Message from the Pro Chancellor
Most Rev Dr Hilary Namaan Dachelem, CMF
Bishop of Bauchi, Nigeria
Pro Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council
In January 2016, the VII Provincial Chapter of Claretian Missionaries of East Nigeria unanimously adopted a resolution directing that the “administration studies the possibility of establishing a University in Imo State”. (cf. Provincial Chapter Document, 2016 p.41). Several possibilities were considered including a public-private-partnership University with Government of Imo State. In 2018, after exhaustive consultations with stakeholders and wise Counsel of the Superior General of Claretian Missionaries, it was decided that the Province could pursue the pathway towards establishing a private University. The Academic planning Committee on the University established in 2015 was later constituted as the Project Implementation Committee (PIC) in 2018. In 2021, the Claretian University of Nigeria was formally licensed by the Federal Government as a private University with a take-off at the premises of the Claretian Institute of Philosophy Nekede.
The overall decline in our educational system and the underlying moral values has become a major concern to the nation. The standards of education, discipline and morality have fallen to a point where a private sector approach is indeed the only way forward to ensure a sustainable future for the Nigerian youth. This dire situation has created a moral obligation on the part of the faith-based institutions, which underpins the establishment of the Claretian University of Nigeria, to leverage education as a tool for social transformation.
Claretian University of Nigeria is a faith-based university that belongs to the Claretian University Education Foundation. Even though it operates under the supervisory framework of the National Universities Commission, it is expected as a private university to reflect certain unique features in its operations to keep abreast with the requirements of a strong Catholic university, a reputable centre of excellence whose products are truly worthy in character and in learning.
I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Superior General of Claretian Missionaries for timely approval of the Claretian University of Nigeria project and patiently accompanying it to this critical stage through his delegate Rev Fr Henry Omonisaye, CMF and giving us the opportunity to be involved in this historic project as Pro-Chancellor.