Building the African University of Science and Technology (Aust), Abuja For (ePub)

This book is a report of the initiation and implementation of a development project for the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, Nigeria, solely supported by African Development Bank. It can be regarded as a case study of which an in-depth and detailed examination of all events as reported will reveal for the benefit of readers, the shortcomings or excellence of the management of the events with respect to the overall realization of the defined project objectives cum outputs and outcomes.

When I began writing this report, the intention was to document for AUST's reference purposes, all the events that took place during the project period as per the records kept during the implementation of the project. However, at a certain point, it became obvious that I would be doing a disservice to the financiers of the project, African Development Bank, professionals, vendors, students, donors and recipients of grants/loans from development agencies, if the opportunity the report presents for learning and improvement of relevant skills and systems was discarded. For this reason, the report was turned into a book giving full account of roles, successes and shortcomings of persons and entities involved in the initiative of the African Development Bank's support to African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, in building a place for science and technology excellence in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.

The events reported in the book are given in acknowledgement of the facts that; (1) they are the truth and not my making or opinion; and (2) the funds provided for the project are public funds and therefore require enough disclosure of the process, persons and entities involved in the use.

In terms of scope, the book begins with introduction that gives a background and objectives of the project and proceeds with the outline of the outputs and outcomes of the project and then discusses the governance, administration and financial management of the project. The last and most detailed element of the report is the activity implementations that involve contract procurement and administration where applicable, internal processes and execution. The activities include for the goods category; the supply and installation of computer equipment, generators, laboratory equipment, a video conferencing center, a high-performance computer cluster; and the purchase of books and subscription to journals. The works category had only the construction of laboratory building, while the services category comprised the engagement of visiting faculty, scholarship awards, organization and attendance of workshops and conferences, partnerships with international institutions and private sector and project financial audits.

Because of the diversity of the project, the stakeholders who in normal course of their functions are continually involved in different kinds of projects will identify, for improvement purposes in this book the relevance of mentioned documents, processes, action or inactions of persons or institutions involved under various circumstances as reported.