By A. O. Augustine
Ordinarily, I would not have considered it necessary to devote my time and energy to commenting on the conduct of the Vice-Chancellor of Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, Prof. Ogbo. However, after listening to your defence of the Kogi State Government’s decision to harmonise tuition fees across the state’s three universities, I can no longer remain silent.
With all due respect, your defence was not only unconvincing but also a disappointing attempt to justify a policy whose implications for students, parents, and the future of public education deserve far more serious consideration.
Professor Ogbo, you cannot defend a controversial government policy simply because you occupy an office that depends on the government. Your primary responsibility is to the university, its students, its staff, and the pursuit of knowledge not to the political interests of those who appointed you.
I am particularly disappointed because you are not an outsider to the institution. You passed through the same university as a student, served as a lecturer, and eventually rose to the position of Vice-Chancellor. You should, therefore, understand the realities of the institution, its peculiar challenges, and the struggles of the students who depend on it for their academic and professional advancement.
Unfortunately, your recent posture raises serious questions about whether you are protecting the interests of the university or merely defending the political establishment.
YOUR APPOINTMENT MUST NOT BECOME A DEBT TO YOUR POLITICAL SPONSORS
When news of your return to the university surfaced after your tenure as Rector of Kogi State Polytechnic, I was not particularly surprised.
Having personally participated in campaigning for the government of the day, I viewed your appointment through the lens of political reward and patronage. That perception may be disputed, but it is precisely the kind of public concern that political appointments can generate when the circumstances surrounding them are not adequately explained.
However, an appointment to lead a university should be about competence, institutional development, academic excellence, and the capacity to improve the lives of students and staff.
The office of Vice-Chancellor is not a political settlement, and the university is not a campaign headquarters.
Once appointed, a Vice-Chancellor must rise above partisan considerations and demonstrate independence of thought, administrative fairness, and commitment to the institution’s long-term interests.
If your appointment was based on merit, let your performance speak for itself. If you believe you are qualified to lead the institution, demonstrate that qualification through policies that improve academic standards, protect students’ welfare, promote research, and create an environment where learning can thrive.
You owe the university that responsibility.
FROM EVICTING LEGITIMATE BUSINESSES TO MAKING THE UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENT MORE DIFFICULT
I was not disappointed when, shortly after assuming office, you reportedly began taking steps that forced people who had been conducting legitimate businesses within the university environment to leave.
The question is simple: what informed those decisions, and what alternatives were provided to the people affected?
Universities must maintain order, enforce regulations, and ensure that commercial activities do not interfere with academic work. Nobody disputes that responsibility. However, administrative authority must be exercised with fairness, transparency, and consideration for the livelihoods of those affected.
If the decision was necessary, the university ought to explain its rationale and demonstrate that the affected parties were treated fairly.
What is particularly troubling is the tendency to justify controversial decisions by pointing to what other universities have done. The fact that another institution adopted a similar policy does not automatically make that policy appropriate for Prince Abubakar Audu University.
Different universities operate under different circumstances, with different infrastructure, student populations, and local economic realities.
Professor Ogbo, leadership is not about copying other institutions blindly. It is about making decisions that serve the best interests of the institution you have been entrusted to lead.
HUMAN RIGHTS ARE NOT OPTIONAL, EVEN WITHIN A UNIVERSITY
Another issue that deserves serious attention is the reported public parading of suspected individuals, including the display of their faces in connection with allegations of cultism.
Let us be clear: cultism, violence, intimidation, and criminal activities have no place in any university. The management of every institution has a responsibility to protect students and staff from threats to their safety.
However, the fight against criminality must not become an excuse to disregard fundamental human rights.
Under Section 36(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, every person charged with a criminal offence is presumed innocent until proved guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.
A university administration is not a court of law. Its management cannot substitute public accusations for due process, nor should suspected individuals be presented to the public in a manner that suggests their guilt has already been established.
If individuals are suspected of cult-related activities, the appropriate course is to document the allegations, cooperate with law-enforcement agencies, and allow the relevant authorities to investigate and prosecute where the evidence supports it.
Professor Ogbo, the university must not become a place where accusation is treated as conviction and administrative power substitutes for the rule of law.
The objective should be to protect the university community while preserving the dignity and rights of every individual.
WHY IS FEE HARMONISATION MORE URGENT THAN STAFF WELFARE?
This brings us to the central issue: the harmonisation of tuition fees across the three state-owned universities.
Professor Ogbo, one question you must answer is this: why does the harmonisation of students’ fees appear to command such urgency when questions about the harmonisation of staff salaries, allowances, and conditions of service across the state’s institutions remain legitimate matters for public discussion?
If harmonisation is being presented as a policy of fairness and uniformity, then the government and the university management must explain the principles guiding its application.
Why should uniformity be emphasised when determining what students pay, without equally demonstrating a commitment to fairness in other aspects of the public university system?
Students are not merely revenue sources. They are young Nigerians whose parents and guardians make enormous sacrifices to keep them in school. Many families are already struggling with the rising costs of food, transportation, accommodation, and other basic necessities.
Any policy that increases their financial burden deserves careful examination.
A government may have legitimate reasons for reviewing university fees, including the need to fund infrastructure, improve teaching facilities, and sustain academic programmes. However, those reasons must be supported by transparent explanations, meaningful consultation, and appropriate measures to protect students from being priced out of education.
The responsibility of a university administrator is not to defend every government decision, but to ensure that government policies affecting the university are examined through the lens of education, fairness, and institutional sustainability.
If the harmonisation policy is genuinely beneficial, present the evidence. Explain how it was designed, how its implications were assessed, and what safeguards exist for students from low-income households.
Do not expect the university community to accept a policy merely because the government has announced it.
TWENTY YEARS AGAINST TWO YEARS: WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE HARMONISING?
There is also a fundamental question about the fairness of harmonising fees across institutions with significantly different histories, operational realities, and financial structures.
How can a university that has operated for more than two decades be placed on the same fee structure as an institution that has existed for only about two years without a clear explanation of the factors considered?
The age of an institution alone does not determine what its students should pay. Nevertheless, differences in institutional maturity, infrastructure, programme offerings, operating costs, and funding arrangements must be examined before a uniform policy is imposed.
A proper harmonisation exercise should be based on evidence, not political convenience.
It should explain the disparities among the institutions, the rationale for the proposed fee structure, the expected impact on students, and the measures being taken to ensure that no institution or category of student is unfairly disadvantaged.
As Hon. Gudaje reportedly asked, “Which kind of harmonisation is that?”
It is a question that deserves a substantive answer, not a defensive reaction.
Harmonisation should mean fairness, consistency, and a transparent framework. It must not become a convenient label for transferring the financial burden of public education to struggling parents.
PROFESSOR OGBO, THE UNIVERSITY IS BIGGER THAN YOUR POLITICAL AMBITIONS
There is a growing perception among some observers that your administration is more concerned with political calculations than with the difficult business of managing a university.
I am not in a position to determine your private political ambitions, and I will not pretend that allegations about your intentions are established facts. However, public officeholders must understand that their conduct can generate public perceptions that they may not necessarily welcome.
If you have political ambitions beyond your current office, there is nothing inherently wrong with aspiring to serve in another capacity, subject to the law and applicable rules.
But you must not allow such ambitions, real or perceived, to overshadow your responsibilities as Vice-Chancellor.
The university is not a stepping stone that should be sacrificed for political advancement. It is an institution that shapes the future of generations.
If you are interested in partisan politics, be clear about your priorities and respect the boundaries of your present office. If you intend to remain Vice-Chancellor, then give the university your full attention.
You cannot have the university community wondering whether your decisions are driven by educational considerations or political calculations.
THERE WERE VICE-CHANCELLORS BEFORE YOU, AND THERE WILL BE OTHERS AFTER YOU
One of the greatest mistakes any public officeholder can make is to believe that an institution begins and ends with them.
Prince Abubakar Audu University existed before your appointment. It has been led by other Vice-Chancellors, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and contributions. It will continue to exist after your tenure ends.
You are a temporary custodian of a permanent institution.
Your duty is to leave the university stronger than you met it—not to create an environment in which students, staff, business operators, and other members of the university community feel that their interests are secondary to the demands of your administration.
History will not remember you merely because you occupied the office of Vice-Chancellor. It will judge your tenure by the policies you implemented, the academic environment you created, the welfare of students and staff, the quality of graduates produced, and the institutional legacy you left behind.
No appointment lasts forever. No political patron remains in power forever.
And no administrator should mistake temporary authority for personal ownership of an institution.
MY FINAL WORD TO PROFESSOR OGBO
Professor Ogbo, this is not a personal invitation to hostility. It is a call for accountability from someone who believes that Prince Abubakar Audu University deserves better than a leadership style that appears, to its critics, excessively defensive of government policies and insufficiently responsive to the concerns of the university community.
You have an opportunity to correct that perception.
Re-examine policies that impose avoidable burdens on students. Explain the rationale behind fee harmonisation. Protect the rights of suspected individuals. Ensure that disciplinary procedures are fair and transparent. Address legitimate concerns about staff welfare. And demonstrate, through your actions, that the university’s interests come before political considerations.
You must also understand that criticism is not necessarily hostility, and disagreement is not necessarily an attempt to undermine your authority.
Those who question your policies are not automatically your enemies. Some may be asking the questions that responsible leadership ought to answer.
Professor Ogbo, stop treating the defence of government decisions as the ultimate test of loyalty. Your first responsibility is to the university you lead.
If you believe your future lies in partisan politics, pursue that ambition through the appropriate channels and subject to the applicable rules. But while you occupy the office of Vice-Chancellor, give the institution the leadership it deserves.
Do not play politics with the future of our students.
Do not sacrifice institutional progress on the altar of political loyalty.
And do not mistake the silence of some members of the university community for universal approval.
We are watching. We are asking questions. And we will continue to demand accountability.
Prince Abubakar Audu University is bigger than any individual, bigger than any political party, and bigger than any administration.
It belongs to the people whose taxes sustain it, the students whose dreams depend on it, and the generations whose future it is expected to shape.
Professor Ogbo, the choice is yours: rise to the responsibility of being Vice-Chancellor, or stop allowing political calculations to overshadow the office you currently occupy.
The university deserves leadership, not political theatre. And history will be the ultimate judge.
= A. O. Augustine writes from the capital territory, Abuja
