With a number of ambitious, bold and curtain raiser plans for NOUN, Prof. Gowin Akper, who was recently appointed by the Vice-Chancellor as the new DVC, TIR, is certainly coming to the position well prepared. In this interview with the duo of NOUN News correspondents:ÌýDebbie NdubaÌý&²¹³¾±è;ÌýIbrahim Kabiru Sule, the new DVC, whose journey in the university cuts through certain critical offices, spoke about his intention to begin to have international students enrolled in NOUN by the beginning of next semester in January, and many other noble ideas for NOUN to really answer theÌýname of a 21stÌýCentury university. Ìý
Briefly, who is Prof. Gowin Akper?
Ok,I was born 1969,ÌýJuly 19thÌýÌýto be specific, by a disciplinarian by name evangelist DanielÌýIorihi AkperÌýwho then was aÌýBibleÌýSchool teacher underÌýDutch ReformedÌýChurchÌýMission.ÌýI was actually raised in a missionary quarters at the beginning,Ìýmaybe,Ìýit has some influence on me, whether negatively or positively that’s why I cherish discipline a lot ÌýÌýbecause,Ìýfor the better part of my life , discipline was seen as the best way to build what I will refer to as community of life.ÌýMeaning,Ìýa community that will hold people for a kind of faithful living that is profitable to a family and society at large.ÌýSo from that background I see work as calling;Ìýit’s something you must do and you must do it to fulfil a particular goal, so if Ìýyou are asked to do anything, that means God,Ìýthrough your organisation,ÌýhasÌýasked you to perform that duty. So whether you are successful or whatever depends on your own conviction. Did you give it your best or did it not just work? Or,Ìýyou yourself didn’t see it as calling, so you feel it’s an opportunity for you to make some fortune out of it Ìýand walk away without caring about whether the society is benefiting from your service or not. These are the issues.
In my own training, I spent some few period of time during my formative years attending mostly private schools. Actually, I went to St. Mulumba’sÌýCollege, Jos (CatholicÌýSchool) in 1982.ÌýI transferred in 1985 by request of my father toÌýKing’sÌýComprehensiveÌýCollegeÌý, it’s aÌýprivately owned, more or less a ChristianÌýMissionÌýSchool. I finishedÌýsecondaryÌýschool in 1989.ÌýI spent quite some years, because when I leftÌýSt.ÌýMulumba and I went to King’sÌýCollege, they dropped me down byÌýtwoÌýyears, that was a purely science school, but then King’sÌýComprehensive was more of a commercial. So, I was told to drop down and followÌýthe commercial route,ÌýI lostÌýtwoÌýyears.ÌýI spent so many years in secondary school. Then, I went to Benue Polytechnic, Ugbokolo, from 1990- 1991, when I left for Reformed Theological College of Nigeria (now Reformed Theological Seminary), Mkar, from 1991 – 1995. So after my seminary training, the missionary sent me to United States;ÌýI went to WestminsterÌýin California, (USA)ÌýÌýto read Master’s of Arts in religionÌýfrom 1996 – 1999. Then after my Master of Arts in Religion.ÌýI went toÌýthe UniversityÌýof Stellenbosch, South Africa for Church History and policy and systematic Theology, respectively, from 2000 – 2004. Finally, the Ë®¹ûÅÉ of Nigeria (NOUN) for PGDDE.
You were recently appointed asÌýDVC,ÌýTIR, what should the NOUN community expect to see from you?
As DVC,ÌýTIR, I think that whatever the gaps are, in terms of academic standards and requirements, the first one is the internet.ÌýWe should be able to have a free WIFI for all staff and students at least for 8Ìýhours. That means as you approach our campuses, you should be able to see the WIFI. The last team of assessors in three of the programmes that came were very particular about that;Ìýimmediately they get to EFCC Headquarters they turned their WIFI in orderÌýto pick our own. Thank God,Ìýat least,Ìýit was working at that particular time.ÌýSo they were impressed with it. I spent weekend with some guys here to effect it, I know it’s working now.ÌýHow about our study centres?ÌýThat is another one, because our delivery takes place in the study centres.ÌýI have had meetings with VC and we have already put machinery in place to ensure that at least by May of next year all our main study centres will have those facilities as well,Ìýnot justÌýatÌýthe headquarters.
Then, the other aspect will then have to be the issue of admission of foreign students.ÌýWhile in California,ÌýI servedÌýatÌýthe InternationalÌýAdvisoryÌýBoard of the university,Ìýwhich was a committee of the board of trustees of the institution to actually,Ìýmore or less,Ìýbring out the modalities for accommodating international students mostly from Asia,ÌýAfrica andÌýthe MiddleÌýEast. I served from the student side as the chair of the committee,Ìýbut on the trustee side,Ìýas a member and secretary.ÌýSo, I was then exposed to what it means to study in an environment completely different from one and that is also what informed the suggestionÌýIÌýam making now:Ìýhow to accommodate international students around the globe?ÌýAs it is now, you have to be a Nigerian to register in NOUN, so itÌýnegates the whole principal of ODL. That’s what I have as my key priority. The first one is internet provision to all our campuses, coming from DAP, I have a better idea of what the requirements are.ÌýAs you approach the campus of an ODL institution, you should be able to pick up theÌýWIFI.
Now, we should be able to sit here or in our houses and be able to study anywhere and I think the facility has been made available and we are benefiting from it.ÌýHow about making that opportunity available to the global academic community?ÌýSo itÌýisÌýkey and we need technology toÌýdoÌýthat and we also have to sort out someÌýnational policiesÌýand all that concerning theÌýTreasuryÌýSingleÌýAccount,Ìýetc.ÌýWe have done the other side:ÌýRegistrar, VC and myself, we have been able to conclude on our own part, so were we are experiencing some lagÌýis from theÌýOffice of the AccountantÌýGeneral to create a platform for us so that studentsÌýcan pay with the currency they have.ÌýIf you are in Cyprus,Ìýyou will be able to pay with that currency and all of that and it will be converted. ThatÌýisÌýwhere we are.ÌýWe need technology to be able to do that and we have asked MIS to work on it and they have been able to come up withÌýaÌýlink that the foreign students can use, asÌýper study centres, you just select foreign and the countries are supposed to drop down for you to select from which country you are applying from and that,Ìýthen,Ìýbecomes your study centre. So that can be done, but we are just at that tail-end and it is when I finish theseÌýtwo that I will look for the next.ÌýIn any case,Ìýthat one is just theÌýVice-Chancellor’sÌýpolicy that all staff should have tablet to work with.ÌýAs long as you are a senior staff you must have a tool to work with.ÌýI don’t want to believeÌýthat there is something pertaining to IT that we need in this university that our staff cannot provide, it’s not possible.ÌýIÌýam telling you from experience.
For the International students, do you have a time lineÌýfor their enrollment?
Yes,Ìýwe do, there is a time line.ÌýIt’s about time.ÌýNobody is waiting for us;ÌýitÌýis either we work fast now or we are left behind. We have competitors in the market, we are aware of that. Yes we can dismiss that what we have on ground will take them a while to get there.ÌýI can see them copying some of our things, one university is having theirÌýlogo and motto that look exactly like NOUN but just some play of words. In any case,Ìýwe need to be on our toes and it’s one of thisÌýuniversity education in the 21stÌýCentury.ÌýIf you are too comfortable, you have a problem on your hand. University of Cape town ranksÌýalmostÌýnumber oneÌýmost of the timesÌýin Africa but if you meet with the VC now and ask what gives them sleepless nights, they will not tell you that they don’t have sleepless nightsÌýbut they will tell you ranking and ranking;Ìýthey want to remain number one or at least the first three and that’s Ìýcompetition.ÌýIf we think we have arrived, that’s where we have our problem and in general social life, the moment you think that you are comfortable you are just down falling minutes ahead.ÌýBut when you continue to think how to improve,Ìýyou are most likely to remain on top and be competitive.
So we have to,Ìýby the end of December,Ìýget this done, because if we are commencing the next session in January, then,Ìýwe should have international students and IÌýam targeting about 10Ìý–Ìý19Ìýpercent of our enrolment next year should be foreign and when we do that we can nowÌýmakeÌýprogress.ÌýAs I said before, the technical staff we have within should be able to provide all IT solutionsÌýexcept if it doesn’t exist.
Research is part of your core responsibilities. As DVC TIR, how will you promote research and what area of it are you looking at that will benefit the institution greatly?
Yes, there are two things here:Ìýnumber oneÌýtheÌýnon-teachingÌýstaffÌýin our university assume that research is for academia and that’sÌýwrongÌýand I think that’s where I need to have some discussions with the registrar.ÌýWe have been having discussion;Ìýwe intend to have some time when we are done with the promotions issues and all of Ìýthat we will sit down to see how non-teachingÌýstaffÌýcan be involved in research. Of courseÌýtheÌýmediaÌýalsoÌýdo investigative journalism and that’s research. If funds is beingÌýmade available for media to engage in a research won’t that be a good development?ÌýThen,Ìýinstead of media going around and making us feel good about ourselves, media should go out and find us some facts. Example: how doesÌýtheÌýmedia impact on ODL?ÌýDo you know it’s an integralÌýpart of what we are supposed to do, which is delivery. We are supposed to use the NOUNÌýFM to deliver to students.ÌýWe are supposed to go,Ìýsit down there, inform the general public about new discoveries and all of that.ÌýHow will the media get all segments of the university to be able to do that, how do media promote learning using its platforms?ÌýNow assumingÌýthatÌýmedia is beingÌýcommissioned for aÌý3-month research with funds to do it, if you come up with it, we clap for you, if you don’t, you have to explain to us why you should still remain in the university.ÌýThe way I was trained, my own philosophy, somebody has a task to perform, the first question, what does the person need to perform or carry out the task?ÌýNot until you provide the tools for one to deliver you cannot hold the person liable for not performing the task. So that is how I was brought up,ÌýIÌýam not saying it’s the best but for you to get the best resultsÌýthat’s what it means.ÌýGood enough,Ìýthe VC is on same page with me on this matter.ÌýAll the senior staffÌýareÌýsupposed to be involved in one area of research (democratisation of research) or the other because nobody is born an ODL staff but it’s more about interest.ÌýHow much interest do you have in it, andÌýIÌýam thinking persons in media should sit down and see themselves as research body in the media and so in every aspect of it. When Nigeria university system changed academic and non-academic,ÌýtoÌýteaching andÌýnon-teaching,Ìýwhat was behind that is that you are also academic in one way, in that you do research and be able to go on sabbatical,Ìýso that you can be able to learn more and research more.
When I was in DEA, we were asked to doÌýthis virtually examinationÌýand most of the people wanted to eat me raw,Ìýthat I woke up one morning to do that, but we were actually given a directive to make the platform available for that, and those who took part in that haveÌýadvantage over the ones taking it now.ÌýIf we are here in NOUN with different directorate, each directorate should be able to show their scorecard or their research output;Ìýour research output should not be on academic department alone.ÌýWe need to go deeply and identify what is essential, what actuallyÌýisÌýessential for usÌýasÌýan ODL institution is for us to be able to discover the new trends, methods and better ways of delivering university education.
By the time we have research as a core culture in this university, gossipsÌýwill go. Our students also think that learning by gossip is the best way. Culture of research will do away with that of gossiping.ÌýWhen we are busy there will not be gossip. I will call all this not a task but a burden, and that’s the burden I have.
You have held sensitive positions in NOUN that deal with students: you were the Dean,ÌýFaculty of Arts,ÌýDirector,ÌýDEA;ÌýDirector DAP;Ìýand nowÌýDVC,ÌýTIR.ÌýSo, in a nutshell, how will you grade our performance as regards missing results, examination malpractice, students’ registration, etc?Ìý
Again, you are also pushing me to delve into Prof.ÌýMafiana area of operation. I can only tell you what I did when I was in DEA. WhatÌýI did in DEA, there were three things we did:Ìýmost of the missing results were coming from e-exams, so the first thing I did was to do research to be able to identify what are the causes of this, because I believe that if you find out what your problem is, you are almost at the edge of solving it and I discovered that one of the causes of missing e-result was that candidates will come, sit and do the exams and then they get up quietly and don’t submit it. So I told the technical people that if they leave it unattended or if there was a power failure and goes off the system should be able to submit the score automatically and if itÌýis power failure andÌýthey come back and they haveÌýtwoÌýscores, you just sort out the issue, merge the two and bring it together and they haveÌýtheir score. So that was one of it.
The second one has to do with our technical people who will end the session at the end of the day, and leave it like that and nothing will be submitted. So, on that one, what I did, I did lock the server and gave the password to the super user. When you finish conducting the exams you bring the server by yourself and I will sit down with my staff,Ìýit doesn’t matter the timing, for review, and when we see someÌýinferences,Ìýwe will ask you:Ìýhow come?ÌýThe first time they thought it was a joke, we didn’t know what was happening but the server was able to show us what was happening. I sit in our office to monitor the exams nationwide because the server was telling us what you are doing, and we will hold you responsible, and they realize that what weÌýwere doing is not a joke. So, the second exam, they brought it backÌýIÌýam telling you, we had onlyÌýtwoÌýand the third exams, we had zero then missing e-exams was gone.ÌýThen on POP, this whole issue of moving from one place to the other I have discovered that there are some candidates, and in large numbers, that for six papers they wrote in six different study centres and I discovered that there must be a problem. You can’t be on official assignment in six different places within two weeks unless you have become an itinerary staff. So we are like, yes, we are flexible but let us not over push our flexibility. So I now check other open universities how they were able to deal with the issue of their flexibility and I noticed that some of them likeÌýIndira Gandhi Ë®¹ûÅÉ,Ìýthey assign a position and a camera and as long as you are not sitting on that position they will not accept your script. So it is not that that it is open, if you need to move from whatever you need to give information, there is a form that you fill that says you want to take this exam somewhere else and they will arrange a venue for you.
The Open University of Tanzania, they have students outside Tanzania, what they do is that there must be a supervisor and an invigilator accredited beforehand. So there will be a report from the supervisor independently submitted and another form the invigilator independently submitted before that script will be accepted for marking. So, in any case it wasn’t open ended, because once exam’s integrity cannot be assured then the validity of the certificate that the exam is supposed to produce is called into question. Now you must have to make sure that the exam process has validity and the validity simply means it is able to achieve what it supposes to achieve.To a large extent, we have solved missing result at the end of my tenure.Then in DAP, we had 52 percent of our programmes with full accreditation the other 48 percent was interim. So right now we have 98 percent full and just 2 percent interim. So if we have 98 percent, by any standard, even in the United States, we see distinction and first class. If we are not doing well, how else are we supposed to do well, going by the indices? I think we are doing very well, so we need to sit up to improve on this so we don’t go down.
From our opinion sampling, everyone that worked with you in various offices testify that you are an upright, a result-oriented and overall, a good man. What’s the secret of these?
I told you from the beginning hat I was raised by a disciplinarian, very strict person,ÌýextremelyÌýstrict persons who feel that things must be done right. My father won’t settle for good;Ìýwhat he wants is excellent and if itÌýis not excellent that means you still have work to do, so that has its own side of it as well.ÌýThat means if you are not careful you will leave some people behind, those who are slow.
In ODL, we have to carry people along and that’s Ìýanother challenge we have in there, but I think that if you want to deliver in NOUN, you have to see your job as a calling.ÌýThe moment you begin to think that VC has to give me this,Ìýregistrar has to give me this, bursar has to pay me this to do this, then,Ìýyou have lost it, because in teaching and learning you must be willing to make some sacrifices. We carry students’Ìýscript home, we mark overnight. We should be able to know that we are called into this job, so even if the system does not reward us, God will reward us in one way or the other. Experience has shown meÌýthatÌýitÌýis rewarding to be honest at your duty post. Yes people can say Akper is a horrible person, but yet when they are looking for people to deliver, they will still look for Akper. SoÌýit’s better that way than for you to be hailed all over the place and at the time of delivery nothing to show for it. In summary,Ìýlet us see work asÌýaÌýcalling. All of us in the university no one has come up to say he is a Pegan, we either haveÌýMuslimsÌýor Christians here, and,Ìýfortunately for me,ÌýI have a vague knowledge of at least value system which theseÌýtwoÌýreligionsÌýproffer. If you are a goodÌýMuslim or Christian, Nigeria will be good.ÌýIf you are not going to use your religion to improve NOUN, then there is a problem. We have a wonderful system in this university, the issue here is that the stakeholders within the system, do they really understand their calling in this same NOUN and that’s it.
As for position,ÌýI don’t have any problem, but the issue is:Ìýdo you know what is involved in you taking up that position and that’s why I don’t lobby for position, not out of pride but because I know it’s a task, it’s a calling, not what you will get but what you will do to benefit all and sundry and improve the system where you are. Look for what to do for NOUN and not what NOUN will do for you and there will be change. Our contributions to service matter most.
Where do you see NOUN in the nextÌýtwoÌýyears as regardsÌýtechnology andÌýresearch?
I have told you that the technical people are excellent and I am comfortable with them. Whether we have people that will do the research, we do all the over 5,000 staff we have, they are all scholars.ÌýThat’s the truth of the matter and if they are all going to engage in research, then our research output will be definitely high. Then in terms of ODL, if you apply theseÌýtwo principles, the first Ìýone, seeing this asÌýaÌýcalling, that we have been called to deliver this and that we have to be faithful to it, then the second, we are asking Ìýourselves in answering theÌýcall,Ìýwhat do I contribute to the process of this delivery?ÌýIf we pin the question to ourselves, if we do this, in the nextÌýtwoÌýyears, NOUN will be spoken of not only in Nigeria but outside the country more than what we are experiencing right now and I said the best advocacy is not wearing T-shirt, the best advocacy is the delivery of our learning, how well.
On a lighter mood, how does theÌýman Godwin relax outside the confines of his office?
Oh,ÌýI play golf. SoÌýitÌýis such a game that is so jealous and the moment you start thinking about something else you play badly.ÌýGolf needs hundred percent concentration, nothing competes with your playing.Ìýyour mind has to be free, if not,Ìýyou can’tÌýplay well.Ìýit’s a military-designed game and itÌýis expensive because of the kit.