I had cause, last Friday, to return to the University of Lagos Library. My last foray into that reservoir of books was, probably, 30 years ago when I earned my doctorate from that great institution.
After combing through the wide world for some three decades in pursuit of other interests, the pull from the academia seems to have assumed the centre stage in my life in recent years. Some would say it was predictable. Dr Sam Egwu, former governor of Ebonyi State, alluded to that on the occasion of the public presentation of one of my books, “Scents of Power”, in 2021. His position was that I was more of an academic than anything else.
Dr Egwu is not alone here. When, a few years ago, I was toying with the idea of taking up the job of a Writer-in-Residence with a foreign university, I called my friend and professional colleague, Nduka Otiono, a professor and Director of the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Canada, to share my thoughts with him. He said he was not surprised to hear that I was returning to the academic world. He had, and I know that to be true, followed my expeditions in government and politics as well as my foray into business ownership. But Nduka said that he was convinced that I would, sooner or later, return to where he said I truly belong – the academia.
Truly, the pull to return to the university community has been gnawing on my feet for a reasonable length of time. But I caved in, somewhat, to the pull a few years ago when I started engaging again in active research. But my engagement in this regard graduated to a more definitive level when I got appointed by Coal City University, Enugu, as a Senior Visiting Fellow. Since then, I have not rested on my oars in the bid to take my academic journey to the next level.
I did mention in this Column a few months ago how much I was able to accomplish as a researcher when I visited Canada last November. Even though I have a rich library with a stock of books that beats the record of some private universities in Nigeria, I do have cause, from time to time, to visit public libraries in and out of Nigeria. Last week, the National Library at Herbert Macaulay Way as well as the Lagos State government-owned Herbert Macaulay Library, also on Herbert Macaulay Way, Yaba, played host to my research inquiries. I capped it all with my return, as I have already hinted, to the University of Lagos Library. I must say, from what I saw, that the University of Lagos has remained on track in its pursuit of academic excellence. The library is improved and richer than what it was some decades ago. Rather than the deterioration that I have come across in most public institutions, the University of Lagos has continued to advance in infrastructural development.
Traditionally speaking, the University has a role assigned to it in the advancement of society. This was part of the reflection I engaged in when I delivered the matriculation lecture of Coal City University last year.
Excerpts from the lecture will serve our purpose here.
“What is the reason for the establishment of a university? In other words, why do the universities exist? Are they living up to their billing as institutions of higher learning? What should be the content and quality of instruction? To answer some of the foregoing questions, we need to take recourse to John Henry Newman’s espousal on the idea of the University.
“Newman, an English Catholic theologian, philosopher and academic, had a book with the title: “The Idea of a University” published in 1852. The book, the most timeless of all Newman’s books, is an eloquent defence of liberal education. It should be noted that liberal education places emphasis on a broad, foundational approach to learning. It focuses on the development of a well-rounded individual with critical thinking skills rather than specializing in a specific vocation. It is rooted in the historical concept of liberal arts which encompasses disciplines like literature, language, history, philosophy and mathematics. It also includes the social sciences and natural sciences. As
a traditional academic course in Western higher education, liberal arts encompasses a broad range of subjects that explore what it means to be human. Newman’s philosophy of education supports this liberal approach to university education. For him, “education, like truth, must result in wisdom and positive action as well as more intellectual and theoretical advances”. He also holds that real education informs the intellect as well as forming the moral heart of the person. Newman’s postulation rests on the principle of education as a transformative force.
“At a time and age when science and technology, and, lately, information communications technology have taken the centre stage in university education, Newman’s idea of the university appears to be receding. Emphasis is shifting away from humanistic education in preference for practice-oriented disciplines. While it is good to embrace science and technology, the human element in education should not be thrown overboard. The university, whose responsibility it is to impart knowledge, must ensure that its products are well-honed human beings. They must be humanistic rather than mechanical in their approach to life. When this is the case, the product of university education becomes a well-rounded individual rather than a fraction looking for its integer.
The fact of our situation in Nigeria is that we are, today, saddled with universities with an array of courses. Yet, their products can hardly operate outside the confines of their academic disciplines. This lack of flexibility is a negation of what a university should be. The overemphasis on specialization is ossifying our universities to the point of irrelevance. This has not done the university system any good.
“I recall that the content of our university curricula was an issue of controversy at some point in our national life. The Ibrahim Babangida government, in its heyday, had cause to accuse some University lecturers of subverting the university environment, and by extension, the country, by teaching what they were not paid to teach. One of the positive fallouts of that spat was the re-engineering and broadening of the scope of instruction in the General Studies curriculum of our universities. We need to do more in this regard by incorporating course contents that will promote the liberal approach to education. Our universities must strive to meet up with global challenges and expectations at all times. This is the message the instructors and administrators of our universities must take to heart”.
This was my reflection about a year ago. My ongoing engagement with the university system in Nigeria only reinforces this position.
QUOTE:
“Our universities must strive to meet up with global challenges and expectations at all times. This is the message the instructors and administrators of our universities must take to heart”.
