As far as William Shakespeare was concerned “A Rose (as in flower) by any other name will smell as sweet”. This is certainly true, florally speaking but will not stand in academia. Universities as the highest citadel of learning comes as a package: quality of academic and non-academic staff, quality of peer reviewed publications, quality of infrastructures – physical and otherwise, quality of student intake, degree of funding and of course the name of the university.
The name of a university matters very much in its reckoning and reputation, more especially in these global and Ipod times. Global in the sense that the name of the university should be appealing Worldwide, Ipod for the Ipod generation. Think about University of Harvard, University of Cambridge, Cranfield University, New York State University, University of Madras, Peking University, Moscow State University, University of Ghana, University of Zambia, University of Cape Town and University of Pretoria to name a few. These names sound global, Ipod, sexy and intelligent and will appeal to students and more importantly, employers of labour, globally.
In
Nigeria
, when universities were initially established in the 1960’s, they were given global names, names that sounded intelligent, sexy and Ipod appealing. Names like:
University
of
Nigeria
,
University
of
Lagos
,
University
of
Ife
, University College Ibadan,
University of Benin
,
Benin
City. Later on, in the eighties when new generation of state run Universities came on board, they were appropriately named, like
Enugu
State
University
,
Imo
State
University
,
Lagos
State
University
, Rivers State University of Science and Technology etc.
Whilst name alone do not make a university, it is as explained in the first paragraph, part of the package, paraphernalia and sexiness that makes a university. As
Nigeria
is gradually decaying, everything about the country is decaying with it, discipline is decaying, morals are decaying, infrastructures are decaying, leadership is decaying, hope for the masses are decaying, personal finances are decaying. Unfortunately, this decay process has crept into academia, has crept into naming of Universities, instead of the intelligent, global and Ipod names early universities were named, we are now having names like: Ladoke Akintola University, Obafemi Awolowo University, Onasbisi Onabanjo University, Michael Okpara University, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Tai Solarin University, Tafawa Balewa University, Gabriel Igbinedion University, Ambrose Alli University etc. The justification of these names is not the remit of this article but these names do not sit globally, intellectually and otherwise, these names do not sound academic. These names sound dumb. A
Wole
Soyinka
University
sounds more appealing: a university named after a Nobel Prize Laureate. Foremost Yoruba nationalist, Obafemi Awolowo did not name any of the universities he commissioned:
Oduduwa
University
, neither did Ahmadu Bello name any university after Usman Dan Fodio nor Nnamdi Azikiwe with an Ikenga university.
The paradox with these ‘strange’ university names is that powers that be in
Nigeria
know better. When they are personally concerned, they exhibit professional behaviour as expected but when the masses are concerned, they behave otherwise. President Obasanjo is associated with
Bell
University
, Otta whilst Vice President Atiku is associated with
ABTI
American
University
, Yola – intelligent, Ipod, global and sexy sounding names. Why did Vice President Atiku not name
ABTI
American
University
after his political godfather:
Shehu
Musa
Yaradua
University
, Yola. Another paradox is that you will not find the children of IBB, Obasanjo, Atiku etc, in these strangely named universities if at all in any Nigerian university.
As Nigerians emigrate mostly to the West for greener pastures, the country owes it a duty to help these émigrés that it has let down. A CV with academic qualification from
Igbinedion
University
will not compete with a CV from
University
of
Nigeria
or
University
of
Ghana
.
Igbinedion
University
sounds dumb and 419’sh, employers of labour in
Nigeria
may even doubt such qualification, yet this University is duly registered by the custodian of university education in
Nigeria
, Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC). NUC itself is decaying.
If this trend is left by NUC to continue, our decay process will in due course start producing names like IBB University, Olusegun Obasanjo University, Sanni Abacha University, Olu of Warri University of Science and Technology, Ooni of Ife University of Traditional Medicine, Obi of Onitsha University of Urban Planning, Orji Uzo Kalu University of Advanced Leadership Studies, Fred Ajudua University of Entrepreneurship, Nuhu Ribadu Institute of Criminology, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar School of Corporate Governance, Taliban Ahmad Sani (Yariman Bakura) University of Sharia Law and Jihad Studies, Nwankwo Kanu University, Emir of Kano University of Religious Intolerance and Civil Disobedience, Asaru Dokubo University of Swamp Warfare, Shell Nigeria University of Oil Spillage, Maurice Iwu Electioneering University, Bell View Aviation University, Bank of the North University of Failed Banking, etc.
Are there no intellectuals around in
Nigeria
any more? Has common sense deserted
Nigeria
and Nigerians? Is
Nigeria
paying the price for exporting its best? Where is the country heading to that even in academia, rot and decay has set in without being noticed and arrested but rather, GLORIFIED.
Chidi Anyaeche Mr. B.Sc. (Hons), M.Sc. (
London
), M.Sc. (Cranfield)
Enfield, London, E
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