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RECENTLY, in a move that set the stage for a leadership transition at the examination body, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), President Bola Tinubu approved the appointment of Professor Segun Aina as the new Registrar of the board. According to the statement issued by the Presidency, Professor Aina will take over from Professor Is-haq Oloyede, whose second term is scheduled to end on July 31. While highlighting Aina’s academic and professional background, the statement described the appointment as part of efforts to sustain the reforms in Nigeria’s tertiary education admission system. The reforms the president was referring to are the innovations that the outgoing JAMB chief executive has institutionalised in his bid to make the organisation fit for purpose, and this much was articulated in his tribute when he (Oloyede) turned 70 in October 2024. On that occasion, President Bola Tinubu had described the Professor of Islamic Jurisprudence as an uncommon scholar and exceptional administrator. According to him, Oloyede’s invaluable contributions to the nation through the academia and public-sector administration had significantly impacted the academic community.
The president was keen to note that Oloyede, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, had acquired renown for his transformative leadership at JAMB which had seen him pioneering and sustaining a series of reforms and technological innovations that had made the admission process in Nigeria much more transparent and credible. His words on that occasion: “Professor Oloyede has demonstrated an uncommon commitment to financial integrity and accountability in public service. He has also raised the bar in administration and management. The nation owes the Professor of Islamic Jurisprudence a debt of gratitude for transforming JAMB, traditionally a non-revenue-generating government agency, into a consistent contributor to the national treasury through efficient financial management.” If the various tributes that heralded that occasion from different segments of the Nigerian society were any indication, Oloyede had indeed carved a niche for himself on a terrain traditionally notorious for mind-boggling corruption. And that is why as he bows out of office next month, we find it necessary to draw attention to the symbolism and substance of his stewardship, and emphasise precisely why the reforms associated with his leadership must not only be sustained but also heightened to enable the board to fulfill its mandate with greater effectiveness.
Prior to Oloyede’s appointment as JAMB Registrar by the then President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2016, there had been notable strides in the examination body, particularly in relation to the conduct of the University Matriculation Examination (UME), now significantly expanded and renamed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). This included, among others, the segmentation of question papers into types (Type A, Type B, etc), in order to reduce, if not eliminate, any kind of collusion between candidates in the examination hall. However, the board, just like various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the government, was mired in monumental sleaze, and elements of its leadership faced intense scrutiny, and prosecution. By contrast, Oloyede’s leadership signposted improved financial transparency and accountability in JAMB, and increased revenue remittances to the Federal Government. Under his leadership, Nigerians have seen a board that strengthened the Computer-Based Test (CBT) system, introduced biometric verification to enhance examination security, reduced examination malpractice and impersonation, introduced the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), and made the admission process more transparent, fair, and merit-based. They have also seen improved efficiency in JAMB’s operations and service delivery, and the restoration of public confidence in JAMB as an examination body. Oloyede has been keen to promote integrity, accountability, and professionalism in public administration, and will for a long time be remembered for modernizing Nigeria’s tertiary institution admission system through technological innovations.
As we noted on the occasion of his 70th birthday, “in a badly governed clime like Nigeria, there usually aren’t many heroes… At the helm of affairs in JAMB, an examining body whose leadership was at a time associated with mind-boggling, monumental sleaze, Oloyede has earned plaudits as an administrator unflinchingly dedicated to the cause of probity, accountability and forthrightness…His story is one that inspires by the sheer resonance of its beauty, a shining light, as it were, in a dark terrain, and we join millions of Nigerians in acknowledging and celebrating his genius.” Today, we have found no reason to change that submission. Under Oloyede’s stewardship, the examination body which had previously remitted less than N50 million to the coffers of the Federal Government between 1978 and 2016, remitted N7.8 billion in 2017. It is a tribute to his genius that even while the MDAs have been generally mired in corruption, JAMB has stood as a beacon of hope.
In December 2024, we noted that over the years, Nigerians had been shell-shocked, horrified and outraged following reports and news of the unending criminality in the MDAs. We pointed out that in that year’s report that was quite reflective of previous reports, the Auditor-General of the Federation had uncovered irregular payment for contracts amounting to N197.72 billion in the Rural Electrification Agency, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPM), and other MDAs in the country. The story of JAMB, where Oloyede remitted operating surplus of N20.7 billion to the Federal Government while undertaking massive physical and human development from its internally generated revenue, causing the Federal Government to reduce the UTME application fees by 30 percent, shows what is possible when an agency of government is piloted by an upright individual.
As Oloyede bows out of service after 10 meritorious years, it is our sincere hope that JAMB will sustain the template of probity and accountability that he has instituted, and will continue to pursue innovations that will make it to deliver maximally on its mandate. Although we have had reason to disagree with the board and highlight the persistent drawbacks associated with the UTME, we believe, very firmly, that it has shown exceptional qualities with Oloyede in the saddle. We wish Professor Oloyede greater success in his future endeavours.
