This is understandable because, apart from being the country’s first autonomous university, the aim of the founding fathers of the university was a very lofty one as they planned to nurture the institution to be able “to relate its activities to the social and economic needs and day-to-day life of the people of Nigeria”.

Towards the realisation of this vision, its management swung into action and introduced several innovations, among which is the liberalisation of university education by introducing a four-year degree programme for GCE Ordinary Level entrants through competitive entrance examination in preference to the traditional direct entry three-year degree programme for GCE A/L entrants.

t also embarked on a compulsory General Studies programme for all students with the aim of establishing “a broad basis of knowledge required for effective modern citizenship”. It was a new idea in Nigeria and Africa.

The UNN, it was, that first introduced course system in Nigerian university system, which involves breaking down of each discipline into a number of courses.

It also first mounted courses leading to the award of degrees in vocational subjects considered by some educational traditionalists as properly belonging to polytechnics. Other innovations by UNN include continuous assessment following its rejection of one degree examination at the end of the student’s degree programme as well as the industrial attachment programme.

Although, these innovations attracted strident criticisms from some quarters in those early years but other universities in the country adopted these initiatives.

The university soon began to record phenomenal growth. From an initial students enrolment of 220 in 1960, the figure rose significant to 13,835 during its 30th anniversary in 1989 and presently stands at about 15,000. Graduate output also increased from 150 in 1963 to nearly 6,000 in 1990 and there was growth in academic units.

But this steady infrastructural and academic progression came to a halt beginning from 1990 when funding of universities in Nigeria by government became grossly inadequate. Decadence set in and many of its egg heads fled to more sane environments.

Like the situation in other public universities, infrastructural development came to a standstill. Staff morale waned. University image and performance nose-dived.

During my numerous editorial visits to UNN, I observed with consternation the entire landscape overgrown with weeds which have become havens for dangerous reptiles and wild animals. The picture has not changed much as at last month when I travelled to the university.

Also, existing structures were in disrepair. Laboratories were poorly equipped and grossly inadequate for the much-needed practical work.  In spite of this seemingly hopeless situation, recent administrations of the university have tried to salvage the situation by embarking on some programmes.

For instance, the Prof. Chinedu Nebo’s administration, which has been in charge in the last four years, embarked on a spirited diversification of the institution’s internal revenue generation base by establishing profit-yielding ventures. Through this effort, 12 new lecture and examination halls, each capable of sitting 600 students at a time, were erected. A number of laboratories have also been refurbished.

The administration also embarked on a well-designed outreach programme to attract corporate Nigeria and philanthropic individuals. In fact, in recent times, more than 30 structures have either been fully completed or are nearing completion.

However, in order to fully restore the UNN to its glorious past, government must pump in adequate funds to this university while its alumni worldwide, many of whom are well-heeled, must assist it financially so that it can truly be the type of university envisioned by its founding fathers.

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