Opinion

I am a Professor

Published

3 years ago

September 26, 2021

Abdelgaffar Amoka

I have been to different offices and saw congratulatory posters and calendars of senior colleagues to celebrate their promotion to the rank of Professor. Some of this new culture always reminds me of the likes of Dr. Bala Usman that were more than qualified to be Professors but decided not to be. But here we are today celebrating the rank with posters, calendars, customized written pads, etc. I didn’t know the origin of the culture of making a professorial congratulation calendar, but it appears to be a general practice in recent times. Congratulatory messages for the appointment/promotion to the rank have even been upgraded to newspaper advertorials. I find this to be contrary to the principles of academics.

What is in the rank of Professor to celebrate by the individuals, family, or friends? It is supposed to be another facet of the life of an academic with more responsibilities, more headaches, and so many academic and community expectations. You should rather be congratulating the university for having another professor as that suppose to be a plus to the university’s profile in terms and grant-winning, capacity building, and national/global ranking. The university at that level is supposed to be relying on you, as a professor, to attract research grants and mentor its seasoned academics and researchers.

I think the best form of individual celebration of the promotion to that exalted rank is an Inaugural Lecture where you present how far you have come to earn the exalted position and the future research path you have created for the younger academics (your mentees) to fit it in. That path is supposed to bring funds to the university. But that is sometimes not the case here. Instead, we hold onto university politics.

The first time I had close contact with a Professor was in the late 80s when I got to know that Dr. Sunday Asun, my father’s cousin was a Professor at the University of Jos. I was like wow! Professor in our family? He was like a superhuman to me. He was much adored and held in high esteem by all of us till he passed away and he is still a reference point till today. Whenever he travelled home, as a child, I always wonder what was in his head. To me, he knows everything as a Professor. He co-authored a Biology textbook for Senior secondary students, that was shortly after 6-3-3-4 was introduced, and his nephew, who was my classmate, got some copies while we were in SS1. I was so excited to see the name of someone I know as the author of a book. We were so happy to show the book to our classmates and with an emphasis that the Author is our uncle.

I rated academics very high right from the time I was a child. I had little or no exposure but I admire Teachers/Lecturers and the only Professor I know. Their characteristic afro-like hair with those patches of grey hair was so adorable to me. Professors are to me, the finest people to have existed and Professor Asun was my idol.

I got to the university with that mindset and found myself in Physics by accident. I was first taught by a Professor in my second year at the university. Though I didn’t like the idea of studying physics at that time, but I was so pleased to be taught by a Professor. It was an unbelievable experience receiving a lecture from a Professor. The quality of thought is different. You can feel that thing that made them Professors. In my final year, one of the Professors was able to make me find something to love in Physics. That was the first time I heard of “optical fibre” and the role of physics and the concept of “total internal reflection” in endoscopy in medicine and optic fibre communication. And further interactions with him made me start considering the idea of choosing academia as a career path. His humility was unbelievable. There is nothing like a nonsense question. He was prepared to answer all your questions. Professor N. Hariharan doesn’t wait for you till you come around, he looks for you if the need arises.

Then I eventually got into academics in 2005 and I realized it wasn’t as I had fantasized over the years. The reality I met was not exactly like my idea of academics over the years. I realized that what existed up to the late 80s and possibly mid-90s was quite different. The university system has degraded seriously and has affected the quality of thought. Underfunding and poor welfare had impacted negatively to the system over time. As at the period I joined, academics were just trying to survive. No research fund, no motivation. The quality of teaching and research had eroded. I was sort of disappointed and discouraged.

Of course, it is publish or perish in academia. Even though the research output was near zero for lack of funds and incentives, nobody want to perish. So everyone still publishes anyhow in order not to perish. All sorts of so-called university journals were floated for promotion’s sake. Publication in journals abroad used to be considered during the promotion to professorial cadre but it became silent. For those that still want to have a feeling that they have international journal papers, predatory journals like Journal of Innovative Research in Computer Science & Technology (IJIRCST), International Journal of Innovative Research in Engineering & Management (IJIREM), etc, were floated where you pay and get your paper published without proper peer-review.

There is this one that Prof Sa’ad Tukur, the former VC of FUT Minna termed as “communal effort”. One talented individual did work but helped colleagues come along by putting their names on the paper and called it group research and publications. This is possibly one of the reasons why some Nigerian universities discourage group publications. It is in reality, not a group publication.

All these have possibly led to the production of Professors that may not exactly be qualified for the rank judging from the quality of their ideas. They have the journal requirement for promotion but may have never attended an international conference or publish in any indexed international journal or won any research grant. Of course, these may not be part of the promotion requirements in that university.

There have been efforts to address this issue and some Vice-Chancellors are now emphasizing the need to publish in index journals. It will internationalize the research work of Nigerian academics and also enhance the visibility of the researcher and the affiliated universities in the research World.

The University of Ilorin for example has ranked journals in their promotion guidelines. The value attached to an article published in Q1 is like 4 times higher than the value attached to an article in a non-index university-based journal. We hope other universities will tow the path of Unilorin.

While these VCs are making efforts to take us back to the path of glory, a university recently appointed a serving Minister as a Professor. The last academic rank of the Minister was an Assistant Professor in a university in Saudi Arabia. The Nigerian University was either misguided in the appointment or somebody was convinced that an Assistant Professor in Saudi Arabian university is equivalent to a Reader in a Nigerian university. And interestingly, the people that often criticize the rot in our university did not see anything wrong in the unusual academic appointment but congratulating the “Professor” and calling the criticism envious or what they call “Hassada” in the Hausa language. I never knew our moral values have gone this low.

Envy? Academia is our constituency and we have the responsibility to defend it from internal and external aggression. If we don’t defend our constituency, no one will. If I need to envy anyone in this government, I think it should be the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Gambari. He was a distinguished academic and diplomat that was still found worthy of service in his 70s. I read profiles like his and their academic achievement and I wonder if I will be proud to be called a Professor looking at our limitations and my research output. He was a visiting professor to 3 universities in the US between 1986 and 1989. Can my academic and research output in our current setting earned me such when I become a Professor?

I read the biography of Prof. Ibrahim Gambari and I realized how much we have lost it. Prof Gambari who received his BSc (Econs) degree from the London School of Economics (1968) and his MA and PhD in Political Science/International Relations (1970, 1974) from Columbia University, USA was employed as a Lecturer at Queen’s College, the City University of New York in 1969 and later became an ASSISTANT PROFESSOR at the State University of New York from 1974 to 1977.

He returned to Nigeria to work as a SENIOR LECTURER at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, in 1977, where he rose to become a professor in 1983. He was appointed as a Minister and returned to Ahmadu Bello University in 1985 before he was later appointed the Nigerian Ambassador to the United Nations.

The point to note is that the revered and highly respected Prof Gambari returned to Nigeria as an Assistant Professor to pick the job of Senior Lecturer and not the job of a Professor. Even though Prof Sa’ad Tukur said there is no generalized NUC rule on promotion/appointment, and that every university decides on who to appoint as a Professor, but there seems to be no documented evidence that any university in Nigeria has appointed a politician or any other person who was an Assistant Professor with papers in predatory journals as Professor. FUTO is possibly setting that pace for others to follow.

Now that politicians are now feeling that the title “Dr.” is getting too common among themselves and the PhD holders among them are now interested in the title “Prof.” to distinguish themselves, we can possibly create honorary professors in our universities to make the acquisition of the title easier and less controversial. It may even be a source of revenue generation for our underfunded universities.

Anybody can have the “Dr” title at the moment. So, anyone should also be able to acquire the “Prof” title too. Let’s just pantamize the title and make it easier to be acquired. We can all be Profs!

Meanwhile, we are not envious of Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim. Some of us in academics just want to set the record straight. He can still be a Professor, there is no doubt about it, but he needs to take the path of the likes of Prof. Ibrahim Gambari. The title does not make a man but what is in him.

©Amoka

Related Topics:Abdelgaffar Amoka Gwamnati NUC Pantami University

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Let President Tinubu Rename University of Lagos After Gowon, Not Abuja

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Nigerian Tracker

Adnan Mukhtar Tudun Wada

I was not happy when Northwest University Kano was renamed to Yusuf Maitama Sule University, as student leaders of that University then, we followed the interest of the students who were also not happy with the renaming at that time for one reason; the renaming was politically motivated, to hurt the founder of the institution Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso. I was busy mobilising students to protest, the next day I was invited to the DSS for questions where I spent hours and all the people we were mobilising the protest together ran and dissociated themselves from it. I have no option but to plead with the DSS to release me, assuring them that not a single student would protest the government’s action.

The renaming has affected many students who are seeking admission abroad; it’s Northwest University on my transcript and Yusuf Maitama Sule University on my certificate. This is kinda confusing and not good at all.

Politicians should immortalise individuals in their new projects not existing ones. The renaming of the University of Abuja to Yakubu Gowon University is not good for the university’s alumni.

The President should have found a new project or built a new University by naming it after the former Head of State.

I don’t support the idea of playing politics by renaming our universities and this happens mostly in Nigeria.

Imagine waking up renaming the University of Maiduguri to Mohammed Goni University, Yobe State University to Ibrahim Geidam University, the University of Ibadan to Abiola Ajimobi University, the University of Lagos to Lateef Jakande University.

It will be bad for the alumni of the aforementioned universities to come across this.

Why is this only happening in Africa? Look at Makerere University in Uganda, it was established in 1920 but despite Yoweri Mosevenni’s long reign; he didn’t for once attempt to change it to even his name for selfish reasons.

He didn’t think of renaming the Entebbe International Airport after him but in Nigeria, we have this culture of renaming everything after individuals.

If you want to be immortalised, leave a lasting legacy as Gowon did in establishing NYSC. That enough is Okay and better than naming an institution after him.

President Tinubu should have renamed the University of Lagos after Gowon, not Abuja. I’m sure his people will reject this not for any reason but because of the large number of people that will be affected by it.

The University of Abuja Alumni were all crying over this painful decision.

Opinion

Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya: Champion of Civil Society and Good Governance in Northern Nigeria

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Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya, is an influential Civil Society figure in Kano State and Northern Nigeria. He is currently serving as the Executive Director, Citizens for Development and Education (CDE), he has dedicated many years of his civil society activism as advocate for the promotion of democracy, good governance, anti-corruption, peace building and women empowerment

Amb. Waiya, holds number of academic qualifications, including a Higher National Diploma in Public Administration from Kano State Polytechnic, a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, Master’s in Public International Law at Maryam Abacha, American University, Maradi, and he is currently pursuing a doctor of philosophy at Skyline University, Kano in International Relations

In the course of his career, he held several positions and managed a number of projects. He served as the Director, Alhilal Foundation, from 2003 to 2007, an organization which focused on women empowerment, through basic literacy and skills acquisition. He later coordinated the North West Zonal Office of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Foundation. Amb. Ibrahim Waiya, led and coordinated a number of Local Government Councils Elections Observation missions across 19 Northern states.

In 2011, Waiya managed the Campaign against Drug Abuse under the auspices of Northern Youth Assembly, a youth driven platform with leadership structures in the Nineteen Northern States. He served as Secretary, for both, Kano State Stakeholders Committee on Anti-Drug Abuse Campaign and Kano State Stakeholders Committee on Anti-Child Abuse, a project which was coordinated by the office of the Special Adviser, Child Welfare and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency. His involvement in election observation coordination missions and various public engagements, highlights his commitment to civic engagement towards community development, democracy and good governance

Waiya’s extensive experience includes free consultancy support services to numerous Government Ministries and Agencies such as: Kano State Ministry for Women Affairs and Social Development, Kano State Ministry for Community and Rural Development, office of the Special Adviser to the Governor of Kano State on Child Welfare, Ministry for Special duties, office of the special adviser, joint security services. He has facilitated numerous training workshops and seminars, impacting his knowledge, skills, experience on the community, particularly for community based organizations

In recognition of his contributions, he was appointed to several key positions, such as the President, of the Kano Civil Society Forum, Chairman of the Conference of Northern States Civil Society Networks, Convener, Nigeria for Peace Project, Managing partner, United Nigeria Project, Head of Secretariat, Kano Peace Committee, Secretary General, National Action for Women Agenda,(NAWA), chairman, Board of Trustees, Northern Youth Assembly, (Majalisar Matasan Arewa) Fellow, Institute of Security and Strategic Studies, Fellow, Institute of International Peace and Secure Society, Fellow, Institute of Business Diplomacy and Financial Management, member, Commission of Inquiry on Missing persons, member, Implementation Committee, on the Recommendations of the Report of the Commission of inquiry on missing persons, member, Commission of Inquiry to investigate, various political violence and cases of missing persons, that occurred in the State from 2015 – 2023, member, Commission of inquiry to investigate protest, arson and destruction of public and private properties that occurred from 1st – 10th August, 2024 Amb. Waiya, served as Consultant on various government projects, such as: Kano State Security Trust Fund, Safe Corridor, Campaign against Drug Abuse, across the 44 Local Government Council Areas. Amb. Waiya”s active participation in peace building, policy advocacy and legislative reform has continued to impact positive change in Kano State, the North and Nigeria at large.

Opinion

“I Transition to PR and Digital Marketing to Transform Brands Globally” – Ibrahim Ayyuba Isah

Published

1 week ago

December 15, 2024

Nigerian Tracker

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As 2024 comes to a close, Ibrahim Ayyuba Isah reflects on his journey from journalism to public relations (PR) and digital marketing. With over a decade of experience in media and communications, Ibrahim’s transition was fueled by a desire to empower businesses—starting with Northern Nigeria but extending globally—to build impactful narratives and achieve sustainable growth.

“Every brand, regardless of location, deserves access to the tools and expertise needed to thrive in today’s fast-paced world,” Ibrahim says. “My goal has always been to bridge the gap in strategic communication, ensuring that no business is left behind.”

From Journalism to Strategic Communication

Ibrahim’s illustrious journalism career spans over a decade, during which he served as a Senior Reporter at TVC News, covering critical developments, including the Kano State Government House for three successive administrations. His work involved breaking major news stories, producing multimedia content, and engaging audiences through digital platforms.

“I’ve always been passionate about communication, but I realized I wanted to do more than report stories—I wanted to help brands craft their own,” Ibrahim shares. “That’s what led me to pivot into PR and digital marketing.”

To equip himself for this new journey, Ibrahim pursued advanced studies, earning a Master’s in Communication Studies and a Master’s in Public Relations from Bayero University, Kano. He further honed his expertise with a Professional Certificate in Digital Marketing from the London School of Business Administration and a Master Diploma in Digital Marketing from the Digital Marketing Skills Institute. These credentials underscore his commitment to mastering the art of strategic communication.

Empowering Brands Through Ayrah Media Concept

As the CEO of Ayrah Media Concept (AMC), Ibrahim leads a PR and creative agency that provides businesses with tailored solutions, including PR consulting, social media management, corporate campaigns, and digital marketing.

“My vision is to empower brands to connect with their audiences, tell compelling stories, and achieve global relevance,” Ibrahim explains. “Through AMC, we’re showing businesses—whether in Northern Nigeria or beyond—that they can reach new heights with the right strategies.”

In 2024, AMC worked on several impactful campaigns, including Ibrahim’s role as a Lead Consultant for the WOFAN-ICON2 project in partnership with Mastercard Foundation, where he developed and executed PR and communication strategies to amplify the project’s impact.

Changing Perceptions and Building Bridges

Transitioning into PR and digital marketing came with challenges, including shifting perceptions about its value.

“Many businesses see PR and digital marketing as optional rather than essential,” Ibrahim says. “But the results are transformative. Strategic communication is not just about visibility; it’s about building trust, credibility, and lasting connections with your audience.”

This philosophy drives Ibrahim’s approach, ensuring that businesses of all sizes—whether local startups or established corporations—can access high-quality PR and marketing services.

Looking Ahead

Ibrahim’s vision for the future extends far beyond regional boundaries. While his roots and passion lie in Northern Nigeria, his focus is on creating strategies that resonate globally.

“Brands in Kano, Lagos, Abuja, or even New York share a common goal: to connect with people and make an impact,” he says. “My mission is to ensure that every business, regardless of size or location, has the tools and strategies to achieve that.”

In 2025, Ibrahim plans to document his professional journey in a book that will explore his experiences as a journalist and PR expert, offering insights into the evolving landscape of communication and its role in business success.

A Message of Gratitude

As he reflects on the year, Ibrahim expresses his gratitude to those who have supported his journey. “I’m incredibly thankful to my mentors, collaborators, and clients who have believed in my vision. Together, we’ve shown that impactful communication has the power to transform lives and businesses.”

With a clear vision and an unwavering commitment to excellence, Ibrahim Ayyuba Isah is poised to lead the way in redefining PR and digital marketing, not just in Nigeria but across the globe.