The 22nd day of November saw the Inauguration and emergence of an unassuming but a vision-glued scholar Professor Uche Lucy Onyekwelu taking up the mantle of leadership of Lux Mundi University (LMU) Umuahia. The University secured the service of one of Nigeria’s iconic researchers, scholastic and mentorship personae, Professor Uche Lucy Onyekwelu to propel its affairs as the Acting Vice Chancellor.

On her assumption, Prof Onyekwelu described LMU as a bastion with immense potentials for nurturing future high networth industrialists, nationally and internationally recognized professionals. She promised that her leadership will pursue templates for sustaining the vision of the University which is “illuminating humanity”

Professor Onyekwelu noted that the numerous state-of-the-art facilities in the University will be sustainably employed for driving top-notch value creation among students, staff and other relevant stakeholders of the University.

The former Head of Accountancy Department, ESUT,  who is acclaimed for her resolute pursuit of academic excellence looks forward to leveraging on the many experiences she had garnered so far from the Academics,  Professional Society the Public and other societal engagements in the leadership of LMU Umuahia.

A pragmatic scholar and leader, the Ag VC noted that the students will be exposed sustainably to the indices defining modern teaching and learning as it concerns deployments of tools to building up leadership skills for the 4th Industrial Revolution viz Artificial , Emotional Intelligence and other digital skills needed for modern learning. Morality and ethical development are also at the pivot of her mission.

Professor Onyekwelu’s self propelling initiatives as the Pioneer/ Founding president of the Association of Management and Social Sciences of Nigeria, AMSSRN, the pioneer Chairman of Agbani and District Society of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Fellowship of various Professional bodies/Academic Societies, experiences garnered in the financial industry, Accounting Professional Practice , Public Service with well over Fifteen Years (15) years of experience in the ivory towers, makes her a square peg in a square hole for this assignment.

Professors Uche Lucy Onyekwelu whose antecedents in global research and mentorship have seen her pioneer and nurture Five Academic Journals, with well over One Hundred (100) peer reviewed journals in both domestic and foreign journals is sure a scholar of choice. Professor Onyekwelu also have to her credit Five(5) globally acclaimed  textbooks in Accounting, Research and related courses and pioneer Editorial Manager of Journals of her former Department at ESUT makes here a self- starter. She is a lover of scholarship

A woman with a knack for perfection and innovations, Uche had served/still serving in various professional bodies.

Uche served as Member of the Research, Technical and Public Policy Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria(ICAN) in 2010/ 2012 where she participated actively in championing ICAN’S Roadmaps for the Adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards( IFRS) as a basis for financial reporting in Nigeria.

Professor’s appointment into the ICAN University Implementation Committee also saw her making a lot of heartening contributions in building up the vision of ICAN owning a University in Nigeria. She also served as a member of the Professional Examinations Committee and Board Member of the Faculty for Corporate Reporting of ICAN.

Profs Board of Trustees & Council Membership of the Association of Forensic Researchers also has prepared her for this assignment. 

Professor Onyekwelus dispositions on Team- playing spirit makes her a delight to work with. Her commitments to the “Synergistic School of Thoughts” is legendary as she through collaborative efforts have achieved quite a feat in the Academic, Financial Industry,  Public and Community Service spaces.

Uche’s short sojourn just about One Year plus as the Head, Department of Accountancy, ESUT saw a lot of life-transforming achievements within the short-lived tenure .

Prof Uche Lucy Onyekwelu working with her team and not unmindful of the lean resources of the Department convened, the globally acclaimed 1st International Conference of the Department first of its kind in over 40 years of the Department, Rescue/ Repair of the hitherto abandoned Toyota Hummer Bus of the Department,  attraction of the ICT Centre of Excellence being an endowments project of the 2005 Alumni Set of the Department. 

Professor Onyekwelu’s team spirit and administrative prowess got her into harmonizing the quickened/timely graduation of qualified undergraduate and Postgraduate students. The Undergraduates who had graduated were mobilized promptly for the National Youth Service and Convocation.

An accountant with exceptional penchant for Excellence, Prof Onyekwelu instituted a culture of hard/smart working and commitment to academic culture of excellence in the Department that both lecturers and students alike  worked progressively at upholding this.  Thus the reason for  the humble  achievements within One Year of her leadership.

She appreciates the need for global visibility of her Department in line with ESUT creeds. This saw reactivation of their websites from where the Department published and hoisted its Two Journals Real-Time Online.

Her achievements drive saw the expansion of the scope of the reaching outs, galvanised and got  the numerous Alumni Sets of the Department play very key roles in partnering with the Department at its various activities.

Under Professor’s Leadership, the 1st  Department of Accountancy ESUT Alumni Platform was created. The past students now professionals in their endeavours appreciated the Department for recognising their place in the Department, gladly collaborated with the Department in most of its activities.

It is also pertinent to say that the Department of Accountancy, ESUT saw a lot of bridge-building as her leadership pursued vigorously and nurtured strategic collaborations with the key professional bodies in Accounting namely viz: ICAN and ANAN , the Accounting Regulatory body in Nigeria the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria with their commitment to the Department taking an unparalled positive turn as the three bodies attended and participated actively in the highly  International Conference of the Department held 2nd-3rd of  July, 2024.

She actively opened up the Department as she led it to build strategic collaborations among with relevant bodies like the Central bank of Nigeria, the Office of the Accountant General of Enugu State,  the Ministry of Education , Enugu State internal Revenue Service, ENSIEC, ESUT Business School, L- Press Enugu Project Office, Enugu State Scholarship and Loans Board, a good number of Professional Accounting Tuition Bodies, Educational Foundation Bodies among others.

INTIMIDATING ACADEMIC PROFILE

This exceptional Scholar holds  Ph.D Accountancy from the prestigious Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka , a Master in Accountancy from the University of Nigeria Nsukka and BSc, ESUT. She has attended a lot of short retooling courses, presented papers both in Nigeria and in the diaspora.

“Lucy” as she is fondly called by her peers, is a Fellow of ICAN,  AMSSRN, Forensic Researchers and holds an  Associate membership of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria ( CITN)  among others. Her Mentorship prowess for both the Academic and professionally tilted cuts across diverse Universities, Polytechnic and other numerous institutions in Nigeria, Africa and Globe.

Professor Uche Lucy Onyekwelu on assumption of office as Vice Chancellor promised to deploy her networks to growing the Lux Mundi University. Her assumption of duty, no doubt, comes with lot of prospects for boundless advancements for experiential learning, research and mentorship for the University and the Education industry in Nigeria and beyond.

The Vice-Chancellor promised that a lot of what she will be doing is to anchor systems in the institutions for excellence, dedication and smart working as hallmarks for the disruptive innovation she desires.

Professor Uche Lucy Onyekwelu global thoughts for Knowledge Dissemination and Excellence have always resonated with sustainable economic development propelled on the wheels of Sound Teaching/ Learning, Research and Mentorship which had for decades defined the Vice Chancellor, Professor Uche Lucy as an top-notch and life-long Scholar.