KALU OKORONKWO argues the need for transparent governance and due process in managing leadership transitions within public universities
University administration in Nigeria has over the years produced so many great academic leaders and transformers. From Prof. Eni Njoku, the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, to Prof. Kenneth Onwuka Dike, the first indigenous Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, to Prof. Ango Abdullahi, the youngest Vice-Chancellor of any Nigerian university then, when he was appointed to lead Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1979 at the age of 40. And then the very inimitable Prof. Grace Alele-Williams, who shattered the glass ceiling by becoming the first female to head a university in Nigeria when she was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin in 1985.
These university administrators and many others not mentioned here, left great historical legacies in their different universities at the expiration of their tenures or before they were removed from office. Going by historical antecedents, university administration in Nigeria produces two kinds of university leaders: those who were celebrated while in office and those whose finest vindication came only with the passage of time. Most transformation minded administrators are enemies of the status quo. Some inherit troubled institutions, make difficult and often unpopular decisions, challenge entrenched interests, and leave behind transformed universities. Drastic transformative actions don’t usually enjoy popular support but their impacts remain indelible long after the exit of their proponents.
