As the country battles the scourge of fatal insurgency from the dreaded Boko Haram, another battle goes on in some Federal Universities as the selection Committees of the University senates searches for a replacement for outgoing University Vice Chancellors. Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, (UNN), Nigeria’s premier University is under study by this analyst.
My analysis in this University centers on the transition activities around the search for another Vice Chancellor. As members of the discerning public, we are interested in throwing up the best hand, as, in the next few weeks, Professor Bartho Okolo would be completing his tenure as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria. Within the last five years, Okolo, who took over from Prof. Chinedu Nebo, (current Minster of Power) has no doubt written his name in gold, owing to massive transformation his administration brought in the area of academics, infrastructure, students’ and lecturers’ welfare, among others.
Certainly, Okolo’s rare administrative qualities and track records make it imperative to source for another performer who would not just build the existing legacies but work to surpass it. One man who has not only worked closely with this administration but had also made impressive marks in his field is Polycarp Emeka Chiegbu, a Professor of Statistics.
Chigbu joined the University of Nigeria in 1985 as a Graduate Assistant, from where he worked meticulously and rose to a Professor of Statistics in October 2003. At the University of Nigeria, he has handled various Statistics (full-time) and Quantitative Economics, (part-time: 1990-1992 & 1997-2002) courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.The Professor, a holder of a B.Sc. and M.Sc. of the University of Nigeria and the PhD of Goldsmiths’ College, University of London, United Kingdom, has teaching activities which spans different institutions. For instance, as a Senior Lecturer in Statistics, he was at the Abia State University, Uturu, Nigeria, in 2005 on Sabbatical leave.
In addition, Chigbu was also at the National Mathematical Centre, Abuja in 2000 as a Course Lecturer in Foundation Postgraduate Course in Optimization with Super Convergent Line Series in Design of Experiments.Also, Chigbu remained an academic researcher with the Goldsmiths’ College, University of London, UK, between October 1992 – March 1996 and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka till date. He equally served as a visiting research scientist at the National Mathematical Centre, Abuja from October 1998 to December 1999.
Despite his deep involvement in academic research, he is not left out in University administration. He is presently the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), University of Nigeria having been her Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) since April 2013. Besides, Chigbu has equally held other positions including: Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies, UNN, (July 2011 – April 2013), Coordinator, Lagos Outreach Programme of the UNN from October 2010 till date; Director of Academic Planning, UNN (August 2009 – June 2011); Ag. Head of Department of Statistics, UNN (August 2002 – July 2004), to mention but a few.
This erudite Professor has apart from having five books to his credit, also authored three chapters in other books and nearly fifty journal articles, excluding conference papers and presentations at scientific meetings/conferences and seminars.Besides, Professor Chigbu has served the National University Commission, NUC, in various capacities, and has equally won over fifteen scholarships, distinctions and awards.His harvest of awards began in 1993, when he emerged the best graduating student, B.Sc., Department of Statistics of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Others include: Winner, International Statistical Institute Competition for Young Statisticians from Developing Countries of the World; Awardee of the United Nations’ Fellowship program in Statistics tenable in India; The Royal Statistical Society’s (RSS’s) J.H. West Bursary and Conference Grant Award at various times the RSS International Conference in Nothingham (2008), Brighton (2010) and New Castle (2013) all in the UK among several others.As a scholar, Professor Chigbu is kindhearted, a lower of people, very experienced in University administration, a stickler to principles who does not readily compromise when it comes to transparency.He has occupied the most sensitive academic positions in the University, and was never found wanting in accounting for public resources.
Chigbu is one who has through the ranks paid his dues, shown excellence in research, publication, teaching and administration. A proven international scholar, he has also shown that he could mobilize from public and private funds to achieve the vision of the founding fathers which is to restore the dignity of man.
He is capable of increasing the capacity of the great lion of the University of Nigeria(UNN) to roar louder, wider and higher.With the achievements of the current VC, Chigbu is the one who rightly matches the bill to move UNN to a higher height after the current VC, Prof. Okolo. There is a cabal in the system that is into admission, exams racketeering – these are people who don’t want the system to work. The candidacy of Chigbu will not just stem them out of the system but equally impact on the quality of research, disciplinary behavior, quality teaching and ability of the university to meet on the deadline and submission of students’ results.
Because of his administering of discipline, he is in a position to address the challenges of poor wwork ethics among staff and prolong industrial harmony among the unions on campus.Chigbu having served as the Chairman of the University’s Senate Entrance Board since June 2009 – May 2014, he made transformative change to bring an end to admission racketeering and transcript forgeries such that the National University Commission(NUC) adopted his recommendations and made it compulsory to all university institutions in the country to emulate and adopt.
He has brought an enduring respect, integrity and image to the University through the new transcript and certificate verification which he introduced about five years ago. In the light of Education, the minister’s charge that Education System in the 21st century should be well-managed to address inadequate poor funding, industrial crisis etc, there is a need for an administrator per excellence with the experimental discipline that can match the FG policy on education and the national policy on education as well as the need to maintain the sanctity of our ivory towers; Prof. Polycarp Emeka Chigbu fits the bill. Based on the above, it is only apt that the selection Board for the appointment of a new VC, which comprises of Prof. Osita Ogbu and Prof. Chukwuemeka Okoye, both men of impeccable characters, should not look far in getting a new Vice Chancellor for the UNN. The shoes will rightly fit Professor Polycarp Chigbu.
(Princewill Okadigbo Asogwa, an educational public affairs analyst is based in Abuja.)
Comments