Monday Eze 
From Awka, the news came like thunder, tearing through the internet, media platforms as well as the gloom of hunger and economic hardship which pervaded the minds and faces of many Nigerians.
Prof. Bernard Ifeanyi Chukwu Odoh, professor of Geological Sciences/ Geophysics and emeritus Secretary to Ebonyi State Government, had emerged as the 7th substantive Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka at the young age of 49.
Video clips of Professor Odoh making his acceptance speech after signing his oath of office as vice chancellor of UNIZIK, a foremost second generation university named after the first President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, followed.
This development instantly transformed the mood of Ebonyi people, the UNIZIK alumni communities in different places and the entire constituency of people of goodwill across the globe.
The news of Prof. Odoh’s rise united substantial sections of humanity which were hitherto divided across religious, political, ideological and tribal leanings.
Born on August 5, 1975 in Ondo State to the family of Odoh Nwewhuru of Unwuezeokohu Ezza North LGA in Ebonyi State, Young Ben started his early primary school at Ezza Road Primary School and thereafter obtained his SSCE from Special Science School, Igbeagu Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, in 1994.
He proceeded to obtain a B.Sc. in Geological Sciences (1999), MSc in Applied Geophysics, (2006), and a PhD (2008) in Applied Geophysics (Geoelectrical Geophysics) all from UNIZIK, Awka. Odoh joined the academia in 2002.
He lectured at Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki from March 2002 – September 2009, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka between September 2009 and August 2014, and was a researcher with the Society of Exploration Geophysics (SEG) at Oklahoma USA, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011.
His research in this area provided economic decision-making tools towards reducing failures: in groundwater exploitation; solid mineral exploitation; reservoir characterization and prospect mapping for World Bank Community Water Projects, Anambra Imo River Basin.
He is a member of the Society of Exploration Geophysics, Oklahoma, USA, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, USA, European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers, London, and Nigeria Association of Petroleum Explorations, Lagos.
He is also a member of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society, Abuja. Odoh was assessed and appointed substantive Professor of Geological Sciences at the young age of 40 by the Federal University, Gusau, in October, 2015. In August 2024, Odoh’s alma mater, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, assessed and recommended him for promotion as Professor of Geophysics. Prof. Odoh, a supervisor of many post-graduate theses, has over 118 academic publications ranging from monographs, conference papers and international journal contributions to his credit.
Beyond academics, Prof. Odoh enjoys his peaceful marriage with Dr. Juliana Nkechi Odoh. The union is blessed with vibrant children. To people conversant with the history of Ndi Igbo of Eastern Nigeria and the prejudices that have been weaved around Ebonyi people in general and the Abakaliki bloc of Ebonyi State in particular, the ecstatic celebration of the news by the people of Ebonyi State is instructive:
The emergence of a core “Nwa Abakeleke” (Abakaliki indigene) as Vice Chancellor of the first federal university and premium citadel of learning in Anambra State is another summary proof that “everything” good could come out of Nazareth.
For long, Abakaliki has been regarded as the Nazareth of Igbo land by Ndi Igbo; and until Tuesday, October 29, 2024, Ndi Igbo had continued to advertise this prejudice to the world. Like Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State stated in his congratulatory message on behalf of Ebonyi people, Prof. Odoh’s achievement, “is a source of immense pride to us” (Ebonyi people).
To the celebrating UNIZIK community and her alumni, the emergence of Prof. Odoh, a UNIZIK homeboy who studied for his first, second and third degrees in university as the first alumnus Vice Chancellor of the school is a bold testimonial to the world about the functionality of UNIZIK graduates. UNIZIK graduates are fit in character and learning for any position either in the university or in the outside world.
This is an instructive signal in a continent where many universities make limited use of their own graduates, preferring to engage graduates of other universities in sensitive positions.
For the global community of people of goodwill conversant with the trajectory of Prof. Odoh, the rise of a man who was just coming out of Nigeria’s institutional Golgotha to the pinnacle of a premium academy like Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, evinces the veracity in the saying that: “What God cannot do does not exist!” In fact, it is safe to say that if courage, candour and resilience were human, they could have been Prof. Bernard Ifeanyi Chukwu Odoh.
Prof. Odoh, who wears his burden for the development of man and his environment like a badge, promises not to be just another Vice Chancellor of UNIZIK. His five-year development plan for the university which was obviously designed from ‘outside the box’ and entitled: “Disruptive Model Business Plan for Nnamdi Azikiwe University (November, 2024 – November, 2029)”, points to this fact.
Filled with lofty but feasible projects like tech innovation hub, comprehensive online digital course platform, 15 new undergraduate tech programmes, Vice Chancellor’s residence, new staff and students’ hostel complexes, 150-room hotel with event and meeting rooms and an 18-hole golf course.
The development plan is truly designed to disrupt or break all traditional records of development and raise the bar of transformative university administration to an all-time high.
Other projects in the plan include greenhouse farming, implementation of coordinated renewable energy solutions, campus landscaping and beautification, rehabilitation and reconstruction of campus roads.
That these projects have been set out in an order of priority within a time-bound action plan as well as realistic possible sources of funding gives young Prof. Odoh out as a man of vision who came prepared to transform Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, into a global brand.
Odoh’s strategic pillars for the university include curriculum revitalisation and industry alignment, digital transformation and smart campus initiative, innovation and research hubs, industry – academia collaboration and internships, talent development and faculty empowerment, funding, grants and sustainable growth, and global branding and internationalisation.
From all indications, the emergence of Prof. Bernard Ifeanyi Chukwu Odoh as the 7th substantive Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, is a metaphor for enthralling positive transformation of the university on all fronts.
The good thing about the Ebonyi-born new helmsman of UNIZIK is that having studied and taught in the same university; being an active player in national politics; and having consulted for multi-national corporations across the globe over the years, Professor Odoh is well-connected and bound to enjoy the support of all the critical stakeholders of both the university community and the education sector.
As I congratulate Prof. Odoh, I dare to add that this young professor of Geological Sciences/ Geophysics has all that is required to succeed in his new assignment and so, has no reason to fail.
