Old Vandals Accuse Vice Chancellor Of Promoting Tyranny, Autocracy & Arbitrariness

The Old Vandals Association (OVA) of Ghana is not leaving any stone unturned as it vents its spleen on the management of the University of Ghana, particularly the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, for her autocratic leadership style.

The Association is enraged by the stalled Vandal City Annex Project (VCAP), which it alleged is being orchestrated by the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, who is determined not to see it materialise.

The project, comprising a 4,600-bed residential facility, was to be completed 2 years ago but is now stalled.

Addressing journalists in Accra, President of the Old Vandals Association Isaac Nketiah Sarpong wants management of the school to be called to order.

“It is public knowledge that the University of Ghana has been in the news in recent times for all the wrong reasons relating to accommodation challenges faced by students,” observed Mr Nketiah Sarpong.

“As part of our efforts to ameliorate the perennial accommodation crisis in the University, we set out to support our alma mater with the construction of a 4,600-bed residential facility. The project which was nicknamed the Vandal City Annex Project (VCAP) was to be undertaken in partnership with a strategic investor and was to be completed some two years ago.

“The University leased a parcel of land for this project to OVA. As soon as the contractor mobilised resources to commence construction, some few faculty members of the University started a resistance movement against the construction of the facility. Indeed, we have the Vice-Chancellor on record that she was opposed to the project and that she would do everything in her powers to frustrate the construction of the annex by the Old Vandals Association. This she said whilst she was the Pro-Vice-Chancellor. We struggle to understand what could drive such holders of respectable offices in the University to be so anti-development to such magnitude,” he stressed.

The Association is also worried about the continuous antagonistic attitude being portrayed by the University administrators towards Old Vandals by blocking them from accessing the school or any of its facilities following the recent impasse between Vandals (of the Commonwealth Hall) and the Vikings (of the Mensah-Sarbah Hall), a matter which is due for court hearing on Thursday, October, 26.

“What is most bizarre about this decision is that as of today, there is no conclusive evidence as to who the persons who engaged in those dastardly acts in the first week of August 2022 were.

“This notwithstanding, the Hall Master, the Senior Tutor, and students of the Commonwealth Hall have been handed sanctions of various degrees without due process being observed. These are matters engaging the attention of the courts currently and, at the appropriate time, we shall keep you posted on developments.

“The Old Vandals were not spared either. Apart from being barred from entering the Hall and its environs, the Management of the University caused the keys and locks to the offices of OVA located in the Hall to be changed and locked us out. It may interest you to know that the offices were assigned to OVA by the Management of the Hall and that OVA spent a decent amount of money to refurbish and equip same for use.”

The Association said as law-abiding citizens, it will employ every legitimate means to suppress the University of Ghana new policy on residential accommodation which resulted in the sacking of all male students from the hall.

“The relevance of student leadership as incubation hub for national leaders cannot be overemphasised. It must be echoed right here that the future of the University of Ghana, situated at Legon – The Hill of Knowledge – of which we are proud alumni, is threatened by the continuous promotion of tyranny, autocracy and administrative arbitrariness at the heart of decision-making. The voices of students through NUGS, SRC, JCR systems that hitherto served as incubation centres for national leaders have now been rendered moribund. As to what the motive of the current crop of leaders at the university are, only time will tell.

“The culture of silence that virtually suppresses human rights and freedoms has become the mainstay of the University of Ghana, rendering the atmosphere uncharacteristic of a university establishment.

“For us Old Vandals, as alumni of the University we are so proud of, we cannot sit on the fence to see many decades of toil that built the University of Ghana to be destroyed by the serial administrative decisions that lack logic, reason and good conscience to the satisfaction of the egos of people in charge of its administration today.

“Old Vandals, as a law-abiding group, we believe in and revere the law. It is in this spirit that we have sought refuge in the courts. Our faith in the judiciary never wavers and we shall continue to use all legitimate tools at our disposal to ensure the return of the rule of law to the campus of the University of Ghana,” the Association vowed.

3NEWS