By Raymond Haruna
The tenure of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jos, Prof. Tanko Ishaya, which began in December 2021 and is due to end in November 2026, has generated both commendation and criticism. As his administration approaches its final months, it is important to assess its record beyond social-media narratives, partisan sentiments and isolated controversies.
The immediate trigger for renewed public debate was the “Academic Leadership Excellence Award” presented to Prof. Ishaya by the National Association of Plateau State Students (NAPSS), University of Jos chapter, in June 2026. While some welcomed the recognition, others questioned its basis and the credibility of the administration’s achievements.
The controversy became even more intriguing following public commendation from the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Chris Piwuna, who praised the Vice-Chancellor for improving staff welfare, particularly through the prompt payment of allowances. Given the often adversarial relationship between university management and staff unions, such praise deserves closer examination.
As a University of Jos alumnus and emerging scholar, I consider it necessary to examine these competing narratives objectively. The central question is simple: What does the evidence actually tell us about the leadership of Prof. Tanko Ishaya?
This is not an attempt to present the Vice-Chancellor as infallible. Rather, it is an effort to distinguish legitimate criticism from misinformation and to place his record within the broader realities of university administration in Nigeria.
Following approval from the University of Jos Management, institutional documents, reports and news materials were examined. Interviews were also conducted with representatives of ASUU, NASU, NAPSS, the Directorate of Students’ Affairs, the Africa Centre of Excellence on Phytomedicine Research and Development, Sports Committee, Procurement, Physical Facilities, Department of Music, and Information and Protocol.
Interviewees provided information on different aspects of the University and consented to the recording and transcription of interviews. Snowball sampling was also employed to identify additional respondents with relevant knowledge.
The Politics of Who Leads a University
The controversy surrounding the emergence of Prof. Ishaya as Vice-Chancellor did not begin with his administration. In April 2021, Premium Times Magazine reported protests by students, student leaders and staff over the process of selecting a new Vice-Chancellor following the death of the then Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Chief Tony Momoh.
The process reportedly attracted the attention of the National Universities Commission (NUC), which directed that it be halted over alleged non-compliance with established procedures.
Beyond procedural questions, public debate also exposed a more troubling Nigerian reality: the tendency to place indigeneity above merit when determining who should occupy positions of leadership.
Similar controversies have surfaced in other Nigerian universities, including the University of Ibadan, Lagos State University, University of Benin and Federal University Dutse.
Yet, leading universities around the world increasingly demonstrate that institutional leadership should be driven primarily by competence, scholarship, experience, vision and the capacity to deliver results rather than place of origin.
The appointment of Prof. Deborah Prentice as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, despite having no prior academic or professional connection with Cambridge or the United Kingdom, illustrates a fundamentally different philosophy of academic leadership.
The lesson is not that origin should never matter. It is that a university is, by its very nature, an institution whose intellectual boundaries should be wider than geography.
Who Is Prof. Tanko Ishaya?
Any fair assessment of Prof. Ishaya must begin with his credentials.
He holds a Bachelor of Education degree in Mathematics from the University of Jos and MSc and PhD degrees in Computing from the University of Manchester. His professional expertise spans data science, artificial intelligence, eHealth, cybersecurity, digital forensics and trustworthy computing.
His career has covered nearly three decades of technical, academic and professional experience. He has served on national and international committees and advisory bodies, worked as an IT consultant and lecturer at the University of Hull, and returned to the University of Jos in 2012 as Director of ICT and pioneer Head of the Department of Computer Science.
He has supervised five PhD and 54 MSc students, served as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator on several projects and reportedly attracted more than $3 million in competitive research funding.
Before becoming Vice-Chancellor in December 2021, he served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic. During that period, the University’s annual research grants reportedly increased from three to nine.
These credentials do not automatically make a Vice-Chancellor successful. But they establish that Prof. Ishaya’s leadership of a technology-driven university did not emerge from a vacuum.
A Leadership Style Built Around Accessibility?
Among the strongest findings from stakeholder interviews was the consistency with which respondents described Prof. Ishaya as humble, accessible, accountable, empathetic, considerate, humane, reasonable, selfless, forgiving, magnanimous, focused and goal-oriented.
Descriptions from interviewees are, of course, subjective. But when similar observations emerge independently from different categories of stakeholders, they become worthy of consideration.
One example cited was the Vice-Chancellor’s decision not to use a new official vehicle for four years despite being entitled to one.
His administration was also credited with providing free transportation for staff during the fuel-price crisis and showing concern for families of deceased students.
Such gestures may appear small when compared with multimillion-naira projects. But leadership is not measured exclusively in buildings and budgets. Institutional culture is also shaped by how people in authority respond to those they lead.
When Discipline Meets Rehabilitation
The administration’s approach to student discipline also deserves attention.
According to stakeholders interviewed, Prof. Ishaya has at times favoured a rehabilitative and reintegrative approach toward students accused of misconduct, including cases involving illicit substances, rather than relying exclusively on severe punitive measures.
This approach reflects the criminological principle of reintegrative shaming: condemn the misconduct without permanently condemning the individual.
The objective is not to excuse wrongdoing. It is to create an opportunity for correction, accountability and eventual reintegration.
The NAPSS President also cited the Vice-Chancellor’s tolerance of student criticism and protest as part of the reason for honouring him.
Even when students protested and disrupted banking activities at the Naraguta Campus, the Vice-Chancellor reportedly did not seek to identify the protesters or impose disciplinary sanctions.
If accurately represented, this reflects a leadership philosophy that recognises disagreement as part of university life rather than automatically treating dissent as insubordination.
NUGA: More Than a Sporting Event
Perhaps one of the most visible achievements associated with the Ishaya administration was the hosting of the 2025 Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA) competition.
The November 2025 games marked the first time in the University of Jos’s 50-year history that it hosted NUGA and the first time a university in Nigeria’s North-Central region hosted the competition.
The University reportedly faced significant infrastructure limitations. Yet, Prof. Ishaya was credited with lobbying for the hosting rights and mobilising support from politicians, education authorities, foundations, companies and diplomatic missions.
The University subsequently upgraded sporting facilities and provided accommodation, transportation, medical services and entertainment for participants.
More than 200 University of Jos students participated in approximately 23 sports, with the institution finishing second overall.
The economic effect extended beyond the University.
With about 10,000 athletes, officials and spectators reportedly converging on Jos, hotels, transport operators, restaurants, food vendors and other businesses benefited from the increased economic activity.
The competition also contributed to the University’s designation as one of Nigeria’s 10 sports centres of excellence, potentially opening new opportunities in sports science, sports management, journalism, administration and law.
There was another achievement that cannot easily be measured in financial terms: perception.
Despite longstanding concerns about security in Jos, NUGA was conducted without a reported major violent incident. For a city whose reputation has sometimes been shaped by insecurity, successfully hosting thousands of visitors without a major security crisis was itself significant.
Expanding the University’s Academic Footprint
The Ishaya administration has also pursued academic expansion.
The University has expanded its affiliation network, including agreements involving the Federal College of Education (Technical), Bichi, and College of Education, Gindiri, while other institutions await accreditation processes.
Thirty-seven new programmes have reportedly been introduced across disciplines including Education, Veterinary Medicine, Health Sciences, Pharmacy, Social Sciences, Arts, Architecture and Computing.
The establishment of the Faculties of Architecture and Computing represents another significant development.
Senate has also approved 44 postgraduate programmes in the Institute of Education and considered new programmes in areas including Mass Communication, Veterinary Medicine, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Library and Information Science, and Criminal and Social Justice.
A Centre of Excellence in Food Security has also been approved, with 26 postgraduate programmes reportedly covering areas such as livestock production, agricultural economics and disaster-risk management.
For a university, academic expansion matters not merely because it increases the number of programmes. It expands the institution’s capacity to respond to emerging societal needs.
Research: From Laboratories to Real-World Problems
Research provides perhaps the strongest test of whether a university is fulfilling its core mandate.
The Africa Centre of Excellence on Phytomedicine Research and Development is one notable example.
The Centre has produced research outputs including COVID tea, anti-snake venom and an anti-tick vaccine. Its Director, Prof. Abraham Dogo, said Prof. Ishaya reopened the Centre after funding ceased and increased its funding by approximately 500 percent.
The Centre has also attracted more than 20 international students from African countries, according to the Director.
Elsewhere, a University of Jos engineering team reportedly won ₦70 million for developing a solar-powered robotic device designed to detect diseases affecting crops including potato, maize and ginger.
The Vice-Chancellor has reportedly expressed interest in supporting its commercialisation.
That final step is crucial. Universities should not merely produce research papers that remain within academic journals. Research becomes more valuable when it can solve practical problems, generate intellectual property, create enterprises and improve livelihoods.
The administration also facilitated TETFund inspection and upgrading of research laboratories, including the Disease Surveillance and Multi-omics Laboratory and laboratories at the University’s School of Veterinary Medicine. These efforts reportedly resulted in a ₦1 billion allocation.
If sustained, such investments could significantly improve the University’s research competitiveness.
Infrastructure: What Has Changed?
Infrastructure remains one of the most visible indicators of university administration.
Under Prof. Ishaya, the University has undertaken projects involving fencing of the permanent site, expansion of the Faculties of Arts and Pharmaceutical Sciences, construction and equipping of laboratories, procurement of books and laboratory equipment, and extensive interior works.
The Department of Music has also reportedly witnessed substantial investment in musical instruments, with stakeholders describing its current stock and quality as among the best available in Nigerian universities.
The administration has provided documentation relating to approximately 198 selected projects undertaken during the tenure.
However, infrastructure claims should ultimately be judged by verifiable project records, quality of execution, value for money and the impact on students and staff—not merely by the number of projects announced.
That is an important standard for both supporters and critics of the administration.
The Electricity Question
Perhaps no challenge exposes the vulnerability of Nigerian universities more than electricity.
The University of Jos has reportedly faced monthly electricity-related expenditure ranging from approximately ₦20 million to ₦80 million.
Against this backdrop, the solarisation project under the Rural Electrification Agency’s Energising Education Programme could become one of the administration’s most consequential interventions.
The project is expected to provide reliable off-grid electricity, reduce dependence on diesel generators and lower the University’s energy costs.
If successfully implemented, its impact will go beyond reducing expenditure. Reliable power is fundamental to teaching, research, laboratory operations, digital services, student welfare and institutional productivity.
What About the Criticisms?
A serious opinion article cannot celebrate achievements while ignoring shortcomings.
The Ishaya administration, like every public institution, has faced challenges. Among those identified by stakeholders are delays in budget approvals without corresponding cash backing, rising electricity costs and insufficient support from some stakeholders.
There is also a legitimate need for continuous scrutiny of procurement, project execution, financial management, academic expansion and the quality of infrastructure.
Praise should not eliminate accountability.
At the same time, criticism should not eliminate fairness.
The existence of shortcomings does not automatically invalidate achievements, just as achievements do not erase shortcomings.
This distinction is especially important in the age of social media, where allegations can acquire the appearance of facts simply through repetition.
The University Must Rise Above Parochialism
At the heart of the controversy surrounding Prof. Ishaya is a larger question about what the University of Jos wants to be.
Is it merely an institution that reflects the politics, prejudices and divisions of its immediate environment, or is it an institution capable of rising above them?
A university should be a community of intellectuals committed to evidence, reason and critical inquiry.
That means disagreement is welcome. Criticism is necessary. Accountability is non-negotiable.
But criticism must be evidence-based.
A university cannot credibly teach students to interrogate misinformation while allowing its own public discourse to be dominated by unverified claims, parochial sentiments and personal attacks.
Neither should support for an administration become an excuse for refusing to ask difficult questions.
The appropriate standard is neither blind loyalty nor reflexive hostility.
It is evidence.
Conclusion: Let the Record Speak
The evidence reviewed for this assessment presents a broadly positive picture of Prof. Tanko Ishaya’s tenure, particularly in the areas of staff welfare, student relations, research, innovation, sports, academic expansion, infrastructure, partnerships and energy development.
That assessment does not mean every decision of the administration was perfect. It does not mean every criticism is false. Nor does it suggest that the Vice-Chancellor should be shielded from scrutiny.
Rather, it means that the record deserves to be judged on facts.
The University of Jos belongs to its students, staff, alumni, host communities and the wider Nigerian public. Its leadership should therefore be subjected to rigorous scrutiny—but scrutiny rooted in evidence rather than prejudice.
Those entrusted with institutional leadership should be held accountable. But they should also be given the support necessary to succeed when their initiatives are demonstrably in the public interest.
Ultimately, Prof. Ishaya’s legacy will not be determined by an award, a social-media controversy or the loudest voices for or against him.
It will be determined by the enduring condition of the University he leaves behind: its academic strength, research capacity, infrastructure, staff welfare, student experience, institutional reputation and ability to serve society.
For a university community that prides itself on intellectual excellence, the most appropriate verdict should not be based on who shouts the loudest, but on what the evidence shows.
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