UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION IN AN EMERGING DEMOCRACY

Abstract

In the turn of the new millennium, the world became more concerned with the issues of democracy, energy supply, technological advancement and globalization based on importance of knowledge as a commodity in international trade. The issue of democracy and governance became so important in the face of growing self determination among various peoples of the world. Universities are traditionally institutions that thrive on the tenets of democracy and colleaguality, Therefore, considering issues of the administration of the institution within the environment of increasingly emerging democratic governance in our nation is considered apt. Democracy in Nigeria is still in its infancy given the various failed attempts of the first, second and third republics. The growth of our universities within the various processes of governance which for most part was under military dictatorship was naturally impacted and the nature of governance as enunciated in the laws of the universities established during the military regimes definitely manifested the prevailing scenario. Since the commencement of the fourth republic and the growing democratic tenets, the implication for university administration is becoming more discernible and we intend in this paper to highlight the implications of the emerging scenario on the governance and administration of the institutions.