THE NATION FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2013
29
DISCOURSE
Forging a synergy between public and private universities for the attainment of national development Text of a paper delivered by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), former president, Nigerian Bar Association and pro-chancellor and chairman of Council, University of Ibadan, at the debut of Distinguished Lecture Series of the Elizade University, Ondo State, on March 28.
O
N or about February 11, 2013, I had some repeated calls from telephone number 08037212260 which I did not attend to, as it is not all that safe and advisable for me as a person to pick calls from unregistered or un-stored numbers whose owners and identities I do not know. Subsequent to the repeated calls, I received an SMS from the same number and this time around, from a gentleman who introduced himself as Omololu Adegbenro, the Registrar of Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin. His objective was brisk and straight forward, to wit, a ‘command’ (or do I say ‘an order’?) from Chief Michael Ade Ojo, OON, the Founder of Elizade University that I should ‘debut’ the Elizade University Distinguished Lecture Series on March 28, 2013. According to Mr. Adegbenro, a letter to this effect was already drawn up and about being delivered personally to me in Lagos. I quickly asked myself whether or not I had a choice in the matter and came to the realization that the ‘order’ or ‘command’ of the Founder of this exquisite Institution is binding on me for so many reasons, including but not limited to the fact that Chief Michael Ade Ojo, OON (aka Elizade) is a respected and respectable Nigerian, an industrialist extraordinaire, a business icon and mogul without a reproach or blemish; a foremost senior citizen of Nigeria, an outstanding patriot who is both scandal and corrupt-free; a very rare mentor in a clime like ours where the tribe of actual mentors is dwindling, if not evaporating or dehydrating by the day; a global role model who a lot of us not only aspire to copy, but also see as a beacon of hope and symbol of ‘paradise regained’ for our nation. To me as a person, Chief Ade Ojo exemplifies and has in-built in him all that is good, lovely, godly, beautiful, charming and beneficial to mankind. It is apt to publicly acknowledge and appreciate one good gesture of Chief Ade Ojo to me in 2007 when some political miscreants, ostensibly from the opposing camp of a client I was representing in a sensitive political Petition at a Tribunal went to my Ikere-Ekiti country home and set it on fire. The house was substantially damaged before my towns men and Fire Brigade staff eventually quenched the fire. Chief Ojo became aware of the incident on the pages of newspapers. He there and then sent to me a cheque for a handsome amount, representing his own contribution towards the repair, reconstruction and rehabilitation of the edifice. I accepted the invitation, although with much trepidation, for several reasons. The conveying letter dated February 11, 2013 reads in part as follows: “On behalf of the Founder, the Board of Trustees, Council and Administration of the University, I wish to invite your eminence to debut the Elizade University Distinguished Lecture Series named: ‘Elizade University Distinguished Lecture Series 1.’ As it is named, this is the first in the series of the lectures, which is organized to officially open the new university. It is also organized to commemorate the Maiden Matriculation Ceremony of the University to which parents and several dignitaries from within and outside the country are being invited. It will be our great pleasure if you would honour this epoch-making occasion with your presence as our first Distinguished Lecturer on a befitting topical issue of your choice. It will be an hour lecture holding at the University Events Centre at 11.00am on Thursday, March 28, 2013.” This lecture is not too dissimilar to a university inaugural lecture, although the Vice-Chancellor is not presiding. From my humble knowledge and appreciation of University lectures, whether inaugural or distinguished, whoever is the Guest Lecturer must be highly cerebral and sure-footed. I do not think I am. I am not in the academics and I make no pretense that I am an academic. Simply put or summarized, I am a humble lawyer. Be that as it may, my position as the Pro-chancellor and Chairman of Council of the University of Ibadan has afforded me the golden opportunity of having first-hand dealings with academics of different grades, shapes, sizes, heights and depths for the past four years. Again, this does not make me one of them. Permit me, ladies and gentlemen to situate myself under a safe and comfortable haven to debut this Distinguished Lecture Series, not as an academic, but as a stakeholder in the Nigerian education project, particularly under the Chairmanship of another distinguished Nigerian, who though is a Medical Doctor by profession and politician by vocation and reputation, but definitely not an academic, irrespective of the fact that he is a Visitor to two State Universities. I am not talking in parables. I am directly referring and pointing to my friend, brother and former colleague in the Ondo State Executive Council, His Excellency, Governor Olusegun Mimiko, the Governor of Ondo State. Still meandering in trepidation, I got into the deepest of dilemma as to the choice of topic, but at the end of it all, I resolved to address this gathering on the topic ‘Forging a Synergy between Public and Private Universities for the Attainment of National Development’. Introduction We all live in an interrelated world where no one constitutes an island to himself. By the same token, nobody, however scholarly endowed, has the monopoly of knowledge. We borrow ideas from one another, even in the presentation of either distinguished or inaugural lectures in the universities. Therefore, let me make an open confession that at kick-starting the sketches of this lecture, I found great inspiration in a number of Greek mythologies and the postulations of leading thinkers and statesmen. I have always been excited about the myth of the Grecian Priest Abaris. This priest was depicted as a sage who travelled with a magic, golden arrow given to him by the god Apollo. It was said that the arrow enabled him to ride through the air, and that it also rendered him invisible. He was benevolent enough to use it to cure diseases, as well as invoke oracles. But do you know what interests me most about Abaris? Despite the power he had at his disposal, by virtue of owning the golden arrow, he later gave it to Pythagoras in exchange for lessons in Pythagoras’ philosophy! Those of us who went to secondary schools are not (and should not be) unfamiliar with Pythagoras theorem in geometry. I also make no pretense that the Egyptian myth of Amenhotep, a sage and
•Chief Olanipekun
minister under Pharaoh Amenhotep III also encourages my intellectual exploration. During his days, he was often invoked as an intercessor by the people in times of trouble or need. Yet, his wisdom was what he was known for – a man famously portrayed as a scribe with a roll of papyrus on his knees. These two myths highlight the value of education and also what, I might call synergetic learning. Amenhotep and Abaris recognized that being knowledgeable was not an individual affair, but that, at the core of being human, is the need to participate in a learning process. To J. F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States of America, America could not progress further and farther than her education. In his words, ‘Our progress as a nation can be no further than the progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.’ Also, Clairbone Pell clearly brought out the potency of education vis-à-vis the strength of the USA when he posited thus: ‘The strength of the United States is not the Gold at Fort Knox, or the weapons of mass destruction in our arsenals, but the sum total of the education and character of our people.’ With the theories, myths and postulations of these and other great thinkers, philosophers, statesmen etc in mind, this lecture intends to highlight how learning is collaborative. Put succinctly, this would be the thrust of this presentation. I have come to the realization that knowledge has always been participatory. Universities are founded on the premise that knowledge can, and should, be shared for the benefit of all. We find the word ‘mankind’ stated in the Vision Statement of the newly founded Elizade University. Immediately that word is invoked, the ‘pursuit of academic and moral excellence’ becomes a shared action. Synergy, as a word and concept, will help drive home my points as this lecture unfolds. My approach is to think of collaboration between learning systems in Nigeria and also between individuals. To put things in perspective, I have attempted to ensure a ‘global’ approach to my analysis, building context for my ideas on university education in Nigeria on worldwide examples and approaches. It will soon become apparent that this lecture is a collage of ideas on education – touching importantly on the prospects for a synergetic relationship between public and private universities, but equally considering national development through education. My methodology is to define the key terms that form the basis of the topic, and then to analyze what university education, both on the private and public levels, are. After this, I will attempt to highlight the state of university education in Nigeria, comparing it to other climes. This will then lead to a position on synergy and national development as it relates to the synergetic relationship between private and public universities. Definition of key terms university The word ‘University’ is an institutional name adopted from the Latin word ‘universitas’ which connotes ‘corporate’, ‘community’, ‘total’, ‘whole’ or ‘general’. It is a term that refers to the teaching of general or universal knowledge. The term was specifically applied to an academic community in Medieval Latin through the use of the following Latin words: ‘Universitas Magistrorum Et Schorarium.’ The original Latin word ‘universitas’ refers in general to a number of persons associated into one body, a society, company, community, guild, corporation, etc. At the time of the emergence of urban towns, life and medieval guilds, specialized associations of students and teachers with collective legal rights usually
‘Synergy, as a word and concept, will help drive home my points as this lecture unfolds. My approach is to think of collaboration between learning systems in Nigeria and also between individuals. To put things in perspective, I have attempted to ensure a ‘global’ approach to my analysis, building context for my ideas on university education in Nigeria on worldwide examples and approaches’
guaranteed by charters issued by princes, prelates, or the towns, in which they were located came to be denominated by this general term. Like other guilds, they were self-regulating and determined the qualifications of their members. The original Latin word referred to degree-granting institutions of learning in Western and Central Europe, where this form of legal organisation was prevalent, and from where the institution spread around the world. In the Wordweb dictionary, three meanings are accorded the word: • The body of faculty and students at a university. • Establishment where a seat of higher learning is housed, including administrative and living quarters as well as facilities for research and teaching. • A large and diverse institution of higher learning created to educate for life and for a profession and to grant degrees. The International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences defines University as an organization that engages in the advancement of knowledge; it teaches, trains and examines students in a variety of scholarly, scientific and professional fields. The Universities confer degrees and provide opportunities for both their teaching staff and students to do original research. They are the research and development arm of the world of thinking men. But in line with the changing nature of the definition of a University and the global challenges, a University must be seen as being more than a research citadel or a degree-awarding institution. It must be a community that is capable of producing quality leaders, a platform for social and economic change and a force to be reckoned with in formulating national policies. The authors further stated: “The term ‘University’ embodies a platform for universal knowledge utility. ‘The university is a universality of ideas’ is an apt phrase for the great wealth of opportunity and experience with which the institution endues its scholars during the period of their academic pursuit. A university connects its individual members physically. It fosters greater partnership and relationship between its members and members of its fellow institutions nationally, regionally and internationally.” The above definitions make it clear that the universities are key drivers in the knowledge economy – in fact, the central hub of knowledge impartation and exchange. Public university To my mind, and viewed, defined or interpreted within the Nigerian context, a Public University is one established, owned, funded and controlled by the Government, whether Federal or State. At the Federal level, it is established by the instrumentality of an Act of the National Assembly, while at the State level, the State House of Assembly passes a Law to establish it. The University of Ibadan Act 1962 provides thus: “There shall be established, as the successor of the University College Ibadan, a University which shall be a body corporate by the name of the University of Ibadan … and shall be constituted in accordance with the provisions of this Act.” Precisely on April 13, 1962, the Act establishing the University of Lagos was passed by the Federal Parliament with the following Preamble: “BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Legislature of the Federation of Nigeria in this present Parliament assembled and by the authority of the same as follows: 1(1) There shall be in the Federal territory a University to be known the University of Lagos to provide courses of instruction and as learning in the faculties of arts, law, medicine, science, education, commerce and business administration, engineering, and any other faculties which may from time to time be approved under this Act.” The laws establishing and governing public Universities are always elaborate, extensive and detailed. They provide for, amongst others, the academic structure, Governing Council, Senate, Principal Officers, Students, Convocation, Alumni, Congregation, powers, functions etc. The Councils are constituted by the respective Governments, while, at the Federal Universities, the ViceChancellors are appointed by the respective Governing Councils. But in a good number of the State Universities, the position of the Vice Chancellor is as unstable as the British weather, for he remains in office at the pleasure, hatred, dislike, whims and caprices of whoever is the Governor. Put in the proper perspective, there is much more freedom in the Federal Universities than the States’. With my experience as the Pro-Chancellor of a Federal University for the past four years, at no point in time has either the President, who is the Visitor to the University or the Minister of Education interfered in decision-making policy of the Council or in the appointment of the Principal Officers which we have made so far, or in the conferment of Honourary Degrees to distinguished individuals, in and out of Nigeria. Contrast this with the halting and the ultimate withdrawal of the planned conferment of the Honorary Degree of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Ondo State on that foremost Nigerian lawyer and human rights activist, late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN at the instance of the then Ondo State Government.[10] Also in contradistinction to the high fees paid by students in the private universities, Governments at both Federal and State levels regulate, leverage on and dictate what the tuition, boarding and other fees payable by students should be, apparently out of tune with the realities on ground and in order to meet political expediency. It is necessary to add that while the older Federal and State Universities like Ibadan, Lagos, Ife, Zaria, Nsukka were carefully structured and planned, at times after the submission of a report of a particular Commission set up for that purpose[11], the later generation of Government/Public universities have come into being without any planning, debating, structuring or altruistic intention, but merely to fulfill political righteousness, not minding or caring whether these latter day universities would last. • To be continued