In order for the erosion and corrosion of their laws and regulations to stop, Nigerian Universities must ensure openness, transparency and international best practices in the employment of Vice-Chancellors and other principal officers because they are the drivers of the vision and mission of the institutions.
The universities must also jettison sharp practices in the employment of staff.
A former Registrar of Ekiti State University, Dr Omojola Awosusi, gave this advice in a lecture he delivered as the Guest Speaker at the 2023 Registry Discourse of the University of Ibadan.
He advised further that each university must make its laws, statutes, and regulations available to all staff of the institution, arguing that where there is no law, there are no sins.
Dr Awosusi called for a general review of the legal framework to remove possible ambiguities and to enable further democratisation of the governance of the institutions.
According to the Guest Speaker, it would appear that Nigerian Universities are encumbered by their failure to run by their own rules but they are more encumbered by the external forces tying the noose continually on the institutions’ autonomous necks.
He identified that the erosion of the powers of the universities is a product of the overpowering influence of government regulatory agencies.
The title of the lecture was “University Laws, Regulations and Traditions: Matters Arising in Times of Erosion and Corrosion.
The Registrar of the University of Ibadan, Mrs Olubunmi Faluyi, said the Registry Discourse was initiated in 1997 to create a veritable avenue and platform for intellectual engagement through great lectureship and interaction. Many topics have been examined over the years.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kayode O. Adebowale, mni, FAS was represented as the Chairman by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic, Professor Aderonke M. Baiyeroju.
In his address, the Vice-Chancellor noted that the ignorance about the statutes and the traditions of the University is becoming a threat to the upholding of the ideals of the University.
He, therefore, identified the need to look inward, diagnose what the problems are, come up with enduring solutions, and turn back to the basics.
Professor Adebowale charged the Registry as the engine room of the administration to reorientate staff, school them in the traditions and values of the University as well as their responsibilities to the University.
The Pro Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, H. E. Chief John E. K. Odigie-Oyegun as the Special Guest of Honour, observed that the quality of a University is determined by the quality of the lecturers, students, and the workforce. He advised the workforce to make the best use of the opportunities provided by the University. He also urged all staff to have knowledge of what is right or wrong, fair and just.
The Registry Discourse was well attended by participants from about 20 universities in the South West of Nigeria.
The highlight of the programme was the recognition of Mr J.N. Bello, an Administrative Officer, as the 2022 winner of The Chief Moji Ladipo Award for the Best Administrator. The award was instituted in 2021 by the UI Registry in honour of a former Registrar, Chief Moji Ladipo, to celebrate her 70th birthday.
