GOVERNOR Willie Obiano of Anambra State, has congratulated Prof. Charles Egbu on his emergence as the first black Vice Chancellor of a British University.
Egbu, a Professor of Quantity Surveying, will on 1st November, 2020, assume duties as the Vice Chancellor of Leeds Trinity University, England.
He is currently the Pro-Vice Chancellor in charge of Education and Experience at the University of East London having served as the Dean of the School of the Built Environment and Architecture of the London South Bank University and a Senior Academic at the University College, London.
Governor Obiano described it as a great moment for not only the government and people of Anambra State but also all Nigerians and indeed, Africans and Blacks across the globe.
In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. C-Don Adinuba, Governor Obiano said that Prof. Egbu’s emergence is a game changer in the history of higher education in a conservative society like the United Kingdom where only last January the University’s Minister, Mr. Chris Skidmore, decried the fact that the number of Blacks holding Senior Academic positions in Britain is officially zero.
Obiano maintained that Professor Egbu reminds all Africans of when Prof. Kenneth Onwuka Dike, another worthy indigene of Anambra State, became the first African and Black Principal of the University College, Ibadan, and later emerged the first African and Black Vice Chancellor of the University, which was established in 1948.
Prof. Dike, who graduated First Class in the United Kingdom, just like Prof. Egbu, made the University of Ibadan to become synonymous with excellence in scholarship and administration throughout the World.
According to Obiano Dike discovered early enough the great promise of such young scholars as Dr Jacob Ade Ajayi, and went further to ensure their rapid rise, despite protests from certain quarters.
He stated that the records which these scholars made in various disciplines and endeavours vindicated Dike’s actions, as he went on to become a distinguished Professor at Harvard University until he was asked to return home to serve his fatherland.
Obiano expressed confidence that Professor Egbu, who hails from Abatete in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State will excel in his new role and market
Anambra State to the International Community in a most uncanny way.
BY SUNNY A. DAVID
