UI Shines in Ethiopia as Pan African University take off
Sunday Saanu
University of Ibadan (UI) recently did Nigeria in particular and West Africa in general proud with its impressive outing at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia capital, where the African Union’s (AU) newly established Pan African University (PAU) was inaugurated amidst pomp and pageantry. It will be recalled that the Nigeria premier university had in 2010 defeated other West African universities in a keen competition to emerge as the hub for the West Africa where Earth and Life Science courses will be taught to other African university students..
African Union had observed that the quality of many African higher education institutions has been adversely affected in recent years by harsh economic, social, political and even conflict situations on the continent. Besides, the union noted with serious concern the endemic phenomenon of brain drain which has deprived the continent of its finest intellectuals. To address this backward trend therefore, AU proposed in 2008, the creation of the Pan African University (PAU) which shall involve promotion, networking and development of programmes and research centres within some existing excellent universities in the five geographic sub-regions including Northern, Western, Eastern, Central and Southern Africa.
The idea behind this segmentation of African continent is that each sub-region will host a thematic component of the PAU which will be committed to selecting and networking high quality centres, developing similar programmes and to serve as a hub for other surrounding institutions. In other words, UI which emerged as the hub for West Africa shall serve as a centre where quality learning and research shall be emphasized and promoted in order to create a global pool of knowledge and innovation, better links with industry so as to enhance relevance and contribute to addressing local challenges
The Earth and Life Sciences Programmes that will attract foreign students to Nigeria’s premier university are Agriculture and Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, Botany and Microbiology, Food Technology, Zoology and Geology. Others include Petroleum Engineering, Oil and Gas, Dentistry, Nutrition and Dietetics as well as Medicine and Surgery. The courses will be subsidized by the AU and partly by UI.
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology which is the hub for Eastern Africa hosts Institute of Basic sciences, Technology and Innovation while the University of Yaounde, Cameroun from the Central African region will be coordinating courses in Governance, Humanities and Social sciences.
At the colourful inauguration of the PAU in Addis Ababa recently, which drew participants across African continent and beyond, African Union President, Teodoro Mbasogo who expressed optimism and excitement about the relevance of the university to the integration and collaboration among African countries charged leaders in Africa to pay serious attention to education in the continent, saying human capital development remains the key to the development of African region.
The AU President who announced that about $70million would be spent on each of the five hubs explained that the university was established to produce world-class graduates in science, technology, innovation and social sciences with African flavor. Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea who was represented by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Jean Ping maintained that the university would stimulate collaborative, internationally competitive, cutting edge and development oriented research in areas having a direct bearing on technical, economic and social development of Africa.
In his own speech, African Union Commissioner for Human Resources and Science and Technology, Prof. Pierre Ezin stated that the university would commence academic work in 2012/2013 session, having put in place certain necessary resources including adequate money which he said would be used to provide academic facilities, recruitment of faculty members and the smooth operation of the centers.
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However, UI, at the inauguration, shone like a northern star with over 30 Nigerian Vice-Chancellors supporting their own hub located in Ibadan. Clearly, Nigeria had the highest number of participants with all of them lining up behind their flag bearer. As if the population dominance was not intimidating enough, it was only UI, the western hub that distributed souvenirs which made the launching more glamorous. Ironically, other two hubs at the occasion (Jomo Kenyatta and Yaounde) were dazed with the level of seriousness that UI displayed towards the launching of the PAU. |
Reacting, the Secretary General, Association of African Universities, Prof. Olugbenro Jegede who commended UI for a high level quality representation observed that UI had demonstrated unrivalled leadership in higher education in African continent. Prof. Jegede commended the UI Vice- Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole for his commitment and determination which set UI apart for honour at the launching. UI had gone to Addis Ababa with sourvenirs worth millions of naira, including conference bag, T-Shirt, fez cap, pen among others which were distributed to every participant.
| In his remark, UI VC, Prof. Adewole described the launching of PAU as historic, but cautioned that the “new born baby must be carefully nurtured to adulthood. According to Prof. Adewole, “Africa is reputed for conceiving good ideas, but implementation seems to be our problem. We must not allow this university to suffer still birth. It must not be malnourished. We must ensure that this university achieves the purpose for which it is established” Prof. Adewole thanked the PAU Acting Director in UI, Prof. Matthew Abatan for his dedication and sacrifice.. |  |
However, UI’s journey to this continental success was not a tea party as it had to contest fiercely both locally and regionally with other universities craving for the AU’s honour and recognition. Minister for Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i had in 2010 charged National Universities Commission (NUC) to nominate the best university to represent Nigeria for the AU’s platform. With UI’s record, structure, achievements over the years, the minister did not hesitate to approve the nomination of UI for the Addis-Ababa competition
At Addis-Ababa competition where Nigeria’s representative (UI) met Senegal, Benin and Guinea for the epic battle, UI defeated all these universities with its unrivalled profile, thus, emerging as West African hub for the PAU’s programmes Interestingly, among cutting-edge which facilitated UI’s success included evidence of the institution’s involvement in the thematic priority areas, existence of formidable post graduate programmes and research, evidence of international partnerships as UI has over 139 linkages all over the world including join research collaborations. Also, the university showed availability of adequate and qualified staff as well as availability and quality of infrastructure for teaching and research.
With this latest achievement, UI has not only confirmed its prestigious vantage position as the first and the best university in Nigeria, but has also continued to be a source of pride to every Nigerian with its academic profundity and solid moral rectitude. This is one institution that has been insulated from the national virus known as corruption as a result of quality leadership it enjoys.
However, there is still some distance to destination for UI to be a global player. There are still many challenges. Funding is a critical component of a university aspiring to become an internationally acknowledged institution for higher learning. And, government alone can’t do it. Evidently, the university, under the Prof. Adewole’s leadership is putting on its thinking cap with regard to fund raising without compromising its hard-earned integrity. It is expected that UI alumni will come to the assistance of the 63 years old university with donations.
African Union has reposed its confidence in UI by making it a hub for West Africa. This hope must not be dashed. Strike action must not jeopadise this aspiration. All hands must be on deck to ensure that the programmes succeed. The vision of the AU is to build an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa. This is a good vision that must not be allowed to blur. We all have a role to play. Surely, quality higher education is imperative if Africa is to attain this vision and participate fully in the global knowledge economy.
Sunday Saanu(08059436919)
University of Ibadan
