The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Nigeria, Mr Peter Obi, CON, has lamented about the status of Nigerian universities, stating that their alumni associations have not been playing their roles, as they are expected to do.
This message is contained in his keynote address at the University of Nigeria Alumni Association’s 2022 icons’ award celebration themed, “Celebrating the Legacy of the University of Nigeria Alumni Icons”, held on Thursday, November 17, 2022, at the Main Banquet Hall of the Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The former governor of Anambra state, who was lamenting the current situation of the university stated that the institution should have been a far cry from what it is, at present, if her alumni have been efficient as other universities in developed countries, while also noting that the situation of the university is same with others across the Country.
“I was in Nsuka two years ago. I challenged the association and said that the alumni association of the university should work differently. They should be the people building the university’s life. Alumni association is not a village society, where people just go for age grade. Alumni associations of Nigerian universities are not contributing in building the universities. We are not doing the right thing. Associations just come once in a year, when we want to hold a gathering like this. It shouldn’t be like that,” he said.
Speaking on how the alumni associations should contribute better to the development of their alma mater, the business magnate noted that if alumni will make commitment of contributing certain amount of money, monthly or annually, the universities will be better developed than they are, adding that the associations also need to have records of all their members across the globe.
“I’m sure that Nsuka graduates an average of 5,000 yearly. Let’s just assume that they have graduated 40 sets, and assume they were only 2,000 per set, that is 80,000. If we decide to say that we have 50,000 alumni and each of them is willing to contribute 10,000 naira monthly or 100,000 naira annually, that is 5 billion naira, when multiplied by the 50,000. I am sure that the university does not get up to that annually from the federal government.
“Other schools I passed through as an alumnus, take for instance Oxford, once you google the Oxford Alumni, you see everything and the latest news. You will even see your number. But here we do not have such records. Sometimes, you start arguing with someone about the school you attended. There are many alumni of this school doing well globally. We can contact them, start with us, who are here and willing. Some of us can give one or two million per annum. I can give five to ten. The world is already together through communication and we cannot continue like this,” he observed.
Mr Obi also spoke on the state of the nation, weeping over the recent report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which stated that 130 million Nigerians, representing 63 percent, live in poverty; recall that three years ago the NBS reported that around 83 million were poor and about 50 million more have been added in three years, to the poverty domain.
According to him, such situation is terrible and calls for urgent attention, stating that the spate of insecurity in the country could be attributed to the poverty, unemployment of the youths and lack of productivity of the naturally endowed nation.
Comparing the country’s vast agricultural land, population and fertility, he noted that the country has all it takes to do better than Israel, India, Belgium, the Netherlands, among others, whose foreign exchange earnings from export amount billions of dollars.
He charged the alumni and all Nigerians to shun ethnoreligious sentiments in election, noting that corruption, insecurity, poverty, hunger and death know no religion or tribe; he tasked all to vote based on competence, capacity and commitment.
The president of the Alumni Association, Lady (Dr) Doris Okoro, who noted that Mr Obi’s speech two years ago in Nsuka inspired her desire to become the association’s president, thanked the presidential frontrunner, and further sought his collaboration in actualizing the goals of her administration.
The guest speaker, Prof. Charles Esimone, who is also the Vice Chancellor, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, whose speech was presented by Prof. Ogbonna Okolisa, stressed that alumni were grown to grow others.
The event marked award presentations to many of the alumni, who have distinguished themselves in many areas, including Hon. Valentine Ozigbo, the immediate past CEO, Transcorp PLC and former governorship aspirant in Anambra state, who promised to join Obi in giving the university’s alumni association a facelift.