Challenges Awaiting The New Vice Chancellor At MOAUM

Indications are emerging that the task ahead for the yet to be appointed Vice Chancellor of the Moses Orshio Adasu University Makurdi (MOAUM) to administer the institution's myraid problems if he or she has the feet to wear the big shoes soon to be available look enormous! 

Substantive Vice Chancellor, Professor Joe Tor Iorapuu whose tenure expires in the early days of November 2025 proceeded on the leave few months ago. The Professor of Bio Chemistry, Simon Terver Ubwa, Deputy Vice Chancellor Academics has replaced Tor Iorapuu in the Acting capacity. His tenure ends in the next few weeks! 

Investigations of progress on campus and challenges of the institution since Iorapuu went on leave and Ubwa holds sway show the task of navigating the course hinges on good understanding of the system rooted in very deep discipline managerially for both material and the human resources. According to investigation the university faced challenges prior to this moment but that improvement has come and included enhanced working conditions for staff as well as better quality of facilities for the students wellbeing and this extends to sustenance of what has been achieved so far in the past few months.

From the investigation, the enhancement extends to the provision of life enjoying facilities and others beneficial to the university community. 

Interactions with members of the community who included students and union officials show that electricity supply, water and the welfare issues for example have improved in the last few months.

These have been linked to the pragmatic action on the part of the new management towards addressing issues promoting quality of life in the academic environment.

Some MBBS students and others from Radiology in the School of Health Sciences confided that prior to this period, public power supply broke down in the university but that the situation has been reversed.

According to them, the management ensured that the system continuous survived with sustainability which has guaranteed steady supply of electricity for students and staff to operate as desired.

A student from the Political Science Department of the MOAUM confirmed the views expressed by the medical students that electricity and water has improved, thanks to the management.

 Our correspondent visited some of the lecture halls after interacting with students for confirmation of their claims and reported that ceiling fans and other lightning points were functional at press time.

On the supply of water, some students, particularly females around the hostels admitted that improvement has been made but urged management to do more for reticulation. For them, absence of reticulation in some hostels has forced many to visit other designated water points for access to the natural resources. 

They lamented "there are times water does not come to the hostels and this usually forces us to go out and get water from those other points!" 

Investigation revealed equally that the old writing boards in the lecture halls have been replaced with newly acquired white boards to facilitate the teaching and learning which some students described as the "incentives that engender understanding of the course of study"

About the seeming stability existing on the institution's campus, some respondents, especially first year students acknowledged that the calm nature of study environment provided good atmosphere in the sense that it made minds to settled and concentrate on what brought them to the university. 

Stability on the campus was attributed to good leadership on the part of the management as having provided conducive atmosphere for study as well as giving comfort to all the classes of service givers in the university.

 The point was stressed by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) Chairman, Comrade Luper Shishi about the management prioritization of the issues of welfare. JAC in the university's unions comprises Senior Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non Academic Staff Union (SANU), Comrade Luper Shishi acknowledged the efforts as believably have brought a departure from the past. Luper clarified that the cause of the union's current strike rested squarely on the inability of the government to implement the minimum wage since the management has cleared other sundry liabilities.

It has been revealed also that attitudinal change on the part of lecturers was needed for promotion of healthy study life for students. They alleged for instance that some lecturers do not always attend lectures and this impacts negatively on the quest for acquisition of the quality knowledge by students.

In the Radiology Departments for instance, students alleged that aside the few who came to lecture, majority of lecturers rarely attended to the students. The consequence they alleged was the automatic carryover but the worst aspect of it led to victim's forceful withdrawal from the department to study a different course if he or she wanted to continue studies at MOAUM!

Acknowledging that the policy aims at getting the best under the circumstance, however the students appealed to the university authorities to let the policy have human face by giving students the second chance to make amends!

On the other hand, students called for increased facilities like more lecture halls and hostel accommodation among others to reduce the demand for space or accommodation.

The list of contestants for the position of Vice Chancellor remains out of the public eyes, in same manner efforts to reach Acting Vice Chancellor to comment on developments concerning what the future holds for MOAUM if he became substantive head of the institution failed. He was reported to have been involved in the meeting with the Benue State House of Assembly and union members to resolve the ongoing labour face-off! 

As the coast clear, it becomes apparent that whosoever becomes the substantive Vice Chancellor must double action to maintain the standards so far set as acknowledged by the students and staff to see the needed peace remaining on the campus.