Despite strong efforts by the current management to reposition 45-year-old Federal College of Education, Eha Amufu, Enugu State, activities of vandals, arsonists, naysayers, among others, have continued to undermine progress at the school, LAWRENCE NJOKU reports.

The establishment of the Federal College of Eha Amufu, Enugu State, in 1981, was aimed to promote teacher education as well as infuse efficient and effective management by the then Anambra State government. The push to make the College fulfill its mandate adequately elicited its takeover by the Federal Government in 1993. The takeover resulted in infrastructural uplifting, proper staffing, enhanced training and funding, among others.

Recently, as part of efforts to keep the institution on track, the government granted dual approval to enable it to award diplomas and degrees in education. However, a series of arson, vandalism, theft and land encroachment are seriously challenging the academic vision and other ideals of the school.

The school is domiciled at the heart of Eha Amufu. But even with its vantage location and three-campus structure, hoodlums have continued to create unsavoury developments at the place.

For instance, while the school currently runs without public power supply, with its water plant vandalised, a recent fire outbreak consumed a multi-million-naira building housing several offices and resulting in the loss of school documents. Staff attached to the facility now mill around the school not knowing where to continue.

Investigation by The Guardian about the fire incident, which occurred in the first week of March, this year, revealed a similar pattern of operation by those orchestrating untoward practices in the school. This is because while the facility was burning and attention focused on quenching the fire and stopping it from spreading, those behind it carted away valuables from other sections of the school.

“Nobody will hear of that without shedding tears,” Deputy Provost of the College, Dr. Samuel Odo, told The Guardian; stressing that the fire consumed the entire one storey building housing NCE exam unit, records unit, PDE unit and Council Chamber, among other offices. He said the Procurement Unit was saved by its relocation from the building a few months before the incident.

Odo, who conducted The Guardian round the school, added that the school was preparing to host the council meeting a day after the incident. He narrated further loss from the incident, which happened at about 2.13a.m. on that fateful day.

“When we came the next morning, the head of the ICT unit said the arsonists removed all the wires in the ICT unit of the School of Arts and Social Sciences. Moments later, the head of Music Department said they removed everything in his office including wires,” Odo said

Stressing that the incident took the pattern of a former one, he added: “The other time they set fire around the college council area, our security men were battling to stop the fire.  But while the attention was there, they (arsonists) came to the admin block and carted away three Air conditioners. It was in the morning that the security men now recovered them from the bushes around.”

Odo disclosed that a previous incident occurred at the new building housing the e-library, adding that security men on duty were able to contain the spread with water tankers that supplied water in the school.

Investigation further showed that before the latest incident, the arsonists had succeeded in disconnecting the school from public power supply three months earlier.

They uprooted armoured cable supplying power to the school transformer, said to cost millions of naira; so, throwing the school into darkness helped them in their nefarious act.

“They cut one and removed that one but they did not remove the other two. So, it has been a regular occurrence. So, that one has affected us seriously. Since that time, we don’t have light in the College. It’s about two months now,” he said.

To make up for the power shortage, the college purchased a generator and placed it in the student’s common room to enable them to charge their phones and other gadgets whenever it is on, especially during the day.

“We spend hugely to purchase fuel for the generators both for the school and the common room,” Odoh said.

The College has been without water since 2023. It was gathered that the water treatment plant recently installed was vandalised. Although two of the vandals were later arrested by the police, their trial has not been concluded. The vandalised facility was worth over N50 million.

“Water is now a major problem for the school as we have to depend on the water tankers to service the school and students, The tankers must operate fully if there must be water in the school,” he said.

At the college, it was discovered that the students lined up their water cans behind Geepee tanks, waiting to be filled from the school’s water tankers. The water is usually drawn from Ebonyi River, which is said to be unsafe for drinking.

Odoh attributed the scale of atrocities in the College to its porous nature, stressing that the entire compound has remained unfenced since the birth of the College.

“Everywhere is a thorough fare. You will hardly demarcate the school from the neighbouring community. People move anyhow within the school compound. But we have not encountered any attacks on our students within the College. We need to fence the College,” he said.

Meanwhile, Odo stated that the school has witnessed massive transformation since the present Provost, Prof. Pauline Ikwuegbu, assumed office. He said that aside from attracting TETFund projects worth several millions of naira, both completed and ongoing, which have changed the face of the College, no fewer than 80 staff had benefitted from TETFund workshop or conference interventions. He also disclosed that the school has boosted its revenue by creating agricultural opportunities in the area of poultry and piggery, among others.

Odo stated that the successes recorded were further boosted last year when the Federal Government elevated the College to a degree awarding institution in education, adding that it can now award diplomas and degrees in education.

He also reacted to recent reports about corruption and mismanagement in the school, saying: “I want to tell you that management can never destroy what it has built. Management has no hand in the attacks in the school and anybody that is alleging that should be asked a question because that person must know what actually happened in these incidents.

“There have been wild allegations on social media against the Provost, Prof.  Ikwuegbu as a person and the management as a corporate body. But I want to say emphatically that those allegations are false in the best way that anybody can describe what a false allegation is.”

He continued: “In the first place, they wrote about the provost diverting three buses to her personal school and that these vehicles are worth N300 million. And they carefully did not bring to the public domain the contractual agreement on those vehicles. I want to say it before the public now as we have proved beyond all reasonable doubt that the so-called three buses were constituency projects which the contractor brought through Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu, as his advisory agent. And it was clearly written there that one of the buses (Fonton bus) was for Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu.

“But when we saw that publication, we went on investigation and we located the two schools where the other two buses were given at Ibagwa in Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of Enugu State. We contacted the owners of the establishment who told us that the buses were given to them in 2023. And they told us that it was a constituency project. We published it even in some newspapers and other areas. We published our investigation

“Now, they left that one and they started talking about TETFund; that the Provost has been using TETFund educational support for staff to enrich her cronies and her this and her that. Well, anything about TETFund is in the open market. I have a document where the Provost gave TETFund intervention to over 70 staff here between 2018 when she came and 2024. That of 2025, we can still lay our hands on it if we wish.

“She has been doing well since she entered this college. And they had never complained until now that she is about to leave the college; they started bringing in all types of falsehood just to paint her hard-earned image black.  It is unthinkable and they cannot succeed,” he said.

Odo, who said he graduated from the school about 30 years ago, said the end of tenure of previous Provosts were marked with fabricated stories from people who either wanted to succeed the person or those who had interest in somebody. He, however, noted that the college would not forget the legacies of Ikwuegbu in a hurry.

He added: “This College has lived to its mandate. There are visible signs that it will continue to do well with the structures and legacies set by Ikwuegbu. Those who have worked don’t deserve this kind of reward. She is a woman who has indeed raised the bar and her name should be written in gold.

“She is the first female Provost of this college. I tell you that what the male Provosts could not achieve she has achieved. There are hostels well enough for our students; there are improved classrooms; the internal roads have been uplifted and tarred. We have had Provosts even from this local government, yet they could not do more. Those who vandalise and set property ablaze are doing so to undermine her efforts but they have failed. The woman has done a lot here. And nobody can paint her image black in the view of society that knows her better.”