Getting Our Universities Back on Track: Reflections and Governance Paradigms from My Vice-Chancellorship.

• Author: Coker-Kolo, Doyin
• Position: AFRICA - Book review

Mimiko, N. Oluwafemi. Getting Our Universities Back on Track: Reflections and Governance Paradigms from My Vice-Chancellorship. Austin, TX: Pan-African University Press, 2017.

Using a personal narrative approach, Mimiko chronicles his administrative experience as the vice chancellor of a relatively new state university in Nigeria: the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Okoko (AAAU), in Ondo State. He shares how the experience shaped his perspectives about life personally and spiritually and, on a larger scale, about public service in Nigeria. His ingenuity as a storyteller makes this somewhat voluminous book an easy and interesting read. He uses a down-to-earth, humorous, and sometimes intense literary approach to bring his thoughts alive to his readers. While the book may be considered an autobiography of sorts, Mimiko also sheds light on the history of higher education in Nigeria. He discusses the challenges in its leadership since independence and how these challenges have impacted the educational...