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By Madu Obi
The race for the next Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) has taken a new dimension, with the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, MDCAN, faulting the requirements for the aspirants.
MDCAN revealed that Professor Joseph Ikechebelu, a former Acting Vice Chancellor of the university and other medical doctors interested in the position, may be excluded from the race due to certain criteria outlined in the advertisement for the VC position.
A statement signed by Dr. Victor Modekwe and Dr. Sunday Oriji, Chairman and Secretary of MDCAN-NAUTH respectively, condemned the insertion, which requires applicants to possess a first degree, Master's degree, and PhD, arguing that the unique career progression of its members was overlooked.
Recall that Ikechebelu recently obtained a PhD degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, which potentially qualified him for the VC position.
According to MDCAN, the academic pathway for clinical lecturers, both at UNIZIK and globally, includes a first degree (MBBS/BDS), Primary Fellowship Examination, Part I Fellowship Examination, and Part II/Final Fellowship Examination, culminating in a Medical Fellowship, arguing that the requirement for a PhD of 15 years, without acknowledging the equivalent postgraduate Medical Fellowship of 15 years, deviates from a similar advertisement for the position in 2019.
To the consultants, this is detrimental to the medical profession in Nigeria, adding that the requirements were designed to exclude qualified lecturers from the faculties of Medicine, Basic Clinical Sciences, and Basic Medical Sciences from becoming Vice Chancellors.
In a letter to the office of the Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of the Governing Council MDCAN alleged a sinister plan to insert injurious requirements into the proposed advertisement for the VC position and urged the university's governing council to reconsider these requirements, which it stated, are not only strange to Nnamdi Azikiwe University, but to all universities in Nigeria.
It described the conditions in the advertisement as unfair and called for its withdrawal within seven days to prevent a total shutdown of medical education sectors within the university.
It threatened that if the advertisement is not withdrawn, the association would embark on indefinite industrial action, involving the withdrawal of all medical and clinical lecturers from academic functions.
MDCAN advocated for an advertisement that would reflect the academic pathway of Medical/Clinical lecturers by including Post-Graduate Medical Fellowship wherever PhD is mentioned and excluding the Master's degree requirement, in light of their longstanding educational pathway.
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