Chief Bisi Akande
Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council of the University of Ibadan,Chief Bidi Akande, has decried what he described as bureaucratic bottlenecks which he said has prevented Federal universities from performing their roles unhindered.
Speaking Monday during the 77th Foundation Day Ceremony of the University, Chief Akande describes a situation where Vice Chncellow has to defer to Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Budget Offuce and Accountant Generals offices on employment matters as overcentralization which he said runs contrary to the spirit of the establishment of the Universities .
He observed that adherence to such cumbersome administrative processes should be removed if the Universities are to be able to perform in line with global best practices.
Full Speech below:
BADAN
ADDRESS BY THE PRO-CHANCELLOR AND CHAIRMAN OF GOVERNING COUNCIL, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, CHIEF BISI AKANDE, CFR, DURING THE 77TH FOUNDATION DAY CEREMONY OF THE UNIVERSITY, ON MONDAY, 17TH NOVEMBER, 2025
As we gather here, on this Foundation Day, let us take a moment to reflect on the vision and determination of those who came before us—the founders who dreamt of a place where ideas could flourish and futures could be forged. Their dedication and foresight laid the cornerstones of what we have been building together. Today, we stand on the shoulders of giants, empowered by their legacies, and our vision is clear. Distinguished audience, I am happy and proud to now stand before you as the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan (UI).
There must have been a law for the establishment of this University. The law must have recognized the UI Senate and the Council and must have stipulated certain management and administrative functions, together with certain responsibilities and privileges, to the two main institutions of the university. Being owned by the Federal Government and being the oldest University in Nigeria, University of Ibadan must have had a culture of excellence which continues to mark it apart as the best, in Nigeria, in most of the global rankings. In a similar sense, all the other universities owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria, must have had their own respective laws, rules and regulations. However, somewhere along the lines, all these universities, including the University of Ibadan, seemed to have been indiscriminately and uniformly misclassified among the federal ministries, departments and agencies, and to be unduly overburdened with certain bureaucratic administrative and day-to-day oversight, very much inconsistent with the stipulations of the establishment laws of the universities and incoherent with the periodic visitations carried out by the President of Nigeria, who is the Visitor to all the federal universities. This aberration is evident by the constant government circular letters being issued from various government ministries, departments and agencies with many contrary instructions to override the laws establishing the various universities. And, in many cases, those circular letter instructions derive from no law at all!
Permit me to describe the bureaucratic rigmarole that takes a university Vice Chancellor to employ a new driver, a security worker, a gardener or to appoint any university staff for that matter. Application to the Federal Ministry of Education for approval may take three months and may not even be approved. If eventually approved, it would be referred again to the Ministry of Budget for another three months before another approval for advertisements for employment. After the candidates have been selected for employment, the Ministry of Education, the Federal Character Commission, and the Office of the Head the Federal Civil Service should be represented at the candidates’ interview before the recommended list of those found employable would have to be returned for another approval by those same ministries, etc so represented at the staff interview. Finally the list would now queue for ages for salary capturing by the Federal Accountant General’s Office. If this rigmarole is not completed before the end of the particular budget year, the university has to begin the processes all over again! And the efforts, time and cost of traveling to and from Abuja to chase and push these unnecessary approval activities can be enormous in terms of Naira and the man-hours expended. Under such an ugly corrupt bureaucracy,how would the universities be able to hunt for new talents or prevent the slipping away of the home talents into foreign opportunities?
These overcentralization of bureaucratic confusions and avoidable official interferences have muddled up the administration of the University of Ibadan and, obviously of the other universities, so intractably for so long that, if care is not taken early enough to stem the drift, academic lawlessness might become the vogue. The constant assumption by the government officials that “he who pays the piper dictates the tunes” might not be usually appropriate in such delicate professional dissimilarities between the civil service culture and the peculiarities in the academia. Until we appreciate that those officers issuing circulars from the ministries, from the departments and from the various other agencies of government are not better educated, nor better professionally qualified, and that they are not more patriotic than those in the various universities, the muddle would continue to intricately multiply. In my view, the constant misunderstanding between the Federal Government and the staff unions — particularly the gale of strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and the topsy-turvy it often generates—stem from these muddles and could be reduced to the barest minimum with meaningful, honest and sincere adherence to the extant establishment laws and the rules and regulations of the various universities. May we suggest that, if it becomes necessary, the various establishment laws of the various universities be reviewed in line with the global best practices and be strictly adhered to henceforth with a view to arresting the untold chaos that may eventually otherwise occur.
On this our Foundation Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to UI’s core values: integrity, respect, and excellence. These principles will guide us as we navigate the future and strive to make a difference in the lives of our students and among the broader community. In this regard, I wish to appreciate our Vice Chancellor, Professor Kayode Adebowale, and his wonderful Management Team for the great work they are doing by maneuvering through the circumstances of imposed administrative muddles that are prevalent in the systems. Let me also extend my best wishes to all staff of our great citadel of learning. Thank you all for your unwavering dedication and for being an integral part of our success story.
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Together, let us honor our foundation and work towards a future filled with promise, progress, and inspiration. As we celebrate our past, we must also look forward to the future. The world is changing rapidly, and with the changes come both challenges and opportunities. It is our duty to prepare ourselves and our students to meet the challenges head-on. We must foster environments of intellectual strength and effective security that encourage critical thinking, collaboration, and innovation, empowering our students to become leaders and change-agents in their respective fields.
We congratulate and warmly welcome our distinguished honorary degree awardees into the prestigious family of UI Alumni. Your selection is a recognition of industry, philanthropy and service to humanity. With your continued support — and that of other patriotic Nigerians — our University will continue to scale new heights.
To our graduands, you represent the excellence and promise of this nation. Carry the UI spirit into every field, and let your successes justify the confidence Nigeria has placed in you.
God bless the University of Ibadan.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Thank you for listening.
Chief Bisi Akande, CFR.
Pro-Chancellor & Chairman of Council
University of Ibadan
