UNIVERSITY OF JOS (UNIJOS) PLANS RELOCATION TO PERMANENT SITE.
After over three decades of operating on its temporary site, the management of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) is making concerted efforts to move to its permanent site on Kaduna-Bauchi road.
Its Vice-Chancellor, Prof Hayward Babale Mafuyai, who made this known in Jos, lamented that the relocation has been a battle the management has been waging since1975. The main challenge that has hampered the relocation can be traced to failure to claim its take-off grants from the Federal Government since inception even when younger universities have got theirs.
He said: “The gradual movement commenced several years back with the movement of three of its faculties to the permanent site where the library complex of the institution had to be converted to classrooms and offices to mark the beginning of academic activities.
“Why should the Federal Government single us out to deny us our take-off grant when other second generation universities across Nigeria got theirs long ago, and had since moved to their permanent site? If the government has appreciated the fact that we have a peculiar problem at the University of Jos, they would have been more forthcoming in helping us in solving some of our problems.
“This university is a second generation university and the only one in that category that is still operating on its temporary site. What is responsible for this, we cannot say. Moving to the permanent site is not the kind of project our statutory allocation can solve. The cost of setting up the administrative block alone costs over a billion naira.The development of the permanent site needs a special intervention from the government.
“We have been appealing to government year-in, year-out on that issue, but nobody seemed to be listening to those appeals. How long should we continue to bear the risks of operating from three different campuses as a university?
The university went so close towards getting a take-off grant during president Obasanjo’s administration. Obasanjo responded positively by approving N1billion to develop the permanent site, but from all indication, the school authorities have not been able to get the money till this moment.”
Owing to lack of funds, the universityhas been operating from three different campuses within Jos city, the permanent site; temporary site, and the old campus on Murtala Muhammed Way, Jos.
The three pioneering faculties are: faculties of Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences.
Education.
Majority of its faculties such as Medical Sciences, Management Studies, and Administration as well as some academic and administrative complex, are left to operate from the temporary site with its attendant security challenges.
Despite the frustration, Mafuyai believes that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan will open windows of opportunities, to access the grant.
Mafuyai is also hoping to leverage on the goodwill of successful old students of the university to raise funds.
“The university will exploit fully the opportunity of the alumni members occupying privileged position in the current administration. We can boast of the person of Mr Anyim Pius Anyim, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation ( SGF). About four of the ministers are our alumni. Three of the governors are our alumni, as well as numerous lawmakers at the national and state assemblies. Very soon, we shall take our cry to them and I strongly believe they will listen to us,” he said.
He said the Advancement Office is mobilising the over 40,000 alumni members to support their alma mater financially, an effort that is yielding positive results.
Its funding challenges notwithstanding, Mufuyai said the university’s commitment to academic excellence is not in doubt.
The management is projecting to be second to none among universities in Nigeria, just as it aspires to be one of the best 10 in Africa, and also rank among the best 100 in the world.
I truly understand the flight of this university.i sincerely hope and pray that the goverment would sort out the problem that unijos is currently facing,it's really disturbing to see a great institution as this university operating from three different location as a school,i think something needs to be done,maybe the federal goverment should come to their aid.