The outgone Vice-Chancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, in Anambra State, Prof. Charles Esimone, has advocated support for financial autonomy for universities, insisting that financial autonomy gives varsities the autonomy they need to function well as higher institutions.
Esimone stated this during his valedictory thanksgiving service and book unveiling ceremony in Awka, on Sunday, adding that through astute leadership and management, public institutions can compete favourably at the global level.
He also explained that the student loan scheme introduced by the Federal Government was one of the key things that would solve the problem of financial autonomy for varsities, advising that disbursement should be done at the state and regional levels to achieve its set goals.
Speaking on his book, titled, ‘Nnamdi Azikiwe University, The Vice-Chancellorship of Prof. Charles Okechukwu Esimone, FAS, FPSN, 2019 – 2024,’ the former VC said he showed a strong leadership quality that helped him raise the bar of the university and transformed it to a greater height.
He listed his achievements during his tenure at the institution to include, the introduction of grants, writing, promotion of 150 staff, and increasing the university’s internally generated revenue from N60 million to N90 million, while also attracting projects worth over N60 billion to the university.
He said, “A university environment is supposed to be an academic function because a university involves teaching, it should be able to enhance academic culture through enhancing teaching, enhancing research and that is what led to our overall total high global ranking.
“But at the background, we were able to improve the human capacity development, improve in infrastructural advancement, especially in the area where there was no funding, we were able to attract funding. I attracted over N60 billion in infrastructure and endowment.
“All the projects you see here are endowments from public and private sectors. When we look at the current trends of events globally, universities must look beyond the current structure of funding. Financial autonomy gives varsities the autonomy they need to function well as higher institutions, but it is not something that should be done drastically, otherwise, lots of programmes would be affected.
“To start with, the student loan scheme is a very laudable project and programme that the Federal Government has introduced, it is one of the key things that will solve the problem of financial autonomy. If we are primed on that platform that the president has initiated, we can move forward.
“But disbursing it should not be done nationally because Nigeria is a big nation, I think the disbursement should be brought down to the state and regional level and also identifying stakeholders within these regions who are going to drive that. The structure of disbursement should be dissolved at the state and regional level.
“My message for my successor is to build on the foundations that we have laid. We have laid these foundations for sound academic culture, which must not be watered down in any way because I discovered that when I came on board, lack of that made us less than a university.
“So my successor has to build on that, he has to enhance learning, he has to use Information and Communication tool as an aggressive means of communicating intellectual knowledge and also look at endowments, look at the larger societies, that is how it is done all over the world because there is no funding anywhere.”
“TETFUND is one of the principal areas where we worked very well, one thing I realised about TETFUND is that when you utilised the funds very well, they give you more. That is why you see a lot of TETFUND projects here, especially interventions.
“Right now, the institution does not have any backlog, we have started accessing the 2024 intervention funds. UNIZIK is one of the universities in this 21st Century that have attained international standards because the affairs were piloted through astute leadership.”
He advised Nigerians to be patient, saying that Nigeria is on the right track at the moment because the blueprint and policy direction of the Federal Government are in the right direction if well implemented.
The Chancellor of the institution, His Majesty Da Jacob Gyang Buba, the Gbong Gwon Jos, commended the outgone VC for his uprightness in piloting the affairs of the university in the last five years.
He said Esimone finished strong and showed a strong leadership quality that helped raise the bar of the university and transformed it to a greater height.
According to him, Esimone achieved so much in the last five years that the incoming one will battle to meet the standards.
He said, “Esimone achieved so much and we prayed that one after him would achieve more. We also prayed that the standard he raised the university is not lowered.”
“He showed a strong leadership quality as the Vice Chancellor of the university. We also commended him for the smooth transition of power, we have not seen such in the university before. He has done well in the institution’s management and we prayed that the new one follow suit.”
Meanwhile, the Senate of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, on Monday ratified the appointment of the former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Prof. Joseph Ikechebelu, as the Vice-Chancellor of the institution in acting capacity.
Ikechebelu takes over from the outgone VC, Prof. Esimone, whose tenure ended on June 3, 2024.
This followed a directive from the Federal Government, through the National Universities Commission, that all the outgoing vice-chancellors of federal universities should hand over to the next most senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, in line with extant regulations governing the administration of federal universities.
