BY AUSTIN AJAYI, ABUJA – Former Governor of Adamawa state, Dr. Boni Haruna, has attributed the slow pace of research and development in Nigerian universities to unnecessary political interference in tertiary institutions.
Haruna, who was speaking at the combined 5th to 12th convocation ceremony of the Adamawa State university, Mubi, said such interferences were having adverse effect on federal and states governments owned institutions, thus urged the management of higher instructions to avoid such undue pressures to encourage quality education.
He noted that most of the challenges facing the country currently were mainly as a result of the fact that most of the universities are not geared towards proffering solutions to the problems.
Haruna, who was minister of Youths Development, was awarded a Doctorate of Letters Degree by the Governing Council of the university during which he charged Governor Ahamdu Umaru Finitiri to provide an enabling atmosphere for the institution to grow and proffer intellectual solutions to our numerous problems.
Adamawa state University Mubi, first state owned University in the Northeast, was established in 2004 by the Boni Haruna administration and has graduated 11,650 students between 2009 and 2020.
Earlier in his address, Governor Fintiri, who is the Visitor to the University, charged the University management to proffer alternative solution in addressing the epileptic power supply to the University.
Fintiri observed that instead of spending huge amount in purchasing diesel to power stand by generators, the Institution should engage in research driven options that can provide cheap alternative energy sources in its campuses.
He said; “With the physics and other related researches, why should the University be part of the diesel guzzling community? We need to domesticate excellence on the campus in order to export it in to the society”.
The Governor said that his administration has a plan of establishing a faculty of Medicine and Teaching hospital before the end of his tenure so that health care services can be expanded to the reach of all and sundry.
He added that his government has approved an annual grant of N25Millon for improvement of research and publications of journals for the University.
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor, Adamawa state University, Mubi, Professor Kaletapwa Farauta, said that despite the various challenges the institution faced after the attack on the campus by Boko Haram in 2014 which led the closure of the school, quality and standard remain high.
The Vice Chancellor added that since her appointment, the university’s programs in various departments were granted NUC accreditation, stressing that the institution witnessed a rebirth with the advent of her administration.
Farauta, first female vice chancellor of a university in the North, added that with the support of the state government, Mubi North and Mubi South local government areas, the school is enjoying a new lease of life.
The University awarded degrees and certificates to 11,625 graduates nine years after.
