By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – Following 100 days in office as the Vice Chancellor, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, Prof Simon Ortuanya, has been hailed by Dr Damian Eze, a concerned member of the campus over his leadership restoring the lost glory of the university.

Eze made the commendation in a statement signed by him, where he asserted that Prof Ortuanya did not hesitate to hit the ground running to ensure the university occupies its rightful place in the Comity if universities within and outside the country.

He said the UNN boss had several times engaged with TETFund, that had led to approvals, procurement clearances, and mobilization for key projects: a faculty block for the College of Medicine, Ituku-Ozalla; a 40-room hostel for Nursing students; a 40-room hostel for Pharmacy students; a laboratory building that would be fully equipped and furnished; complete supply and installation of laboratory equipment for the College of Medicine.

He said: “When Professor Simon Ortuanya took the oath of office on 11 August 2025 as the 16th Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, the institution stood at a difficult crossroads. 

“Years of infrastructural decline, policy drift, weakened governance, and frayed community relations had pushed the country’s premier university to the edge of institutional fatigue. One hundred days later, the story has changed dramatically.

“Though the Vice Chancellor marked no special ceremony on 19 November, strongly insisting instead on “quiet reflection and stock-taking,” the period has already produced achievements more often associated with more than a full year in office. His early steps, taken with what many staff describe as “purposeful urgency,” set the tone for a bold revival.

“His first major charge was rebuilding the physical heart of the campus. Within his first week, Ortuanya toured facilities and launched an aggressive infrastructure recovery programme. Major internal roads like Elias Avenue, Zik’s Drive, Chitis/Alumni Road, Main Gate Road, and the VC Office Road, were rehabilitated. The moribund UNN Filling Station, dormant for decades, now operates again with four newly installed pumps. Renovation of student hostels is ongoing, while foundations for three new hostel blocks will soon be laid.

“The long-abandoned Senate Building, stuck at the piling stage for years, has roared back to life. Construction has resumed, with the ten-storey structure already at the foundation stage. The VC’s Lodge has also been restored, and a dedicated mini-power grid is earmarked exclusively for the university library.

“The Vice Chancellor is also revamping the academics and research capacity of the institution. Determined to restore UNN’s academic edge, Professor Ortuanya established two new centres within his first 100 days.

“These are the Michael Okpara Centre for Leadership, designed to strengthen leadership and character development training, and the Electric Vehicle Development Centre, signalling the university’s emergence in future-ready technological research.”

According to him, the VC has been proactive and passionate about welfare of both staff and students, which observers have described Ortuanya’s first 100 days as a demonstration of what determined leadership can achieve. His approach, driven by passion, innovation, courage, and deliberate reform, has rekindled institutional confidence and redirected the University of Nigeria toward the global relevance it once enjoyed.

“For the premier university, long in search of a renaissance, the Ortuanya administration’s first 100 days signal not just progress, but possibility. And as the VC himself insists, this is “only the beginning of the beginning.”

“One of the earliest directives of the VC was the completion of outstanding staff evaluations and promotions. Hundreds of workers across junior and senior cadres have since been elevated to their proper ranks from the stagnation they had bitterly endured for years.

“Housing and student accommodation challenges prompted the creation of a new Housing and Accommodation Directorate, dedicated exclusively to addressing the university’s long-standing residential problems. Community relations have also been strengthened through a dedicated Community Relations Directorate for Nsukka, Enugu, and Ituku-Ozalla campuses.

“For students, the reactivation of suspended union activities has restored internal democracy and campus vibrancy.

“Before the new administration, the university struggled under weak governance frameworks. Ortuanya moved quickly, establishing robust new policy structures for Public-Private Partnership, Communications, Research and Update, ICT, and Whistleblowing. Each has a standing committee to ensure operational ease and compliance.

“On security, the Vice Chancellor worked hard to within the same period have a change of narrative on campus security by overhauling their operations beginning with the appointment of a new campus security chief. 

“This was followed by a staff audit, and the procurement of modern equipment, including patrol motorcycles showcased during a recent high-level UNN Security Summit attended by senior state security officials.”

He (Eze) also highlighted the VC’s engagement with institutions abroad on his campaign to reposition UNN globally under its Global Engagement and Institutional Visibility Initiatives; hosted a delegation from the Swedish Embassy to explore academic cooperation, with several programmes set for rollout next year; meeting with the President of the University of Waterloo, Prof. Vivek Goel, leading to an MoU covering interdisciplinary research, cooperative education, and institutional capacity building.

Including meetings with the Taiwanese institutions – National Chengchi University, Ming Chuan University, Tamkang University, Taiwan’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education, and the Taiwan African Business Association.