A former vice-chancellor of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Prof. Nuhu Yaqub, has said the power competition between the government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities has badly affected the effort at solving the ‘wicked problems’ facing Nigerian libraries.
The university administrator noted that university libraries belong to the non-active component of the struggle and could be damaged if left unattended to, adding that among the ‘wicked problems’ that libraries face is lack of adequate facilities to facilitate learning.
Prof Yaqub stated this while delivering a keynote address at the 104th Bi-Annual Conference of the Association of University Librarians of Nigerian Universities (AULNU), with theme ‘University Governance: Nexus between Chief Executive and the Library’, on Tuesday in Abuja.
He said: “What is most painful to me in particular is that whenever ASUU and the government reached an agreement on better funding, what the government went ahead to fulfill epileptically would always be salary and not the more critical areas such as the library and other infrastructures for learning like books, journals, hostels, sporting activities and classrooms.”
In his remarks, chairman of AULNU, Dr. Okanlawon O. Adediji, said the conference was intended to bring up a better understanding of the peculiarities of the university systems and the environment.
“It is a well-known fact that university libraries in Nigeria suffer inadequate attention in terms of positioning or placement when competing needs come to play within the university ecosystem. This is contrary to the principles of appropriate governance which justifies equity and fairness in a competitive situation.
“A university library is a major player in the business of any university; it is the heart and soul of that university. It should therefore be accorded its rightful place in the ecosystem,” he said.
He further said, whilst the university is busy conducting research to ameliorate societal problems, the library is jointly busied and saddled with the role of managing the required information and knowledge as input and also the documented data, information, and knowledge generated as output of the research.
Presenting a paper on ‘The Place of the University Librarian in University Governance’, president of the Nigerian Library Association, Professor Innocent I. Ekoja, said the societal expectation of the role of the university has grown in complexity and sophistication because of the equally ever-growing complexity and sophistication of the society itself, which the university must respond to.
“The library has always been an important and active support organ in facilitating the realization of the university’s mandate, and must therefore provide the required information services for its realization of the ever-growing mandates.”
He also said, “Apart from his primary roles, which are mainly professional, which the librarian should ensure he satisfactorily carried out, he is expected to play certain secondary roles, which the vice-chancellor or the university management devolves on him from time to time because of his position as a principal officer and an important member of management.
“In fulfilling the secondary roles, which include membership or chairmanship of some statutory and ad hoc committees, the librarian must ensure that his primary roles, nay constituency, i.e. the library must not be neglected.
“It is also expected to relate harmoniously with all the segments of the university in order for him to enjoy the required support for the library to succeed in its assignment.”
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