Why President Tinubu Should Intervene as he did in the Case of the Controversial Appointment of the Sacked Former Unizik VC Professor Bernard Odoh.
‘Clearly, Prof A’isha Maikudi’s case bears the same hallmarks as that of the sacked VC UniZik Prof Bernard Odoh. While Prof Odoh was sacked by President Tinubu last November, Prof Maikudi is still sitting pretty as VC UniAbuja’
‘A house built on air cannot stand.’
Is Aisha Maikudi’s appointment as VC Uni Abuja after the sacking of Bernard Odoh as VC UniZik for similar controversies a case of double standards or that of ‘This is Nigeria, so who cares’ or both?
The appointment of Prof A’isha MaiKudi goes against the 10-year post-professorial experience for the appointment of a vice-chancellor. The 10-year post Professorial requirement is clearly stipulated in section 3-6 of the Federal Ministry of Education Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1993 (as amended). It was a clear case of imposition based on the ‘Nigerian factor’ by the chair, governing council Uni Abuja Air Vice Marshal Samaila Kaita (Rtd) who hails from the same state (Katsina) as Prof A’isha Maikudi.
Prof A’isha is barely 2 years as a Professor having been promoted to that level in 2022. So clearly, she will not meet up with the requirements. To cover up for this gap and clear the way for A’isha Maikudi, the outgone VC Prof Abdulrasheed Na’Allah working in cahoots with the then education minister Prof Tahir Mamman (now disengaged), lowered the bar for Maikudi from 10 to 5 years post-Professorship experience. Even at 5 years requirement, A’isha Maikudi is nowhere near qualification to the post.
Another infraction is that the then VC Na’Allah working in a collabo with Prof Tahir Mamman, unilaterally advertised the VC position which is a very serious error because only the governing council of the university has powers to advertise the VC position. Albeit there was no governing council at the time, it is still illegal for the outgoing VC Na’Allah to make such advertisement. Can’t he wait for a few months until the inauguration of the governing council?
Moreover, Prof A’isha is alleged to have sent thugs to disrupt a scheduled meeting convened by the Uni Abuja ASUU chapter to deliberate on the VC appointment matter as she was sceptical that she may lose out. You can imagine what happened at the venue.
Thugs to disrupt a meeting of lecturers over VC selection? Are we in Egypt yet?
In a move Maradona style, Prof A’isha MaiKudi arranged her selection process during the holidays when most lecturers have travelled for Christmas and new year celebrations. The university wasn’t in session.
In fact, Prof A’isha’s purported ‘confirmation’ took place on 31st December while most lecturers were busy in new year celebration mood in their villages and towns. The daring move to shift the selection process to New Year’s Eve when lecturers were away on holiday was informed by the fact that if an election was held fair and square, Prof A’isha stands absolutely no chance of winning it. In fact there was no election and Nigerians were simply informed that Prof A’isha has ‘emerged as the best’ from what the university spokesman called ‘a process to select a VC from the 10 shortlisted candidates’ There were no records to show how many votes each of the 10 candidates scored because the law said it should be through an election.
Don’t even consider the fact that Prof Na’Allah is alleged to be a Man Friday to Prof A’isha’s dad who helped him (Prof Na’Allah) become the VC Uni Abuja.
A case of payback time.
For her to navigate her way through all the protocols and emerge as VC albeit disputed is a clear indication of Prof A’isha MaiKudi’s unquestionable connection in Nigeria’s political space.
A’isha Maikudi’s appointment cannot stand. President Tinubu should intervene in the Uni Abuja VC crisis to preserve the integrity of the university system. The university system is already boiling with integrity issues and can do without controversies during every VC selection process.
Clearly, the woman who graduated with a PhD as recent as 2015 is not qualified but was imposed on the university by the university’s governing council chair Air Vice Marshall Samaila Kaita (Rtd) who made sure she returned as VC.
Prof A’isha’s PhD supervisor at university of Abuja will be grinning from ear to ear as he watches his own student dish out orders for him to follow. Don’t get me wrong, I know the university system is a place where your own student will graduate, join you as a lecturer in the same department, rise to HOD and be the one to endorse your application for research leave. However, in A’isha Maikudi’s case, the issue goes beyond the ‘first-from-behind’ system in the university. Rather, it has to do with the fact that she is N.O.T qualified for the job due to her lack of the requisite 10-year Professorship experience which she made up with ‘connection experience’
How do you expect her own PhD supervisor and other Professors at the Uni Abuja who have crossed the Professorship ladder over 30 years ago when A’isha was a teenager to recognise her or be loyal to her? It is not by coincidence that hierarchy is applied in appointments. Your senior is your senior. He can see where you can’t.
SACKING OF UNIZIK VC PROF BERNARD ODOH
Also recall that President Tinubu in his desire to safeguard the integrity of the university system had in November 2024, sacked Professor Bernard Odoh over proven infractions in his academic resume which included outright lie of claiming to have served as a visiting Prof at the Federal University Gusau (FUGUS) between 2015-2017 all in a bid to beef up his resume. FUGUS denied ever knowing anybody by the name Bernard Odoh more less having him as a visiting Prof.
Despite the clear infractions surrounding Prof Bernard Odoh’s resume, the university council led by the chair, Chief Greg Mbadiwe pushed his candidacy and bent all the rules for Odoh to become the most short-lived VC in the history of the university system in Nigeria. Prof Odoh’s VCship stopped even before it started. He was VC for less than 72 hours having been declared VC on 29th October and sacked on 1st November 2024.
WHAT ASUU NATIONAL & THE UNI ABUJA CHAPTER SHOULD DO.
The academic staff union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) national and the Uni Abuja chapter should work together and institute a legal action challenging the appointment of Prof A’isha Maikudi over the obvious breach of the university VC selection process. A proper election was not even conducted as stipulated by law. ASUU national fought vehemently against the controversial appointment of Bernard Odoh as VC UniZik which led to his sack. They should do the same to Prof A’isha Maikudi because the two cases bear the same hallmarks.
A court action by ASUU will serve as a deterrent to wannabe university councils who want to ‘reform’ the VC election process to look like a local government chairmanship election conducted by SIEC where politicians use thugs to snatch the ballot box.
LESSONS FROM THE UNI ABUJA AND UNI ZIK VC APPOINTMENT CONTROVERSIES.
Despite the obnoxious nature of the saga, there are lessons to
learn from the controversial appointments of Professors A’isha and Bernard. One key lesson is that politicians with absolutely no background or experience in the academia are appointed into university governing councils.
In this regard. the federal government should stop appointing politicians, particularly politicians, non-academics, and businessmen who know little or nothing about the university system. Moreover, all appointments made into university governing councils should be reviewed with a view to ensuring that the right people are appointed into these all-important councils. In most and in the spirit of ‘anything goes’ in Nigeria, chairs and other members of university councils impose unpopular VCs so that they will have a share in the running of the university including but not limited to award of contracts, appointments into key positions etc.
AVM Samaila Kaita (rtd), the chair of Uni Abuja obviously has no background in the academia else he will not be motivated to impose an unqualified person with minimal experience to run a university. University councils are very strong and powerful bodies in the running of universities hence proper care should be taken in appointing members especially the chair of the council. As a recommendation, the chair of the council in any university or tertiary institution should be not less than a retired Professor who knows how a university system operates.
Malcolm X: the great African American revolutionary, Muslim Minister and human rights activist once said:
‘A Man Who Stands for Nothing Will Fall for Anything’
ASUU should take a stand on the disputed appointment of Prof A’isha Maikudi as the VC Uni Abuja.
A stitch in time could save our generation of future leaders.
