NHEF News
06-24-2009
:: President's address at the NHEF Inaugural Awards Dinner: Creating Strength from Within - Supporting Nigerian Higher Education
Address at the inaugural awards dinner for the Nigeria higher education foundationTavern on the Green (67th & Central Park West) in New York City - June 24, 2009
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Christopher ‘Sola Olopade, MD, MPHProfessor of Medicine and Public Health, University of Illinois at ChicagoPresident, Nigeria Higher Education Foundation
Good evening everyone, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to this evening’s inaugural awards dinner and introduce you to our organization.
The seeds for the Nigeria higher education foundation were planted long ago. In fact, the origins of Nigerian higher education date back to 1934 when the colonial government set up the Yaba Higher College in Lagos. It was plagued with high dropout rates and in its wake; the College of Ibadan, under the University of London was established in 1948 and remained the only institution of higher education until 1960.
The universities that are now referred to as the “first generation” universities were established by the government in the 1970’s. By 2001 Nigeria had 45 universities and by 2008 had over 90. This rapid expansion of universities and pillage of the established universities for faculty by the newer ones contributed to the compromise of academic quality and standards and fostered the massive emigration of intellectuals from Nigeria.
According to the Nigeria universities commission (NUC), the average student/faculty ratio was recently as high as 59:1 with an estimated shortfall of 8,000 academic staff. The natural result has been a deteriorating quality of the products of Nigerian universities. Alarmingly, the NUC has suggested that only 20 percent of Nigerian university graduates are employable, which indicates the deplorable level of labor market absorption in Nigeria.
Coincidentally, in 2000, responding to increasing trends of democratization, public policy reform, and the increasing participation of civil society organizations in a growing number of African countries, four foundations recognizing the indispensable contribution of higher education to social and economic development came together and committed $100 million dollars over five years.
The Ford foundation, The John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller foundation, and the Carnegie corporation of New York launched an initiative to coordinate their support of higher education in Africa: the partnership for higher education in Africa (PHEA).
The partnership aimed to support the priority given to education and the four agreed to work together toward accelerating the processes of modernization and institutional revitalization of universities in selected African countries. The issues to be addressed included curriculum reform; training and retraining of faculty members and technical and support staff; participation of African experts in international research and scientific networks; improved internal governance and accountability; increased access for students and higher quality of academic activities; diversification of sources of universities' income and greater responsiveness to societal needs; and improved contribution to the alleviation of poverty.
At the time, the four foundations selected seven countries—Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda—that accentuated trends of democratization, public policy reform, participation of civil society organizations, priority of higher education, and innovative university leadership.
We are very happy that representatives of all four foundations have joined us today along with Dr. Suzanne Grant-Lewis coordinator of the partnership. Please stand up and be acknowledged as I call your names.
From the Carnegie corporationDr. Tade Akin AinaProgram Director, higher education in Africa
Ms. Andrea JohnsonProgram officer, scholarship in Africa project
Ms. Claudia FrittelliProgram officer, African higher education
From the Ford FoundationDr. John Butler-AdamProgram officer, Southern Africa office
Dr. Dina el'KhawagaProgram officer, Cairo office
From the John D. And Catherine T. Macarthur FoundationMr. Raoul DavionProgram officer and co-chair, higher education initiative in Africa
Dr. Kole ShettimaDirector, Africa office
From the Rockefeller foundationDr. Katherine NamudduAssociate Director, Nairobi office
From the Kresge FoundationMr. William F. L. MosesSr. Program officer
From the Partnership for Higher Education in AfricaDr. Suzanne Grant LewisCoordinator
Mr. Jonathan FriedmanProject associate
Mr. John SchoneboomICT project associate
We thank you for the exemplary work you are doing to support higher education in Africa and we look forward to working with you in promoting and supporting higher education initiatives all across Africa.
The John D. And Catherine T. Macarthur foundation under the leadership of its current President Jonathan Fanton with his visionary leadership chose to focus its work on Nigerian universities. To help the selected Nigerian universities diversify their sources of income, increase the participation and collaboration with African experts in international research and scientific networks and improve internal governance and accountability, the Macarthur foundation created the Nigeria higher education foundation (NHEF) in 2004.
PHEA has also attracted the attention of other foundations and agencies. The William and Flora Hewlett foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon foundation formally joined the partnership in April 2005. The six foundations have pledged to continue the partnership through 2010 and to invest $200 million over the next five years, expanding the number of beneficiary countries to include Kenya, Egypt, and Madagascar
The Universities we support are:
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (A first class Architecture School and innovator in agricultural research).
Bayero University, Kano. (Nigerias leading academic institution for cultural studies).
University of Ibadan (Internationally recognized for its strong social science faculty and College of Medicine).
University of Nigeria, Nsukka (The first indigenous university, known for remarkable breakthroughs in many areas of research).
University of Port Harcourt (Known for petroleum engineering)
Our vision is to enhance the ability of Nigerian universities to help address and solve Nigeria’s most pressing social problems, to enable economic development, and to promote a lasting and stable democracy.
Our objectives are:
- To develop and articulate the case for support of Nigerian universities.
- To introduce and open doors to potential supporters of the universities.
- To create public awareness for Nigerian universities.
- To raise funds on behalf of the universities.
- To leverage our positions to facilitate linkages and collaboration with experts in the Diaspora to improve the quality of higher education in Nigeria.
We are delighted that we have representation from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (Prof Nwangwu) and the University of Port-Harcourt (Professor Ebong) with us tonight. You are most welcome. We have established specific programs towards achieving these objectives and I will give 4 brief examples
First, we have trained chief development officers from NHEF universities on effective governance, developing strategic partnerships and creating targeted capital campaign through direct exposure to Academic Institutions in the USA, such as Cornell university, Rensselaer polytechnic institute, Columbia University and the University of Chicago.
Second, we have developed the skills inventory management system (SIMS), which is a repository of vetted Nigerian experts in all academic disciplines in the Diaspora. This platform will allow the matching of availability of Nigerian professionals and friends of Nigeria in the Diaspora with the expressed faculty needs of NHEF universities.
I am delighted that we have Dr. Joanna Rubinstein with us tonight. She is the director for the center for global health and economic development at the earth institute of Columbia and the chief of staff for Professor Jeffery Sachs. We thank her for her support and willingness to serve on the advisory committee for this initiative. I also want to acknowledge Prof Rubinstein, the president of the New York Academy of Sciences for the work to link scientists globally through the Scientists Without Borders platform.
SIMS is our attempt at improving linkages and capacity building for the universities we support initially with potential for expansion to other universities in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. We are very excited about the development of this program, the early results and its potential to reach so many lives.
We have just received seed funding of $175,000 from the John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to expand this platform that will provide needed quality faculty to universities in Nigeria. I urge all of you to be part of this exciting project through financial support and your willingness to spend time based on your schedule to educate the leaders of tomorrow.
Third, we have assisted the universities in preparing proposals to fund academic programs and research initiatives.
During our November 2008 symposium at Columbia in partnership with the earth institute, we introduced the Vice Chancellors of the 5 NHEF universities to the program officers at the earth institute at Columbia. The Earth Institute was interested in placing the newly created master’s in sustainable development degree program in Universities. This newly created degree program will provide rigorous professional training for future leaders in the field of sustainable development. Our introduction and support led to the submission of applications during the first round of the competition for funding by 2 NHEF universities.
There is an embargo on the official announcement but I am proud to insinuate that one of our universities will be the recipient of one of the grant awards to develop this degree program. This award comes with a one million dollar support from the Macarthur Foundation. We intend to encourage the other NHEF universities to also submit proposals during the second phase of the project.
Fourth, we have encouraged the development of collaborative research initiatives with academic colleagues at NHEF and other Nigerian Universities. Through support from the breast cancer research foundation, Dr. Funmi Olopade has established a clinical research program that offers free and essential Immunohistochemistry services and cancer treatment to women who have breast cancer. We are delighted that both the President (Myra Biblowit) and Deputy Director (Peg Mastriani) of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation are with us tonight. Through support from the Fogarty center at the NIH, Dr. Ogedegbe, has partnered with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital to assist them in developing research infrastructure and capacity. Dr. Vincent Idemyor has volunteered numerous times as a scholar to work for months at NHEF Universities, sharing his expertise in HIV/AIDS to educate and stem its spread. Professor Akinwande, the first tenured black Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is leading the effort to create the Nigeria National Science Foundation in addition to his leadership in upgrading the curriculum in the sciences to 21st century standards at the University of Ife.
There are too many examples of ongoing activities to share but time constraint limits me to only these shining examples.
We are also working hard to foster the exchange of students and faculty. To this end I am delighted to welcome Paul Menzel, a final year medical student at Cornell, who recently completed a 6 weeks elective at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. Our hope is to foster such exchanges in both directions in all academic disciplines.
I encourage all of you to learn more about the extraordinary work our directors and friends are doing in support of higher education in Nigeria and beyond through your discussions over dinner.
Tonight we gather to promote and seek continuing support for our partner institutions. Many of us here tonight are involved because we are products of that system and want to give back for some of the generous educational and professional gifts we have received. Others are here because they understand that the economic, political and social development of our country depends on educating our young people.
Our honorees tonight represent both of these groups. We are pleased to honor them tonight.
Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili is president for the Africa region of the World Bank and former minister of education for the federal republic of Nigeria.
Congressman Donald Payne is Chairman of the subcommittee on Africa and global health.
Professor Wole Soyinka is a Nobel laureate and one of the most eminent figures in literature today
And
The honorable Rosa Whitaker is the President and CEO of the Whitaker group and the former Assistant us Trade Representative for Africa under Presidents Clinton and Bush.
You will hear more about these distinguished honorees later.
We have several of our board members present tonight and I am delighted to ask them to stand up as I mention their names.
Wale Adeosun, CFA – Vice President of the Board. Mr. Adeosun is Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he has oversight responsibilities for over $1 billion in endowment and pension assets.
Vincent Idemyor, MD – Secretary of the Board; Dr. Idemyor is the Director, of Pharmaceutical services at Bethany Hospital Chicago and teaches at the University of Illinois, College of Medicine, in Chicago. In 2004, the Chicago Commission on Human Relations Advisory Council on Immigrant and Refugee Affairs honored Dr. Idemyor for his outstanding achievements in clinical research and advocating equitable HIV/AIDS policies.
Beatrice Hamza-Bassey, Esq., and Treasurer; Attorney Hamza is a partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed, LLC in New York City, where she specializes in Entertainment & Media Law; Intellectual Property & Technology; Litigation; Product Liability & Toxic Torts. Ms. Hama is the former President of the Nigerian Lawyers Association.
Akintunde Ibitayo (Tayo) Akinwande, PhD – Professor Akinwande is a tenured Professor of Electrical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is the first Black person to attain that stature in the history of MIT.
Ferdinand A. Ofodile, MD – Dr. Ofodile is Clinical Professor of Surgery at Columbia University, Chief of Plastic Surgery and Associate Director of Surgery at Harlem hospital center, New York and Harlem hospital site director of the Cornell-Columbia University plastic surgery residency program.
Gbenga Ogedegbe, MD, MPH, MS- Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the School of Medicine, New York University. He is a Fellow of the American Heart Association.
Sarki Abba Abdulkadir, MD, PhD - Dr. Abdulkadir is Associate Professor of Pathology and Cancer Biology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, TN. He is a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University (MBBS) and of Johns Hopkins University (PhD in Immunology) and is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2001 UAB Minority Faculty Development Award and the 2002 John R. Durant Faculty Award for Excellence in Cancer Research.
Olakunle O. Akinboboye, MD, MBA, MPH - Dr. Akinboboye is Associate Professor of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brook, NY, Director, Nuclear Cardiology, Saint Francis Hospital, Roslyn, NY. He is Nuclear Cardiologist and has led efforts to educate Medical personnel in Nigeria on how to perform Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation.
Fareh Evelyn Garba - Fareh Evelyn Garba is Assistant Professor of Architecture at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Architecture. She is responsible for developing curricula and administering Undergraduate and Graduate courses in Architectural Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She has previously helped develop, coordinate, and administer study abroad programs that take students on three month teaching trips outside the United States, especially in Europe but with plans to extend to Sub-Saharan Africa.
Abiodun O. K. Johnson, M.B.B.S. (London), MD, FRCP - Dr. Johnson is Professor of Pediatrics in the Gastroenterology Division of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He is a former Provost of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. In 2004, he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ibadan College of Medicine Alumni Association North America Chapter for his life-long commitment and service to the University of Ibadan College of Medicine.
James (Jim) Esomonu Obi - Mr. Obi is well known in the insurance industry having built and managed one of the largest insurance agencies in the United States over a twenty-three year period with Equitable Life Assurance Society (AXA). He has been featured in such periodicals as The Enterprise Magazine, US News & World Report, Black Enterprise Magazine, Ebony Magazine, and USA Today newspaper.
Our Executive Director who directs all of our affairs is Ms. Lorette Nixon. She has a wealth of experience consulting and volunteering with not-for-profit organizations on fundraising and event planning initiatives. I am sure that you will all agree with me that she has done a terrific job coordinating tonight’s event. Please join me in acknowledging her outstanding work for the foundation.
Once again, I thank you all for joining us today and for your support in improving higher education in Nigeria.