BY ABUBAKAR YUSUF
Beyond Nigeria’s administrative decisions, the outgoing Vice Chancellor, University of Abuja, Professor Abdulrasheed Na’Allah would have stayed beyond the statutory tenure of five years, not for its sake, but having grappled with over 8 months nationwide ASUU strike and world ravaged COVID pandemic that occasioned lock downs , post COVID era and Delta variant that ate into his tenure between June 2019 -2024.
If it were in other advance climes, Professor Na’Allah would have gotten an automatic extension of twelve months or a year to mitigate the months lost to the two major national and international activities that crippled the university system across the country, not minding his administrative wisdom.
This had brought us to the argument that school administrators in the rank of Rectors, Provost and Vice Chancellors of academic institutions in Nigeria’s tenure should be excluded from the period of emergencies and strikes, so as to get the best of administration and leadership from appointees.
The development had putting a lot of pressure on the outgoing Vice Chancellor, University of Abuja, Professor Abdulrasheed Na’Allah into completing many laudable projects he initiated in the last five years , but time bound on his exit date of June , 30th, 2024.
Undaunted by the Nigeria’s factor of tenured appointments, Na’Allah has pursued his pet project of land reclamation and remodelling of the university from the temporary site in Gwagwalada to the permanent site along the airport road, that had become a rallying point to others security agencies particularly the Army , Navy and Air Force who have taken cue from the institution to avoid further encroachment from communities and residents.
With the land reclamation and ongoing perimeter fencing , the threat of security to lives of students, workers and staff of the university had become a thing of the past , with students now feeling more secured staying on the campus unlike in the previous years.
He is living a robust academic and administrative system were students and lecturers , workers of the institution interacts at that level in line with the new code of conduct.
Professor Na’Allah expanded the Infrastructural and academic sphere through building of several structures across departments, units , centres , established more departments and faculties as well embarked vigorously on massive construction, renovation and completion of abandoned projects in the institution.
He laid a solid foundation for community relations between the students, staff and the community to synergise and inculcate the norms of players , hence the establishment of Centre for community development.
To ensure the parlance of character and learning is beyond mere rhetorics, Na’Allah in collaboration with CAC, and other government agencies established Centre for Enterpreneurial Development to enable students attain not only academic certification, but enterpreneurship before graduation.
Aside all these initiatives, Na’Allah initiated a Board of Advisers, Trustees to ensure the laudable program he embarked upon during his tenure did not end with him, but a lasting legacies to be reckoned with by subsequent students of the institution.
His tenure witnessed multiple local and foreign grants to the academic staff ,along with adequate attention from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund TETFUND and other foreign agencies to academic staff both old and newly recruited ones to service the new departments and faculities.
Staff promotions, advancement and employment were given adequate attention, to ensure seamless inculcation of academic activities on the students.
Gone were the days when certificates of graduating students were been delayed for years, the new university under Professor Na’Allah ensured results and certificates of students are ready as matriculation and convocation in the institution was no longer delayed or grouped together like the previous order.
Professor Na’Allah did not compromise academic and administrative programs and also introduced series of transportation system within the institution including the movement of bicycles within the campus, to reduce the burden of movement of students from one department to other within the campus after the removal of subsidy.
Na’Allah has introduced series of welfare packages for staff both at ASUU, NASU and other unions of the university including self development, advancement that attracted benefits to the institution and individuals involved.
As the university bids Na’Allah farewell come June, 30th, 2024 and his resolve to continue to remain active till the last day in office , with a clear vision on sacrifice and hardwork, no doubt he will be bidding farewell from the ivory tower , but not tired from the public service, as his unparalleled achievements will attract him to the government desire to continue to deploy good hands to the betterment of the Nigeria’s education
system, as demonstrated by the outgoing Vice Chancellor, University of Abuja, Professor Abdulrasheed Na’Allah during his term both at the University of Abuja and the Kwara State University, KWASU, Malete.
