‘How we convinced Abacha to approve establishment of private varsities in Nigeria’- Iornem

A university lecturer and founder of Ecole Superieure Universitaire in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, Professor David Iornem, says he and a former Nigerian Ambassador to Mexico, Professor Iyorwuese Hagher, were responsible for the establishment of private universities in Nigeria.

This claim was contained in a statement he personally signed and made available to Tribune Education.

The Professor of Management Science spoke at the foundation laying ceremony of the permanent site of the Ecole Superieure Universitaire in Cotonou.

He said: “One thing that Professor Hagher and I were able to do for Nigeria was in the area of private university. We toured Thailand and Japan, and we saw how private universities were working and making contribution to the society.

“We came back, wrote a report and he took it to Abacha. Abacha read it and wrote on it directing the National Universities Commission and the Ministry of Education to implement it. That was the beginning of private university in Nigeria.

Professor Iornem said that with the foundation laying ceremony for a permanent site for the university, “our goal is that by the year 2020, we will move from the one-storey building we are occupying in the city to our permanent site.”

“We hope the Nigerian Ambassador to Benin Republic will tell Nigerians that we are here. When I applied to set up this university, I went and donated my books to the Director-General of the Commission for Private University. He told me that they would not give university [licence] to any Nigerian again because Nigerians don’t keep to rules.

“But by the time he went and read my books, he became my advocate 0n the committee that is in charge of registering universities. He told them that this is a different Nigerian and not the type they said they would not give university.”