Tension in COOU as students, Vice Chancellor face-off over policies

Students and the vice chancellor, Professor Greg Nwakoby, of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu University (COOU), Igbariam, Anambra state have been observed not to see eye to eye over the enforcement of some policies in the university which has led to frictions in the university within the past year.

Every new administration brings to board different policies and strategies for the smooth running of activities to achieve set goals. However, some of these policies may not go down well with the followers, often resulting in resistance to such policies.

Suffice it to say that since the incumbent vice chancellor of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu OjukwuUniversity, Igbariam, Anambra state, Prof. Greg Chukwudi Nwakoby, took over the reins of leadership from his predecessor, Prof. Fidelis Okafor, there have been series of events and drama in the Anambra state-owned university.

Recall that the students, under the umbrella of Students Union Government (SUG), had, upon the announcement of the new vice chancellor in 2018, protested for reversal of the appointment by the Visitor to the university and Anambra state governor, Chief Willie Obiano. They, in fact, demanded that the immediate past vice chancellor, be allowed to remain in office.

Our reporter reliably gathered that the students and staff of the university are at loggerheads with the new vice chancellor because of an administrative style they consider stringent in his bid to bring sanity to the university. Prof. Nwakoby, according to the students, is a disciplinarian who also churns out policies deemed unfavourable to students, in his quest to make a change.

Some of the stringent measures adopted by Nwakoby include, prompt payment of school fees (ranging from N127,000 – about N200,000) depending on one’s faculty; payment of faculty and departmental dues (ranging from 7,500 – 10,500); zero tolerance for examination malpractices; expulsion penalty to cultism; mandatory attendance to classes; expulsion for lecturers who ‘sort’ or students who abet them; modesty in dressing, among others.

The students of the university have continued to lament over their circumstances of their education in the university. When this reporter visited the campus, students who spoke with him expressed displeasure over the style of administration of the incumbent vice chancellor.

According to them, he should soft pedal in his approach if he is to successfully pilot the affairs of the university. They posited that he should, otherwise, resign and return to UNIZIK, from where the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano, brought him early 2018.

The students also expressed worry over their vulnerability, given the state of security in the university, remarking that their lives and properties were not safe.

While disclosing that series of robbery had been going on within and off the university campus, acts that had resulted in loss of valuable possessions, the visibly frightened students urged their management to beef up security in and around the campus, stressing that their security was paramount.