Despite unending storm, UNILAG VC reels out achievements

LAGOS, Nigeria – It is no longer business as usual at the University of Lagos(UNILAG). The relative peace that has characterised this centre of academic excellence for some time now seems to be under serious attack.

The signs are ominous, a development experts warn will possibly shake the very foundation of the university, no thanks to the protracted crisis between the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN) and the university management led by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe. 

It started like a joke, accusations and counter-accusations which have snowballed into crisis of high proportion, threatening academic activities in UNILAG. So far, the local chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and some “interest groups” have joined the fray. It is indeed the season of anomie and except reasoning prevails, this rift at the highest level may consume the university, leaving it in taters.

The vice-chancellor’s account of stewardship

Notwithstanding this development, Ogundipe not too long ago gave an account of his stewardship, which began on November 12, 2017, when he became the 12th Vice-Chancellor of the University of First Choice and Pride of the Nation, as UNILAG terms itself.

In a document listing his modest achievements, the professor asserted that on November 12, 2017, “I resumed as the 20th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos. In the last 20 months, the management of the university under my watch has made some appreciable gains in repositioning the university as a first class 21st Century university.”

In fulfilment of the promise that the university would focus on a six dimensional goals, Ogundipe said his administration had raised awareness about the need for faculty members to accelerate needs-driven research and attract more research grant to the university; established a total of 10 research centres on campus; inspired project award of over two million Euros for collaborative research amongst five institutions; attracted TETFund grants of various amounts won by faculty members; while over N2billion was attracted as research grants by academic staff of the university in the period under review.

Besides, he listed other achievements as donations of laboratory equipment worth N20 million and 400, 000 dollars; admission of UNILAG to Global Epic, an  international group of 21 institutions working to co-create and adopt world-changing solutions to cyber security all over the world; renovation of hostels and other projects; provision of more security equipment on campus; establishment of UNILAG TV, the first of its kind in Nigeria and attraction of about N349.2 million and 855,277 dollars in training and capacity building to staff and students of the university, while moves are on to establish a modular refinery on campus, among others.

Indeed, to discerning observers, these are praise-worthy efforts of a focused administrator, who need optimum cooperation to do more. 

Genesis of the protracted crisis

The whole crisis had started with the accusation by Babalakin, a former Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council, University of Maiduguri, that the UNILAG management was involved in financial recklessness to the chagrin of the Council and had grossly abused the Public Procurement System in the award of the new University Library Project and other projects, resulting in huge financial losses.

But the management pooh-poohed Babalakin’s accusations and counter-accused him of going beyond his mandate by taking over the day to day running of the university, running a one-man Governing Council and “showing arrogance, disdain and utter contempt for the university system”, allegations he vehemently denied. 

In fact, the crisis was externalised with the interventions of the Federal Ministry of Education and the House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement, yet, it simmers on, making stakeholders in the university to worry about the wider implications on its mandate as an  institution for learning and research.

The library project 

One of the causes of the crisis is the New University Library under construction, part of which collapsed on February 14, 2019, following which the Council constituted a panel, headed by Professor Peter Fogam to unearth the immediate and remote causes of the collapse. 

The Council accused the management of operating a weak procurement process, which it said contributed to the unexpected collapse of the building. But Ogundipe denied the allegation, saying due process was followed in the award of the contract.

One of the mandates of the Fogam Committee was to examine the procurement process that led to the award of the project to Messrs Dutum Engineering Limited. Although the committee said the award of the project to Dutum complied with due process, “especially those processes that relate to advertisement, setting the minimum qualifications to be met by bidders for the pre-qualification exercise, which were set out in the solicitation project”, it submitted that the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC), which conducted the procurement exercise, “did not follow the evaluation process in very critical respect”.

While corroborating the Fogam Committee, the House Committee on Public Procurement, in its observations/findings on the crisis, said of the Ogundipe-led management: “That there was compliance with the requirements of due process as contained in the Public Procurement Act and Regulations as evidenced by the ‘Certificate of No Objection’ issued by the Bureau of Public Procurement.”

It then recommended, among others: “The Committee found no infractions and breach of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007 in the award of contracts, particularly the University New Library Project awarded to Messrs Dutum Construction Limited….In view of the above and to avoid further damage to the ongoing University New Library Project, the contractor should go back to site with immediate effect and backfill the foundation and remove the debris of the collapsed framework under the strict supervision of competent experts”. 

The committee further appealed to the university management, the Federal Ministry of Education and others to make additional funds available for the project so that it would not be abandoned. The contractor is back to site.

Alleged misappropriation of funds

Specifically, the Council also accused the management of inappropriately spending N112million on the renovation of official quarters of principal officers of the university; N57million on overseas trips; N750million on contract splitting and N2.5million monthly security grant, all unapproved expenditures.

This led to the Council setting up a committee to look into the finances of the university following which Babalakin reportedly directed the university Registrar/Secretary to Council to issue queries to the vice-chancellor and other people mentioned in the report of the committee.

Ogundipe, however, objected to the query and accused Babalakin of acting unilaterally, saying he did not follow due process by instructing the registrar (a junior officer) to issue him a query.

Nonetheless, the vice-chancellor dismissed the misappropriation of funds allegations, saying all the university accounts had been migrated to the Treasury Single Account (TSA) of the Federal Government. He said the university accounts are audited annually by auditors approved by the Babalakin-led Council.

The House Committee, in its report, also said it could not establish “any evidence of malfeasance or financial misappropriation by the management of the university…”

It, however, advised the management to “take proactive and immediate steps to improve its internal control mechanism and systems”.

Alleged usurpation of vice-chancellor’s roles by Babalakin
As the crisis reached boiling point with the recent reported dispatch of armed bouncers around the Senate Building during Council meetings, Ogundipe and UNILAG ASUU accused Babalakin of wanting to take over the day to day running of the university, an allegation he denied by counter-accusing the university management of launching “proven massive attack and blackmail” against him. 

While also denying the pro-chancellor’s accusation, they said his attempt to take over the administration of the university was at variance with the Act establishing it.

For instance, ASUU said Babalakin violated extant law on the recent appointment of the University Librarian and the selection of Professor Dele Olowokudejo as a Distinguished Professor of the university. In a letter to the Federal Ministry of Education, dated May 2, 2019, and titled, “Dr. Bolanle Olawale Babalakin’s Authoritarian and Reckless Disregard for Rules, Regulations and Procedures in the University of Lagos”, the union said: “The Pro-Chancellor has shown disrespect, disdain and utter contempt for the Nigerian University System. This is evident in his public utterances, behaviour and actions.”

On the University Librarian, UNILAG ASUU said Babalakin violated extant rules, regulations and procedures guiding the appointment of a principal officer of the university by insisting on the inclusion of a clause, making the possession of a doctorate degree a “mere advantage”  in the advertisement for the position, which they said should have been made compulsory, as the position is an academic one.

Besides, it said the advertisement stipulated 65 years as the maximum age for any candidate for the position, but the pro-chancellor allegedly “insisted that a particular candidate who was clearly overaged be included in the list of shortlisted candidates”, adding that he walked out the representative of the Federal Ministry of Education on the Governing Council of the university for reportedly insisting that the overaged candidate cannot be interviewed. 

He was also accused of initially denying Olowokudejo, a university Senate representative alongside Professor Ademola Adeleke, the opportunity of becoming a Distinguished Professor for allegedly aligning with the position of the ministry’s representative on the appointment of the University Librarian. Although the pro-chancellor later had a change of mind and gave the green light for Olowokudejo to be honoured via a letter to the registrar dated April 2, 2019, after receiving “a lot of appeals from highly placed members of the university to reconsider the position of Council”. 

UNILAG ASUU said the pro-chancellor later went ahead to announce the appointment of the overaged candidate as the University Librarian, an allegation he did not deny, even after the Federal Ministry of Education was said to have advised him against it via a letter signed by Mr. E. Asubiojo, a Deputy Director in the ministry.

Part of the letter reads: “The attention of the Ministry has been drawn by the Report of the Federal Ministry of Education Representative in Council on the appointment of a University Librarian to replace the present Librarian whose tenure lapses by 28th February, 2019. It was observed that the candidate who scored 82% to fill the vacant position in the person of Dr. Egberongbe, Halima S. will be above 65 years of age by 1st March, 2019 and she is not of Professorial Cadre.

“I am directed to advise Council to adhere strictly to the Universities (Miscellaneous Provision) (Amendment) Act 2012, which states that ‘the compulsory retirement age for academic staff in the Professorial Cadre shall be 70 years and non-academic staff shall be 65 years.”

The way forward

In order for peace to return to UNILAG so that academic and research works can continue to flourish, concerned stakeholders, including parents, staff and students, as well as the House of Representatives appealed to the warring parties to shield their swords.

A lecturer, who craved anonymity, said, “this is necessary to allow the vice-chancellor take the university to the next level, as he had promised when he was appointed that the school would focus on six dimensional goals, which will make us number one in Nigeria and the fourth in Africa by 2022.

“We believe in him and we are supporting him to achieve this. Ogundipe has started so well because looking at his account of stewardship, which he renders regularly, you will see that he is a serious administrator. The least thing he and the entire management need now is any distraction. The Governing Council should cooperate with this man to deliver on his promises instead of these frivolous brickerings, which do nobody any good.”

The House Committee in its report, in which it said although the composition of the Governing Council was lopsided and not in tandem with the principle of Federal Character, as there are no representatives from the South-East, South-South and North-Central on the Council, also advised its members and the university management “to cooperate with one another and work together for the progress of the university”.

It added: “The Vice-Chancellor is the Chief Accounting Officer of the university, which is in line with Section 20 of the Public Procurement Act 2007 and should continue to discharge this responsibility as expected by law, while the Governing Council sticks to their supervisory role of policy formulation and funds generation for the university. The Council should not meddle in the internal affairs of the university.”

It is only when these pieces of advice are strictly adhered to that peace can eventually return to UNILAG. But for now, the crisis situation on campus, which should not be the way it is in a serious academic environment, portrays the peace of the graveyard.