By Waziri Isa Adam Gwantu
The Deputy Dean, Students Affairs, Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic Lafia, Dr Ahmed Usman Egye, has expressed optimism that IMAPOLY will attain the status of premier polytechnics in Nigeria such as Kaduna Polytechnic, YabaTech, and Polytechnic Ibadan before the end of the current Rector’s five-year tenure.
Egye made the assertion during an exclusive interview with Education Monitor after a special event organized by Committee of Friends and Likeminds of the Rector in the Polytechnic to honor and celebrate the Rector, Dr. Maifata, for his one-year achievements in office.
Egye described the developments recorded within the one year stewardship of Dr Maifata as unprecedented.
According to him, the decision to organize the event was to publicly acknowledge the Rector’s efforts and to showcase to the world the massive transformation going on in the polytechnic. “If not for this event, people wouldn’t have known the massive development going on.
“But now the news is everywhere. People have been calling to ask us questions and we told them yes, it is real,” he said.
Speaking on the pace of work, Egye said past rectors completed their full tenures but did not achieve close to what Dr. Maifata has achieved in just one year. “As a group of friends and like-minded staff, we felt we should honor him and celebrate him so he knows his efforts are recognized,” he added.
On infrastructure, the Deputy Dean disclosed that just three months after Dr Maifata assumed office as substantive Rector, he engaged His Excellency, Governor Abdullahi A. Sule, and secured a promise for the approval of 5 kilometers of road network for the polytechnic. He expressed strong confidence that the promise would be fulfilled, describing the governor as a leader who implements his policy statements.
Egye attributed the Rector’s success in attracting government support to his capacity to think out of the box. “We’ve had Rectors in the past but they did not exhibit the capacity to attract support from the state government. That’s Maifata for you,” he said.
Egye commended Governor Sule for his special interest in the polytechnic, noting that before his administration, IMAPOLY was “just a polytechnic by name” because it was not running engineering and environmental courses.
“Being an engineer by training, His Excellency developed special interest in this polytechnic and gave Dr. Nurudeen Maifata a marching order to transform it,” Egye stated.
He revealed that as a result of that directive, all 10 engineering programs in the polytechnic were accredited by NBTE last year, and approval was also secured to run HND in engineering. “So you can now confidently call IMAPOLY a true polytechnic,” he said.
The Deputy Dean appealed to the state government to continue giving the polytechnic the attention it deserves. “Like Oliver Twist, we are asking for more. He has done enough for us, but we are asking for more,” he pleaded.
He concluded that with what the Rector has achieved in one year, his aspiration is for IMAPOLY to grow to the level of premier polytechnics in the country. “In the next 4 years, before he completes his 5-year tenure, Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic will be at par with Kaduna Poly, YabaTech, and Poly Ibadan,” Egye said.