Four Years Of Egwunyenga’s Touch At DELSU
Four years in the saddle as the Vice- Chancellor of Delta State University, Abraka ( DELSU), Professor Andy Egwunyenga has amply demonstrated to be a confluence for justice, hard work, propriety, discipline and due process. His initial pledge to redress genuine cases of injustice still resonates with the University till this day.
On his first working day in office, Monday, December 2, 2019 as the 7th substantive Vice- Chancellor among others, he made a clarion call through a special edition of the DELSU Bulletin to the academic community to “unite as a community of scholars and administrators to collectively lift up Delta State University.”
In that momentous ice breaking communication, the new Vice- Chancellor declared, “I solemnly pledge to lead, inspire and advance the repositioning of Delta State University to emerge as the best state university in Nigeria. To realize this vision, we have a lot of work to do!”
In the past 48 months, Professor Egwunyenga has irrevocably been committed to the transformation of the University in different spheres, using his six- point agenda of building an effective and motivated work force, pursuit of innovation using ICT, strengthening faculties, departments and units, emphasis on the welfare of students, improvement of the revenue base and applying a new approach to University administration has provided a road map for the people- centered administration to post massive achievements, despite its lean resources.
Indeed, appreciating the people- factor early in his administration has been a success factor as no leader can do everything all by himself. He therefore embarked on bringing back to the fold those who had been frustrated and alienated from the system, due to various forms of injustice meted out to them. He provided an explanation in a recent Lead Interview published in the DELSU News of April 2022.
“We have affected the lives of staff who were depressed by the grievances of either victimization or injustice or things that happened against management of people,” he said, adding, “So, we have healed wounds, we have united staff and we have attempted to get everybody on board.”
If we were to borrow from the discipline of advertising, it is reasonable to state that the ‘ unique selling point’ of the Professor Egwunyenga administration is his anchor on people, the ‘ ant mentality’ which leverages on the power of a group to achieve its aims and objectives. “I think that the vision that I came with and the mission to advance the position of the University has, in fact, been taken over by staff without pushing or forcing them to do what is required,” he declared in the same edition of the same magazine.
Professor Egwunyenga’s power of persuasion, credibility, and get- things- done disposition has worked wonderfully for him. He is not an arm- chair administrator who dreads the scorching sun! On the contrary, he is always out there in the field to see things for him, making observations, suggestions and where necessary, giving instructions and directives and insisting that they are carried out. He always goes for on- the- spot assessments of projects. Some of the many projects he has delivered included beautification, renovation and landscaping of Site II and Site III Main Entrance gates, ongoing construction and furnishing of offices and lecture theatres for the Department of Nursing, Abraka, Faculty of Pharmacy Complex, Construction of Educational Technology Laboratory, on- going maintenance project of the 1000 capacity and 750 ( A, B and C) lecture halls in Abraka and also the very huge edifice of Faculty of Management Sciences, funded from internally generated revenue. Other projects, funded by TETFUND and Delta State Government, are nearing completion as the University helmsman has assured that all would be delivered before leaving office on November 30, 2024.
One of the bold steps taken by the administration was the conversion of non- teaching staff to academic staff. It instantly became a source of motivation for many who had worked hard to improve their academic qualifications with the hope of joining the academia.