Former Vice Chancellor of University of Abuja and The Kwara State University (KWASU), Prof. Abdulrasheed Na’Allah, has urged both the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to put the interest of Nigeria first in their negotiations.
Professor in a chat with newsmen in Ilorin said endless disputes have crippled higher education in the country.
Professor Na’Allah, who is currently the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the newly licensed Abdulrasaq Abubakar Toyin (AAT) University explained that years of mistrust between ASUU and government had weakened universities and reduced them to certificate-issuing centres instead of engines of national development.
The Professor, who pioneered KWASU as its first Vice Chancellor, faulted the federal government for repeatedly signing agreements it cannot honour and blamed ASUU for shielding unproductive members.
He lamented the decline of Nigeria’s first-generation institutions and cited the University of Ibadan’s fall from its once world-class status.
According to him, a functional university system could have anticipated and addressed national crises such as insecurity.
On funding, the former VC called for reforms in the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), and suggested the creation of a grant window accessible to professors across both public and private universities.
Professor Na’Allah Na’Allah, who also teaches at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) on sabbatical, disclosed that he recently introduced a new course, Digital Humanities, designed to integrate technology into the humanities.
He said AAT University, where he chairs the governing council, is being built on a foundation of entrepreneurship, vocational training, and community development.
