The Ups and Downs of an African Campus

"Half a century ago the Ahmadu Bello University did not exist. The bustling town of Samaru, the seat of the main campus, was occupied by a smattering of farming villages; open savanna grassland where game could be had. The ancient walled city of Zaria stood nearby. Zaria was then as now a renowned center of Islamic learning and Hausa civilization. In the years ahead the city would lend its proud name to the future university. The university would add the name of Zaria to its official name. In time the university would grow. It would become the largest and the finest university in the country and one of the best in Africa. It would attract to its halls of learning students and scholars from across the world. In all these it would come to fulfill the dreams of the founding fathers. Today the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is the pride of the people of Zaria and it is the pride of the Federal Republic of Nigeria." From the early to the mid-1980s, under the auspices of the International Monetary Fund (IFM), African governments, including that of Nigeria, adopted the policy known as the Structural Adjustment Program. The policy required governments to tighten their belts, cut spending, and lay off workers. In return governments were given loans at high interest rates. By the end of the decade most African countries predictably had become chronically indebted to the IMF. African economies were in tatters and the effect this had on the educational system was dramatic. An informative examination of the challenges and possibilities that exist on an African campus, John Otim's journey through the tragedies and triumphs of the Ahmadu Bello University is a fascinating study of one university's struggles to overcome financial and institutional difficulties seemingly far out of control. Crippled by its country's perilous financial state, Ahmadu Bello and other Nigerian universities suffered from lack of funds and supplies, loss of qualified professors, and sub-standard student housing that resulted in strikes and riots on campuses across the nation. At Ahmadu Bello University where the crisis was most acute, this led to prolonged closers. By 2004 when this story begins, the university had lost two academic sessions and was about to lose a third. It was at this point that Vice Chancellor Professor Shehu Usman Abdullahi took over the affairs of the institution. The most fundamental challenge he faced was to restore the sense of normalcy and culture of study and work to the beleaguered campus. Through seven sections, Otim recalls the creation of the university in 1962 and its rise to fame and glory; he discusses academic matters, administrative issues, rehabilitation of physical structures, and the development of a comprehensive, campus-wide network of ICT. Inspired by his years of teaching and learning at Ahmadu Bello's campus, his research into its history, John Otim accomplishes an easy to read, informative and provocative treatise that puts in sharp relief the challenges that almost brought to an end one of the most fabled campuses on the African continent. The breadth of his understanding and the precision of his narrative provide insights into not only the university, but the nature of higher education itself. Always challenging and never pandering, The Ups and Downs of an African Campus: Five Years of Steady Progress at Ahmadu Bello University 2004-2009 is a lightning bolt of inspiration that teaches anything is possible when you believe in a dream.