Pioneer Vice Chancellor of Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, Professor Shehu Galandachi has said the success story of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) are not unconnected with the leadership qualities of the Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede.
- Professor Galandachi*
He stated this when a delegation from the Board paid him a courtesy visit in his residence in Kano recently, according to the current edition of JAMBulletin .
According to him, a clear and purposeful leadership serves as a driving force and agenda-setting for targeted goals.
The soft-spoken academic described who Prof. Oloyede as a straightforward person with a pedigree of selfless service, discipline and integrity the attributes accounted for the superlative performance of the Registrar in all fields of endeavours and the various offices he had held.
Professor Galandachi said, “If you have a good leader, it will be natural for subordinates to do things properly. If you are not like him, you will not fit into his work pattern.”
He commended the initiative behind the introduction of the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), an automated platform for tertiary institutions to conduct seamless admissions devoid of human interference.
The platform also provides the opportunity for candidates to monitor the progress of their admission which they either accept or reject thereby making every stakeholder a key player in the admission process.
Prof. Galadanci recalled the pre-JAMB era where candidates could have one or two admissions. He said CAPS had further made this impossible as it had streamlined the process in line with laid-down rules on admission.
He said, “JAMB is doing very well, JAMB is important and critical for our cohesion. I am glad universities have a systematic admission process which curbs multiple admissions, engender transparency and restore sanity and confidence in the process.”
The Professor Emeritus also commended the Board for partnering with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) stating that the seeming challenges that beset the synergy were occasioned by the culture of doing things late which consequently exerted huge pressure on the entire process.
The challenges culminated in the suspension of the National Identification Number (NIN) as a precondition for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) registration.
Professor Galandachi who is also The Murshid (Administrator) of Abuja National Mosque cautioned parents against imposing courses on their wards, noting that they should only advise, but if parents feel otherwise about a course of study they should not impose their will on their wards.
The Professor of Modern Arabic said, “I wanted my son, Bashir Galadanci, now the Director, CIT, BUK to study medicine but he insisted that he preferred Mathematics or anything involving calculation in nature. “I could remember even inviting Prof. Iya Abubakar to counsel my son to study medicine. When that didn’t work out, Bashir was allowed to study the course of his choice. He is now a renowned Engineer whose contributions are being felt all over in the area of ICT.”
JAMBulletin noted that “ The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board is a beneficiary of the son of Prof. Galadanci as he is the Chief Technical Advisor, assisting the Board in the area of ICT.”