Merit Over Zoning: A Call For Integrity In Federal University Leadership

We descend into an abysmal level when we carry our legendary propensity to politicize everything in this country — to ethnize, sectionalize, and dichotomize every issue under the guise of zoning. While it is acceptable to zone positions that are purely political — such as the Presidency, Governorship, or seats in the State and National Assemblies — there must be certain grey areas we do not attempt to zone. Otherwise, we risk institutionalizing mediocrity and creating endless fronts for our everyday struggles to have things go our way.

The University of Calabar is a Federal Government institution. It is among the universities established after the tragic civil war of 1970 — a conflict that was the culmination of centrifugal, centripetal, and fissiparous forces which laid the foundation for the military takeover of 1966. The core objective of the universities founded during that period was to promote national unity and integration.

The University of Calabar has students and staff drawn from all parts of Nigeria. Therefore, any academic staff member of the University who meets the criteria for appointment as Vice Chancellor can be appointed — regardless of ethnicity, race, gender, state of origin, local government of origin, or senatorial district. It is, therefore, sheer balderdash and utter bunkum to reduce the race for Vice Chancellor of a Federal University to considerations of zoning based on senatorial district, local government, or ethnic group.

This is precisely why the Federal Government, rightly and wisely, appointed Vice Chancellors from outside the old Cross River State in the 1980s and 1990s. These included Professor Emmanuel Ayankanmi Ayandele and Professor Adamu Mohammed — and the heavens did not fall.

I therefore, see no reason certain individuals from our state should seek to arrogate, sectionalize, ethnicitize, or zonize the appointment of the Vice Chancellor of the University — to the exclusion of qualified academics currently serving there. Such efforts are in utter disregard of the constitutional provisions embedded in Section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which guarantees freedom from discrimination and promotes inclusivity in public institutions.

Let merit, competence, and integrity be our guiding principles — not the divisive politics of zoning. The future of our institutions depends on it.

@ Okoi Obono-Obla