The incongruity of the recent resuscitation of sole administration in the Nigerian university system by the Tinubu presidency has started manifesting its unwholesome ugliness at the University of Abuja, where impossible policy decisions and actions are fast becoming the norm. Thought to be legally long dead and buried, nobody expected or even anticipated that the specter of sole administration would resurface in the firmament of the Nigerian university system, let alone be revived by a civil-democratic regime such as the one under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu today. All past efforts aimed at strengthening the capacity and operations of Nigerian universities within the elevating ambiance of self-governing status, in line with global best practices, are now put on the line by the recent ill-informed actions of the Tinubu administration as manifested at the University of Abuja.
Contrary to the widely known fact that Nigerian universities are governed and administered via regulated processes, procedures, and practices, the government-imposed sole administration at the University of Abuja has elevated political expediency as a tool for management control and survival. This may not be surprising, given that, as it is often said, you cannot give what you do not have. This means one should not expect an administration birthed in illegality to demonstrate the capacity to operate and manifest legality in its actions and trajectory. However, the attendant repercussions of the unfolding misgovernance of the otherwise bubbling citadel of learning in the nation’s capital should be a major concern, especially in this autonomy-driven era. I have refrained from commenting on the bizarre saga before now, hoping that the powers that be would realize their folly and reverse their actions. But, alas, it seems that is not yet forthcoming. Hence, keeping quiet as my beloved alma mater is systematically being rubbished, bastardized, and scandalized is no longer an option.
It would be recalled that on February 6 of this year, the University of Abuja community, which woke up in a festive mood conducting its best and most attended matriculation ceremony for its newly admitted students, ended up receiving the shocking news of the sudden dissolution of its Governing Council and the removal of the brand-new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Aisha Sani Maikudi. In a move reminiscent of the past heydays of military juntas, the properly appointed governing authorities of the university were sent packing by the Tinubu presidency via a press statement, without recourse to the extant laws of the institution. To replace them, the government immediately appointed Senator Lanre Tejuoso as the new Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council and Professor Patricia Manko Lar as Acting Vice-Chancellor for six months. It is instructive that neither the government nor any of its agencies has proffered any explanation or reasons for the government-imposed regime change at the university, which contravenes extant laws and due process.
It was only after the two interim sole administrators reported to the university that they reportedly tried to explain to various stakeholders the circumstances surrounding their appointment and their mandate of restoring sanity to the institution. However, this was promptly shot down at various forums and meetings with different sections of the university. Not only was there no crisis in the university, but it was also pointed out to them that the process of their appointment was flawed, even after the unlawful ouster of the properly constituted governing bodies. That explains why the presidency’s actions are equated in several quarters to a civilian coup. A major feature of a successful political coup plot is the takeover of power and authority without anyone formally handing over to the impostor(s). In this instance, it has now emerged that the Acting Vice-Chancellor did not formally take over from the ousted Vice-Chancellor, Professor Aisha Sani Maikudi.
This is reportedly because the government has been unable to serve the latter with a letter of disengagement, which she would need to do the needful. The University of Abuja is now one month into the strange tenure of the sole administrators, yet the government has been scandalously unable to sort out the mess it created to ensure a smooth transition and change of guard at the university.
A further mess surrounds the instrument of appointment of the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Patricia Manko Lar. In the press statement issued by both the presidency and the Federal Ministry of Education, it was stated that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved her appointment alongside the new Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council. However, the letter of appointment of Professor Lar, dated February 7, 2025, and signed by Dr. Sani Gwarzo, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, stated that it was approved by the Minister of Education. Who then, among the two, approved the appointment of the Acting Vice-Chancellor, given the contradictory communication from the same government? Whatever the case, neither of the two has the power to approve the said appointment based on the extant laws of the University of Abuja.
According to the provisions of the autonomy act, only the Governing Council of the University of Abuja can hire and fire the Vice-Chancellor, whether substantive or acting, and the process of appointing the Acting Vice-Chancellor does not contemplate anyone being appointed to the position from outside the University of Abuja.
It is within this context that the sole administration has been enmeshed in a crisis of identity, legitimacy, relevance, and recognition. This is said to be manifested first by the desperation with which the Acting Vice-Chancellor has been striving to actualize the change of name of the University of Abuja to Yakubu Gowon University, as previously announced by the Federal Government. Acting as if it is her main mission at the university, Professor Lar has disregarded the due process involved in the matter and has continued to insist that the institution be called and addressed as Yakubu Gowon University, even though the change of name has not been legally perfected and gazetted by the government. This is the responsibility of the government and not within her purview as Acting Vice-Chancellor. Even the letter conveying her appointment referred to the University of Abuja, indicating that the change of name is still a work in progress.
Now, after spending almost one month familiarizing herself with the university by visiting academic faculties and holding meetings with various stakeholders, Professor Lar has announced her intention to settle down to work with some strange political appointments and an unorthodox realignment of the university’s governance and management processes. New positions of Special Advisers, unknown to the system, have been created, and appointments have been announced into them, while other changes that may even affect some Principal Officers are being contemplated. To further complicate matters, some of those being appointed to these new offices are the leading vindictive hate mongers and petition writers in the university. What value these characters will add to the system is anybody’s guess, but it seems the Acting Vice-Chancellor is convinced that they can assist in stabilizing her administration.
Perhaps the Acting Vice-Chancellor has yet to appreciate the precarious conundrum that the sole administration she embodies constitutes for the University of Abuja and, invariably, the Nigerian university system. Not only is she holding a position and running an administration not supported by the law, but she has also not properly taken over the reins of management and control from her unlawfully deposed predecessor. Consequently, all actions by her, including financial expenditures covering contract execution, hotel accommodations and feeding for her large contingent from Jos, the engagement of numerous personal aides, planned foreign trips, fuel costs, and other logistics, are nothing but, strictly speaking, acts of impunity.
However, this administration may be considered a child of necessity imposed on the University of Abuja by the Tinubu presidency. The same presidency can do the needful by reversing this ugly trend. We have seen how the government, through the Minister of Education, reversed its unwholesome action in the case of the Admiralty University in Delta State. Nothing stops the Minister from facilitating a similar reversal at the University of Abuja. It is the least the Tinubu administration can do to save its name and image from eternal opprobrium.
~ Dr. Dan Marke is an Adjunct Lecturer, Abuja Leadership Centre, University of Abuja.
