The Prince Abubakar Audu University PAAU established in 1999 is passing through its worst situations two and half decades after its establishment.
What use to be the best state University and the third best among universities in the country at the inception of the institution, is now a ghost of itself in all ramifications.
The joy of TETFUND intervention can only be felt in the university interms of infrastructure, equipment, training and retraining as the state government over the last nine years has abandoned its basic responsibility except carting away the internally generated revenue IGR of the school back to the government coffers.
With the establishment of Confluence University of Science and Technology CUSTECH, and lately the politically motivated Kogi State University KSU Kabba, were the state government in 2024 confirmed to have invested over 8 Billion for the development of the baby university and the continuous capital flight into CUSTECH at the expense of the sour state of Prince Abubakar Audu University PAAU, Anyigba.
Before the inception of former Kogi governor, Yahaya Bello, previous administration’s under Capt Idris Wada and Ibrahim Idris invested hugely towards the sustenance of the institution.
Established by the former governor, Late Prince Abubakar Audu, Idris as at then in 2004, 21 years down the line invested over 2 Billion for infrastructure, accommodation, employment and accreditation that revived the institution.
Capt Idris Wada established the College of Medicine, the Kogi State University Teaching Hospital, Anyigba, laid the foundation of a 253 bed teaching hospital abandoned by the Yahaya Bello led administration since 2016.
Wada also erected a male and female hostel in the institution which the subsequent administration of Yahaya Bello could not sustained and the trend Governor Usman Ododo is obviously following one year down the line.
With the worst of academic programs, dilapidated structures and dearth of both academic and administrative staff in the institution, it is crystal clear that the current administration may not do anything different in the next three years.
The worst hit is the dilapidated hostel accommodation for boys that is yearning for reconstruction among many others that had exposed students of the schools to all forms of vices outside the University campus.
The once envious University is now operating at the mercy of donations from TETFUND, corporate organizations, individuals and well to do in the society due to state government neglect at the favour of the two newly established state universities.
The university is now left with the ghost of lack of pipe borne water, lack of good roads and electricity that is a corrolary for students to perform experiments in the laboratories , erratic payments of staff dues and discouraging trend all round the institution.
New programs are been introduced without adequate structure, equipment and manpower to handle the programs , but for the sake of been introduced, hence the desperate moves to churn out half baked graduates.
One year down the line , it is not going to be a different ball game of the refusal of former Governor Yahaya Bello to develop the institution, as the State government under Governor Usman Ododo has also not shown any positive sign of changing the ugly trend in the last nine years.
