Ten years ago, I, with the help of my friends established this University to provide world-class American-style of education in Nigeria, to serve students from Nigeria and Africa. It was sited here in Yola, in North East of Nigeria, a region in need of good, quality education and, also, jobs. It was the first private university to be established in sub-Saharan Africa.
Why American-style of education?
My encounter with American Peace Corps volunteer-teachers in rural Adamawa in the early 1960s exposed me to the American style of education which I found quite appealing mainly because from what I saw, there is emphasis on critical reasoning, students’ participation, and problem solving. Thus, I wanted to build a university whose graduates would be ready to face one of those attributes.
Those of you who were here on October 25, 2004, for the ground-breaking ceremony for this University will attest to the great physical changes that have taken place on this campus, especially the provision of physical facilities – the entire South campus was not in existence then. The initial student enrolment in September 2005 when academic activities commenced was 124 with 20 professors.
In the current academic session, AUN has about 1,400 enrolled students and 87 faculty members. This excludes the hundreds of administrative support staff members. AUN has become a significant contributor to the economy of Yola, Adamawa State, touching the lives of many.
I express my profound appreciation for the painstaking work of the founding faculty, administrators, staff, and the pioneering students. Without them, we would not be here today. They made enormous sacrifices and they persevered to nurture this dream to the emerging reality that it is today. In particular, I thank Professor David Huweiler, the founding president, as well Professor Michael Smith who succeeded him, for their courage and immense sacrifices and commitment to building this University. There was no time when there were no challenges while building this University and the challenges continue. They took a chance on us to come to the middle of nowhere, and began the onerous task of changing Yola, to this citadel of learning.
I also thank all those who have served in the Board of Trustees over the years, for their sacrifices. Ten years is a good period to take stock, to strategize, and then rededicate ourselves for the task of building this University for the next 10 years. I’m sure that you will all play your part wherever you may find yourself.
For me, this occasion is perhaps one to make a statement on private education in Nigeria which has received a significant attention in recent years. Let me make a few remarks on the place for private education. There is a place for private education in all modern societies and for good reasons:
1. Western formal education in its origin was private. Indeed in Nigeria, western education was private, having been introduced to the country by Christian missionaries who went on to build schools across the country. Public education came later in order to ensure universal access and mobilization human resources for societal development. Many commentators on private education in Nigeria have forgotten this fact.
2. Choice in education as in other human affairs is a good thing. In education, one size does not fit all. Variety is necessary to meet different needs, address specific priorities in different local areas, niches, and specialization. Think about this: food is said to be a basic human necessity, yet no one would make the absolute suggestion that government should make a chain of restaurants across the country to feed everybody.
3. Competition is good. And private competition is one way to introduce healthy competition in the education sector to ensure needed improvement. Overall, competition breeds creativity, innovation, a greater efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery.
4. Innovation is good. Private schools tend to be smaller than public schools. They tend to be more nibbled and innovative and [they] adapt to change because the decision making tends to be quicker in order to serve students and the community better. They are also often run better with more business principles even if, as in the case of AUN for instance, we made conscious decision not to over stretch ourselves by trying not to do things that universities are already doing which is to offer every imaginable discipline.
We choose to focus on three areas namely Arts & Sciences, Business & Entrepreneurship and Information Technology & Communications. We understood the challenges caused by the rapid changes in information communications and technologies and quickly adopted e-learning and e-library. And from inception, all our students were issued with laptops to facilitate teaching and learning in this changing environment. Public universities in Nigeria sure have a thing or two to learn from private universities and vice versa. Private schools are needed to complement government efforts to providing education in the country. Private education cannot and should not be a substitute for government efforts at providing universal access to good, quality education for the populace. It is and should be for those who desire and can afford it. In the case of universities, the private ones which became necessary as government increasingly become able to provide university spaces for the growing population of qualified applicants. In fact, it took several years of struggle before the first private university in Nigeria, Igbinedion University, Okada, was allowed to operate. While speaking here on October 25th 2004, my boss, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, just before he broke the grounds for the building of this University, noted that this University is one of a series of private universities that have been established in Nigeria in the years following the deregulation of the sector. This, to him, was in line with the government efforts to deregulate Nigeria’s economy and unleash our people’s entrepreneurial spirit. President Obasanjo expressed satisfaction that Nigerians were answering the government call to invest in different sectors of our economy, including education. He went on to say that a massive investment made in education and other areas during our oil boom years were almost exclusively made by government. That was no longer possible as government alone cannot meet all our educational needs. Therefore, going forward, the private sector would have to play a very significant role in education in Nigeria if our people’s educational needs are to be met and if education is to contribute optimally to our national development.
I hope that AUN will continue to blaze the trail in innovative teaching, research, and community service. I hope it will continue to remain a development partner for the immediate Adamawa community, Nigeria, and Africa and continue to play a critical role in nurturing the future leaders of Africa seated here today. I commend the current leadership of AUN under the tireless Dr. Margee Ensign, who has worked on growing this University and in putting it on the global map. Once more, I have to acknowledge the immense contribution and support of the late Lamido of Adamawa, His Royal Highness Alhaji (Dr) Aliyu Musdafa, who generously donated some of the land that the University owns today.
Let me conclude by once more acknowledging the dreadful security challenges in Nigeria‘s North East, which have given rise to the humanitarian emergency on a scale previously unseen in this part of the country. As we are gathered here, hundreds and thousands of our brothers and sisters have been displaced from their homes, businesses, and farms. These are the ones lucky to be alive. A lot of them are children and there is little support from government agencies. So many of them are women. I am pleased that this University has been very active in helping these Internally Displaced Persons. That is consistent with AUN’s commitment to be part and parcel of the local community and the people. I appeal to all of you to please spare a thought to this unfortunate … innocent victims of this insurgency and help them in any way you can. I also again call upon the Federal Government to quickly set up and effectively address the insurgency and assist the victims.
Let me wish you happy 10th anniversary. God bless you. Thank you.
Being the speech of Atiku Abubakar on the occasion of the 9th Founder’s Day and 10th Anniversary of AUN held on November 15, 2014.