By Tajudeen Kareem
The Federal College of Education (Technical) Akoka has been in
administrative turmoil for over 15 months, beginning with the
controversial tenure extension dispute involving suspended Provost,
Dr. Wahab Azeez in 2024. The situation escalated to violent protests
in July 2024, forcing the governing council to ask Azeez to “step
aside” and appoint Dr. Isaac Miller as Acting Provost.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa subsequently raised a
Special Visitation Panel on July 29, 2025. The panel, chaired by
former Governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar, was mandated to
examine all issues plaguing the institution and recommend solutions.
This action was taken in response to a prolonged period of instability
and protests involving staff, which included concerns about the
provost’s tenure and other administrative issues. The panel was
specifically tasked to conduct a comprehensive investigation without
assigning blames. It was given four weeks to submit its findings.
The panel’s formation follows a period of significant staff protest
and unrest, including accusations against the provost and violence on
campus, leading to the indefinite closure of the institution.
The panel has produced a report over two months ago, but the minister
has kept it waiting on flimsy excuses that he wanted to personally
receive the report, to stage another television show of motion without
movement!
Alausa, a medical doctor thrusted on Nigeria’s complex education
sector by President Bola Tinubu for reasons best known to him, has
previously acknowledged that government bureaucracy is working against
educational progress in Nigeria. In June 2025, he specifically
complained about bureaucratic delays affecting Unity Schools’ funding,
indicating a systemic issue within the ministry’s operational
structure.
So, what difference has Alausa made with policy summersault on subject
combination by students writing school certificate examination, the
return of agitation by Academic Staff Union of Universities and the
intractable scourge of out-of-school children.
The delay in resolving the crisis at FCE Akoka suggests reluctance to
tackle what may be a politically sensitive situation. The crisis
involves complex stakeholder interests, union politics, and
institutional governance issues that could have wider implications for
other federal education institutions. But stakeholders suggest that
Alausa may be pursuing his own selfish interest has he did at Federal
University of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Abeokuta.
The fact that current Acting Provost Dr. Isaac Miller and other
administrators refused to meet with a delegation sent by the National
Association of Nigerian Students in April 2025 indicates potential
institutional resistance to change, which may be influencing the
ministry’s approach.
The National Association of Nigerian Students, Joint Campus Council in
Lagos State has severally expressed frustration at the attitude of the
minister. The students have described FCE Akoka as an institution
“running on autopilot for over eight months” with paralysed
administrative processes, disrupted academic programs deteriorating
infrastructure, endangered student welfare and complete breakdown in
governance.
This delay by Alausa in tackling the problem at Akoka reflects broader
challenges in Nigeria’s education sector management characterised by
policy implementation delays bureaucratic inefficiencies, Weak
follow-through on investigative panels and reforms and more so pursuit
of primordial and selfish interests!
The delay in releasing and implementing the FCE Akoka visitation panel
report appears to stem from a combination of bureaucratic inertia,
political calculations, and systemic weaknesses in Nigeria’s education
administration. Minister Alausa’s own admission about bureaucratic
obstacles suggests he recognizes the problem but may lack the
political will or administrative capacity to overcome entrenched
institutional resistance.
The students’ suffering continues while political and administrative
considerations take precedence over urgent educational needs – a
pattern that unfortunately reflects broader governance challenges in
Nigeria’s public sector management.
When will Alausa demonstrate the leadership needed to break this cycle
of delay and inaction, or will FCE Akoka become another example of
institutional crisis prolonged by bureaucratic paralysis?
*Kareem is a veteran journalist in Abuja.