After weeks of protests and silence, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Professor Florence Obi, has finally broken her silence over the non-induction of the university’s graduating dentistry students.
The affected students, who were admitted in 2016, have been left in limbo due to the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria’s refusal to induct them, citing serious regulatory breaches. This delay has triggered public outrage, emotional distress among students, and strong reactions from parents and medical observers across the country.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Professor Obi admitted that the situation has become unbearable and promised that efforts were underway to resolve the crisis within a few months.
“I want to really appeal to the students and to parents because I have read somewhere where students are getting depressed and some of them are threatening suicide. I want to really appeal to my students to hold it, to be calm, that on my honour, we will see how, together, with MDCN (can resolve the problem),” she said.
Oversight or Mismanagement?
According to Obi, the core of the crisis lies in the university’s decision to over-admit students into the Dentistry programme. While MDCN had approved a quota of only ten students, the university went ahead and admitted sixty — a decision that clearly violated the regulatory body’s directive and put the academic future of the students at risk.
The Vice Chancellor admitted this misstep and revealed that the institution is now seeking ways to correct the damage, including networking with other universities to absorb some of the affected students.
“We are working seriously with other institutions to explore how some of the students can be placed,” she said, adding that she would also appeal to the Minister of Education for immediate intervention.
Accountability and Internal Action Promised
In what many see as an overdue acknowledgment, Professor Obi openly indicted some top officials of the university — including the Dean, the Provost, and the Admissions Officer — for their role in the over-admission scandal. She said the university has begun internal disciplinary procedures and promised that those found guilty would face the consequences.
“We are going to invoke the university’s internal mechanism to handle that, we have to query some people. Definitely, there will be consequences,” she said.
When asked if she takes full responsibility for the dentistry mess, Professor Obi did not deflect blame.
“Of course I am the head, I take responsibility, even the ones I inherited, I take responsibility, I am the head,” she declared.
UNICAL VC Breaks Silence on Dentistry Mess, But Is It Enough?
Despite the long-overdue response, many Nigerians feel that the Vice Chancellor’s remarks have come too late and offer little comfort to the affected students. The emotional damage is deep, and the academic disruption has dragged on for too long.
What is even more troubling is the admission that this situation was caused by sheer negligence, a university flouting medical admission quotas as though rules do not matter. While the Vice Chancellor claims she’s doing all she can, the damage is already done.
This dentistry mess, as it is now called, didn’t just happen overnight. It reflects a deeper rot in university governance — one where administrative oversight is replaced with academic gambling.
For students who have spent almost a decade pursuing a five-year course, words alone cannot undo the years lost.
Professor Obi may have broken her silence, but Nigerians will not be silent until they see real accountability, justice for the students, and an overhaul of the systems that allowed such institutional recklessness to thrive.
