By Henry Umoru
South South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has said he is a fullfilled man to witness the private university he opened, Edwin Clark University, Kiagbodo as his legacy, grow to gain recognition among Nigerian universities.
Addressing newsmen, weekend, at his Asokoro residence in Abuja, the elder statesman, who will be 97 years old next month, said with recent ranking of the Nigerian universities, Edwin Clark University in Kiagbodo came 25th of 200 universities in Nigeria barely eight years of its existence.
This is coming two years after the university was ranked 32nd among Nigerian universities and 22nd among private universities.
He said: “I have been a teacher all my life. I have been a lawyer, I have been in government. I was responsible for the opening of University of Benin. I was then Commissioner for Education under Brigadier General Ogbomudia, we opened that school. Today, the Faculty of Management Sciences in the university is named after me.
“I have an honorary degree of LLD from University of Benin since 1990. I was also Pro-chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna.
“So, with all these past experiences and knowledge, the best thing is to join in opening a private university, where we bring children from all over the country to my village to live together.”
Clark, who recalled that the university got its licence in 2015, said: “That is the legacy. Whether I’m gone, my children gone, grandchildren gone, the university remains.
“When I started in 2015, I offered 100 scholarships to the first. And so, that year, we admitted 200 students.
“Then I wanted the Faculty of Law, the NUC said no. All private universities can only operate a faculty of law after five years.
“They gave me a special exception. We established the Faculty of Law, second year in the university. We have now graduated two sets of law students from the law school.”
He said the university was free from cultism and has the lowest fess and also free from cultism and all vices.
