Galling Nepotism At Yakubu Gowon University, Abuja That Tinubu Has Dismantled
The Oasis Reporters
February 7, 2025
When President Tinubu’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga announced the leadership overhaul at Federal Universities, the wild jubilation at Yakubu Gowon University, formerly known as University of Abuja was palpably loud.
The jubilation by staff and students was wild which is a clear sign from the citizenry that Nigerians are getting fed up with the Nigerian system not working well enough, leading to great exodus of competent Nigerians migrating abroad.
Today many are sadly facing pushbacks from foreign governments, like the Conservative Party leader in the UK, Kemi Badenoch announcing plans to block immigration pathways for foreigners if she wins the next UK general elections.
US president Donald Trump is equally implementing the deportation of illegal immigrants plan in the US, whereas if Nigeria were to work, very few Nigerians would venture outside the country.
One of Nigeria’s drawback triggers is nepotism and entrenched beliefs in entitlement.
Take the Yakubu Gowon University Abuja for instance where the daughter of the Governing Council chairman emerging as the Acting Vice Chancellor of a Federal University.
In other words, a whole university being administered by father and daughter, of course from the same state, the same religion and the same Fulani tribe in Katsina.
Can any other tribe have a right of hearing?
Imagine the guts of the chairman of the governing council appointing an acting Vice Chancellor without inviting other qualified contestants to vie for the office, even if it were to be in a six month acting capacity only.
Other members of the governing council were not part of the selection process.
Besides, no results of any interview process were presented to the members of the governing council as if it were about a village chieftaincy contest. After all this is a Federal University in the capital city that ought to showcase it’s very best.
To worsen matters and drive more anger in other stakeholders, the Chairman of Council appoints someone who is just two years old a professor, even though all professors are deemed pre-qualified.
“At Yakubu Gowon University, President Tinubu dissolved the entire governing council and relieved Professor Aisha Sani Maikudi of her duties as Vice-Chancellor”, the release added.
And who is Professor Aisha Maikudi ?
She is the daughter of the former Chairman of the Council of the University. Said to be in her 40s.
It is still doubtful if she has supervised any Post-graduate student yet.
Her resumé shows that she has only 3 citations.
As if there were not numerous professors who would agree to act for just 6 months and have world class intimidating credentials that can put the Yakubu Gowon University on the same footing with world class universities anywhere in the Commonwealth.
Former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan established 9 new federal Universities, with six of them in the north which is not his home region and three of them in the South, the region he hails from. And all the universities are located only in States that did not have one federal University sited within their boundaries previously.
That criteria made his home state of Bayelsa pre-qualified.
And for that reason, he ensured that no state with a new Federal University must produce a Vice Chancellor. There was no nepotism there whatsoever. The post of Vice Chancellor went to states without a new university. Reasons that the previous actions in Yakubu Gowon University are truly galling. At least, if a Muslim was going to be the Chairman of Council, why not appoint a Christian as Vice Chancellor?
Nepotism has a stench. But those who practice it rigorously have blocked nostrils.
Even the Fulani Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello did not dream of practicing the kind of rancid tribalism and nepotism that Nigerians are seeing today.
When he was making plans to give the northern region it’s first ever University, he did not take it to his hometown of Sokoto. He sited it in the centrally located Zaria for easy access to every northerner. Be you Muslim, Animist or Christian.
Same thing went for Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He sited a University for the Western region, not at his home town of Ikenne, but at Ile-Ife, a sacred town for all Yoruba people. That was leadership.
Yet just a tribe wants to capture the University of Abuja for themselves. This is grossly unfair to all the peoples of the north and Nigeria as a whole.
“To succeed Maikudi, President Tinubu appointed Professor Lar Patricia Manko as Acting Vice Chancellor at the Yakubu Gowon University for a six-month term. She will not be eligible to apply for the substantive Vice Chancellor position when it becomes available”.
