Certain indigenes of Borno state under the platform, Borno Concern Citizens, have kicked against the move to merge Nigerian Army University Biu (NAUB) with the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Kaduna.
The Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration had last February announced its intention to dust off the recommendations of the 12-year-old Steve Oronsaye’s report for implementation.
The 800-page report recommended that 263 of the statutory agencies be slashed to 161, 38 agencies be scrapped; 52 be merged and 14 be reverted to departments in various ministries, among others.
The Federal Government last month also inaugurated a committee for the implementation of the Oronsaye Report, which majorly recommends the merger of the government’s ministries, departments, and agencies to cut the cost of governance.
In a letter addressed to President Tinubu and the National Assembly through the Implementation Committee to implement the Oronsaye report, Borno Concern Citizens insisted that mixing up the civilian population from the Nigerian Army University Biu with the NDA will be counterproductive.
The letter signed by Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim (Dan Masanin Biu), for the Borno State Concerned Citizens, urged the Federal Government to allow both military institutions to operate separately and allow each to play its distinctive role in the overall interest of the nation.
Checks revealed that while NDA was established on January 5, 1964, through the merging of the Royal Military Forces Training College (RMFTC), which is the training institution for the Army, and the Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC), which was responsible for training officers for the Nigerian Army, Navy, and Air Force, NAUB was established in 2018, with a special mandate as a hub for innovation and technological development for the Nigerian Defence sector and the nation, in order to meet the rapid development in the dynamics of modern warfare and other ancillary matters, which came years after the Oronsaye report.
The position paper of the Borno Citizens reads, in part: “Further aware that in establishing NAUB, due process and rule of law were strictly adhered to and approvals were sought from the National Universities Commission (NUC), the Federal Ministry of Education and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its meeting of April 11, 2018, which later culminated in an Act of National Assembly assented to by the President on April 1, 2021. “Subsequently, the Act was published on April 7, 2021, in Gazette No. 110, Vol. 108, Nigerian Army University, Biu (Establishment) Act 2020.
“Also note that the vision of the University as conceptualised is to become a solutions centre in technology, research and development for the promotion of self-reliance, creativity and innovation in addressing the educational challenges of the Nigerian Army, Military and nation. This vision was derived from the experiences of similar Universities all over the world, such as the National Defence University of Technology in China, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, just to mention a few.
“Also aware that the university is an assemblage, which comprises 75% civilian and 25% military population, with a mixed staff strength, made up of both military and civilian intellectuals. Its programmes are carefully crafted and structured to strengthen the Nigerian Army and the nation through sound and innovative application and deployment of science and technology;
“Also aware that the university is an assemblage, which comprises 75% civilian and 25% military population, with a mixed staff strength, made up of both military and civilian intellectuals. Its programmes are carefully crafted and structured to strengthen the Nigerian Army and the nation through sound and innovative application and deployment of science and technology,” the group said.
The Borno State’s Concerned Citizens said they are worried that the merging of these two distinct institutions will not augur well for the sacred nature of military training and defence systems.
“The Nigerian Defence Academy is a specialised institution strategically positioned to train officers for the Nigerian Army, Navy, and Air Force.
“Therefore, mixing them up with civilians from the Nigerian Army University in Biu will be counterproductive. I was also worried that the merger of these two institutions was not part of the initial Oronsaye Report of 2012 as well as the reviewed one. Therefore, it will be out of place to include them in the lists of institutions to be streamlined or merged as proposed.
“I observed that many bills for the establishment of universities and institutions of higher learning were passed by the National Assembly and signed into law after the establishment of NAUB.
“I also observed that the National Assembly has passed and will continue to pass bills for the establishment of tertiary institutions in the country as it becomes necessary.
“More licences for the establishment of private universities have also been granted by NUC because of the inadequate number of tertiary institutions in the country,” the group added.
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