By Peter Oyedele
The immediate past Chairperson of the Association of University Librarians of Nigerian Universities, AULNU, Prof. Angela Ebele Okpala, has handed over the leadership of the association to the newly elected Chairman, Prof. Christopher O. Okiki, after a two-year tenure marked by increased membership, improved finances, capacity building and international collaborations.
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Okpala, while presenting her end-of-tenure report at the association’s meeting, said her administration recorded significant achievements between 2024 and 2026, attributing the successes to the support and commitment of members and executive officers.
She disclosed that the association’s financial position improved considerably during her tenure, saying AULNU inherited about N18 million in its account but was leaving approximately N40 million.
According to her, the association also had about $3,000 in its domiciliary account, while the Nigerian Library Association (NULIB) account had approximately N3.6 million.
Okpala said her administration successfully reviewed the AULNU constitution, increased attendance at the association’s meetings, improved the number of paid-up members and opened a domiciliary account.
She added that the administration also reactivated the NULIB account and the association’s registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC.
The immediate past chairperson said AULNU organised four impactful meetings, with certification awarded to participants in its capacity-building workshops.
She further listed three international educational tours undertaken by members during the tenure, including visits to the Singapore Management Institute; the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom; and the University of Toronto and Brock University in Canada.
According to her, the administration also cleared outstanding entitlements owed to members who had served out their tenure, while securing a partnership with American Space to provide members with access to electronic databases, including EBSCOhost, JSTOR and ProQuest.
She said the AULNU website was also reactivated during her tenure.
Okpala, however, identified the renewal of access to the EBSCOhost database, participation of university librarians in university councils and another educational tour to the United Kingdom as some of the issues requiring attention by the incoming administration.
She expressed appreciation to members of the Constitution Review Committee, Harmonised Career Structure and Progression Framework Committee, Local Organising Committee and Communiqué Committees for their contributions to the achievements recorded during her tenure.
The outgoing chairperson urged the incoming executives to build on the structures already established and place the interest of the association above personal considerations.
Accepting the leadership mandate, Okiki said the new executive would regard its unopposed election not merely as an endorsement but as a responsibility requiring results.
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He said the absence of opposition in the election did not reduce the burden of leadership, but rather increased the obligation of the new executive to justify the confidence reposed in it by members.
Okiki commended Okpala and her executive for what he described as their commitment to sustaining the credibility of the association during a challenging period for Nigerian university libraries.
He said the incoming administration would continue to draw on the experience and institutional memory of the immediate past leadership.
The new chairman outlined a six-point agenda focused on strengthening the university library system and improving the professional welfare and effectiveness of librarians.
A major priority, he said, would be the establishment of a functioning national library consortium to facilitate collective negotiation and joint licensing of electronic information resources.
He said the initiative would seek to develop an equitable cost-sharing and subscription model that would make electronic resources more accessible to institutions, including those operating with limited budgets.
Okiki also listed research support and global visibility as a key priority, with emphasis on institutional repositories, open access, research data management and improved discoverability of Nigerian scholarship.
He said the administration would pursue structured engagement and partnerships with the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, the National Universities Commission, NUC, TETFund and other stakeholders whose decisions affect university libraries.
According to him, the association would advocate with a unified voice for improved funding, adequate staffing, better ICT infrastructure and recognition of university libraries as essential academic partners.
The incoming chairman also promised to prioritise digital transformation and infrastructure equity, with a view to reducing disparities among university libraries.
He said the administration would work towards ensuring that the concept of a digital library has practical meaning across institutions, irrespective of their location or level of development.
Professional development and the advancement of members also featured prominently in his agenda, with Okiki pledging to promote continuous professional development and strengthen librarians’ capacity in areas such as teaching support, research data management and the indexing and visibility of Nigerian scholarship.
He also called for stronger collaboration among university libraries, saying the challenges confronting the profession could not be effectively addressed by individual institutions acting in isolation.
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Okiki assured members that the new executive would present its proposals to the association for deliberation and work collectively towards strengthening the profession and university library services in Nigeria.
The new executive members of the association which were sworn-in include: Prof. Christopher O. Okiki as Chairman, Associate Prof. Magoi Joshua Sani as Secretary, the Financial Secretary of the association, Dr. Abraham Etebu, others are, Mal. Nazir Muhammad, as Public relations officer Dr. Modupe Aboyade, the Treasurer and Prof. Anjela Ebele Okpala, the Immediate Past Chairman of the association.