Category: Campus Life

Students and workers at Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), have decried the epileptic power supply on and off-campus. Nevertheless, they call on authorities in the institution and electricity distribution companies (discos) to address the issue. OLAITAN BABATUNDE (FUOYE) reports.

Power supply  is nothing to write home about in the country. Therefore, people rely on generator as their major  source of power. Uninterrupted electricity is essential in schools,homes, factories and the likes.

Essentially on  and  off campus, regular electricity supply affords students opportunity to read and engage in proper research. But when power supply is erratic or non existent, they go through nightmare studying effectively.

At Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), which has been in existence since 2011, power supply is problematic, despite being one of the highest paying institutions in the Southwest.

The state of electricity in Oye is terrible, both off campus and on campus. Sadly, the school relies on generator to power lecture theatres,offices and all.

CAMPUS LIFE learnt that there are inadequate transformers in Oye and it’s really affecting the distribution of electricity.

In an interview with CAMPUS LIFE, Students Union President, Salahudeen Teslim said the SUG executives were  working towards engaging  concerned stakeholders through peaceful demonstration and dialogue to ensure uninterrupted electricity.

“Our day-to-day operations require   stable power supply. But poor power supply  affects our academic life except for students who have  alternatives. As a union, we’re working round the clock to ensure that we leave the situation better than we met it.

“I am very much optimistic that the outcome would be commensurate to the sacrifices of our heroes whom were victims of the September 9 struggle in Oye-Ekiti, over this same electricity issue,” he said.

He added that though the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi Sunday Fasina, is very much concerned about the situation,a permanent solution is required.

“The situation in Oye is  survival, only for the fittest. However, we’re trying to adapt, though, this might be too demanding and burdensome for our fresh students,” he said.

Victor Osunrayi, a 400-Level Mass Communication student, said: “Electricity in FUOYE isn’t the kind of electricity we do have back in our homes. It’s pretty poor!  It has affected academics in terms of students struggling to charge their devices (phone, laptops, rechargeable lamps etc) and this would affect how  they read and do their assignments.’’

While calling for more transformers,he noted  that students  rely on their friends who switch on their generator around 8pm to 10pm.

Awe Oluwapelumi,a 300-Level Political Science student  said power supply in Oye is the worst in the  Southwest.

He said: “I have visited Abeokuta, Lagos and Ibadan. When there’s power supply in Oye, there are some places in the community where people cannot even charge their   mobile phones because  of low current. And it seems  community leaders are not making any attempt to make it better. On the  average, we have seven days of electricity supply in one month which is very bad in an area being inhabited by students.”

He also stated that this has contributed to how students procrastinate when it comes to reading and that most times they exhaust their allowance on fuel.

He advised community leaders to collaborate with the discos  on ways to make the electricity supply stable to some extent.

On efforts by management to address the situation, he said: “I don’t think the school management has been doing anything to improve this situation. Even the street lights that were meant to be functional on campus are neglected.The school has been in existence for close to 11 years now, but it is still battling with epileptic electricity supply.

“Power bank has become everyone’s best friend  because  hardly will you see a FUOYE student without it.We also use torch  to read. Imagine finding it difficult to learn and at the same time going through the stress of charging your gadget everytime.”

Fasipe Akintayo, a 300-Level student, said poor electricity has affected students’ productivity.

He lamented that  students read at POS centres and warned those who read  beside generating sets to desist because  the fume is dangerous to health.

He, however, urged  management to seek   assistance from the government, although the school is trying to fix solar panel on  the  premises.

“Government should pay more attention to electricity in Oye considering that students learn there. Rural electrification and developing an alternative like solar or renewable energy should be considered” he said.

Ibitola Oluwaseun, a 300-Level History and International Relations student, urged the  Federal Government to improve electricity in the community.

His words: “Federal Government should  at least install more power plants for the use of students and community at large.

“The school can only make this possible by urging   Federal Government  to  intervene. Though the school is trying it’s   best by stationing  generators  in different faculties and administrative offices,  more effort is required.”

Another student, Jimoh Adesope, said: “Poor electricity is affecting almost everyone  because learning is now digital. Class updates, information and even notes are sent on Whatsapp and other social media platforms  like Telegram and the likes. You have to walk miles and expose yourself to bodily harm and harsh weather to get your electrical gadgets charged.

“Several promises by the school and union  haven’t brought the desired results.”

Olajimi Temitope, a 300-Level Accounting student, said: “It is the norm when there’s no power supply and the low current is ineffective in charging phones.

“Students stay out in the cold to charge and those that cannot cope with the weather are at  risk of not doing their assignment which is part of their continuous assessment.

“Though the school is trying its best, it should consider using  money spent on diesel  to develop  infrastructure on  campus.”

President, Mass Communication Students, Babatunde Oladayo, while bemoaning the state of electricity, said:” I have been  in Oye for over four years and sometimes for over three weeks there  may not be  light.

“Electricity is imperative in a student area for the purpose of charging gadgets that would be used in school. Without power, it becomes difficult to do assignment and research work .

” In FUOYE, lecturers do not sell handouts, rather they give materials to  students to study more. The materials are  mostly in soft copies. Without electricity, it becomes difficult to read on the phone. Cafe centres also increase the price of printing because they have to fuel their generators and the price of fuel is also on the high side.Also, students  pay to charge their gadgets,” he said.

Olawunmi Tosin, a 400-Level student, called for distribution of enough transformers capable of serving the community.

He also stressed the need for  proper management of electrical devices by the power authority.

“It seems management is not taking the issue seriously. The 2019 protests that took place in Oye community was  as a result of the inability of the school  to address the situation. This  prompted the SUG excecutives to take it upon themselves. This issue has affected students so much. Phones and laptops have been stolen because students rely on generators to power them.

‘’Reading  is done with lamps and it has  proved ineffective over the years,” he said.

 

Workers bemoan poor electricity

Dr Abari Ogah, a lecturer in  Mass Communication Department, said: “For public electricity, I will say zero per cent as there is none as we speak (though work is on going on that so I heard). But for the school electricity system, I will say is 30 per cent, which is  still below average.

“As a lecturer, electricity is needed for everything but for now we depend on one source which is from the faculty, that is the generator powering the building which was bad for a long time even during the last exams.  It has actually affected time for research, time to prepare lectures and even time to do other administrative duties requiring you to use  a laptop etc.

‘’Furthermore, apart from providing power generating plants to various faculties and units, the management is working assiduously to improve power on campus,” he said.

Dr Uzor Umenyilora of the Media Department said:  “Sometimes there’s no electricity supply for over two weeks and the school switches off the generator around 4pm, which makes it difficult for lecturers to  have four to six classes.

“For students that stay off campus, it becomes hard for them. As a lecturer, it gets difficult because it is almost impossible to pump water,iron clothes and even do research.

He advised management to  meet with  community leaders about the electricity on campus,for supply of transformer and others.

 

Management committed to tackling issue

Mufutau Adesina Ibrahim, the Acting Registrar, FUOYE, said: “As you are aware, provision of electricity is a general problem in the country.The issue of welfare of staff and students is paramount on the agenda of the administration under the leadership of Prof Abayomi Sunday Fasina, the Vice-Chancellor.Therefore, the university  is making frantic efforts in providing electricity on our campuses.

“Management has made necessary arrangements for regular supply of electricity on campuses.The students will start to witness improved electricity supply starting from this week. Alternatively, management has placed generators and solar in strategic offices, and hostels to serve as alternative power supply.

‘’We are also discussing with some contractors on the possibility of having power generating plant on campus.If this is finalised, the host communities will also benefit from it.’’

Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila is set to deliver the University of Lagos(UNILAG) 52nd convocation lecture on Monday, January 17,2022.

The lecture is entitled:”Building Back Better: Creating a new framework for tertiary education in Nigeria in the 21st Century.”

This was made known by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, at a press conference on Tuesday to unveil  activities lined up for the event.

The VC said 238 bagged First Class, 2,454 were  in the second class upper division, 3,459 second class lower,while 1,183 were in the third class category. He added that 85 got pass and 201 have degrees that were not classified.

He noted that  the Faculty of Engineering which had 63 First Class graduates was the highest in the school.

A total of 12,217 students would receive various degrees at the convocation.

Furthermore, a total number of 7,799 would be awarded  first degrees in various disciplines, while 4,418 would bag postgraduate degrees and diplomas in various fields.

Read Also: Sanwo-Olu urges UNILAG to win NUGA

“The overall Best Graduating Student in the first-degree category, for the 2019/2020 academic session is Ekeoseye Elizabeth Osereme of the Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology (Environmental Toxicology and Conservation Option), who is graduating with a total Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.95 out of 5.00.

“The Best Graduating Student in Humanities is  Atanranshe Oluwaseyi Gideon of the Faculty of Management Sciences, Department of Accounting, who is graduating with a CGPA of 4.92,” he said.

He said the overall best Ph.D. Thesis award for this year goes to Umudu Joy Chinyere who obtained her Ph.D. in Mathematics (Pure),while Ehiorobo Osa Abraham who obtained his Ph.D. in Management,clinches the best in Humanities.

Ogundipe, whose tenure  ends in November this year, said the university made tremendous progress during his tenure.

“We became a centre of excellence in entrepreneurship and we were able to attract grants in excess of N17 billion and we are rated high national and globally. We have to acknowledge numerous individuals and corporate bodies who believe in us and supported us as well,” he said.

The VC added that  to reduce the cost of electricity, the management, with support from the Federal Government, would soon start an independent power project, IPP.

The university is also billed to host the Nigeria University Games, NUGA, in March this year.

The best graduating student of Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), for 2019/2020,  Florence Akinwunmi, revealed that she planned to become the best in her department. However, her joy knew no bounds when she was announced as the overall best graduating student at the convocation.

Akinwunmi graduated  from the Biochemistry Department with  4.77 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA).

Speaking with CAMPUSLIFE, she explained how she was able to scale through despite the difficulty accompanying academic success.

When asked how she was able to cope with  lecturers’ strict marking system, she said: “I tried to study my lecturers  to know what they wanted.”

She explained that no lecturer would want to fail his or her student, but students can only battle with marking guides.

“As a student, we should know how to answer questions correctly. It is not a must you answer all questions during examination,but the ones you answer should be well written,” she said.

Explaining how she came out in flying colours, she said she learnt how to answer questions from her  mentors at Federal  Polytechnic, Offa, where she bagged her National Diploma.

” I read and assimilate during the day, I can’t read beyond 12 am in the midnight, so I spend the day  judiciously. I can read from 7 am to 7 pm,” she said.

Akinwunmi explained that hard work, luck and  prayer  helped her in becoming outstanding.

On how she will impact the world, she said: “We all know this is an era of a pandemic. As a Biochemist, I can provide a solution to it. Cancer is also a major threat, we can also find a solution to that and many more through our research.”

While advising the students, she said: “The key to academic excellence is persistent reading. They must be studious, focused, disciplined and dedicated to their studies.

“They should do away with reading to pass but read to understand and most importantly prayer so as to sail through. Excellence is a journey. We must not be static. We must keep moving forward because this is just an achievement at the preliminary stage,” she concluded.

A 300-Level Sociology student at  Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Lapai (IBBUL),  Abdullahi Suleiman Babangida has developed an app called “Class Mate”.

The app was developed with the aim of facilitating student to lecturer communication, aid information dissemination, ease the stress of study and also get students well-attuned  to campus life.

According to Babangida, he was motivated to build the app in 100-Level  due to inadequate means of communication between lecturers and students.

“Lecturers had to pass through our class reps before getting information to us so I decided to create the Class Mate app which would enable lecturers have direct contact with students without necessarily passing through the class rep,” he said.

The app, according to him,  has  many features  which include a campus map, which would direct new students without physically asking for directions, a complaints section on university issues, among others.

“I see the Class Mate app all over Nigerian universities and Africa at large in years to come because it is a life changing app,” he added.

In our contemporary world, women are the most molested beings– they give them no regard, they are seen as sex objects and nothing more aside that.

Such mindset need to change.

Women have  rights too, they are to be treated with dignity and respect.

But why are women not secure ? Why is the society using them as sex tools? Why are they victims of  trafficking?

Human trafficking is known as illegal transportation of humans for the purpose of money or pleasure. In other words, it is called modern-day slavery.

It is a crime that involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labour or services, or to engage in commercial sex acts.

Across the globe, millions of women and girls are being dehumanised after being trafficked.

Women are being deceived with juicy job offers and other attractive perks abroad,  only for them to get there and experience hell. Some are raped; some compelled to have sexual relations with animals.

In fact,some are contracted to make babies on commercial basis. They are given  pills and sperm is injected into their bodies.

Women are put under pressure to marry who they don’t have feelings for. They are  threatened with physical or sexual violence and placed under psychological distress to gain benefits from who they want them to get married to.

Women are forced to carry out criminal activities. they engage them in drug trades, robbery and selling of counterfeit goods. Attempt to resist is met with beating.

Girls are subjected to about 12-18 hours of cleaning, baby care, cooking and other forms of household chores and menial jobs. Such girls are the first to get up in the morning and the last to go to bed. They are also used as strippers  in bars and clubs.

They are forced to provide customers with flirtatious companionship to entice them to purchase high- priced alcoholic beverages that often come to an explicit or implicit agreement for commercial sex.

Women are also sold out permanently  to settle a drug debt or to engage in seedy affairs for gain.

All these  can be stopped. For  total change, serious and effective advocacy should not only commence,but sustained.

We must all speak out and refused to be cowed.

Whenever you are told that there is a job opportunity outside the country, don’t be  deceived. Contentment is quite important.

• Hamid is a 200-Level student of Education and Biology at Usmanu Danfodiyo University(UDUS).

Minister of State for Education, Hon.  Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba has appealed to old students associations across the federation to  transform their respective alma mater.

He  spoke at the end of year annual general meeting/home coming of Uboma Secondary School Ikperejere (USSI) in Ihitte Uboma Local Government Area of Imo State.

The minister, a member of   1983 set, stressed the need for old students to remember their alma mater and  things are put right.

He  also urged old students association of the school to unite in rebuilding the school’s infrastructure.

“We hope to continue to assist the school. The biggest challenge is maintenance of infrastructure, we have to cultivate a maintenance culture; you don’t need Federal Government to help you repair your roof. We should make sure that we maintain what we are given,” he said.

Nwajiuba, however, lauded the old students for their efforts in improving the school’s infrastructure.

Chairman of the annual general meeting/home coming, Chief Silas Okonkwo said the mission of the association was to improve  infrastructure of the school and empower alumni  members .

This, he said, could be  in  form of getting jobs for the younger unemployed members and  providing financial support especially for sick members.

On current projects, Okonkwo said  the Principals’ offices and Hostel C Hall were being reconstructed under the sponsorship Nwajiuba.

Meanwhile,  the minister has made the school  a STEM centre. It is to be utilised for Science, Technology, Engineering  and Mathematics.

Vice Chancellor of  Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Kwara State, Prof Noah Yusuf, has urged  universities to fully embrace technology and not panic as COVID-19 variant, Omicron ravages the world.

He charged  relevant authorities to be ready for the threat  the virus  might pose to the smooth flow of academic activities in institutions.

In an interview with CAMPUS LIFE, Yusuf said  the pandemic should not be an obstacle to academics provided necessary measures are taken.

The VC noted that Al-Hikmah did not shut down operations during the last lockdown because of its robust  virtual infrastructure.

“What we experienced during the last lockdown was a positive response. Because through out this period, we were conducting lectures online and equally wrote examinations same way. The pandemic made us to embrace several innovations. Worthy of mention for record purposes is the increase in the number of students.

“I am humbled to say that for the first time in recent years, the number of 2020/2021 admission of 1,287 surpassed the projection, just as the number of graduates of 1,079, who received their degree certificates in the last convocation, was higher than the previous years. So with another round of ‘Omicron’ ravaging now, authorities of Nigerian universities should not panic, but embrace technology to sustain their systems,” he said.

He expressed delight at  meeting all the requirements for successful accreditation of 22 academic programmes by the Nation Universities Commission (NUC).

“We remember the effects of COVID-19 on all aspects of our lives in 2020, the significance of the accreditation would be understandable. Thus the university now runs over 100 programmes, both at undergraduate, postgraduate and diploma levels. This month, (January), 11 other courses would also be accredited,” he said.

Modelling has now gained ground here and in Africa generally. According to statistics, there are over 150,000registered models in Nigeria and they have the potential of influencing the $31 billion fashion and modelling business in Africa.

Perhaps, once a person possesses certain physique, he or she is deemed fit for the job. For girls, being a model means being attractive, therefore, girls who are beautiful think they were born to be models while for  boys, it means they have worked towards being valuable either by going to the gym or learning new skills.

However, in these modern times, the rate at which both sexes  are being pressured into becoming beautiful and physically  fit is alarming.

For a few, modelling is a passion, while some  consider themselves  beautiful, hence, they want to display it on various platforms.

Supermodel  Miranda Kerr said models were the most insecure people , not just because of being constantly told they were not good enough, but  because they keep trying to meet up with standards, materially and fitness wise.

Sadly, in our society,the norm is to  label young ladies or lads, who are struggling to pursue their passion or trying to make ends meet, a prostitute without considering the consequences of our judgements on a sincere and hardworking  youth.

It is also important to state that millions of upcoming Nigerian models from decent homes in the quest to become professional models are discouraged most times by their parents or what they perceive to be their parents views about a model. But that is not the case  in developed  countries where diversities and specialties among young people are appreciated.

Gift Chiwendu King,a model and  winner of Miss Riverside Hotel 2018, an undergraduate  of Abia State University (ABSU), Uturu said:  “A child is born free and should be given the chance to do what he/she is passionate about as long as it does not violate the laws of the society. This could be attached to some of the reasons Africa is backward; the archaic and conservative mentality won’t allow us open our minds.”

She said people called  her a prostitute because of her fashion style.

She  noted that so many people who would have made great names in modelling but their ambition was cut short by their parents or guardians.

King got into the business years back against all odds and is doing very well.

She said: “Doing what makes you happy is priceless and satisfactory, even if you don’t make money from it, but the fact that doing it gives you excitement is all you need to keep going.”

Having taken note of some key notes by the models, will it be too much to ask for parents  to support their wards?  It might not be modelling, but something else. It is also imperative to state that the major thing most young and upcoming models ask for is support.

• Amaechi is a student at Abia State University (ABSU).