HISTORY

BACKGROUND

 

Akwa Ibom State, one of the 36 States of the Federation, was excised from the Cross River State in 1987. Prior to its emergence as a State, Uyo, the Capital of Akwa Ibom State hosted the main campus of the University of Cross River State. This University ceased to exist in 1992, when the Federal Government established in its place, the Federal University of Uyo, in Uyo. In this regard, it is on record that almost all the  newly-created States in Nigeria had either been operating, or had made plans for the establishment of their own Universities. Such newer States include Abia, Anambra, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Imo, Kano and Kogi.

 

It will be recalled too that prior to the emergence of institutions for higher education in Nigeria, the people of Akwa Ibom State had pioneered the movement for the creation of States in Nigeria, through the establishment, in 1928, of the Ibibio Union (later to be renamed Ibibio State Union in 1945). They had also established a secondary school, the Ibibio State College, in 1946. Furthermore, the Ibibio Union became the first indigenous organisation in Nigeria to sponsor people for higher education overseas, when it awarded scholarships in 1938, for studies in the United Kingdom and the United States America, in various fields including Agriculture, Medicine and Law. Indeed the people of Akwa Ibom State have been noted, from the earliest beginnings of the nation, for their unrelenting quest and unquenchable thirst for quality education at all levels.

 

THE ESTABLISHMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEES FOR THE UNIVERSITY

 

It is with these considerations in mind that the Committee for the Establishment of the Akwa Ibom State University of Technology, which was inaugurated by the Executive Governor of the State on 18th October 2000, addressed its assignment as embodied in the Terms of Reference presented to it on the occasion. The Committee had as its Chairman, Professor Ephraim E. Okon, OFR, a Professor of Engineering Analysis of the University of Lagos and a retired Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Abuja. The Terms included the following:

 

  1. To undertake the feasibility study for the establishment of the Akwa Ibom State University of    Technology;

  2. To propose a permanent site for the University;

  3. To prepare a relevant Science and Technology curriculum for the University;

  4. To identify on Faculty basis, the required resources, plant, machinery, equipment and other physical facilities for the smooth take-off of the University;

  5. To identify the sources and conditions for attracting the best practicing professional Science and Technology staff namely, Scientists, Technologists, Educationists, Engineers and Administrators to the University;

  6. To determine the relationship and linkages between the proposed University and the existing tertiary educational institutions in the State.

Furthermore, the Committee was to address in the course of its work, what may be considered to be the major socio-economic problem of the State which is its transformation from a "Civil Service State", in which over 90% of people in paid employment are, employees in the State Civil Service, to an "Industrialized Society", especially given the prevailing situation of a near absence of an industrial sector and an associated culture of organized private enterprises.

                                                                         

An appraisal of the trend in the development of higher education in Nigeria reveals that generally the major focus of the vision and mission of the Universities has been the development of high-level manpower with the expectation that the products of these institutions would be adequately equipped to effectively contribute to the socio-economic advancement of the nation. While this approach to tertiary education may find some justification for programmes in the humanities, social sciences and allied fields, there appears to be little inclination to modify this basic philosophy in the area of Science and Technology, even in the technological institutions, in the present circumstances of a global movement towards a knowledge-driven economy in which the socio-economic advancement of developing nations are anchored on technology- based industrial effort.

 

Given the expectations of the Government and the people of Akwa Ibom State, along with the resource endowments of the State, it became clear to the Committee that the University would make a meaningful and sustainable positive intervention in the socio-economic fortunes of the people of the State only if it engages continuously on research and development activities that have direct bearing on the problems of the State. Thus, the University would have to be designed such that its programmes and activities have a clear research and development focus that puts emphasis on the solution of the problems of the State.

 

Accordingly, early in its work, the Committee identified a number of areas of knowledge which would engage the serious attention of the University in the effort to meet the challenge of turning around the       socio-economic fortunes of the State. Thereafter, it selected centres of excellence located in various countries, whose leadership in the various disciplines of interest had been acknowledged worldwide and from which vital information and other assistance could be expected. With the approval and support of the Government of the State, delegations from the Committee undertook appraisal visits to these centres from January to June, 2001 in a programme which embraced a large number of institutions/agencies located in twelve countries and in which the deliberations addressed a range of issues which were brought to the attention of each of the organizations. These included:

 

(i)        Location of the organization

  1. Factors guiding location.

  2. Subsequent development of physical infrastructure.

  3. Local and national consequences of location.

 (ii)      Funding

         Sources of funding for programmes and research

 

(iii)     Academic Linkages

  1. Academic and industrial linkages with other institutions as well as with industries.

  2. Effect on local and national development.

  3. Academic programmes and relation to industrial and economic trends.

(iv)      Staff Development Programme

 

(v)       Special research Features/Facilities

 

The visits themselves became imperative in the light of the assessment of the University System in Nigeria by the Committee for the Establishment of the University. This assessment had indicated that there is no University of Science and Technology or indeed any conventional University in the Country, which could serve as a model for the type of University which would meet the expectations embodied in the Terms of Reference to the Committee at its inauguration. The bulk of the high, level pioneer academic and research staff of the University would thus have to come from Universities and agencies abroad, which have developed and operate an R & D culture.

                                                                                                                            

Akwa Ibom State is a coastal state which is bounded in the south by the Atlantic Ocean. Lying between latitudes 4o28'N and 5o31'N and longitudes 7o27'E and 8o20'E, its stretches northwards from the sandy beaches of the ocean through extensive wetlands watered by tidal incursions of the ocean, to rainforest areas in its northern reaches. Apart from its oil and gas wealth, which makes it the second largest oil/gas producing state in the Federation, it is rich in solid minerals and is characterized by a large expanse of fertile land. Currently, it hosts the only aluminium producing complex in the country and is the centre of intense oil/gas exploration and production activities.

 

Given the above resource profile of the State and in the effort to maximize the gains from the above visits to international organisations, the Committee identified a number of the disciplines/bodies of scientific and technological knowledge within which the research and development activities of the University should be directed. These included:

 

  1. Electronics /Information Technology

  2. Biotechnology/Genetic Engineering

  3. Environmental Studies (including Erosion and Flood Control)

  4. Industrial Plants and Machinery Development

  5. Ship building and Naval Architecture

  6. Oil/Petroleum Technology

  7. Agriculture and Forestry

  8. Space Science and Technology

In the process of identifying these areas of knowledge, it became evident that apart from the direct beneficial catalytic effect on the industrial development of the State, the envisaged research and development activities would exert a strong positive influence on taught programmes in the University and hence on the development of the manpower resources of the State. Also, the R & D orientation of the new University would have a profound influence on the academic and administrative structures of the University, and on the expertise, experience and quality expected of the pioneer academic staff and technical expert.

Furthermore, the positioning of the University as an institution which derives its sustainability from its research and development activities which, in themselves, are directed towards the solution of the                 socio-economic problems of the State, would require close interaction between the University on one hand, and both the public and private sectors of the economy on the other. This position was to receive strong support from the experience gained from the vast majority of the Universities/agencies visited by members of the Committee.

                             

Following the submission of the Final Report of the Committee for the Establishment of the University of Technology in September, 2001, the Government of Akwa Ibom State put in place an Implementation Committee for the University later that year, as recommended in the Report.

 

In the Report, the Implementation Committee was to facilitate the implementation process for the University, through the execution of an Implementation Plan. The Committee itself was envisaged as a small, compact, results-oriented group of resource persons which would include academics and technical experts with a deep knowledge of the philosophy, objectives and strategies, as well as the modus operandi of the University, augmented by a few strategic officials of Government.

 

The Committee, with Professor Ekong E. Ekong, a Professor of Rural Sociology and Director of Academic Planning in the University of Uyo, as Chairman, operated under the overall guidance of the Governor. It had diverse responsibilities which were crystallized into a comprehensive Work Programme which included the following activities:

 

  1. Liaising with relevant agencies of Governments and parastatals towards the acquisition and survey of land for the permanent site of the University and the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment;

  2. Raising the enabling Legal Instrument for the University;

  3. Producing the Academic Brief on the University to assist in the preparation of the Master Plan for the University;

  4. Acting as the client’s representative with regard to the preparation of the Master Plan;

  5. Ensuring the appointment of key Academic and Administrative Staff to facilitate the take-off of the University.

 

Other aspects of the Work Programme, which engaged the attention of the Implementation Committee were:

  1. the renewal and enhancement of international linkages with appropriate institutions/agencies and experts, through effective liaison activities, and

  2. a vigorous public enlightenment drive, particularly at the local and national levels, given the need to carry the public along in a University enterprise in which it is a major stake holder.

Following the establishment of the Implementation Committee for the University on 14th December, 2001, the Committee prepared a comprehensive Work Programme to facilitate the discharge of its responsibilities as outlined in its Terms of Reference.

 

A number of important preliminary assignments were accomplished during the period of 2001 – 2004. These included:

 

  1. The Enabling Law of the University, which was raised through the preparation of an appropriate draft legal instrument. As a result, the Bill for the Establishment of the University, which had been passed by the House of Assembly of Akwa Ibom State, was finally signed into Law by the Governor of the State on 16th April, 2003.

  2. A comprehensive Academic Brief for the University, which was completed and presented to the Government of the State in October 2003. This document, along with the Final Report submitted by the Committee for the Establishment of the University (in two volumes) in September 2001, which served as its basis, provide the required detailed guidelines for the establishment and development of the University.

  3.  The Master Plan of the University, which is based on the two documents in (ii) above and is designed as the overall blueprint for the University was prepared by a renowned team of Master Plan Consultants and presented to Government on November 10, 2004. The Master Plan is to guide and facilitate the orderly development of the University. In this regard, it is to be observed that the University site occupies an area of about 4,000 hectares and constitute anew town in the State, which has been designated by law as University Town.

LATER DEVELOPMENTS

 

The Implementation Committee commenced the process of the recruitment of the Vice Chancellor, and key Academic Staff, Technological Experts and Administrative Officials in July, 2004 . On 21st September, 2005, the Committee formally presented its Final Report to His Excellency, Arc. (Obong) Victor Attah, the Executive Governor of the State. This report was later delivered to the Governing Council of the University which was inaugurated by the Governor later that day.

 

With the appointment of Professor Akpan H. Ekpo, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Uyo as the pioneer Vice-Chancellor, the establishment of the pioneer Governing Council with Mr. B. Ndioho, former Chairman of UAC (Nigeria) Plc, as Chairman and Pro-Chancellor of the University, and the coming on board of the first groups of academic and administrative staff, the development of Phase I of the University has commenced in earnest. Within the phase, and in line with the policy decision of the State Government, which makes no provision for a temporary site for the University, the development of the physical infrastructure for the Academic Units, the facilities for administration, as well as general support structures, at the permanent site (i.e. the University Town) are well underway.

 

Also, preparations for the enrollment of the first set of undergraduate students for the academic programmes for the six schools for the 2006/2007 academic sessions, have reached an advanced stage. The commencement of these programmes will compliment the R & D efforts of the academic and research staff, along with the commitment of the University to graduate studies. In this regard, it may be recalled that the first two batches of graduate staff trainees sponsored by the University are currently engaged in advanced studies and research in various institutions abroad.