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A lot of criticism trailed the newly constituted Governing Councils of these federal institutions.
A 25 all-men council members were selected to govern the affair of the University of Ibadan, University of Port Harcourt, University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and Maritime University.
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Various women groups, including the Women in Management, Business & Public Service (WIMBIZ) have reacted to this development.
WIMBIZ had written to the Minister of Education to express their displeasure about the non-inclusion of women in the governing councils of the above universities.
In the letter, the group urged the Federal Government to have a rethink and prioritize gender inclusion in subsequent appointments.
On the other hand, the Vice-Chancellor of Chrisland University, Abeokuta, Professor Chinedum Peace Babalola described the appointment as insensitive and called for a reconstitution of members.
Allnews.ng has compiled five compelling reasons women should be made compulsory members of every university's governing council;
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Section 42 of the 1999 constitution provides that no citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall by reason only that he is such a person, be subjected either expressly or by practical application of any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not made subject to.
From the above provision of the constitution, the non-inclusion of women in the reconstituted of these governing council is clearly discriminatory and a clear violation of the law.
The non-inclusion of women on the board challenges the essence of the Federal Character principle as enshrined in the 1999 constitution which was inserted to ensure equitable sharing of posts and even distribution of natural and economic resources in the country.
Recent statistics reveal that women account for about 49.2 percent of Nigeria's population, which gives an almost equal ratio of women to men. With this figure, it can be argued that there was no gender inclusion consideration when members of the council were being selected.
The almost matching population of women to men gives no excuse for women not to be included in the governing council, as it is impossible for Nigeria not to have suitable women-candidates for this position.
Currently, no fewer than 200 female professors are currently listed on the Nigeria National Universities Commission (NUC) website.
From time to time, there would be the need to make decisions on issues concerning women in these Institutions which will be better addressed if women are on board.
These schools require policies that would cater to the needs of both male and female students and since the governing council is responsible for the general management of the affairs of these Universities, the importance of women inclusion cannot be overstated.
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At the reconstitution of these governing Councils, the Minister of Education urged members to enlist the support of philanthropic organizations and individuals for additional funding of their institutions.
In recent times, investors/philanthropic organizations are getting increasingly aware of the need for gender inclusion in a decision making body.
In essence, a gender-diverse council attracts better investment opportunities for funding and welfare of these schools.
Research has shown that having a substantial number of women on a team increases its collective intelligence. In addition, having a gender-diverse team increases the collective IQ of a group. This is because there is bound to be a blend of opinions, skills, and experience that would help to make better decisions.
The absence of women on the Governing Councils of these institutions means that those Unversities are going to be poorer in terms of policies and decisions that would be made at the Council level.
The governing council of any University in Nigeria is the supreme governing authority responsible for those policy decisions which have financial implications, the general management of the affairs of the University, and, in particular, the control of the property and expenditure of the University.
The Council has powers to do anything, which, in its opinion, is calculated to facilitate the activities of the University, including the regulation of the constitution and conduct of the University.
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