ASUU strike: Nigerians express anger as vice chancellors’ wives plan to attend course in Turkey
SOME Nigerians, on Thursday, expressed anger over alleged plan by the wives of Vice-Chancellors across Nigerian universities to travel to Istanbul, Turkey, for a five-day leadership course while country’s universities are shut down by the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
However, the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU), said the five-day leadership course scheduled to hold in Istanbul, is to build the capacity of Women in Academics and Higher Education Leadership in Africa and not targeted at wives of vice-chancellors alone.
A letter addressed to vice-chancellors dated May 5, 2022 and signed by the Committee’s Secretary-General, Professor Yakubu Ochefu, was titled: ‘Invitation to the Istanbul Five-Day Leadership and Management Masterclass, Fellowship Induction for Spouses of Vice-Chancellors, Women in Academics and Higher Education Leadership’.
According to the letter, each of the VCs’ wives would pay a sum of N1.5 million as a course form to attend the programme.
It partly read, “We understand the vital role spouses play in supporting vice-chancellors as they execute their day-to-day administration of universities. It is, therefore imperative that capacity building exercises be put in place for the women in academics and spouses of vice-chancellors in Nigerian universities.
“In this regard, the Committee’s Secretariat, in partnership with Win Institute for Gender Studies, Nigeria in collaboration with its Turkey-based learning partner, Istanbul Egitimler, has put together a five-day Leadership and Management Masterclass, and Fellowship Induction for spouses of vice-chancellors, women academics and higher education leadership in Africa.”
Reacting, Olumuyiwa Oke, a Facebook user wrote, “Nigeria’s problems are multidimensional. This is disheartening and disgusting amidst the ongoing strike in our public institutions.”
Also, Victor Balogun, another Facebook user said, “Most of them are rogues and not different from politicians they always condemn. If not, who are the ones rigging the politicians into power with inflated figures?”
Tweeting via @biggybanty, one Tunde Bakare said, “Most of them were appointed by politicians. We are not surprised. What is vice-chancellor wives again. They have an association now?. I hope FUTO VC husband will be joining them.”
The Committee, however, said the programme, which is in collaboration with the WIN Institute for Gender Studies, is a Fellowship Induction for spouses of Vice-Chancellors in Africa as well as women in academics and higher education on the continent. Secretary-General of the Committee, Professor Yakubu Ochefu,.told Nigerian Tribune that the invitation to the spouses of vice-chancellors of universities in Nigeria was not peculiar to the wives of the VCs as speculated in some quarters.
Rather he said: “It was an invitation to all women in the higher education leadership positions and it is not new in the system.”
Yakubu said the programme is not specifically targeted at wives of vice-chancellors of Nigerian universities but creates an opportunity for engagement and capacity building for all the women in academic leadership positions in Nigeria and across the African continent. Ochefu stressed that the committee have members who are female vice-chancellors and other women who are holding strategic positions in the universities, hence the need for them to deepen their understanding of leadership and management from a more nuanced post-COVID-19 perspective, gain insight into strategic innovation thinking.
He stressed that the CVC had been meditating between the Federal Government and the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities to broker peace and facilitate compromise.
ASUU strike: Nigerians express anger as vice chancellors’ wives plan to attend course in Turkey
