AN OPEN LETTER TO THE NEW VC OF UNIABUJA(Prof Adikwu)

I was so pleased and fascinated to hear of your appointment as the Vice-Chancellor of this great institution, University of Abuja. Certainly, competence, willingness, focus, trust, goals oriented as well as having the spirit of leadership must have contributed immensely to you being selected out of the enormous candidates that applied for the prestigious post. Truly many were called but you are the chosen and i don’t only see victory, I see hope, a new dawn and brighter days ahead of the school under your leadership.

I know most of the students like me are delighted about your appointment but are derailed from celebration because of the industrial action embarked on by ASUU & SSANU in June. I believe that success lies in dealing with problems and challenges promptly and thoroughly. As a leader, you expect challenges and problems, though may not be easy but it’s always possible to achieve success over it. Returning back the students back to their classrooms should be your major priority after you’ve been sworn in and also finding a lasting solution to the problem. The students are frustrated and tired of series of strikes haven’t dissipated most of our time at home doing nothing thereby exposing us to risk and setting us backward in our various academic prospects.

Mr. VC it will be a thing of joy to know that after your assumption of office, much focus is placed on how the school will move forward rather than attending more on the successes and failures of the past administration. Time spent on this I know cannot do any good to your five years in office, it will only but cause delay in achieving your agenda.

Max Lucado said “a man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd”. Complacence can be attained in leadership when limits are placed on the way dictations are made by the crowd. Being in a new environment, watch! Because a lot will try to dictate, control and put you under their auspice. Though it may cause you treading on toes but albeit you will conquer and that will lead to great success in your administration because it is said that one of the keys to failure is trying to please everybody.

Another vital and important thing that should be resuscitated in the school is unity. I hope you use your good office to harness unity among the staff, students, different tribes & religion, also various unions in the school. It takes both the sun and the rain to grow the flower, so it will be profitable reconditioning all factions to be solution focused rather than problem focused. Sir the whole Nation is awaiting you to turn around the bad image of the school to the opposite, this can be achieved if we all are carried along. We all know that united we stand and divided we fall.

I look forward to seeing changes in our classrooms, hostels, power supply and all round social amenities and infrastructures. Improve in academics should not also be left out, introduction of more lecturers that are competent and qualified, as well as the adjustment of the academic calendar.

In closing, may I borrow the thought of Jim Rohn “the challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humour, but without folly” I wish you success as you make history and I am optimistic that you will exceed our expectations.

BY SHOGAT MCCOY

New UNIAbuja VC promises to re-unite warring factions

The new Vice-Chancellor of University of Abuja, Prof. Michael Adikwu, has promised to reconcile the warring staff unions of the university, which  he said have brought the institution to its knees in the last few years.

Members of the university branch of Academic Staff Unions of Universities and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities are currently on strike over alleged unpaid allowances and non-release of White Paper on the Visitation Panel to the university.

The strike disrupted the conduct of the second semester examinations which led to series of protest by aggrieved students.

The school was eventually closed down by the immediate past Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. James Adelabu.

But  Adikwu, who took over the mantle of leadership of the institution on Tuesday, said his first assignment was to restore order by reconciling various factions and interests groups within the institution.

Until his appointment, Adikwu was a lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

He said academics should not be politicised, adding that what was important was for all stakeholders to work in harmony to raise the bar of academic standards of the university.

The new Vice Chancellor pledged to ensure that the university had the best academic standard in Nigeria.

Adikwu, said,  “The running of a university is a pilgrimage, it is a continuous process. I will ensure there is best academic standard in the school. As I was informed the school is currently on forced vacation, so the first approach is to see how we can bring back both the lecturers and students of the school, so that normal academic activities resume soonest.

“It is imperative to reconcile everybody in this university because without reconciliation we cannot move forward. We should not allow our school to be politicalized  and education should be used to solve socio-economic problems and not to create more problems. I am going to work out modality to ensure stability in University of Abuja community.” source www.punchng.com