Nahimat Adekoga
The former Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega on Monday frowned at the Nigerian universities for engaging in food and sachet water, productions to drive their internally generated find, (IGR).
Jega, who is Pro-Chancellor, Plateau State University, Jos, made the comment at opening of a three-day 2016 Nigerian Higher Education Summit on Monday, in Abuja.
According to him, it is unethical for universities to provide bread and satchet water to source for revenue.
He said the crisis of funding in Nigerian universities was a severe challenge because government has failed in its responsibility.
Jega lamented government’s insensitivity to plight of the institutions, which he attributed to basic rationale behind the universities practice of internal fund generation.
He said, “We want young unemployed youths to be involved in such entrepreneurial activities to generate income for themselves and to build businesses, and not for the schools, themselves.
“For a university to become in such dire and desperate need for money as to bake bread and produce sachet water is unwholesome and needs to be immediately discouraged by appropriate authority concerned.
“The onus of the campaign against this trend, still falls on the government, as it needs to provide sufficient funding to universities, and perhaps attach sanctions to subsequent reports of such practice.’’ Jega said.
The former electoral umpire said universities were in business of knowledge production and should strive to produce patents or prototypes which they could engage Nigerian industries to manufacture.
He said there was also need for management of Nigerian universities to have an inclusive and transparent process of managing resources.
According to him, it was unhealthy for universities to be struggling to generate funds to carry out their mandates, when government was saddled fulfilling such responsibility.
He said that for industrial actions to be avoided, there should be mutual respect and agreement between Federal Government and the unions, who made various demands.
