An Open Letter to the Governor of Edo State
By Osamudiamen Oziegbe, PhD
Your Excellency,
I have followed with keen interest the growing conversations, debates and controversies surrounding the state of affairs at Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, particularly the issues being canvassed across social media and other public platforms.
While I do not claim a monopoly of knowledge on the complex issues confronting our great university, I believe that, as an indigene of Esan land and a beneficiary of Ambrose Alli University, I have a duty to contribute my voice to the conversation. My intention is neither to malign any individual nor to play politics with the future of the institution. Rather, it is to appeal to Your Excellency to place the long-term interest of the university above every other consideration.
The history of Ambrose Alli University is inseparable from the vision of its founder, the late Professor Ambrose Folorunsho Alli, former Governor of the old Bendel State. Professor Alli established the institution principally to democratise access to quality tertiary education, particularly for the teeming youths of the old Bendel State and neighbouring states, in keeping with the free education philosophy of the administration of the then Unity Party of Nigeria.
The decision to locate the university at Emaudo, Ekpoma, was also transformative for the Esan people. What was once largely a rural community gradually became a cosmopolitan university town. Thousands of businesses sprang up; landlords, traders, artisans and service providers found opportunities; and generations of Esan sons and daughters secured employment directly and indirectly through the university.
I am one of the many beneficiaries of that vision. I could not have become whatever I am today without the opportunities Ambrose Alli University provided.
It is therefore painful to watch an institution with such a rich history and enormous potential repeatedly find itself embroiled in avoidable crises.
Your Excellency, Ambrose Alli University has passed through difficult periods under different administrations. We still remember the period of the Special Intervention Team under the administration of former Governor Godwin Obaseki. Those experiences should teach us that the university requires stability, competent leadership and a governance structure that allows its various organs to function according to established university traditions and statutes.
LEARNING FROM THE IYAMO EXPERIENCE
Your Excellency, there is another lesson close to home.
Former Governor, now Senator Adams Oshiomhole, established Edo State University at Iyamoh, now Edo State University, with the ambition of building a world-class institution. The emphasis was not merely on physical infrastructure but also on quality personnel, academic standards, institutional systems and competent leadership.
What is particularly instructive is the manner in which the institution's leadership was approached. The overriding consideration was competence and the ability to build an institution capable of competing nationally and internationally.
Your Excellency has personally seen the progress made at Iyamoh. The question, therefore, is whether we can honestly say that Ambrose Alli University is currently operating at the level commensurate with its history, potential and strategic importance to Edo State.
With due respect, I believe there is still a significant gap.
THE NEED FOR A NEW DIRECTION AT AAU
Your Excellency, I am a proud Esan son. I want your administration to succeed, just as I want Ambrose Alli University to succeed.
The continued growth of AAU is not only an academic concern. It is an economic concern for Ekpoma and the entire Esanland. Thousands of families depend directly or indirectly on the university. Petty traders, landlords, transport operators, artisans and other businesses rely on the presence and vibrancy of the university community.
This is why the question of who leads Ambrose Alli University should not be reduced to ethnicity, politics or personal loyalty.
The Vice-Chancellor of a university is not merely an accounting or administrative officer. The office requires a scholar and institutional leader with a deep understanding of university governance, academic networking, research collaboration, fundraising, international partnerships, strategic planning and institutional development.
The Vice-Chancellor must be able to connect the university to the wider academic world, attract partnerships and investments, inspire confidence among academics and students, and provide a clear vision for the future.
It is against this background that I respectfully submit that Your Excellency should begin the process of searching for a more suitable, distinguished and internationally connected scholar to lead Ambrose Alli University at the appropriate time and in accordance with the law and the university's governing statutes.
This is not a call for the humiliation of the incumbent Vice-Chancellor. It is a call for the Governor, as Visitor, to ask the difficult but necessary question: Is the present leadership giving AAU the quality of institutional direction required to compete with the best universities in Nigeria and beyond?
If the answer is no, then the courage to make a change becomes a duty to the institution.
And, Your Excellency, the successor does not necessarily have to be an Esan person.
Indeed, if the best candidate is from Edo North, Edo South, another part of Nigeria or even has an international academic background, that should not matter. Competence must come before ethnicity. Institutional interest must come before personal loyalty.
RETAIN THE PRO-CHANCELLOR AND GOVERNING COUNCIL
Your Excellency, while calling for a fresh look at the leadership of the university, I respectfully urge you not to destabilise the Governing Council of Ambrose Alli University.
Your choice of Chief Dan Osi Orbih as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council was, in my view, a sound one.
Chief Orbih is a prominent Edo son with considerable political, social and institutional networks. More importantly, his experience and exposure provide resources that can be deployed for the benefit of the university.
The office of Pro-Chancellor is not merely ceremonial. A well-connected and experienced Pro-Chancellor can open doors for partnerships, attract attention to institutional needs and mobilise support for development.
There are indications that the ongoing internal road project within the university has benefited from his intervention. Whether in infrastructure, government relations, private-sector partnerships or academic development, the university needs a Pro-Chancellor who can bring influence, experience and networks to bear.
For this reason, Your Excellency, I respectfully recommend that Chief Dan Osi Orbih and the present Governing Council be retained and given the necessary support and conducive environment to discharge their statutory responsibilities.
The solution to an institutional crisis should not necessarily be to dismantle every organ of governance. Sometimes, what is required is to clarify responsibilities, restore mutual respect and allow each organ to function according to the established governance structure.
LET THE LAW AND UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE PREVAIL
Your Excellency, there is an important issue that must be addressed if the current tension is to end.
A university operates through a defined governance structure. The Vice-Chancellor has clearly defined powers and responsibilities. The Governing Council also has defined statutory responsibilities. The Pro-Chancellor and other principal officers equally have their respective roles.
No university can function effectively where there is a breakdown in mutual respect between these organs.
The Vice-Chancellor should be allowed to administer the university without undue interference. At the same time, the Vice-Chancellor must recognise the supervisory and statutory responsibilities of Council.
The Council, for its part, must provide oversight without unnecessarily encroaching on the day-to-day administration of the institution.
The answer, therefore, is not domination by one organ over another. The answer is respect for the law, the statutes and the established organogram of university administration.
YOUR EXCELLENCY, PLEASE SAVE AAU FROM ANOTHER CYCLE OF CRISIS
Mr. Governor, I appeal to you as a concerned citizen and a proud son of Esanland: please do not allow Ambrose Alli University to become another casualty of avoidable political or administrative battles.
Your administration has demonstrated willingness to support the university financially. That support is commendable. But funding alone cannot transform an institution.
Money requires competent management.
Infrastructure requires vision.
Academic excellence requires leadership.
And institutional growth requires stability.
Your Excellency, the greatest legacy you can leave in Ambrose Alli University is not merely the amount of money your administration spends on the institution. It is the quality, stability and international competitiveness of the university you leave behind.
I therefore respectfully urge you to consider three critical steps:
First, commence, in accordance with the law and due process, a credible search for a more competent, distinguished and development-oriented academic to lead Ambrose Alli University when the opportunity legally arises.
Second, retain Chief Dan Osi Orbih as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, alongside the Council, and give them the necessary institutional support to discharge their responsibilities.
Third, insist that all principal organs of the university operate strictly within the law and the university's statutes, with mutual respect, accountability and clearly defined responsibilities.
Your Excellency, this is not about Esan against Edo North. It is not about one political tendency against another. It should not even be about the personality of the incumbent Vice-Chancellor.
It is about Ambrose Alli University.
It is about whether the institution founded by Professor Ambrose Alli will continue to fulfil the dream of providing quality education and transforming lives.
It is about whether Ekpoma will continue to thrive as a university town.
It is about whether our children and grandchildren will inherit a university they can be proud of.
And it is about whether Edo State can build institutions that will outlive the politicians who established them.
Your Excellency, you have the opportunity to make a historic intervention.
Please be guided by competence. Be guided by the law. Be guided by institutional stability. Above all, be guided by the enduring interest of Ambrose Alli University.
The university needs peace.
The university needs competent leadership.
The university needs a functioning Governing Council.
And the university needs a clear, credible and sustainable direction.
Mr. Governor, history will judge the choices you make today.
Yours faithfully,
Osamudiamen Oziegbe, PhD
Concerned Stakeholder and Proud Son of Esanland
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