Proposed Dominion University not for profit making –Bishop Taiwo Adelakun

Bishop Taiwo Adelakun

Bishop Taiwo Adelakun is the presiding bishop of Victory International Church, promoter of the proposed Dominion University. In this interview with Sulaimon Olanrewaju, the bishop says the dearth of God-fearing managers and leaders in Nigeria is the gap that the proposed university wants to bridge. Excerpts:

What is the vision of the proposed Dominion University?
The proposed Dominion University is going to be a specialised university for management sciences. The vision behind it stems from an observation I made. There are six continents on planet earth, Africa is one of them. Out of all the continents, Africa is the most naturally endowed with resources.

Despite the resources of Africa, the continent is still the poorest. So, the problem is not with availability of resources, it is with management of resources and management. That is what we are out to address. We may not go into medicine and all courses like that but we will offer core management courses like Accounting, Business Administration etc. Then we are bringing some new courses being offered in advanced countries that are not available here. Knowledge is dynamic and we have to be dynamic too. That is the reason behind the university. It is a management-oriented university.

One of the factors responsible for the problem of Africa and Nigeria is bad leadership. Will the university be addressing that?
Leadership is part of management. A political leader must know how to manage people. Resources comprise of both human and material. So, the management of both human and material resources is what the university is cut out to address.

What informed the choice of name for the university?
When man was created, God said let him have dominion over every other thing. Man was made to be the crown of God’s creation; to be in charge and to manage the estate of God. But that is not happening in Africa, that is what we want to address, that is why it is called Dominion. We want to train men to take charge.

God told Adam to dress the garden, to bring out the fullness of potentials in the garden. That is what we have in mind for calling it Dominion University, to bring out the best in the students.

How far have you gone with getting the proposed university off the ground?
There are 10 stages, we are now in stage three. We trust God for speed. We have collected the form, we have gone for interactive session with the NUC (National Universities Commission) and we are submitting all the required papers after the proclamation. Then, we will invite the NUC for the first visit. That is why we are trying to get the structures ready for them to inspect.

Setting up a university involves a lot of money. How do you intend to raise funds for the project?
When there is vision that comes from God, there will always be provision. I believe that one of the primary roles of the church is to be the salt of the earth; to be the light of the world. Any investment made on the coming generation is not a waste. I can tell you that establishing a university is not a business venture, it is highly capital intensive. But we have seen the favour of God since we stepped out in faith. The currency that pays all things is faith. So, He has been providing for us and God’s people have been faithful.

So, what changes do we expect with the coming of Dominion University?
You will see a university that will not do anything that it is not accredited to do. You will see a university that will play by the rule. You will see a university that is not out for money. You will see a university that trains students on how to manage their lives and resources.

Talking about personnel, how do you intend to get qualified hands to run the university? Don’t forget that since we have so many universities now, there is a challenge of getting good hands?
The one who gave us the assignment has chosen the people and they will come from far and near. Some will come from outside of the country. Some people from some of the established universities are already applying. These are people who believe in the vision of Dominion University that Africa must be rescued from mismanagement. Then, we will get lecturers from other African countries.

When do we expect Dominion University to take off?
As soon as we get the licence. We trust God that before the end of this year we will get the licence then we can announce when we will take off.

You still have seven steps to go....?
God has promised us speed. By the time I am addressing a press conference in June, I will be able to say this is when we are going to start.

What kind of structure do you have on the ground?
The structures on the ground now are the administrative block, lecturers’ offices, lecture theatre, seminar room, the library and the canteen. What remains now is the hostel for the first 500 students.

So, it is going to be residential?
Yes. Most of the lecturers will also live on campus. This is so that we can maximise the use of time in training the students. We want to have enough time to train the spirit and soul. The soul is for education and the spirit for Godly values.

Are you partnering with any group in establishing the university?
Dominion University is solely funded and owned by Rehoboth Cathedral Victory International Church. There is no partnership with anybody, only with God and our people.

The billion naira HSC-induced capital flight

Dr. Igwe Aja-Nwachukwu,
Education Minister

The Federal Government in 1986, following the introduction of the 6-3-3-4 system of education, scrapped the Higher School Certificate (HSC) programme in Nigerian secondary schools. However, many private schools still prepare students for Advanced Level examinations of foreign countries resulting in huge capital flight. Sulaimon Olanrewaju reports.

EVERY year, university admission-seeking Nigerian students pay billions of naira to write Advanced Level examinations of foreign countries. According to a source in one of the schools preparing students for the foreign examinations, the cheapest of the examinations costs N62,000. This is exclusive of tuition fees, which range between N150,000 and N500,000 per student.

The craving for foreign A’ Level has been on the increase in recent times. This, principally, stems from the increasing difficulties that university admission-seeking-students face in their quest for university education. It is not uncommon for a student to write the examination four or five times before being able to secure admission. Thus, many students believe that one sure way of beating the stringent conditions associated with passing University Matriculation Examination (UME) is taking and passing A’ Level examination, which ensures direct admission into the universities.

However, the Federal Government had, as a result of the 1986 National Policy on Education, scrapped the Higher Secondary School system in the country. This was meant to allow secondary school students go through a six-year programme that would ensure that those with the intellectual capacity proceed to the university while others with flair for technical education would go to the polytechnic or the technical college.

But that has not worked out according to plan as students still have to slug it out, irrespective of their Ordinary Level examination results before gaining admission into higher institutions. Until the scrapping of A’ Level examination, a number of schools prepared students for the A’ Level examination organized by the West African Examination Council (WAEC). The examination body only charged a token for the examination while the schools charged a reasonable fee. But with the scrapping of the local A’ Level and the provision of an alternative by private schools, a lot of money has been going offshore as a result of the search for foreign A’ Level certificates by Nigerian students.

In Oyo State, an estimated 1,000 students sit for foreign A’ Level examinations each year. Going by the cheapest rate of N62,000 for an examination, it means a sum of N62 million is expended by students every year. In Lagos, a total of 10,000 students yearly sit for foreign A’ Level examinations, this amounts to N620 million every year. In Kano State 500 students sit for the examinations, while 1,000 students write the examination in Abuja. The two cities present about 1,500 students for the examination. This amounts to about N93 million annually. 500 students also sit for the examination in Kaduna, which amounts to N31 million yearly. In Port Harcourt, about 1,000 students annually sit for the examination which amounts to N62 million.

Just in six of the 36 states in the country, a total amount of N878 million is lost to capital flight as a result of government’s failure to enforce its rule. By the time the cost expended by students sitting for the examination in other states is added to the above, it runs into billions of naira every year.

Commenting on this development, Barrister Bode Ayorinde, Pro-Chancellor, Achievers University, Owo, described it as saddening because the amount lost to other countries as a result of this could be put to good use for the good of the people.

“Why should the government scrap the Higher School Certificate in the country when it knew that it would allow Nigerian students to partake in A’ Level examinations organised by foreign examination bodies? The country loses a lot of money yearly to these foreign examination bodies. This is money that could have stayed in the country if the government had done the right thing”, he said.

Ayorinde counseled the government to choose between allowing indigenous examination bodies to conduct the examination and disallowing the use of A’ Level result as a criterion for university admission.

Speaking in a similar vein, Professor Adedeji Awoniyi, an educational consultant, said the government had to be decisive on what should happen to A’ Level in the country. Awoniyi, a retired Professor of the University of Ibadan, tracing the genesis of HSC in the country, said it was part of the educational culture inherited from Britain.

The Professor of Early Childhood Education added that the bodies behind the examinations as well as the schools preparing the students for the examination were in it because of the money in it. “These people are just cashing in on the noticeable lapse in the system. They are doing it for the love of money not because they love education or the students”, he said. ”Unfortunately, the money does not stay in the country. So much money is lost to other countries because we cannot make up our minds on what exactly we want.”

He therefore called on the government to stop offering university admission to holders of A’ Level certificates. “That way, an end will come to the extortion that goes on in the name of education. On the other hand, if the government feels that it wants to return A’ Level, so be it. But I think the government should just stop the whole thing altogether.”

Awoniyi added that the influx of A’ Level holders causes series of problems for universities as they are often confused as to the number of spaces to be allocated to them during admission. “It is often a two-way loss for the students”, Awoniyi said. “They pay a lot for the A’ Level examination and they still have to struggle to get admitted. Many of them even have to resort to taking the UME before they are able to secure admission. So, what is the use of spending so much to get A’ Level? The government should just stop offering admission to holders of A’ Level.”

The question is if a government stops a programme locally should it keep quiet when a platform is provided by local organisations for beneficiaries to access the same from other places, especially when this results in loss of revenue to the country? The time to act is now.