THE nomination of Prof. Chinedu Nebo for a ministerial position by President Goodluck Jonathan is, I think, another indication that the president would, as much as possible, prefer to work with the best hands and minds available to us as Nigerians to improve the lot of our country and its people. It is yet another of the president’s ministerial nominations that has scored a bull’s eye, especially as media reports indicate that Prof. Nebo may be assigned to the Ministry of Power.
I had, in an article entitled “The Post-UME as a Child of Necessity” (published on page 61 of The Guardian of June 13, 2010), invoked Prof. Nebo as the man who introduced the post-UME test to our university system as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, as a measure to curb the rot in the admission process, which was later adopted by other universities nationwide.
In the article, I also told the story of the candidate who reportedly had the highest score in the Joint Matriculation Examination and had gained admission to study medicine at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, but could not answer the Vice-Chancellor’s question: “What is the chemical formula of water?” Which led a stunned Prof. Nebo, the Vice-Chancellor in question, to introduce the post-UME test to detect similar candidates who, upon possible graduation into medical doctors, might become nothing but certificated killers armed with scalpels and ignorance, and their counterparts seeking admission into other disciplines.
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