AFRICAN TIME AND ADMINISTRATION OF UNIVERSITIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The concern of this paper was to discuss African time as it relates to administration of universities in Nigeria. African time is a term given by Missionaries to describe the attitude of Africans towards the use of time, after observing that Africans began planned programmes behind schedule. This idea has crept into the education sector, where educational plans are not carried out as slated. Formal education was introduced to Africans by missionaries with its step-by-step pattern and an academic calendar which analyzed the semester stage by stage. It stated when to begin and when to end the semester, with all activities to be performed in clear terms. This was rigidly followed during the time of missionaries. Also, there was school time-table that described how the day must be spent, bit by bit. In Nigeria today, universities seem to be administered in the light of African time where academic events are performed behind schedule. Sometimes, academic calendar is not available as and when due to give directions; there is lateness in commencement of classes; examination papers are delayed and results are not available on time. Many a time, events like matriculation and convocation do not begin as intended and students and guests are seated for a long time. Above all, students spend prolonged years in universities due to unforeseen happenings like Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike action, students’ riot, among others. It was then recommended that the issue of African time should be controlled in Nigeria universities through prioritization, and avoidance of procrastination to enable the country achieve educational values as handed over by the missionaries. Descriptive research of correlational type was used for this study, since it attempted to solve the problems of African time in Nigeria universities.