By SAM OTTI
When Godfrey Okoye University (GOU), Enugu, took off in 2009, the Founder and Vice Chancellor, Prof. Christian Anieke made laptop compulsory for all the new students.
He took a step further by procuring 200 laptops for the students to keep them on the global information super highway. With over 1,500 students, laptops have become so common in the three-year-old institution.
Anieke, who is also a Catholic priest of Enugu Diocese, said he took the decision to save his students from the embarrassment he suffered when he travelled to Europe after his graduation from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
Hear him, "When we took off, I made owning a laptop compulsory in this university. I bought 200 laptops which I gave to the students of this university.
It is an obligation for a student of this university to own a laptop. This is because I knew what I suffered in Europe. I graduated from UNN. I read English. When I went to Europe, I saw that all other students from all around the world could type their work.
They could make use of their laptop but I could not. And as a Nigerian, I questioned my education. And I said to myself, this will never happen to my students.
They must be computer literate wherever they are studying because they need that knowledge so that they can get a good job. So, these are the things. The challenges are there but we are getting it right because from day one, we know what we want."
With 215 students, the institution took off on November 3, 2009 after securing the operational license from the National Universities Commission (NUC). With proceeds of charity, mainly widow's mite from generous donors, Prof. Anieke has promised to make the institution a benchmark for excellence in the country.
"Remember the expression of Obama, YES I CAN. So, you can see the progress so far within the few years we started by winning a national competition organized for all Nigerian students. So, we have been into so many things within these few years of our existence.
The number of students has grown from 215 to 1,500 within this short period of time. Within this short period of time we have three faculties. We started with two and we have Faculty of Education added to it.
We have a feeling that we have the students who have the same vision. We have a feeling that we have students so much interested in acquiring education. So, we are looking forward to having great students," he said. Campus Square learnt that Anieke has also invested his wealth of knowledge in the institution, seeking international partners for collaboration with the young university.
With a Master's degree in Bibilical Theology, a Master's in English and American Studies and a Ph.D. in English, he told our reporter that he wanted to change the academic landscape of the country. "The vision is clear. The mission is clear. And also the desire to succeed has been there.
The university is my own baby. I am a founder of the university. The whole picture is very clear to me. I see the challenges.
I see the obstacles. But I see the successes. We want to see how we can change the academic landscape of this country," he said. Barely three years after it took off, programmes offered by the university have gained accreditation from the NUC. The institution has also acquired 150 hectares of land for its permanent site, with the VC promising that activities would commence on the site in 2018.
"We are developing our permanent site where we are planning to have a Postgraduate School and we are planning to have Medical School. Those areas will give us enough space. So, in view of what actually we want to be in the next five years, we have started developing our permanent site.
And I expect new students to be there in the next five years," he promised. On the high cost of tuition fees in universities run by the church, Anieke absolved Godfrey University of guilt, as he promised to make the institution accessible for those from poor background. "Well, I don't think I will travel that road.
This is because there is a philosophy behind this university. There is an ideal behind this university. And I come from a very humble background.
I was born in Port Harcourt. We came back when the war started and my father lost everything. So, we started from the scratch. We didn't have anything at all. I went to primary school in my village because nobody could afford to move out from the village.
From there I took off. So, I know what poverty is all about. I know the full meaning of poverty. So, it will be such a pain to me if this university becomes an elitist university. I don't want it to be elitist. I want it to be a university where we bring up brilliant children. I don't want it to be a university where an average Nigerian cannot afford to be.
I wouldn't like to see this happen. That is why I have been exploring avenues to see that we can get subvention for the university so that we don't depend on the fees of the students," he said. Although the university was founded by the Catholic Church, Anieke, who is also an honourary citizen of Mitterikirchen in Austria, said the gates of the institution would never close against people of other faiths. "Like I said, I am the founder but it is founded for the Catholic Diocese of Enugu.
The university, like any other university, must be opened to all Nigerians. So, all Nigerians are welcome, irrespective of their religion. Of course, we have our way of life. Our life is that you have to pray in the morning. If you are a muslim, there is a place for you. If you are a Catholic, there is a place for you. If you a protestant, the same thing.
Then in the afternoon, because of our messages on dialogue of religion, we come together to pray together. Yes. We have such philosophy. We believe that since we have one God, we can come together and talk to that same God in prayer. That is the philosophy of afternoon prayer.
Then, at night you go to your different homes and say your night prayers. That is the philosophy of prayer I defended in Abuja, especially this issue of religious dialogue. I made it very clear that the way we live our life is very wrong. We are talking to God but we are not talking to one another. So, we must come together. In an atmosphere of prayer, as we are talking to God, we are also talking to one another.
That is just what we are trying to emphasize in our religious life," he said. On the progress made by the university, he said, "Within the first two years of our existence, we have organized international conference on Biotechnology. And this attracted scholars from all over the world.
We are making a very strong impact there. Two of our students just returned from the United States of American where they had a kind of exchange programme with one of the institutions there and one of them did so well that he got scholarship for his PhD there. So, we want to be known in Psychology, Biotechnology and Accounting without neglecting the others".
Via: Sun News Online