5 May 2019
From the origin of Nigerian University system in1948, none, except CRUTECH has suffered undue politicisation of its Vice Chancellorship race /succession process.
This very mishaps, otherwise seen as awkward, inimical and humbling, is evidently caused by the in fighting amongst professors within the University (precisely the ideological/cold war between those who know it all and those who believe they know nothing), nepotism, corruption and government dictates cum interest in who actually becomes the next VC of CRUTECH.
Recall that the outgoing Vice Chancellor, Prof Anthony Louis Owan Enoh's tenure ended in February, 2019. But was "questionably and unusually extended by Govr. Ben Ayade to May 2019 for implicit political reasons", as critics say.
In consequence, the governor "not only set negative precedence by negating set rules but created room for critics to wonder whether the University Governing Council failed to do as statutorily appropriate or ASUU compromisingly feigned ignorance of such wrong doing, bearing in mind its future implications to the already falling apart CRUTECH". Critics highlighted.
While the fear of having the governor impose a stranger as new CRUTECH VC subsisted along with the worry about whom merit would internally favour duly, an unexpected news came on Tuesday noon after an emergency Governing Council Meeting held at the mini Conference Room of the Pyramid Hotels, Calabar. The news had it that the governor directed Prof. Owan Enoh to hand over to the Deputy VC (Academic), Prof. Emmanuel Uyimke Ingwu. And the official handing over ceremony was allegedly scheduled to hold Thursday, May 2, 2019.
Shockingly, the story changed overnight. The governor redirected that Prof Ingwu be dropped as the initially approved Ag. VC, while the Chairman Committee of Deans , Prof Nsing Mathew Ogar acts in the interim as head of Campus /Ag VC at the Matriculation Ceremony.
Since then, the news has gone viral amongst staff, students and general public members. Many of these people appear worried about the future of CRUTECH and the reason for such abrupt inexplicable changes.
Some critics describe it as a big shame to the University's image for the government and the Governing Council to allow it to suffer such an untold poetic twist of fate as a result of perceived greed, compromise and politics on the parts of the outgoing VC, ASUU and the governor, respectively.
Critics further argued that though the governor promised that the next CRUTECH VC would come from Calabar /CRS Southern Senatorial District if reelected in to office, the mere fact that the Registrar whose recently extended tenure pushes his 2019 retirement date to 2020, Ingwu and the governor are from Obudu, limits Ingwu chances of succeeding his boss, even if it were zoned to CRS Northern Senatorial District.
Finally is the argument that the Faculty of Education can not produce two VCs in a quick succession because other Faculties in the University deserve equal rights to the institution's VCship.
Hogan is a social commentator
