By Ugochukwu Iwuji, PhD
The coming of Engr Dr Michael Arimanwa FNSE has set new paradigms at the Federal Polytechnic Nekede, a foremost institution of higher learning in Nigeria. As the first alumnus to so serve as Rector of the institution, the Reverend gentleman had known from the outset that there were dreams nursed as a student which may need to be actualized.
It has been argued that the Arimanwa rectorship is divine, having come at a time when the polytechnic needed an astute, a forthright and gracious personage. Putting his hand on the plough, Rector Arimanwa began the arduous journey of rebuilding, revamping, and reinventing the polytechnic with an ambitious integrated development agenda, highlighting14 goals and 72 targets.
With three years down the line, it is palpable that Federal Polytechnic Nekede has become an epic story of transformational leadership. The Rector has, thus, shown that what our society needs at all strata is purposeful leadership.
The polytechnic has consistently caught news headlines for giant strides that are central to educational emancipation. Like a restless architect that religiously sticks to his building design and plan, Engr Dr M.C.
Arimanwa has stuck to his noble integrated agenda for the polytechnic. Mercifully, the cerebral Rector is a Civil Engineer par excellence. He knows the sinews in the plan and discerns the dynamics of the design in his hand, hence he gracefully translates his plan to reality.
The reconstructed access roads to the polytechnic, the internal roads, the tens of high-impact buildings, the equipping of laboratories and workshops, the targeted maintenance of aesthetic excellence in the institution; may well be regarded as a phase in the developmental plan of Engr Dr Michael Arimanwa.
Similarly, the reinvigoration of the directorates and units of the polytechnic; the reinventing of the Polytechnic Medical Centre; the repositioning of the Polytechnic Microfinance Bank and installation of solar-powered streetlights, may yet fit into another phase.
There is then an integrated staff development which has seen to the sponsorship of staff for local and foreign workshops and higher degrees.
This is in addition to a periodic interface with all staff of the polytechnic, a town-hall initiative which has greatly enhanced staff participation in leadership. Besides the foregoing, another phase may include the Smart Campus Project of the Rector through which all activities in the school have been automated, standing out as a huge reference point in ICT revolution in Nigerian higher institutions.The phase also includes the fight against plagiarism and unethical conduct among staff and students.
Only recently, the Federal Polytechnic Nekede had banned students from driving on campus, having observed the recklessness and puerility of the student drivers, amid growing concerns for safety of pedestrians. This bold step was taken to principally refocus the minds of students to their primary objective of scholarship.
Pundits were quick to commend the Polytechnic for the pace-setting initiative. Many higher institutions have long toed the path of the polytechnic (PolyNek) in maintaining discipline on campus.
Similarly, the administration has stamped out all forms of molestation and gangsterism that promote intrapersonal and interpersonal insecurity. This is a bold paradigm because effective teaching and learning cannot take place in an environment of psychosocial insecurity.
The massive investment in research activities is a phase that has givenfillip to shades of technological inventions. The Rector literally ‘sings’ the imperatives of research to every academic staff using any available forum. The Poly Chief Executive also charges members of staff to publish results of their research in high-impact journals which can easily be cited by other researchers, in addition to maintaining global visibility.
It was the need to spur the academic staff to great heights that made the school accessresearch funds from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). The Rector went further to rename the Directorate of Research to Directorate of Research and Innovation for Development (DRID). According to the Rector, “This was done to sensitize researchers so that they focus their research efforts on targeted outcomes that will lead to innovation and the development of the institution and the nation.”
The huge investment made in research development has not been in vain. The polytechnic has now maintained a high visibility status as her scholars excel in technological development. It bears repeating that the invention of the first automated hand-washing machines in Nigeria came from the Federal Polytechnic Nekede. This was at the wake of the COVID-19 epidemic when the world was brutally jolted from ‘sleep’ by the virus.
Rector had risen to the occasion by constituting a team of researchers to deal with the situation. In addition to the hand-washing devices, the team also produced quality hand sanitizers to enhance various non-pharmaceutical methods of combating the scourge.
Every higher institution has a tripartite role to play in the society. The role borders on teaching, research and community service. It is cheering that the Arimanwa administration has scored a distinction in the triumvirate.
The single minded attention given to the equipping of human resources in the institution is basically to make teaching and learning impactful. For instance, learning being a change of attitude, can only occur when the teacher is knowledgeable.
The success recorded in research and capacity development has given the polytechnic an edge. The institution can now boast of resourceful scientists and technologists whose inventions already have patents. By producing items that are useful to the society, the polytechnic has already fulfilled its role of serving the community.
The school has gone a notch higher in building strong ties with her host community through provision of healthcare services and relevant support schemes.
Remarkably, there is a new bold paradigm in curriculum development, accreditation and reaccreditation of courses. Notably, the Federal Polytechnic Nekede under Rector Arimanwa has never lost an accreditation. New grounds have been broken as the Rector expands the frontiers of the thirty three programmes run by the institution.
Most programmes existing only at the National Diploma level have been accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to run at the HND level. This is a great feat by the Arimanwa administration, especially when one calculates the costs, complexities and dynamics of a resource visitation or accreditation exercise.
Today, six new programmes have been effectively added to the kitty. They are: ND Animal Health and Production Technology, ND Welding and Fabrication Engineering Technology, HND Art and Design (Ceramics), HND Art and Design (Sculpture), HND Art and Design (Textile) and ND Printing Technology.
Three of these programmes would give students the opportunity to complete their education at the polytechnic instead of looking elsewhere to undertake Higher National Diploma in those courses. Instructively, three programmes of Animal Health and Production Technology, Fabrication Engineering and Printing Technology, all have entrepreneurial potentials, especially in an era where jobs are elusive.
Meanwhile, the hardworking Rector has yet to rest on his oars in the area of curriculum development. Just recently, at his instance, the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) visited the polytechnic on resource assessment preparatory for the commencement of seven fresh courses.
These programmes are: ND Hydrology and Water Resources Management, HND Geological Engineering, HND Mineral Engineering Technology, HND Petroleum Engineering Technology, HND Agriculture and Bio-Environmental Engineering Technology, HND Soil Science and Land Resources Management Technology. It excites the mind to learn that these courses have immense potentials and are germane to the oil and agricultural sectors.
The implication is that the Federal Polytechnic Nekede has effectively keyed into the demands of today’s world in training professionals who would man various fields of endeavour which the universe offers. It is clear to discerning minds that given more time, there is practically no viable programme which Dr Arimanwa would not introduce to the corpus of programmes run in the polytechnic.
It is worth applauding that Dr Arimanwa has deliberately focused on both introducing new programmes to enlarge the curriculum, and to ultimately add value to the system. Markedly, the hardworking and meticulous Rector has also ensured that accreditation is sustained in existing programmes. In the end, the society stands the beneficiary of this noble and phenomenal gesture as it will not lack needed manpower to sustain social and economic diversities.
Already, new schools have been created under the Arimanwa administration to accommodate the myriad of programmes coming on stream. It is projected that the Federal Polytechnic Nekede will soon be a recruitment centre for national and multinational organisations seeking manpower in choice fields of endeavour.
It is only natural that the expansion of the curricula will spur capacity development and significant deployment of human resources to man the new frontiers. This is an amazing indicator of how progressive leadership incentivizes prosperity. It is worth recalling that in the history of the polytechnic, the Arimanwa rectorship is reputed to have given the single largest employment to humanity. This once again reinforces the dictum that only progressive leadership gives the society a lasting deal.
Engr Dr Michael C. Arimanwa is progressively emerging an institution in leadership. With his calm, humble and calculated demeanour, the cerebral scholar and Reverend Canon, stands a classic example of a hero whose achievements are as tall as his height – whose ambitions are as tall as his frame.
A workaholic, described many times as a ‘walking machine’ due to the energy and man-hours he passionately deploys to work, Engr Dr M.C. Arimanwa comes to work in the morning, for instance, and stays through nightfall – chairing strategic meetings, workshops, analyzing reports, treating files and, of course, studying. For a leader that has so worked this hard and resiliently, it is only logical that his tenure will be defined by new bold paradigms. God bless the Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri.
