How We Saved NDU from Collapse, VC Speaks

Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

The Vice Chancellor of the Bayelsa State-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), Professor Samuel Edoumiekumo, has explained how the series of protests in 2018 by students and staff of the institution over school fees increment and ordered downsizing of non-academic staff at the institution nearly caused its collapse.

The institution, which is located in Wilberforce Island of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state, was gripped by multi-dimensional crisis under the administration of Professor Humphrey Ogoni with students protest against fees hike, non-academic staff protest against sack and host community invited its youths against perceived obnoxious policies of the state government under Governor Seriake Dickson.

The crisis, however, led to the shutdown of the institution, end the tenure of the former Vice Chancellor, Professor Humphrey Ogoni, and the appointment of Prof. Samuel Edoumiekumo, who was then the deputy Vice Chancellor of the university.

Speaking on the crisis, Edoumiekumo in his 184 pages biography titled: ‘Heroism from the Margin: The story of Samuel G. Edoumiekumo’, written by Professor Ben Binebai, recalled that his appointment in 2018 as the vice chancellor at the time of the crisis sandwiched him in an interplay between the external threat and the internal collaborators.

According to him, “On assumption of office, I doused the tension hitting the university and threatening its survival. I was lucky enough to trudge on the magic tree that kept the university running without good funding. If we had collapsed during this crisis, the university would have been a shadow of failure.”

However, five years after, Edoumiekumo-led university revealed gradualism with the resolution of physical crisis, underdevelopment, stable academic and administrative systematisation.

According to him, “In May 2, 2018, when I accepted the challenge of leading the NDU as the 4th substantive vice chancellor after acting for a year, I promised to restore peace, academic stability and attract infrastructural development to the university to achieve the standard of a highly rated ivory tower.

“Today, the records hold that Niger Delta University, a multi-campus, multi-disciplinary and study-concentrated institution under my watch is at the glorious dawn of national and international recognition. It aspires to be the hub of innovations and research distinction and the building of a knowledge society for Bayelsa State. Over 104 projects have been listed under the administration of Prof. Samuel Edoumiekumo in the areas of administrative and academic initiatives, staff welfare and development, infrastructural projects, including the establishment of entrepreneurial initiatives, two radio stations and installation of security cameras to improve security and tackle violent crimes.

“The institution has also recorded a 100 per cent accreditation status of all academic programmes present to NUC/professional accreditation from 2017 till date. The institution also experienced increase in students’ intake from 3,500 annually to N7, 600 every year resulting in the students intake of over 38,000 in Five years. This is done not to only generate funds but essentially to ensure more Bayelsans and Niger Deltans have access to university education.

“As the 4th vice chancellor of the NDU, the institution acquired central facilities and structures that gave backing to sustainable functionality of the university. The institution experienced rapid infrastructural transformation and consequent upon the geometric rise in the population of the university and vision to put infrastructural deficit behind the bars of history, the administration have experienced marvelous transformation within the designated space from 2017 to 2021.”