By Ikechukwu Odu

The new Head of Department, HoD, Mass Communication, University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN, Prof Joseph Wogu, has vowed to complete the processes leading to the takeoff  of Faculty of Communication in the institution before his tenure elapses.

Prof. Wogu, who took over from Dr. Edith Ohaja, as HoD on Tuesday, bemoaned inadequate infrastructure in the department, and pledged to liaise with the alumni of the department to complete the Faculty of Communication building project.

While regretting the  negative impacts of deficient infrastructure on the productivity of both staff and students, he stated that all hands are needed on deck to consolidate on the positive achievements of the previous administrations in the department.

He said “My vision is the actualisation of our dream for a Faculty of Communication which will provide a conducive environment that both staff and students need to be productive. Presently, our staff strength has increased and we don’t have enough offices to accommodate all of them. It is not only peculiar to our department. It is a general problem in the school. Sometimes, we have more than four or five staff in a room and I am sure that this is not the best. We also have to expand the horizon of not only the department but the students as well by exposing them to field experience and inviting professionals to interface with them.

My mission is to complete the processes of making the department a full-fledged faculty. I will work in harmony with the alumni to complete our building project for a Faculty of Communication.

“I will be open to all ideas that will make the department better than I met it.

“You know, this is a call to duty and I do not intend to work alone. Some of us are more knowledgeable on how to do this work. In this regard, their experiences and co-operation are needed for us to actualise our dream. Efforts should be made to sustain the spirit of teamwork.

“For the students, I hope to see them as the most refined and disciplined in character and learning, here and after school. Remember, they are our future hope and we will do our best to build them. In return, I believe that they will not forget their department and lecturers. Working hard to actualise their dreams of coming to this place should be their watchword.”

Talking about his educational qualifications, he said “I have a Diploma, Bachelor of Arts, B.A,  Master’s and Ph.D degrees in Mass Communication. I also have a Postgraduate Diploma , PGD in Political Science. I am an associate member of the Advertising Practitioners’ Council of Nigeria , APCON and the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations , NIPR.”

Recall that the National Universities Commission, NUC, as part of the repositioning and revitalisation of university education in Nigeria, unbundled Mass Communication as a degree programme into seven separate departments, thereby, making Mass Communication a full Faculty.