glasgow-Scotland to the University of Calabar, where her academic pursuit finally landed her a PhD in Psychology of Education.
Her foray into academia and her monumental ascension further illustrates a line in Isaac Watt’s poem that reads, “Little drops of water make a mighty ocean”. She began her academic career as an Assistant Lecturer at the Institute of Education, University of Calabar in March 1990 (30 years ago). Two years after her appointment (1992), she won a 6-month postgraduate scholarship to Jordan-Hill College of Education, Glasgow, Scotland, under the World University Service (WUS), World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) in a keenly contested interview for staff of the Institute of Education. On her return from the United Kingdom (UK), she was placed in charge of the WWF/NCF funded Schools and Community Education programmes. She subsequently facilitated the development of the degree programme in Environmental Education of the University, which had since resulted in the establishment of a full-fledged and flourishing Department of Environmental Education. Professor Obi rose through the ranks to become a Professor of Special Needs Education in 2007.
She has served the University as Head of Department of Environmental Education and Deputy Dean, Faculty of Education. She is the only two-times elected Dean of the Faculty of Education since the history of the University. As Dean, she pioneered the take-off of the 22 affiliation programmes of the Federal College of Education, Obudu, Cross River State and Federal College of Education Katsina-Ala, Benue State, to the Faculty of Education of the University of Calabar. It is particularly imperative to convey that as Dean of the Faculty of Education, she also served as Chairperson of the University of Calabar International Demonstration School (formerly called, University of Calabar International Secondary School). She not only repositioned the secondary school to become the best in the state academically speaking but also left lasting indelible legacies to her credit, including the full integration of the School to the University, thus expanding the University’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) base.
She was voted as the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) by the University Senate before the expiration of her second term. As Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), she was a Member of the University Governing Council, where she brought her wealth of experience to bear, for the growth and development of the University. As DVC (Academic), she will always be remembered for her fight against unethical and compromising academic behaviours by staff.