Varsity Founder Speaks on the Challenges in the Nation's Education Sector

Dr. Ramon Adedoyin, Founder, Oduduwa University 

The founder of Oduduwa University Ipetumodu (OUI), Dr Ramon Adegoke Adedoyin in this interview with Oluwole Ige speaks about the challenges in the nation's education sector, quality of graduates from Nigerian universities, TETFUND, the tasks of running private higher institutions, among others sundry issues. Excerpts...


Establishing a private university in Nigeria is not a tea party. How did you manage to source for the funds in founding Oduduwa University, Ipetumodu?

I have been in the business of education for a long time. I started as n home lesson teacher and God has been very kind to me because. Immediately I started, I was making it straightaway in the sense that my mother has a very fine building. So, when I advertised my school to the public, people thought I was the owner of the fine building. With the impressive signboard, people were coming in droves. Another advantage I had then was that I read mathematics in the university and I was also the teacher of mathematics because then, it was the major problem of many students. Many students came to my remedial school. That was how I started and I made a lot of money. From there, I was able to set up a polytechnic and finally a university. Nobody sponsored me to establish a university. It was through the dint of hardwork and God's support. This is why I believe there is a lot difference between myself and a motor dealer  for example who has established a university. A motor dealer might thought there is s big money in a business of a university and then established it. A big time politician can imagine there is a lot of money in university business and that is why so many of them rushed into it. If care is not taken, we could be having distressed private universities. This is because it is not a joke to establish a university. A university proprietor must be educated. It would serve as an added advantage for him or her in establishing a university. That is working for me because I have been in the business of education for over 40 years doing the same thing every now and then.

You seems to be believe that private universities does not need the financial and technical support of TETFUND. What informed that position?

We all know what happened in the past. When the government gives you money, the government believes that they have established a university or a polytechnic or secondary school for you and they have a total control over the running of the institution. If government is going to be very sincere, many universities are out there that their private provision of education is excellent, even outside Nigeria. The best universities in the United States and United Kingdom if you rate the best seven, they are all private universities. People wants private type of education, but they have the money or means to get it. So, if the government really want to spend money on private universities, the best way to do it is to give that money to individual students, who want to come and study in the universities. The government can approach it in such a way that if the school fees in that private university if N450,000 per session, the government can pay the money. They may not pay such money directly to the student or university in that format. They can find out about the critical project that the institution want to implement such as library. If the library is going to gulp about N450 million, the government can build it and if the sum is equivalent to the tuition fees of some number of students that government want to sponsor, then the students may be exempted from paying. The federal government can say that we have 70 private universities and decide to construct 70 model libraries or 70 model lecture theatres. So, in this regard, there is no need for TETFUND. People agitating for TETFUND have not thought deep and have no actually learnt from the past about government releasing money to private universities.

From this standpoint, you don't really support government releasing  money to private universities

I don't personally support it, but I say that most of the proprietors of private universities wanted federal government money, while some of them were clamouring for the non payment of taxes to government with the argument that government does not give anything in return to them.

As one of the stakeholders in the education sector, what is the major bane of the nation's education sector?

With my experience, I believe that the government is not serious enough with the provision of education to the citizenry. I have an advantage because of my ownership of a university in the United States of America and Ghana. I am able to compare three good countries when it comes to university education. I have discovered that private provision of university education in the US for example is excellent if you are able to invest your money in the country. In Nigeria, of you invest your money in the establishment of a private university and you want to get a return for such investment, it may not be possible in the next 10 years. Whereas if you invest your money in university education in the US, you may start getting your money back almost immediately.

Why is this not feasible in Nigeria?

Maybe because they said we don't have money here. But, cases of wasted funds are abound here and there. We have heard about stolen money by public office holders. Though, we don't really known whether this is true, but if it is true that the stolen money are actually from Nigeria, I think that something is wrong with the system and as soon as that is taken care of, I believe that such money can be effectively utilised in developing our education sector. All these monies being stolen and stashed in foreign countries for the purchase of high rising buildings and other properties should be recovered and used for the education and other critical sectors. But, because these people who stole the money are afraid that such funds can be traced or retrieved, that is why they ferry it abroad. I was in Dubai recently and they thought I was a politician due to the type of hotel accommodation I took for myself and they came to me with the idea of selling property to me. I was taken in a limousine to see the property, but they were disappointed when I told them that I was not interested in buying the property. This is how they usually entice our politicians.

As an educationist, If you have a chance in meeting the Minister for Education or President Muhammadu Buhari, what advice would you offer anyone of them in revamping the nation's education sector?

I would advise our leaders to take a cue from the political leadership in the United States of America. I had once sponsored my daughter university education in the US. But, because my daughter was not a citizen of the US, she paid a lot of money. Their citizens were just paying a peanut. When my daughter was paying about $10,000, the citizens were paying about $100. You can imagine the wide difference and this is still happening in the US. They call it education loans, so if your tuition fee in private university is about $70,000, who is going to pay it, it is the government. When you finish your education programme in the university, they  will now be taking the money back. They can assume that you are going to live for the next 100 years and spread the payment. Is that not good? If somebody is going to give me a collateral free loan, I would take the loan. I think our government should learn from that and give indirect free education to all Nigerians who are serious about acquiring education. Some people might think it would affect private universities or schools, it would not because when you say your school fees is $10,000, the government would still pay that $10,000 to the private schools and the school is still going to remain private. Our government have not done very well about educating Nigerians. They need to improve seriously on that, particularly on funding. On other areas, you can see that today ASUU would embark  strike and tomorrow, it would be the turn of NASU and this why people now prefer private universities to public universities because four years education would not exceed four years duration. Similarly, in private universities, the owner and managements cannot condone social vices like sexual harassment and cultism.

There are fears in some quarters that the quality of graduates, being churned out of public and private universities are nothing to write home. What is your take on this worrisome development and what can be done to address this challenge?

The private universities are already working to tackle this problem. I remember I was talking to the Vice Chancellor of my university and I directed him to create ENG 001, 002, 003 and 004. Then, he told me that they already had a course in the use of English. But, I told him my idea was different from the Use of English , I said let us call these students one by one and ask them to write essay with their handwriting and any student who fails to pass all these basic things would not be allowed to graduate from our university. There was  a lecturer with Masters in English Language, who we invited to our university and the guy performed so bad. Then, I wrote a letter to the registrar of that university where he graduated to ascertain if he bagged the MA from their university. Up till now, they never called me or reply the letter I forwarded to them. The situation is so bad. I think it may not be the fault of that university. I am of the view that the background of such fellow was faulty. Our background is so poor and it starts from the nursery and primary schools to the secondary school before it gets to the university. Apart from that, our sentiments about passing is another issue. Do you know that some parents would call us (proprietors) that we pay a lot of money, how did you fail our wards, but we will let them know that it is not about money, but about the quality and the image of our university. The government should critically look at the foundation in addressing the rots and quality in our education sector.

What is your projection for Oduduwa University  in the next 10 years?

Right now, the university is just nine years old. The university has gone beyond Dr Ramon Adegoke Adedoyin and I even find it very difficult to sit down inside the university other than my usual driving through the premises of the university and go out. This is because, I have discovered that I cannot cope sitting down inside the university. The institution is going places and we are not resting on our oars to ensure that we improve on our ranking among the best universities in Nigeria and Africa through qualitative provision of tertiary education to the people at affordable cost.