E. T. Udom II
As the curtain draws on Prof. Nyaudoh Ndaeyo’s tenure as Vice Chancellor of the University of Uyo, what ought to have been a dignified exit is fast mutating into a carnival of confusion. Instead of a graceful bow, the outgoing helmsman appears determined to leave behind a trail of avoidable missteps (blunders that observers say perfectly summarize the contradictions of his administration).
First on the growing list of curiosities is the startling absence of a properly announced successor. While other institutions plan transitions with clockwork precision, UNIUYO is left peering into a fog of uncertainty. With days running out and no official handover figure in sight, staff and students alike whisper the uncomfortable question: Did the Vice Chancellor simply forget that tenure has an expiry date?
If the missing successor wasn’t enough, insiders say there is no handover note in circulation either. For an institution that emphasizes due process and documentation, this omission feels more like an academic version of “every man for himself.” Departments and directorates now brace for the administrative vacuum that follows when a captain jumps ship without leaving a map.
But perhaps the clearest indicator that the administration has lost its rhythm is the sudden, last-minute feud with Governing Council members. In what sources describe as a needless “end-games showdown,” the outgoing VC reportedly picked fresh battles with the very institution charged with validating the university’s stability. It is a strange time to manufacture enemies (unless the goal is to leave behind a bonfire for the next administration to quench).
Yet, even these miscalculations pale beside the most bewildering move of all: planning to conduct matriculation while admission is still ongoing. On paper, it sounds like efficiency. In reality, it resembles hosting a naming ceremony before the child is born. Stakeholders are still struggling to find the academic logic behind such a schedule, except perhaps a desire to set records, however strange.
In the end, the Vice Chancellor’s last hours feel less like the final chapter of an academic tenure and more like the dramatic closing scene of a political sitcom (complete with cliffhangers, confusion, and unforced errors). For a man who could have exited with quiet dignity, Prof. Ndaeyo seems determined instead to leave with noise, controversy, and a flurry of head-scratching decisions.
As UNIUYO awaits clarity, one thing is certain: these last-minute missteps will be remembered long after the seat has changed hands. Whether they become cautionary tales or punchlines depends, perhaps, on how quickly the next leadership restores normalcy to a university that has endured more drama in one tenure than it bargained for.
