By Austin Ogwuda
NEW Vice Chancellor of the Delta State University DELSU, Abraka, Professor Samuel Asagba has described his appointment as an act of God, considering the political nature of the office whereby the Governor was at liberty to choose any of the three candidates recommended to him by the University.
In an interview conducted by the Oasis Magazine on Thursday at his residence, Professor Asagba said that his becoming a VC was long overdue because he stands tall among his co- academics.
His words, “I can say the process was transparent. If you look at my background, my degrees, experience and academic achievements, it is expected that I should be the Vice Chancellor. With all humility, I believe I am the best among the lots based on my background and experience both academically and administratively.”
“The Chairman of the Committee gave everybody a level playing field and there was no interference from any quarters. I don’t want to complain about the last exercise even though many people were not happy with the outcome.
I took it as the act of God and prayed that my time will come and even saying that too, the position is also political too.
“The governor”, he went on, “can take anybody among the three (3) people. So, it is at the discretion of the government so I just want to give glory to God that this time around I have been found worthy to become the eight (8th) substantive Vice Chancellor of the Delta State University (DELSU) through a transparent process. I came third in the 2019 process and first in 2024 because I worked harder and the grace of God was on my side.
“You could see the jubilation after my name was announced both on social media and everywhere people were happy because of the outcome. That is a kind of index to show that the process was transparent. I was not in town but I heard a lot of people that don’t know me were jubilating; even the indigenes. All these are barometers to indicate that the right choice was made.
“I just thanked God because power comes from God. You can be anything you want to be, but If God does not put His hand, it will not be successful. So, it is God because anything can happen. Like I said before, the government can take anybody out of the three recommended people even though I came first.
“They (government) are not bound to take me but picking me shows that it is the work of God and that was my initial reaction. I now decided that because of that announcement, I will dedicate and commit myself to the service of the university. I have pledged to myself that I will do my best to raise the academic standard in DELSU to a level that everybody will be proud of”, he added.
Credit: Oasis Magazine
