Mohammed Nasiru Yakubu is the first ever doctorate graduate of the American University of Nigeria, Yola, Adamawa State in its 17 years of existence. On the sidelines of the institution’s 2020/2021 combined convocation held recently, Yakubu spoke with ZEBULON AGOMUO, Editor, BusinessDay Sunday, on his academic journey; how he achieved the feat; the insight his PhD research may have provided for the education system in Nigeria, his future ambition, among others. Excerpts:
At the commencement (convocation) ceremony, the university announced that you were the first ever doctorate degree graduate of the institution in 17 years; how do you feel about that?
I’m very proud first of all to be recognised as the first doctorate graduate from the American
University of Nigeria in the field of Information Systems. Professor Abimbola who was our external examiner also mentioned that it is the first PhD in Nigeria for that particular programme, but I am yet to verify that. It gives me a sense of pride, but it was a very, very humbling journey.
Not just in the area of information technology, but they said you are the first PhD graduate in AUN; is that not the case?
Yes; that is the case.
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Does it mean you were the only one admitted for the programme or for doctorate programme in the entire University?
There were three of us admitted during my set, but a PhD programme is an individual journey that everyone has to make; you are faced with some types of challenges and everybody’s story is different. So, I consider myself lucky to be the first to graduate. My other two colleagues are not too far behind me; I know they are in the process of submitting their theses right now. Hopefully, by the next semester they would have been through.
What is your area of research?
My area of research was based on acceptance and use of Learning Management Systems in Nigerian universities and I compared how private and public Nigerian universities use the learning management systems that they have.
So, what insight has that provided for the education system in Nigeria?
I put it down to possibly the difference in funding structures of both institutions, but my findings show that private university students are more likely or more readily to use learning management systems because they have the facilitating conditions
to enable them use such systems. Private institutions are set up to be self-sustainable or to be profit-making; so, they have to offer some form of value to their students; so, they put everything in place that makes them use these learning management systems. This is compared to public institutions where we believe in some form of service to the community or to the nation as a whole; there’s not a lot of emphasis placed on use of technology for teaching and learning
You said you looked at public and private universities; what were the universities?
I looked at four universities- two public and two private universities. The private universities were Base University in Abuja and the American University of Nigeria, Yola. Then, the public universities were National Open University of Nigeria and the University of Jos, Plateau State.
May we know the specific gaps identified?
There are very few studies that had investigated how students use learning management systems; and the reason for this is because there are only a handful of Nigerian universities that are able to adopt these systems or implement these systems into the teaching and learning culture. In other climes, many universities already have these technologies in place because they enhance the teachers’ or instructors’ work and also enhance how the students are able to learn. They provide students with ways in which they can study 24/7 because they have access to rich sources. To answer your question, the gap was that there are very, very few studies that have investigated this in Nigeria. There’s a need for me to investigate why students use these learning management systems in the few universities that use them, with the hope that the findings will be able to, in the future, guide universities that are planning to implement this learning management systems.
For the layman; what do you mean by learning management system?
Learning management system is software application that connects the instructor to the students. So, communication doesn’t end in the classroom, they are able to communicate outside of the classroom. For instance, in the American University of Nigeria you can set your assignments, test or examination on learning management systems. You can make an announcement; it’s a placeholder for your lecture note; your lecture slides; if you have e-books as well, they can be placed on learning management system. What this means is that the students are able to access all of this information irrespective of where they are or the time of the day when they can access it.
Were these systems in place at all, at the National Open University and the University of Jos you investigated?
These systems are in place but I don’t think they are fully utilised. Part of my findings at these public universities was that these systems are used mainly as a placeholder for the lecture notes or their e-books that they use for their instructions. The National Open University actually uses their own system to provide access to library resources as well as to take the tests that they normally take- I think they have three or four tests that they normally take. So, it allows them to do that as well from the comfort of their rooms.
Can you tell us a bit about your educational history?
I initially studied Business Information Technology at London South Bank University, United Kingdom. I gained employment into AUN in 2006 when I was hired to set up the first e-library in Nigeria. After doing that, I became an instructional technologist where I was tasked with setting up the learning management system; training people on how to use it. And from me finding out these benefits, that drove me to my PhD research. While I was an instructional technologist, I underwent a Master’s at National Open University of Nigeria where I got an M.Sc in Information Technology. I used that as a springboard to do my PhD.
It is believed out there that running any course in AUN is expensive; did you study on scholarship or self-funded?
The programme was self-funded. I was able to pay for it myself. There was no room for scholarship as of yet; I believe because the university is new; this is the model they have adopted. If you look at most universities in more advanced countries, if you come up with a proposal that is going to bring up some form of research that contributes either to practise or further research, you do get some form of funding for that, but I still feel that the value I got based on the lectures I got from Professors, the support from the library, and all the technologists, that I used to write my thesis, I still think that that provided value-for-money.
Now that you have bagged your PhD, what next?
Going forward; well, while I was doing my PhD I was recruited as a teaching assistant in the University. I would like to build on that. The whole aim of the PhD was to become a professor eventually. I want to build on my teaching experience and my research experience, so that one day I will become a professor.
