"It is only a tree that has fruits that will get stones thrown at it" ”… Prof H O Edeoga, VC, MOUAU (Source: The Punch (August 8, Page 46))

Those who persecute me can’t even spell their names–Edoga, VC, MOUAU 

The Vice-Chancellor of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Professor Hilary Edeoga, in this interview with STEPHEN UKANDU, reacts to the allegation of corruption levelled against him and his administration

In recent times, there have been avalanche of allegations of corrupt practices levelled against you by some members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities in your school. Why did you engage in these corrupt practices?

The person who is behind all these is the former Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme Director who was removed for incompetence.   Another one is the former Continuing Education Centre Director who was also removed because he stayed in CEC as Director for five years without graduating an ant. I had to remove him and put somebody who started working hard and graduated the backlog of students. At a point under the former director, students spent several years without graduating. Another one is a former Head of Department and a Deputy Director of CEC. He scored a student 40 per cent over 30 per cent and scored every other person zero. When somebody scores such outrageous marks, what do you think happened? Then the senate decided to investigate it along with other reports against him. So, an investigation panel was set up which followed due process according to the university’s laws to investigate him. When we got to a certain stage of the due process, he went to court. Let me ask you a question; if your wife takes you to court, do you still stay under the same roof with her? When that happens, our laws say that any member of staff including the Vice Chancellor that takes the university to court should be suspended pending the determination of the matter. When that happened, he claimed that he was being persecuted because he was the former chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities. But I know that ASUU cannot condone somebody mutilating results or victimising students. ASUU will also not condone a situation where your wife is not qualified and you want her to be given an employment just because you are ASUU Chairman.

So, the grouse of my attackers was because they were not doing well and were denting the image of the university and the authorities decided to discipline them but they felt they should not be corrected. Then I refer to them as dissidents. You become a dissident when you see the right thing and say it is wrong.

But we learnt you embezzled N300 million belonging to the school?

It is all a fabricated lie by my detractors to blackmail me. The annual budget of the university is not even up to N300m. So, where did we get the money from?

What about another allegation that you awarded the building of 10 hostels to one contractor who also happens to be your kinsman?

It is a pure lie! Ten different contractors handled the 10 hostels. They were competing and that was why we were able to complete them in one year. If you like, I will mention their names. In all, they were three persons from Abia, Imo and Enugu states respectively and one from Rivers State. So how come somebody will go and publish untenable accusations against me just because he wants to cut a pound of flesh of the VC? That is why I call them dissidents. But I am not worried because it is only a tree that has fruits that will get stones thrown at it.

Most of the professors among my attackers were all promoted by me. My tenure is about ending – just seven months to go – and they want to be VC. To them, the best thing to do is to malign me so they can be justified as crusaders of good governance. How can you be a crusader of good governance when you were made a director and you failed? They want to knock my head with the indigenes so that the indigenes can support their bid because I am a non- indigene.

Since the inception of this university, this is the first time an Enugu man is becoming the VC. And this is the best time the university has ever witnessed rapid development. An Abia man was here and I was his Deputy who convinced him for us to start Veterinary Medicine, and that college never got recognition until I came on board and got the accreditation from the Veterinary Council of Nigeria. An Abia man was here as VC and as his Deputy, I suggested to him that we should start engineering programmes and he said engineering was expensive. But we started with Agric Engineering. Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria came and said we should include other branches of engineering. I was the one who came and got COREN certification for this university to be awarding degree in engineering.

Today, there is no road in this university that is not asphalted unlike before. Electricity is everywhere in the school today courtesy of my administration. We use interactive boards in all our lecture halls today contrary to chalk boards which I met when I came on board. We have Internet services. We have also expanded our programmes by introducing new ones. We have also got National Universities Commission accreditations for them. Yes I am from Enugu State but I have done more than Abia sons who have been VC here.

My persecutors make me more popular as they try to hit my head with the people. They said I brought the Public Relations Officer from my state but they didn’t know the PRO is from Isuikwuato in Abia State. They said I brought Dr. Patrick Ogwo from Enugu to head a Department not knowing he is from Abriba in Abia State. They said I brought Dr. Anyaele Uka from Enugu but he is from Item in Abia. They said I brought Mrs. Onyia Nneti from Enugu but she is from Umunneochi also in Abia. One of those persecuting me says he is a Ph.D holder yet he can’t spell his name very well. The only thing he knows is to write rubbish against me.

What gives you the backbone and impression that you are on the right track despite the avalanche of attacks against you?

My coming on board was because of the conviction of the governing council that I understand the system. I am well grounded. I have the vision and the drive. Vision without drive is meaningless. I came first in the contest for VC not because of my height but because I was part of the system. I was over 10 years as Professor when other contestants were six years. I had more than 120 publications when some of them were battling with 30 and 40. I was a two-term DVC but none of them had been. I had served outside the university system as Senior Research Adviser with SHELL Oil. I was former commissioner and none of my contestants was. I came to the interview panel with more defined vision including architectural drawing of hostels I would build if appointed as VC. I have actualised that in my first two years in office. If you see my CV and I am your enemy you will like me.

What I met here was a glorified secondary school but now this school looks like a typical university anywhere in the world. The type of electricity supply we have here is not obtainable in any other university in Nigeria. I have always strived to make this university a sample of what obtains abroad so that our people will not feel we are in a different world but the same global community.

The reactions I get from my students and most of the members of staff give me the impression that I am doing well. If you want to test my popularity, go and abuse me and my students would lynch you. I have never travelled and asked my deputy to be careful about riot. There is no need for that. Usually the two things that provoke riot in a university are lack of electricity and lack of water. But here, every hostel has dedicated borehole with dedicated generator so that even if there is no water in a particular hostel there must be water in another. Almost every college has a borehole. We have solar energy in the night and generators during the day. I bought four 800 KVA generators stationed in different locations in this university as against two bought by the entire past VCs since the inception of the university. Today we have three sources of power in the university- solar, generators and public power supply.

But in those days, some VCs would lodge the funds for all these projects in their private accounts to yield interests for them at the end of the month. But my father warned me against corruption. Our lineage is not associated with criminality and in our place; you cannot answer the name Edeoga if you do not have integrity. My father told me not to use public office to victimise others but to better their lots and that was why when I came on board, I converted about 200 casual workers to permanent staff. But the rumour now is that they are all from my village whereas over 90 per cent of them are from Abia State. My joy is that 100 per cent of the students and majority of the members of staff attest to my ingenuity and transparency. So, I am on the right track.

You sometime ago promised to commence a programme in Medicine and Surgery. How far about the project?

My joy today is that the University of Agriculture, Markurdi has College of Medicine. So what is the difference between University of Agriculture, Markurdi and Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike? The only difference is location. We even have more professors and intelligent lecturers than most of the universities in Nigeria but you know the Nigerian politics has been our problem. We have gone to National Universities Commission and we were told to go and put in place the infrastructure first. So, we have awarded contract for the construction of the permanent buildings. When we have the infrastructure on ground, we will start with Nursing, Laboratory Technology and then Medicine and Surgery.

Are you in any way embattled considering the enormity of media attacks on you?

Not at all. I have never bothered to read the said publications against me because I know I have no skeleton in my cupboard. If you see a mad man and start murmuring like him, automatically you are a mad man. Maturity makes me to maintain my cool. My detractors are against me because of several reasons including frustrations, poverty as a result of their reckless life styles, hatred, etc.

I know they can not distract me. I must press on with my vision of rapid transformation till my last day in office. I use my useful time to build myself. I have 120 publications to my credit. As VC, I still go to classes and I mark scripts. I became VC at 50 years. My Deputy left me in the University of Port Harcourt when I was in 200 levels but I promoted him to a professor. I am not embattled because I also know that VC’s job is a thankless job.

You were also accused of being involved in admission racketeering?

Admission at MOUAU is by merit. When I became VC, the quota of the university for admission used to be 1,250 students but today it has risen to over 4,000. Even at that 1,250 we hardly filled the quota then. Many people were avoiding us then because we were just a glorified university. But today, everybody wants to come to MOUAU . We now run so many programmes including Accountancy and Engineering courses. We will soon commence Mass Communication because we have the capacity. I am not doing all these because of my interest as my detractors would want the public believe. How many of my children are going to be admitted into MOUAU? But I do all these because every Nigerian child is my child and our children need university education to achieve their potential in life. Education is key in life.

Your accusers also allege that you imposed hostel fees on students.

The university management does not handle accommodation. It is only a part of it where students pay N10, 000 per session that we handle. They were the old hostels before I came on board. But the 10 new hostels I built, every room is in suit. It has 24-hour water and power supplies. Unlike off campus where a bed space costs N120, 000, what is charged by the managers of the hostel is N60, 000. But we could not even accommodate up to 2,500 students because each block has about 24 rooms times 10. So, I don’t know how they came about the N30 million they alleged that we collected from students. These facts are verifiable. What happened was that some students paid for accommodation late and the manager said that they had to wait for the next academic session when there would be space or they should come for refund. Some went and got reimbursed while some said they would wait.

Would you forgive your detractors?

The fact is that they have not even accepted that they are wrong but if they do, I am meek and what I cannot do is not to forgive sin because if I don’t forgive sin I cannot make heaven. So, if they show remorse and ask for forgiveness I will forgive them. There is room for sin, there is room for punishment and there is equally room for forgiveness after repentance.

Source: The Punch (August 8, Page 46)