- written by Dr. Okey Obi Dike -
US News and World Report in 2010 published list of best 1000 universities in the world, Imo State University failed to make the list. The same year, the same world renowned magazine, published a list of African’s best 100 universities, again, IMSU failed to make the list. A local accreditation research institute, published list of Nigerian’s top 20 universities, shockingly; IMSU did not make the list.
University’s ranking affects the credibility of the certificates that bears the seal of the institution. School ranking affects how employers treat the graduates of that college in the job market. A university’s ranking also affects the schools ability to attract top high school graduates to enroll in the institution. The ranking also attracts research funds for the faculty and scholarship money for the students. To be in the big league of first class universities, ranking in the top ten (10%) percent is a matter of necessity.
Imo State University’s poor ranking demeans the value of the degrees it offers and the students’ competiveness in the job market.
Environment is generally known to be an important factor for conducive studies, thus an important element for quality education. The current IMSU campus was not designed for university education. It is the opinion of this writer and studies have confirmed it, that the near market environment were IMSU is currently located is not conducive for serious studies. The chaos affects the students ability to get quality education.
IMSU students enter the university with the same qualifications as students in universities of Ibadan, Ife and other schools that rank higher than IMSU. IMSU faculty are as qualified in terms of degrees and experience as the members of the faculty of the universities that are ranked higher than IMSU. The students entering IMSU has the intellectual wherewithal to excel. Our analysis has to center of the external factors that affects the performance of the school, resulting in the low ranking. The other higher ranked schools like IMSU, suffer also has problem of funding.
The big stand out difference is in the university environment.
The other schools are built in an environment specifically designed for university education. IMSU is built on an environment designed for secondary school. The current campus was designed for Owerri Girls Secondary School. The campus does not have an enabling environment for competitive university studies. The buildings are depressing at best and the faculty are scattered all over Owerri metropolis.
It’s no secret that improving the quality of education in the the state is the centerpiece of Owelle’s government. That includes improving the infrastructure of educational institutions. If you are a Governor, and you campaigned to improve the quality of education in your state, what do you do with IMSU. Do you accept the mediocre and decadent environment that for the years have negatively affected the value of the students’ certificates, or do you do some thing to improve it. You cannot improve IMSU in its current chaotic environment. To better IMSU, you have to relocate the university. The governor and his administration chose the progressive path of relocating the university to a place, specifically designed for university education.
The agitation by Senator Anyanwu and some Owerri politicians fails to offer superior logical arguments against the relocation. Their agitation centers on pandering to sectional base instincts and sentiments. The threshold question and the gold standard should be, what is in the best interest of the students and faculty of IMSU.
Having a campus in a village setting provides the ambiance for serious studies. The big city distractions inherent in Owerri campus will be nonexistent in the proposed campus. The Owerri IMSU campus has become haven for prostitution.
Big city high cost of living, including high rent adds to the stressful conditions that militates against effective learning.
Owerri metropolitan area has over five(5) institutions of higher learning. The crowding of all these schools in Owerri area has made housing near unaffordable for many families. Relocating IMSU in addition to creating a good environment for serious studies will also reduce the overheated real estate demand and cost.
IMSU does not have faculty quarters. Having members of the faculty live in a campus pristine environment promotes scholarly collaboration. When scholars collaborate, it leads to innovations and scholarly treatise that promotes quality education . The current location of IMSU does not provide a housing estate for the faculty and staff. The new location will. The high cost of housing currently stressing the faculty and staff of the university will be nonexistent in the new location. The housing estate will provide a productive networking environment for both the faculty and the students. The resulting benefit will be enhanced performance by the school.
A new campus of IMSU will have the benefit of cutting edge information technology and will be designed to meet modern university standard. The buildings are designed to provide the students and faculty a more productive university experience. The beautiful landscape and natural setting provides the pristine serenity that is very pleasing. The new campus will be a great sight to behold. The school will definitely be one of the best campuses of any African University. It will be a great Citadle of learning.
The need to relocate IMSU was not the brainchild of this governor. A panel setup by the past governor recommended moving the university. The panel recognized the debilitating negatives of the current location of IMSU. The reason being that, relocating the university will improve the quality of the education the students receive, and in addition, will provide quality university experience for both the students and the faculty.
Owelle Okorocha acted decisively in relocating IMSU to a first class permanent site.
Imo State has prided itself as the centre of education excellence. IMSU as currently located, does not reflect the centre of scholarly excellence. You cannot pride your state as centre of centre of great education, while your university is not ranked top 20 in the country.
To save IMSU and to reposition the state as the centre of high scholarship, relocation of the university is a matter of necessity.
The permanent location for IMSU should be and is the prerogative of the executive with appropriate legislative backing. Agitations is an important factor in a democracy. However, agitation should not be used to blackmail the governor.
The most important consideration in this process should be what is in the best interest of the university students, and what will add value to the degrees awarded to the students.
To salvage IMSU and to save the university from accreditation problems, you must relocate the university. Kudos to the Governor for being very decisive in relocating the university. The students will be the ultimate beneficiary and that’s what it should be.
Dr. Dike, a Houston,TX based Attorney wrote in from: okeydike@yahoo.com
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Hmmmmmm!All your points regarding the location and dislocation of imsu was entertaining,however,no point was reliablly established,because there were no resources to validate your claims.by the way,that is what democracy entails,it is a government where you can say what you think even if you don’t think.please this issue is a family matter,we should avoid using unkind and abusive words when making contributions on this platform,even if you found a brother’s opinion contrary to yours.meanwhile,i do not want to say anything about imsu,ofcourse i know te university as much as everyone of you do,But having said this,i am today very happy and can confidently hit my chest to proclaim that yes’i am from imo state’because intellectualism and wisdom has replaced nest of killers and a locust government whose potential victims were people like you and me.please my brothers and sisters,without prejudice to anyone’s political/ideological affiliation,we would be considerd biased if we throw away substance for sentiment.good initiatives should be embraced by every rational human being,and i want to remind us that opposition is supposed to be the benefit of the electorate,except it has a different meaning to the politicians.let us not develop an opposition that opposes everything,including those ones that makes work easier for the government.’Let the people think they govern, and they will be governed’.(William Penn, Some Fruits of Solitude, 1693)
Therefore,let us talk about how to achieve sustainable development which has became a buzzword worldwide,and not the location of imsu,afterall imo indegenes are schooling at various universities all over nigeria not minding distance.The university does not belong to one person,no matter where it is located,and if patnering with okorocha in managing the university can produce reasonable results,so be it.it was albert einsten who posited that’he never teach hi pupils; he only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”.As God fearing indegenes whose belief in the gospel should always summerize our intents,we should try and avoid all these deliberate misapplication of enterprizing information for accussative purposes.
God bless you all,bless great imo state and my igbo tribe.
solo,
University of tsukuba,ibaraki jp.
I am one of those who really admire the Sterling Leadership Qualities of Owelle Rochas Okorocha, His desire to Relocate the Imo State University is a Right Step in the Right Direction, But the Truth be told that it is not Proper that it Must be Sited In Ideato where he hails from, especially since a Permanent Site have been Originally mapped out and even cleared for that Purpose in Mbaise and Ngor-Okpala! Apart from the bitter acrimony this action will stir up in Imo State, it also amounts to d infamous act of Robbing ” Peter to Pay Paul”, MBAISE together with Etiti was Originally one of the former Divisions of Imo State but For the purpose of Electoral Delimitation was joined with Owerri to become the Owerri Zone! Mbaise as a Nation does not share a coommon ancestry with Owerri and MUST NEVER be Subzumed into Owerri! Mbaise apart from being The Largest and Most Populated Native Clan in Imo State with a very large Number of Intellectuals and Academic Big-Wigs has no real Government Presence in its Three Local Government Areas! The Imo State University should best be Sited in MBAISE Land, not only for the Expansive Land Mass there but because of its Central Position in The Entire Eastern Region ( Remember that The Late Eze Igbo Gburugburu Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu Chose To Declare Biafra in Ahiara Mbaise and would have made Mbaise the Caspital had d Struggle Succeeded because of its Central Location) I Urge all well meaning Sons and Daughters of Imo State and Especially Mbaise Land like Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, Chief P.C. Onuoha, Prof. Fabian Osuji, Dr. Ada Okwuonu, Eze Chidume Okoro, Dim Emeka Obasi, Chief Ignatius Okeahialam and Justice Mary Odili to Rise up and avert this great injustice that is about to be unleashed on the Good People of Mbaise and Imo State as a whole!
Okey, thanks for your comment. Listen carefully, the Governor is doing an excellent job and I truly love him for that. However, to wake up one morning, with no feasibility study, no expert advise, no community or stakeholders input and move an existing university to his village because he is the governor is arrogance at its best and an abomination. On the other hand, since each zone is entitled to a branch of the university as stated in the original multi-campus charter of the university, is it not better to maintain that concept and give each zone a sense of belonging. Why the ‘I don’t give a damn’ attitude and winner take all mentality of the Governor. Okey, what is wrong with fairness. The Governor can build a brand new first class university at his village with the state money and no one will quarrel with him but taking something that was shared accordingly to the various zones in Imo state and putting it all in one zone with no regard to fairness, equity and public opinion of those who voted him into power shows that he is clueless and ungrateful.
Sylva udemba, I agree all you said about me to be true, how does that advance your position against the relocation of IMSU. I love to learn and if you advance superior argument against the relocation, I will change my position. Please educate me.
4 cryin out laud wht our able Gov. Owelle Anayo Okorocha did does nt call 4 his head. He is js bein a petriotic citizen 2 hv made such a grt step if we can js listen 2 ourselves 4 a yl, since d creation of Imo State Imsu has remained in dt site n if 2ruly u love quility educatn u will agree wt me dt d site is nt worth a modern day sec sch talk more of a university. I think we shld encourage our Gov 4 tryn 2 decentralize dvpmt in d state n nt 2 b calln him names afta al his predecessorz did nothing in dt rgdz Ideato is in d map n geography of Imo state nd its worth bein taken as d permanent site of Imsu irrespective of d fact dt d Governor hails 4r there. Let us al applaud his effort nd remv sentiment in our reasoning..
Okey Dike is not a doctor but a US based lawyer, JD. He should simply call himself an attorney for thats what they are called in The United States but not a doctor. However, once they are begging for political position in Nigeria, they start calling themselves doctor and Okey Dike is one of them. You ask yourself, why not Dr. Obama and Dr. Hillary Clinton for they are lawyers too. Okey’s argument for the relocation of IMSU is borne out of greed, selfishness and nepotism. He is from the same Ideato with the Governor and he is looking for political compensation from him and that blinds him from seeing the truth.
I am yet to read a rational argument against the Ideato location. The Governor being from Ideato should not be a disqualifying factor against Ideato. The site apart from its scenic beauty has existing structures that befits a modern university.
This is the university i intend going to, but all dis, has made me to loos intrest in the school.
But why must it be imsu? Why not Imo Poly or AIFCE or?
Am from ihitte/uboma and this not what rochas promised us(selfishness)
why must b his vilage?
*hiss*
Nneka what possible actions do we need again, with this present action, we are on the right track.
Theo u re a compound of inestimabl value. i dnt blame sycophants lyk u who cant even stand nd make a genuine n valid point,u claim 2 be lawyers nd fail 2 realise that there is a law extablishin Imsu nd dat law is stil subsistin,get this into ur thin heads,watever action Owele is takin as per Imsu currently is null nd void.he should find a way 2 repeal the earlier law.nobody said imsu wnt be relocated bt d governors vilage can never be d best site,DR okey studyin law in Houxton adds notin 2 d topic.I Stil ask whether d Proposed Multi campus structure wnt develop Imo state faster nd beta than buildin the skul in Ideato.Lng live al Imo stars
Am sorry theo,i mean Nwagbo Nuel is a fool.d rejoinder was 4 him.
Why do some physical healthy citizens have dat idiotic attribute of expressing their points, thereby ruining d rules of public opinion?
UZOMA or whatever you call yourself, am so sorry to say this, u r nothing but a git, ur comment has no base at all, the level of the insanity in ur brain is of no cure.
And to others in the thread who are getting to d diploma of insanity, now you can read carefully.
Do you enjoy the present site of Imo State University? Where do I start to criticise that? Is it d level of corruption there, d way our girls showcase their bodies as city babes thereby jeopardizing their academic goal? Is it the high cost of living the students and parents cry out loud against? The night city clubs depressing d academic standards of our youths? That present site as earlier stated by my brother Dr Okey Dike is far from a university environment.
Owerri has IMSU, FedNek, FUTO, AIFCOE, IMOPOLY, IMO AIRPORT, CAPITAL T, and many others, if we r to do it sentimentally, that means Orlu has nothing at all, or UZOMA you can help me mention one, you were talking of Ngorkpala and Mbaise as if they are not Owerri, the first site of Imo state university was at Uturu Okigwe, the present day Absu, but d creation of abia shortlived its existence there.
Owelle Rochas and his crew made a good research to get the best landscape for a standardized academic packaging, the proposed site drew out by the governor is no doubt the best.
Lawfully, Imo state is one, no sentiment, what we need is an environment that fits in to the world’s academic field, not only that, Owelle is ambitious of developing all parts of Imo, and not only Owerri, he has other projects both in Owerri, Okigwe ,and Orlu, so nobody has any reason to talk bad about him.
Uzoma pls go back to ur comments review them, make a real correction on them.
NNEKA, Dr Okey Dike is a legal practioner, an Attorney from Imo State, but lives in Houston Texas USA.
UZOMA, Dr Okey Dike is always here in Nigeria, he takes part in most activities in Imo State, He was born and raised in Nigeria, schooled in the states, he is a real and perfect citizen of Imo State Nigeria.
Kudos to you my brother and senior in profession, Dr Okey Dike, for this ur awesome article, am proud of this, God bless your heart sir, keep on ur support.
God bless us all, by the next 3 years, we all must have good reasons to make Owelle Rochas Okorocha the best governor so far in NIGERIA.
Nwagboo Nuel Udeze, udekings@lawyer.com
A don think say him be medical doctor and a lawyer sef. So him be JD Americana. Well, many people wey de for America get JD but them no de call themself doctor oh.
The thing be say, they should do what is right for IMSU. Mere relocating IMSU would not solve the problem. They should look at the problems inherent in the present dispensation and make consistent efforts to solve them. Can this be done? YES. We need possitive actions.
The problem with us igbos is that we try to play politics of sectionalism with all aspects of our daily life, since the creation of Abia State out of Imo State, how many governors have ruled said Imo State before the current one? How much fund had been allocated to the feasiblilty studies as to the appropriate site for Imo State University yet till now no action has been taken. Without quality education, Imo State will remain “the land of hope” not eastern heartland as we call ourselves and whether we like it or not IMSU is the education flagship for Imo State and as it is now, IMSU is just graduating half baked university graduates wanna be. We should be glad that we have a governor who wants to rectify the ills in our education flagship and encourage him. I will help him relocate the university into his bedroom if that will improve our flagship university so as to competite with other universities around the world. Let us kill sentiments, and encourage qualitative.
U should stp makin unsubstantiated reports abt Imsu,we al graduated 4rm Imsu nd i dnt think u re beta tham us,we re d best in law,envt etc.our graduates re doin wel in al spheres of life.stp makin negative coments abt Imsu
One of the qualities of a good reporter is ‘objectivity’. I want to comend you for your objective reporterge. Now lets look at some isues here. Imo State has only five higher institutions namely: IMSU, FUTO, AIFCE, IMO POLY, FEDPONEK. All these institutions are in Owerri. HABA! Lets tell ourselfs the truth, am from Owerri and i just cant comprehend the rationale behind this greed from owerri people. Is Ideato not part of Imo State?
The site is not the Governors village. It covers several towns and three local governments. The important point is whether the site is good for IMSU. Will it add great value in terms of being practical and aesthetics. It will be a great campus. Make superior argument for the site you are defending. What makes it better than the Orlu site. I am open to be educated
Nobody is against the relocation but the question is why take it to his villege? Why not the original proposed site?
Uzoma, your language is highly inflammatory and adds no value to the discussion. What’s your point. What factual basis to disqualify Orlu zone as site for IMSU. Name calling has no place in civilized discourse
Am a bonafide graduate of Imsu nd by implicatn am aware that d law dat established Imsu as a multicampus system has nt been repealed.WAT hapened to the site proposed btw Ngorokpala nd mBaise?wat beta language would i hv used 2 describe Okorochas action other than utter greed nd selfishnes
Okey Dike I put it 2 u dat u hv nt been 2 Imo state 4 yrs now,we know ur type.tel us wat hapdnd 2 d multicampus system as proposed by Mbakwe.wat if a Governor 4rm Okigwe or Oweri zone decides 2 relocate it bk 2 a more ‘permanent site’?
Nobody is against the relocation but the question is why take it to his villege? Why not the original permenent location?
The proposed site has flat land new a major road network that cascades to the beautiful urashi river. The Governor donated sets of high rise school blocks that will serve as class rooms. It’s near the Ideato /Orlu industrial zone that will serve as nests for industrial attachments and employment potential. The natural landscape is breathtakingly beautiful. It’s a natural setting for a university.
Doctor Dike,
Na wah oh. You make very good points. If you not mind me asking, which kind doctor you be? If you write book I go buy am oh DOCTOR.
We al know dat Imsu needs 2 be relocated,bt d idea ofd Governor takin d skul 2 his vilage is selfishishnes to the highest order.am 4rm Orlu zone nd wl want d site Dee sam proposed 2 be used.oweri zone this is just d begining.IKIRI KA ONYE OSHI MMA
Well… The truth is, he should not relocate it to his village or his Senatorial zone, considering that he is the governor of the whole state and not a local champion. The Permanent site has long been earmarked. Why not use it? Why do we run from the truth? May God help us.
I strongly believe that the relocation will help a lot,thanks to our governor and to Okey dike for the idea
Its okey. People should not play politics with education.
I lived close to the present location. It is really chaotic and
unconducieve for university learning.
Make we relocate IMSU to the USA maybe them go recognize am. Too much politics sef don mona me. Make una no make political ranking chaka chaka un head oh.