Establishing a university for the Nigerian Army is a welcome development as it will serve as a means of accommodating admission seekers who don't make it into other universities. It could serve as a research centre which will develop solutions to enhance our security apparatus at a time the nation is being confronted with myriad of security challenges. Despite all the good purposes the university may serve, however, caution must be exercised before going ahead with the University.It's one thing to establish a university, and quite another to ensure its viability. As of now, no Nigerian university makes the list of Top 1000 universities in the world, which brings to question the quality of our institutions.
Currently, the Federal Government of Nigeria has established universities in every state of the federation but these universities have not achieved the aim of their establishment. They are confronted with financial, administrative and labour related issues. Salaries are not paid as and when due, research grants are not available for lecturers, some universities cannot afford diesel to fuel their generators, while some can't provide potable water for their students. Some do not have a functional website while those who do update it for admission purposes only.
The NEEDS assessment report on the state of Nigerian Universities submitted to the Federal executive council in 2012 states as follows "The Assessment committee found that physical facilities for teaching and learning in Nigerian Universities are Inadequate and Used beyond the original carrying capacity. Many lecturers including professors share small offices which are dilapidated, poorly ventilated, poorly illuminated, poorly furnished and poorly equipped with over-stretched/over-crowded lecture theatres, classrooms, laboratories and workshops shared by many programs across different faculties. Improvised open-air sports pavilion, old cafeteria, convocation arenas and even uncompleted buildings used for lectures. In some cases workshops are conducted under corrugated sheds or Trees"
Furthermore, the report states that basic learning resources are unavailable or in short supply. For instance, less than 10% of the universities have video conferencing facility, less than 20% of the universities use Interactive Boards (even the ones that deployed Interactive Boards are using them in less than 10%of their lecture rooms/ theatres). More than 50% don’t use public address systems in their lecture rooms/theatres. Internet Services are non-existent, or epileptic and slow. library resources are outdated and manual In addition, the report stated that no Nigerian university library is fully automated while less than 35% are partially automated. This report was submitted in 2012 and the current situation in 2017 is worse than what was reported by the NEEDS assessment committee in 2012.
Nigeria's premier university, the University of Ibadan is currently under lock as a result of a protest embarked upon by students due to the inability of the management to issue them with identity cards after charging 2000 Naira per student. These challenges are not peculiar to one but all as the newly established federal universities are having financial and administrative issues as well. For example, the Federal University Oye-Ekiti is on strike at the moment due to friction between the management and the labour union despite being in its nascent stage. The University is experiencing crisis which is not good for its growth process. By all indications, the proposed Army University may be encumbered by similar challenges which would sooner or later overwhelm it and defeat its raison dêtre, however noble that may be.
Also, the timing and location of the Army University is wrong considering some factors. Currently the Army is still battling with the Boko-Haram menace which is taking a toll on its scant resources. As a result establishing the university at this moment will deplete the existing insufficient funds of the Ministry of Education, Defence and Army at the same time. Besides, why do we need to start a new University in Biu when we have the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna which is a degree awarding institution? Equipping and expanding the NDA will cost less for the government than establishing a new University in a fresh location considering the economic reality of the country at this moment.
Nigeria has not managed the existing universities well so it will be an irony to go ahead with a new University when the existing ones are comatose. Some universities are surviving based on the lease of life given to them by the Alumni as their subventions are being owed with some running into years. The existing atmosphere beclouding Nigerian Universities portends a great danger for the future of the proposed Army University, therefore we should exercise caution lest we embark on another wild goose chase.
Equipping the existing universities should be made a national priority. To make them more viable, necessary equipment should be provided for the students as some science based universities still use kerosene stoves as Bunsen burners in their laboratories. Incessant industrial actions by ASUU and other labour unions in the universities should be addressed and salaries paid promptly. Funding for education should be increased from its current inadequate state so as to make these universities work.
The current manpower shortage should be addressed so as to ease the teaching and learning process. The international Organization for Migration, Abuja, in a November 2012 report, states as follows "with 37,504 academic staff in 74 public universities in Nigeria the report revealed an unmanageable student-lecture ratio. For example, at the National Open University the academic staff-to-student ratio was 1:363, at Lagos State University it was 1:144 and at the University of Abuja it was 1:122. Kano State University which was eleven years old at the time of the Needs Assessment had one professor and 25 lecturers with PhDs while Kebbi State University had two professors and five lecturers with doctorate degrees. These statistics revealed wide disparities between Nigerian universities and their counterparts in other parts of the world. For instance, staff-student ratio in Harvard University is 1 to 4, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1 to 9, and the University of Cambridge is 1 to 3" The situation in 2017 is the same as reported in 2012. This report shows our University system is in need of concerted intervention. The government should concentrate on solving the existing problems; not adding to it, as the Army University won't fare any better.
Before we go ahead with the Army University, the existing rot in our public universities must be address before we plunged the Army University into an avoidable mess.
Adesina Tosin Nathaniel is a Forward Looking Nigerian Youth
For more of his writings visit www.donteewrites.blogspot.com
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