Although it is run by an academically established Vice-Chancellor, (Prof Zacharys Gundu, ex-ABU, Zaria Archeologist), the University of Mkar, near Gboko in Benue State in central Nigeria is a member of the newest generation of universities in Nigeria. One way of knowing how well or how badly such new universities are doing is the quality of resource persons they bring to their audience – students, academia and the larger society.
As such, what Dr. Dan Mou, the resource person, says at this forum will be an indicator of the direction this eaglet university is heading. The topic Dr. Mou will be speaking on later today – “Politics of Money and the Value of the Naira: The World Bank and IMF Strategy Against the Third World” – is bound to be inviting for a large number of people.
It seems from the title of the topic that this university is clearly oriented towards a radical nationalist political economy perspective that makes anti-imperialism the focus or justification for knowledge production. If that speculation is right, then that must be one of the places to look at with particular reference to the possible recovery of the university idea in Nigeria. That is more so if the owners of the university owners provide it adequate resources to unfold in a manner that it can quickly make a name for itself in academia.
