The Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) Prof Oguejiofo Ujam has said that nobody inside or outside the University Community has disputed the assertion that, Prof Frank Ndili era remained a golden era in UNN.
Ujam said this in Nsukka on Thursday during the maiden edition of the Professor Frank Ndili Memorial Lecture & Induction of the Awardees of the Ndili Foundation Scholars Programme.
Prof Ndili was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria from 1980 to 1985. He was born in 1934 and died in 2024. His administration is widely regarded as the golden age of the university.
The VC said during that era, UNN had a good number of expatriates including Americans, Britons, Indians among others as lecturers at the university.
"These expatriates all lived on campus and enjoyed what was truly a modern university that paraded the best standards of academics and municipal services.
"Sadly successive generations of leadership have struggled to sustain and even improve on such grandiose municipal infrastructure.
"Apart from creating and maintaining a strong academic and ethical culture, Prof Ndili is also credited with building the most magnificent among the buildings in this university, I am also personally impressed with the extensive municipal infrastructure he put up in this university.
"Prof Frank Ndili era remained a golden era in UNN," he said.
He commended the choice of Prof P. N. Okeke to deliver the Maiden Memorial Lecture of Ndili as Okeke was Prof Ndili's PhD student as well as holds the honour of being the first-ever recipient of the Doctorate of this prestigious University of Nigeria.
Ujam thanked Dr Amachi Ndili, the Chairman of the education foundation and other members for the sponsorship as well as congratulated undergraduate students who would be maiden inductees of the Ndili Foundation Scholars Programme for their academic excellence that earned them the selection.
"I urge them to remain academically focused to justify the foundation's investment in them as well as to be selected again next year.
Speaking, Dr Amachi Ndili, the Chairman of Prof Ndili Education Scholarship Foundation expressed appreciation for UNN's recognition of his father's immense contributions to the UNN.
"Ndili's family is happy over the recognition and support to our father both as an academic and administrator during his sojourn in UNN.
He said the foundation was a way of giving back to society, especially the youths who needed education to make positive impacts in their future.
"The UNN community showered kindness to my father and our entire family, today we are giving back to UNN as way a way of showing appreciation.
"This programme will not only bring access to education but also bring mentorship and good leadership.
"The 21 beneficiaries are selected on merits as their departments provided records of their academic performance.
"The foundation will pay their tuition fees, give them a monthly stipend, give them laptops, help those who want to do their master degree on graduation as well as help them get employments among others.
"The beneficiaries selected in 2025 will remain in 2026 if they maintain their good academic records else their undergraduate colleagues who achieved better results will replace them during the next selection.
"So you can see that, only good academic performance will retain those selected this year in the Ndili Education Foundation," he said.
Dr Amachi expressed appreciation to UNN-VC for approving the Programme, thanked Emeritus Prof P.N Okeke for being the maiden keynote speaker, Emeritus Prof Sam Onyegegbu for chairing the occasion.
He thanked members of the foundation for their unquantifiable contributions as well as staff and students of UNN for coming out in their numbers to give the event a special colour
In a keynote speech by Emeritus Prof Okeke, he described the event as a landmark that was more than the launch of a lecture series.
"It is with deep honour that I stand before you on behalf of Ndili foundation committed to promoting and democraticising access to the highest of market education and human capital development in Africa.
"The Ndili Foundation was founded on simple but powerful conviction that the greatest resource is in Africa especially its youths," he said.
Okeke said he captured some of the achievements of Ndili on academics and administration in UNN as no book could contained all the achievements of the great 'Iroko' called Prof Frank Ndili.
He said the name of Ndili would continue to be a point of good reference wherever and whenever the history of UNN is written nationally and internationally.
Some of the beneficiaries interviewed by our correspondent prayed God to replenish the family of Ndili on the huge education investment the family is making on them through the Prof Frank Ndili education foundation.
They pledged to work harder by reading their books to ensure that by next year their good academic performance will retain them as beneficiaries.
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