Getting Our Universities Back on Track: Reflections and Governance Paradigms from My Vice-Chancellorship by N. Oluwafemi Mimiko (review)

Using a personal narrative approach, Mimiko chronicles his administrative experience as the vice chancellor of a relatively new state university in Nigeria: the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Okoko (AAAU), in Ondo State. He shares how the experience shaped his perspectives about life personally and spiritually and, on a larger scale, about public service in Nigeria. His ingenuity as a storyteller makes this somewhat voluminous book an easy and interesting read. He uses a down-to-earth, humorous, and sometimes intense literary approach to bring his thoughts alive to his readers. While the book may be considered an autobiography of sorts, Mimiko also sheds light on the history of higher education in Nigeria. He discusses the challenges in its leadership since independence and how these challenges have impacted the educational system in Nigeria structurally and otherwise. His credentials as a seasoned administrator, a full professor of international stature, and a trade unionist make him uniquely qualified to offer an insight into the state of higher education in postcolonial Nigeria. This publication speaks to many constituents—administrators, faculty, politicians, students, and researchers interested in learning about the administration of higher education in Nigeria. It is a case study of a young university going through a teething period and a play-by-play of how to build a university from the ground up under the most restrictive, politically contentious, underresourced and antagonizing environment imaginable.

The book depicts the continued dilemma facing the development of Nigeria as a state and efforts to develop its higher educational system. On the one hand, Mimiko extolls higher education as the engine that drives growth and development in any society. On the other hand, he laments that higher education in Nigeria is still in search of relevancy and is struggling to become competitive in the current knowledge-driven age. He writes eloquently about the virtues of academia but contrasts that with the reality of life for academicians in a country such as Nigeria, where campus strikes, student cultism, professional apathy, corruption, and inept leadership abound. How the author overcame these challenges to bring efficiency, innovation, self-reliance, and excellence to one particular university (which he describes as “the 21st Century University, properly called”) is testament to his intellectual brilliance, political acumen, and astute leadership. Mimiko’s greatest assets are his spirituality and determination to survive at all costs, no matter what the circumstance. This stubbornness is evident in his negotiations with faculty and staff unions, his persist efforts to reform policies and structures, his battle with accreditation organizations, and his entrepreneurialism in seeking funding for facilities. As an administrator of a new university operating in a contentious environment, Mimiko struggled through most of his administrative tasks, even those that might seem routine and ordinary in a developed country.

His sense of humor and respect for his culture is to be commended. He responded with mockery to those who intentionally overlooked his qualifications and accused him of receiving special treatment as the governor’s brother. When his walking stick was erroneously characterized as having juju (mystical power) by members of his university community, he deliberately did not set the record straight. His use of quotes from the Yoruba language and his support for the delivery of a commencement address in the Yoruba language showed how much he believes in the integration of culture in education even at the highest levels of learning.

Some may question his extensive use of people’s direct names especially when the scenarios described were not flattering or his personal attacks on those with whom he disagreed. As Mimiko notes in the foreword to the book, he operated in a difficult and combative environment, so he used the book to set the record straight with those who might have misjudged him. Overall, as a Nigerian-born educational administrator, this reviewer understands Mimiko’s perspective and empathizes with his situation. In addition, his honesty is laudable...