IN THE BEGINNING: THE
GENESIS OF UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA NSUKKA
Sir Francis Akanu
ibiam(1963) had the following
to say to the criticisms that accrued about the existence of the University of
Nigeria especially in a place called Nsukka.
I remember very well said sir francis
Akanu Ibiam(1963) when the news came that there was going to be an university of Nigeria in a location known as nsukka. the choice of Nsukka as a location
Was highly controversial.
the designation of the University of Nigeria was catchy and intriguing some
people asked why call it the University of Nigeria?, was there to be no other university
in this vast country of ours? Other people wanted to know where Nsukka was.
Anyhow such a new and unheard name ! if there must be a University of Nigeria
why not have it established at Enugu, or Onitsha or Aba or calabar the old and
familiar places. Many other people exclaimed imagine B.A,B.sc Nsukka was the common remark. Many other
citizens meaningfully or otherwise demanded to know where the money would come
from to meet the acceptably expensive[MR1]
cost of the highest order of institution of learning .
1960/1961 SESSION; THE
GENESIS
The campus could boast of
very few houses which were hurriedly put up to beat the deadline for admitting the first year students who
started their studies on October 17th 1960 ten days after the
official opening and laying of
foundation stone of the university’s early building by princess Alexandria of
kent, the queen Elizabeth II representative at the independence ceremony (obiechina
1978:2) the poor infrastructure did not at all indicate that the founding
fathers did not know that the school needed solid buildings such that were in
Ibadan and Ife because the money was not there, the founding fathers decided to
set up temporary building s rather than, in words of prof.Frank Ndili
“sacrifice the idea of starting the university” (morka et al,1982)
The pioneer students 220 of them were still getting to know
one another . the average student was older between 28 and 30 years of age.
They had less money to spend ,spent less time on social activities like
clubbing , partying and they had great sense of responsibility than his
counterpart today. Actually the first hostel was Okpara, it was called Block
one then, Male and female students
stayed together in a hall. The ground floor of the hall was the dinning
section with a kitchenette at one end of it. Female students occupied the first
floor, male students stayed on the second floor
and there was a separating gate
before the flight of stairs in-between the floors. The two sexes all came down
to the dinning to have their meal and go off to lectures .
When the second hall of residence, Balewa (block two) was
ready, the male students moved into it . the dinning sections in both halls
became common rooms equipped with television sets and gaming facilities .
During this period,220
students in balewa and okpara halls were accommodated two persons to a room.
Life then was spacious full of solo trips to breezy and hilly sides for sober reflections.
however the hostel blocks lacked certain facilities
There
were no space for liners; no disposal sink for cleaners to empty dirty water;
no utility rooms for storage of cleaning materials; no drainage in the
washrooms for excess water blown in by rain or used by the cleaners for
scrubbing the floors.
In
the early 1960’s, ther was no electricity or pipe borne water. Therefore, the
pioneers students and even lecturers had to use lanterns and fetch water water
from outside the campus. In the two hostels, study tables were in adedquate and
there was no wall mirrors.
Source;
ONAEGBU,J. ”the kindling of the spirit and the
first test of ‘62(1960-1963)”.freedom in our freedom mind our bones:the history of the students union
government , University of
Nigeria,Nsukka (1960-2004).
Compiled by :CHUKWUDI
CHIZURUOKE
http//lifestylescosmos.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment