PROF. ZANA I. AKPAGU; A VISIONARY LEADER WITH A MISSION STATEMENT IN UNICAL

"With over twenty years in active service in the tertiary level of education, Prof. Zana has remained very vibrant and actively involved in various leadership positions and these have seen him attaining and maintaining the top spot in the comity of Vice Chancellors in the country".

Among the names of heads of educational institutions in Nigeria, particularly, at the tertiary level, one name that has featured prominently and dominated the academic space, it is that of Prof. Zana Itiunbe Akpagu; a man who is recognized, not only in his home state of Cross Rivers, but across Nigeria.

Prof. Akpagu, who is one of the most respected traditional chieftaincy title holders in his community where holds the title of of “Ushikebe 1 of Ipong”, also has in his feathers, the “ntufam Ami Ejagam 1 of the Qua nation” and “Otebeche 1 of Yala”, the highest award given so far, to a non northerner, by the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum.

Akpagu, who is the 10th Vice Chancellor of the famous University of Calabar, has not only endeared himself to his immediate constituency, the Citadel of learning in Nigeria, he has been roundly described as a focused personality and visionary leader with a mission statement and goal for the institution that he leads.

With over twenty years in active service in the tertiary level of education, Prof. Zana has remained very vibrant and actively involved in various leadership positions and these have seen him attaining and maintaining the top spot in the comity of Vice Chancellors in the country.

Among positions he has served before his appointment as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Zana Akpagu was a former Head of Department, two times Dean of Students’ Affairs, a former Dean of the prestigious Faculty of Arts and crowning it up as the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration before the appointment as Vice Chancellor. Academic brilliance and awesome, some ardent followers say, have been his trademark.

In his three years of being the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Zana Akpagu; an exceptional achiever par excellence, deserves commendation for his leadership style with clear transparency in the initiation, implementation and execution of all projects contained in the institution’s blue print.

Some of his Akpagu’s achievements include “the establishment of new faculties and departments, completion of some abandoned projects and the execution of new projects such as the new medical centre, the solar power projects, and the synergy evolved between the university community with nation states such as Russia, Korea and China.

Many stakeholders and keen observers of the developmental strides of the incumbent Vice Chancellor have also commended Zana Akpagu for the unprecedented harvest of academics in terms of promotion to higher ranks, as well as sponsorship to learned conferences cannot be ignored including his facilitation and encouragement of human capacity development. These gigantic steps have further propelled the university to greater heights, under his leadership and watch, especially in the areas of infrastructural development.

Among his peers in the global academic community, Zana Akpagu has indeed etched his name in gold and the sands of time in Cross Rivers state and the accompanying recognition of his administrative prowess in global ranking, is unparalleled.

As a recipient of several awards; both locally and internationally, Prof. Zana Akpagu was recently decorated by a London based newspaper, ‘The Nigerian’ as the education Administrator of the year. He was the South-South representative of Vice Chancellors in Tetfund Committee; he is the Journalism Magazine most outstanding Nigeria VC.

Just recently, one of the leading Magazines in Nigeria, Verbatim described Prof. Zana Akpagu “the Wonder Performer in UNICAL” and if the accolades are measured, it would certainly run into several tones, says one of the citizens of the state.

Itiunbe Akpagu, who is also a Knight of the Order of Saint Mulumba (KSM) in the Catholic Church and has subscribed to numerous learned societies including the Association for the Study of Caribbean and African Literature in French (ASCALF), Britain (Vanguard), was born 19 October 1966.

He is a professor of language and is the 10th substantive Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar. He was appointed to succeed Professor James Epoke, whose tenure ended on 30 November 2015.

The management and staff of Naij News Alert celebrates with such an astounding personality, achiever and visionary leader.