Our Searchlight On Staff Destroying University Image, says MOUAU VC Chancellor, Prof. Iwe
The Vice Chancellor of University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU) Professor Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe says the school has her searchlight on those staff that drag the University ‘through the mud’ through indisciplined activities.
Professor Iwe disclosed this, Tuesday during a press conference celebration to mark the 30th anniversary of the university cum Founder’s Day maiden Dr Michael Okpara Lecture series, stressing that the school is working had in a bid to address challenges bedeviling her.
The Prof. of Food Science and Technology who admitted that no University was without a shortcoming, posited that “we have our searchlights on those people that are responsible for bringing bad name to the University.”
Meanwhile, Ofo expressed utter worries over the blunt refusal of some staff of the university to return to the school after completing their programme on foreign scholarship.
According to him, it is not proper for staff of the institution to embark on foreign studies on public sponsorship only to flee from there.
The VC who called for an immediate action to put an end to the trend, regretted that the ugly development had resulted in a drastic deduction of manpower in the affected departments in the institution.
” There is now a persistent challenge of retaining our younger trainees staff who after benefiting from university sponsorship abroad, often sever their ties and decline to return to serve the institution”, he regretted.
Continuing, he said:
“The University has its problems; we have problem of space, and today, I’m not hiding anything from the press today. There are staff that are so disobedient, they come from our homes. There are staff that are not working as fast as others.”
He lamented that the school was working in a period of despondency in Universities in Nigeria where you see someone receiving salaries for 8 months/7months and he goes back to his table dosing and he’s ready to fight
“This University is working very hard and openly too. There is no University in Nigeria that doesn’t have a problem, because we’re working within a social context where people have decided not to be contented with the little they have. And one thing that is good about it is that the population of the people that have so magnified the social media are so insignificant.
So, if about a staff population of about 2000 lecturers, you have 10 deviate
Earlier, while fielding questions from journalists as it regards the various defamatory publications against the school, he said:
“The issue of publications that at times circulate, I think they’re this blog issue, because those publications are not verified and that’s why somebody like me doesn’t spend my time trying to write a rejoinder. People have called me to say “write rejoinder”, but I say to them I will not because this person writing these things never saw the Vice Chancellor to confirm whether whatever they’re writing is correct or not.
So, I don’t see the reason we should waste our strength and time, challenging reports done by faceless human beings.
” If we don’t discourage what is happening now, time is coming when we won’t find anyone to teach others. It’s not proper for someone to sign a bond for the national cake, and take it abroad to eat and refuse to return home”.
Furthermore, the VC identified paucity of funds as a major challenge of the institution, as he regretted that 30 years after inception, the university had not yet received any take-off grant, whatsoever.
He, however, acknowledged that the university had recorded some milestone achievements.
Meanwhile, the notable achievements of the Institution as outlined by the Vice Chancellor were the establishment of a commercial fish farm, signing of Memorandum of Understanding with over 12 national and international bodies, the recently floated table water factory and bakery, among others.
