In the psychology of human development, there is a concept called the critical period, a window in which timely intervention can alter the course of an individual’s life for the better. If missed, the chances of recovery diminish dramatically. Institutions, like humans, have their own critical periods. They face moments when the choice to act or to drift determines whether they sink further into decline or rise towards renewal. Today, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) – Nigeria’s first indigenous university and once a roaring citadel of African scholarship – stands in such a moment. And into this moment steps Professor Simon Ortuanya, who formally assumes duty as the 16th substantive Vice Chancellor on Monday, 11 August 2025, when Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oguejiofor Ujam, hands over the reins.
Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, the first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet.
Agbedo, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Nigeria, is a contributing analyst to USAfrica
Prof. Ortuanya’s resumption is not the end of an ordinary administrative cycle. It is the closing of a long, bruising chapter. When Prof. Charles Arizechukwu Igwe’s five-year tenure ended in June 2024, the expectation was for a swift and orderly succession. Instead, UNN endured a 14-month leadership interregnum, during which three successive Acting Vice Chancellors were appointed in turn. This interregnum did not create UNN’s challenges; it simply made the cracks more visible. The university’s current ailments are the cumulative effect of decades of inconsistent leadership, emotional disconnect from the lofty ideals of the founding fathers, accountability challenge in application of funds, and neglected infrastructure. But prolonged uncertainty at the helm left the Lion’s Den without its full roar, amplifying anxieties among students, staff, alumni, and the host communities.
The path to Ortuanya’s appointment had two distinct phases. The first phase was the protracted, almost elusive process of finding a substantive 16th Vice Chancellor from early 2024 through mid-2025 – a process mired in delays, nerve-jangling tensions, and executive reconsiderations. The second phase began decisively on 28 July 2025, when the Governing Council, under the leadership of Engr. Kayode Olubunmi Ojo, re-started the succession process by initiating a rigorous six-day selection exercise. From an array of applicants, the field was narrowed to a shortlist of highly qualified candidates. This was meritocracy on display – a radical departure from a number of systemic issues that had often tended to characterize such appointments. By 3 August 2025, the process culminated with the appointment of Prof. Simon Ortuanya, marking the end of the onerous search for the most capable and competent person to occupy the position of the 16th Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria.
At the announcement of the appointment, Engr. Ojo revealed a critical piece of the backstory. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR), the statutory Visitor to the university, had taken a personal interest in breaking the succession deadlock. He “specially assigned” the task to the Pro-Chancellor, citing his pedigree and wealth of experience as the reason he trusted him to “salvage the situation.” The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Moruf Alausa, provided what Engr. Ojo described as “wise counsel and unalloyed support,” ensuring that the process remained focused and untainted. The Selection Board, the Governing Council, the University Senate, Management, and representatives of the Federal Character Commission all contributed to the credibility and transparency of the process.
In congratulating Prof. Ortuanya, the Pro-Chancellor reminded him that the capacity and competence that earned him the appointment must now be translated into visible effectiveness in managing his victory. He also urged the new VC to reach out to his co-contestants and draw from their wealth of experience. Leadership, in this case, is less about conquest and more about coalition. This counsel is especially relevant because UNN’s ailments are not the work of a single administration; instead, they are generational problems. Infrastructure has decayed; research is underfunded; morale among staff is low; and many students feel disconnected from the university’s once-storied mission. Reversing this trajectory requires not just an able leader but a united constituency.
Few metaphors have captured UNN’s decline as vividly as Engr. Ojo’s statement at the 54th Convocation Ceremony in July 2025. In a moment of frank lament, he said UNN had fallen from the heights of the ‘Lion’s Den’ to the derelict relic of ‘an abandoned poultry’. It was a stinging but honest diagnosis. The choice before Prof. Ortuanya, and indeed before the entire UNN community, is whether this metaphor will define the future or become a cautionary relic of the past. To move from poultry to pride means restoring the roar – repairing broken systems, rekindling academic excellence, and reigniting the sense of belonging that once made UNN’s alumni some of Africa’s finest ambassadors.
This transition from poultry to pride cannot be made by the Vice Chancellor alone. It requires the collective ownership of the university’s future by all its stakeholders. Staff must recommit to excellence in teaching, research, and service, with integrity as their anchor. Students must embrace their role as partners in progress, fostering academic discipline and civic responsibility. Co-contestants in the VC race must set aside rivalry and channel their ideas and energy into building the institution they all aspired to lead. Alumni, spread across the globe, must rally resources, networks, and goodwill to rejuvenate their alma mater. Host communities must safeguard the university’s peace and support its growth as a regional and national asset. Government and funding agencies must match rhetoric with tangible investment in facilities, technology, and research capacity. This is not the moment for apathy or sabotage. It is a time for unity, shared vision, and disciplined execution.
Prof. Ortuanya’s five-year tenure will be judged not only by administrative reforms but by the spirit he is able to inspire. If he can turn UNN into a space where ideas flourish, partnerships grow, and students graduate as innovators rather than job seekers, then he will not just have reclaimed the Lion’s Den; he will have secured its place in Africa’s academic
renaissance. In African folklore, a story of a lion raised among goats stands out. For years, it bleated instead of roaring, thinking itself a goat. One day, another lion showed it its reflection in the water. “You are a lion, not a goat” the elder said. “Roar.” And the younger lion roared! That first roar, indeed changed everything. Perhaps, UNN has been bleating for too long, confined in a poultry yard of underachievement. With Prof. Simon Ortuanya taking the helm on 11 August 2025, this could be the moment the Lion sees its reflection again—and remembers how to roar.
History has given UNN a second chance. The President has shown interest, the Council has done its part, and the Minister has offered guidance. Now, with Prof. Ortuanya stepping in, the university stands at the edge of a transformation. Let the poultry be forgotten. Let the pride be restored. Let the Lion’s Den roar again. The journey begins on Monday.
