The former vice-chancellor of the University of Maidugri and chairman of the committees of vice-chancellors Prof. Jibrilla Dahiru Amin earlier this week announced the advisory board members of the strategic Fundraising and capital campaign initiative for tertiary institutions.
They are, Prof. Molefi Asante of Temple University, Philadelphia, USA; Prof Bolaji Aluko the pioneer vice-chancellor of the Federal University Otuoke; Prof Ekanem Ikpi-Braide, the President of the Nigerian Academy of Science; Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, the Secretary-General of the CVC and Mrs Yinka Ogunde, CEO EDumark, with a lot of experience in the education sector.
Speaking at an interview, Amin said with funding being a major issue facing tertiary institutions in the country, institutions must find ways of not depending on their funders, considering the recent complaints of inadequate funds.
“The major problem facing our universities mainly has to do with funding because of the over-dependence on the proprietors be they government or private organizations and individuals.
“Even the Minister of Education in Nigeria has come out of recent to say that government is unable to bear the full financial requirements of its universities, yet more institutions are being created,” he said.
To address funding issues for institutions, Amin, who was also the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Dutse, said various groups such as the Strategic Fundraising and Capital Campaign (SFCC)had come up to design strategic solutions.
He said: “The SFCC is an initiative of several institutions: the Tri-College University consortium is leading the initiative – especially the Minnesota State University at Moorhead (MSUM).
There is also the ORBICOM, the Global Network of UNESCO Professors of Communication at the University of Quebec, Montreal Canada. In Nigeria, the initiative is being administered by C & F Porter Novelli, a top corporate communications agency in the country.
Prof. Amin further said: “The main target of the SFCC are the senior university managers in Nigeria. We are targeting Vice-Chancellors, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Registrars, Bursars, and Directors of Development/Advancement. We are particularly keen to have onboard the people in the Development/Advancement offices of universities because they are directly involved in fundraising as part of their schedule of duties. We shall seek to firmly entrench in the university system culture of fundraising for self-reliance.”