Dr David Danjuma Baba is the rector of the Federal Polytechnic Idah (FPI) in Kogi state. In this interview with OYIBO SALIHU, he bares his mind on efforts to reposition the institution amidst scarce resources.
For three years now you have been in the saddle as rector of Federal Polytechnic Idah. So far, how has it been?
The achievements I have recorded in the last three years are multi dimensional. In terms of capacity building, we have been able to train our staff both within and outside the country. We sent some of our staff to the United States of America for training. Out of 27 staff expected to go for the training, only 13 were able to secure visa. They went and returned. We sent some to United Kingdom (UK), some to Dubai while plans are in the pipeline to send some to other countries for training. All these efforts are through TETfund and are aimed at learning new things of which on their return, they are to transplant such here in order to take the polytechnic to the next level of development.
The institution has recorded the highest doctorate degree holders within this period through the assistance of TETfund. Some acquired their certificates from Malaysia, USA , UK and other countries. Aside the doctorate degrees, 25 others were trained to acquire their Masters Degree. Presently, we have grant for 10 of our staff to go for their Phd. Any moment from now, those concerned would be leaving this country. In the same vein, we have just concluded another internal training of 110 staff in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) organised by Digital World in collaboration with Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The staff were trained on advance use of computer and ICT.
Also in terms of infrastructure, we have completed eight structures. Two structures of 500 capacity lecture theatre were ongoing before I took over. So far, we have completed them. We also completed the Department of Meterology and Foundry building which is now operational, we have completed the storey building for Quantity Survey department, we have a storey building for the Department of Science Laboratory Technology, we have a large studio for the Department of Architecture and we have another structure for Office Technology Management (OTM) all completed and now operational. We have ongoing three storey buildings to accommodate academic offices and classrooms and several other existing buildings like Dr Achema Lecture Theatre and the School of Engineering building. Some classrooms and hostels that were not renovated for long benefited from the facelift we embarked upon in the institution.
In terms of academic programmes, we have recorded a lot of achievements. When I took over in December 2017, out of 56 academic programmes run by the institution, 49 expired in terms of accreditation, but right now, we are able to have 100 per cent accreditation and have gone ahead to secure an approval to run High National Diploma (HND) in Library and Information Science courtesy of TETfund.
The polytechnic had accumulated convocations for years. We were however able to hold one in 2019. We were expecting to hold another one in 2020, but the outbreak of Covid-19 disrupted the plan, but by God’s grace before the end of 2021, we would hold another one so that we don’t have graduands waiting for their original certificates. To tackle the shortage of water on the campus especially in the hostels, we sunk solar- powered-driven boreholes and as a result, students now enjoy water supply all through the day.
In addition, the alumni association of the institution has been so supportive. They also donated three solar-powered-driven boreholes to the institution and right now, they have sent a team of experts for the renovation of the Polytechnic Clinic which would commence very soon. We have also worked on our security network because we have to change the security company handling the security affairs in the institution due to their poor performance. We engaged a new security outfit because we didnt want to compromise security in this institution.
In this country today insecurity has become a major problem, so we have to strengthen our security outfit and close our porous areas so that we have adequate security of life and property in the campus. Since I came on board, we have never had issues with any union in this institution; that is because we ensure synergy by carrying the union along in all our activities including being members of any sensitive committee set up by the management. We are very transparent in all that we do on campus. The current strike embarked upon by polytechnic staff is national; it has nothing to do with internal issues.
Sir, with mega resources coming into the institution from the federal government, how are you able to manage the affairs of the polytechnic effectively?
Yes, because of the global recession and outbreak of Coronavirus, the economy has been very bad resulting in dwindling funding from the federal government. All the same, from school fees paid by students, we are able to manage the affairs of the institution by cutting down our expenses. We ensure that we have value for every amount we spend. In addition, we tried to strengthen our ventures to be able to generate more income though running businesses. The people handling the businesses for us are trying and we are planning on how to energize them to generate more income for the polytechnic.
Cultism is a major problem in tertiary institutions across the country nowadays. How are you able to curb the situation in FPI?
Very fortunate for us, we have been able to curtail cultism in the campus and since I came on board, we have not recorded any. As part of our efforts to get rid of cultism, we set up security surveillance to monitor students’ activities in the campus. Based on some information we received, we were able to stop some of their activities of which two students were arrested and expelled to serve as deterrent to others. So, that decision we took sent signal to others that FPI is not a safe institution for cultic activities. Today, we can beat our chest that this institution is free of any forms of cultism.
From experience, which area would you advise the federal government to concentrate more in the affair of tertiary institutions?
The federal government should be able to fund public education sector in order to rescue it from imminent collapse and private tertiary institutions would take over. Remember that private institutions are so exorbitant that average Nigerians cannot afford to send their children to those institutions. The only way out for the children to acquire quality education is through this public tertiary institutions; therefore it becomes imperative for the government to pump in money to make the institutions better. Again, the choice of leadership of tertiary institutions should also be based on merit.
That is why I lauded the present administration of President Buhari in that direction because the appointment the federal government has been making is similar to a round peg in a round hole. I charge them to maintain the tempo. They should set sentiment of any form aside and concentrate on professionalism and expertise so that people can come into those institutions on merit and transform them better than they met it.
