The Registry Is As Good As Its Registrar, Must Plunge Into Change Or Be Swept Away – Dr Salaam

In a powerful lecture laced with urgency, insight and vision, Dr. Abdussobur Olayiwola Salaam, Deputy Registrar I (Senate and Admissions), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), the National Vice-President and Chairman of the Western Zone of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), has challenged the entire university administrative structure to rise up to the emerging challenges or risk irrelevance.

Dr Salaam in his bold paper titled “The Registry’s Role in Driving Institutional Change,” which was delivered at the 5th University of Ilorin Annual Registry Lecture Series on Monday declared that the Registry must stop reacting and start leading in an age of digital disruption, to reimagine its future or be left behind by a fast-moving digital revolution.

Dismantling stereotypes and drawing a link between his role as an administrator and as a unionist, he stated that he considered the lecture as both a professional engagement and a union responsibility: “I am first and foremost a university administrator who has only voyaged into unionism. Unionism has one of its cardinal purposes, the protection of the workplace and the upholding of standards by workers. To deliver this lecture therefore becomes not just a professional engagement with colleagues but also a union responsibility because of the intrinsic relationship and nexus between unionism, professionalism, education and self- improvement. To me, the best unionist is one who tries to also make a mark in his professional calling.”

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“The beat of change is reverberating all over the world,” Dr. Salaam said, urging Registry leaders and staff to “ dance steps to the beat of the music.” He asserted that the Registry must embrace transformation or become obsolete drawing a line between historical overview of university evolution, from the theology-led medieval schools to today’s globalized, AI-driven learning spaces.

He lamented the wrong impression about Registry staff, stating that registry work has become more demanding than pushing of files. “For many years, Registry functions were done manually… this is a reason why some people erroneously and derogatorily perceive the work of Registry staff as merely routine pushing of files with no mental effort involved.”

He challenged the Registry staff to navigate from Support Role to Strategic Driver with the notion that Registries are no longer mere administrative arms but should be strategic drivers of change.

His words: “The Registry, as designed today, has become the fulcrum or the focal point that ensures the translation of ideas/plans into reality.” To do this effectively, he emphasized the need to: Conduct technology audits, Develop a digital transformation roadmap, Create a Service Delivery Charter , Establish a stakeholder feedback system and Track and analyze Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Dr. Salaam did not just tackle systems, he went straight to the heart of the matter: the people. He argued that institutional change is impossible without internal transformation and advanced an attitudinal change with the adoption of the mantra “Change Begins with Me”. Asking rhetorically, he said : “Can the Registry drive change in the institution when it is itself in need of internal change?”

He identified deep-rooted flaws in recruitment, retraining, and reward systems while clamouring for a renewed focus and mindset in adapting to realities and learning new technologies to enhance the performance of the registry.

“Many administrators take up employment in the Registry not out of passion but as ‘poverty alleviation’. “We are unwilling to learn new methods… Many find it difficult to adapt to new realities and technologies,” he lamented.

He outrightly condemned what he called the “ossification” of Registry structures and denounced current promotion practices as being: “Routine promotions without objectively evidenced performance.”

Dr. Salaam proposed Scientific and objective promotion systems, Empowerment for innovative service delivery and a weeding mechanism for identifying and handling poor performance.

He admonished Registrars to rise to the demands of the moment by providing adequate leadership. According to him, ”Leadership is Everything: Registrars Must Rise.

He challenged the quality of leadership across university Registries: “The Registry is only as good as its Registrar. The politicization of the Registrar appointment has greatly declined the quality and content of our Registrars, and institutional change cannot be possible without the right kind of leadership.”

He advocated for visionary leaders who can inspire, communicate change clearly, empower subordinates, and model excellence while emphasising that the ”The Registry must go digital or go home, as Automation and AI will render traditional roles obsolete.”

Dr Salaam, while giving a loud warning, concluded that registry staff must plunge into change or be swept away. He argued powerfully that the Registry can be a powerhouse of innovation if it discards conservatism, embraces technology, and invests in its people. “The Registry,” he said, “is the engine room; if it gets its act together, the entire system can be transformed.”

He concluded by drawing inspiration from the profound words of philosopher Allan Watts and charging Registry staff: “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance,” thereby setting the tone for a reform.

ValidViewNetwork reports that Dr. Salaam’s lecture was more than a critique. It was a manifesto for institutional revival. His core conclusion: For the Registry to lead transformation, it must itself be transformed—technologically, structurally, and attitudinally is both valid and potent.