MANY state governments, notably the Mid-western State under General Samuel Ogbemudia donated chairs, desks, and money.

Before them, students had to sit on the floor to take their lectures because of dearth of seats. The lecturers’ quarters had to be rehabilitated. The Link University, Michigan State University, had provided the pioneer Vice-Chancellor and some other staff who gave the University its firm foundation.

The University had been built with two million pounds proceeds from palm produce sales by Eastern Nigeria Development Corporation. The House of Chiefs and Leaders then were committed to leaving a legacy and show that Africans could hold their own in developing their nation.

Indigenous contractors among whom were Chief D.A. Nwandu and Chief Dennis Okafor had worked with dedication and completed the work on schedule. But most of the buildings were riddled with bullets.

What more, the University had a multi-campus set up.  While the Nsukka Campus was the headquarters, the Enugu Campus of the University also had a full complement of administrative offices. The task of reconstruction was onerous but both the staff and students of the University were determined to make the best out of the situation.

Post -Civil  War

Before the breakout of the Civil war, the University had hastily graduated their students in 1967. These were known as zero-hour graduates. Non-Easterners had left for their different states. These included the lecturers and students. As a result of this, the University urgently required more lecturers to fill up the vacant posts.

What the University did was to pick out the best two in each graduating class and offer them jobs as Graduate Assistants. Many of these graduate assistants were sponsored overseas for their Masters degree. The University link with Michigan State University came in handy in the training of graduates for higher degrees.

The University continued to excel in education and grow in population as the years went by. From the late Seventies, students were being admitted in thousands instead of hundreds. The Federal Government had taken over the University.

The increase in student population was not matched with increase in adequate infrastructures. Before long, the lecturers became restive not only at the University of Nigeria, but all over the federation over poor funding of education in Nigeria.
Challenges

The clamour by the lecturers for increased funding and judicious use of funds provided often put the lecturers on collision course with the Vice-Chancellors. The University was not spared  this agony. The University became factionalized between lecturers who pitched tent with the Vice-Chancellor and those who called for the removal of Vice-Chancellors even when they were working hard to manage the resources allocated to them.

The constant bickering and rancor from the eighties often led to disruption of sessions due to constant strikes by the University staff – both tutorial and non-tutorial. The constant strikes took its toll on the students who were often called back to campus to take examinations without being taught adequately.

The aftermath of this was the increase in examination malpractice all over the country. Since the country emphasized paper qualification over every other requisite employment and promotion, students tried to pass by fair or foul means.

The nation’s unstable political climate of military rule intertwined with civilian rule, the misplacement of priorities, corrupt and inept leadership has left many Nigerian universities with unfulfilled dreams.

The founding fathers of University of Nigeria had a dream in the University’s motto which is: “To restore the dignity of man”. It started off well; it is still doing well given the circumstances. The dream lives on, but at 50, the dream has not yet been fulfilled.

As a lecturer opined – the University has lecturers who are ready to research, those who are ready to give their best to raise the standard of education to enviable heights but the environment must be made conducive for optimum performance.

Alumni of Nigerian universities like their counterparts in developed countries must learn to look back and give something back to the place from where they picked their meal ticket.

UNN alumni

The Alumni of the University, popularly known as Lions and Lionesses formed their Association in 1965. The association embraces graduates in Nigeria and the diaspora.

Over the years, the Alumni have tried to identify with the aspirations of the University by taking up projects in the University and also being mediators at periods of crisis. From October 15 to October 17, 2010, the Alumni of the University will gather in Atlanta to brainstorm on the theme – “Restoring the Dignity of man through Leadership and Academic Excellence at the University of Nigeria”.

Dame Unoaku Ekwegbalu  Attorney/Communication Expert writes from Lagos.