Category: Campus Life

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State and the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) have developed a partnership for the planting of no fewer than 20,000 trees as part of  efforts to protect the environment.

Part of the synergy included the training of forest guards by the NCF to protect the university’s forest.

Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof.  Charles Esimone who made this known at the take-off of the exercise at the Awka main campus, said the exercise had become necessary following frequent cutting down of trees which had adversely affected the environment.

He said: “We are partnering with the Nigeria Conservation Foundation to plant trees to turn the deforested areas into forests again, considering the fact that the staff and students of Unizik take conservation seriously.

“There used to be  beautiful habitats  in this university, but most of them have turned something else  as a result of negative human activity.

“We will no longer allow laxity on the issue of environmental protection. We also have a programme to ensure its sustainability as we will introduce forest guards to ensure that the environment is no longer abused. These forest guards, will serve as a task force and  will be trained by NCF.

“At the policy level, we have put in place measures to sanction those who abuse the environment in this university. “

According to Esimone,UNIZIK main campus has  over 500 hectares of land and another 320 hectares at the Ifiteogwari/Umueje campus of the Faculty of Agriculture, which could be turned into a proper habitat.’’

He explained that the main campus  has in its master plan an expanse but yet to be developed biologically  rich areas for zoological, botanical and forestry gardens for the departments of Zoology, Botany and Forestry/Wild life conservation.

He solicited the assistance of NCF to  develop UNIZIK biodiversity potentials, adding that with the  support and involvement of the foundation , the sustainable utilisation of the university’s natural resources in the areas of eco-tourism and environmental education model for Anambra State would be achieved.

“This will help to fight erosion  in Anambra State which has  been described as the erosion capital of the world,” he added.

Appreciating the intervention of the foundation, the VC noted that the timely intervention came at a time the university needed it most.

On his part, representative of the Director-General of NCF, Dr David Onoja, said the programme was targeted at enhancing the landscape aesthetics, restoring  degraded forest areas within the campus and ensuring  the conservation of biological diversity in the university.

“It is also meant to provide a conservation area within the university campus to serve as a base for massive tree planting exercise in the institution,” he said.

A total of 1,158 students graduated during the 10th convocation of Caleb University, Imota last week.

The first degree category had 963 graduands while 195 graduated with postgraduate degrees.

Among the undergraduates, 44 made First Class; 366, Second Class Upper; 320, Second Class Lower, and 38, Third Class.

The Pro-Chancellor of the  university, Prof. Fola Tayo and its Vice-Chancellor, Prof.  Nosa Owens-Ibie described the virtual convocation as a landmark event, especially given the challenges of the past six months posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tayo said: “I have been particularly thrilled by the university’s community engagement. When the coronavirus pandemic hit the world, Caleb University – in furtherance of its corporate social responsibility – swung to action, and on April 10, 2020, distributed foodstuff and other relief materials to 3,000 residents of Imota to enable them cushion the effects of the lockdown. This was followed by the production and distribution of branded sanitisers and facemasks  to the immediate communities – Ikorodu, Imota, Adamo, Agbowa and Isiu  through their traditional, and community leaders, and directly to members of the public thereafter.”

Owens-Ibie said: “E-learning was rolled out from the beginning of the second semester 2019/2020 session, following resumption of the semester on April 14, 2020.  At least five training workshops each, were conducted for staff and students on the optimisation of the university’s online platform, as part of quality assurance on the e-learning programme of the university. The launch of the e-learning management system has witnessed the holding of various meetings and other social, spiritual and consultations online. The quality assurance students’ evaluation of lecturers online instruction was conducted to enhance service delivery.’’

The Lagos State Education Commissioner, Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo,  davised the graduates: thus: “In your own corner, you can become a person of influence and the more you develop, the greater your influence will be. Again, how do you develop and grow?

“Firstly, you must have a vision for yourself. How do you see yourself? What problem do you want to solve? What sector do you want to play in? This requires careful reflection and thought and usually cannot be arrived at hastily, but thoughtfully and carefully. A vision is powerful as it concentrates your mind, allows you to avoid distractors and sets you on a path that you have defined.

”Next, you have to build the mind set and understanding of the world and the recent disruptions that have changed life and living as we know it. People have consistently referred to a new normal. What are the major economic sectors of the future? What are the skills required to thrive in this new world? What are the characteristics of the sectors and individuals that thrived despite the pandemic? One word comes out strongly – innovators. People and organisations that were flexible, creative, willing to think differently, able to look for opportunities despite the havoc wreaked by the virus, people with empathy, skilled at imagining, designing and creating scenarios, people willing to work with others in  flat organisations where leadership was sincerely shared as well as people and organisations that built intentional communities for themselves.”

By Elizabeth Fadeyi

IT was a day of celebration at the campus of the Federal University, Wukari (FUWUKARI), Taraba State, as the institution witnessed the inauguration of 30 projects executed with the assistance of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) in the last five years.

Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof. Abubakar Kundiri enumerated the achievements geared towards transforming the learning environment of the young institution into a world-class one.

He said on his assumption of office five years ago, the institution was lagging behind in infrastructure and accreditation of courses. Today, however, he said 27 of its courses have now been fully accredited.

He said he had also completed and inaugurated at least 30 projects worth billions of naira within his tenure, which  ends next February.

The VC named some of the commissioned projects to include, buildings for all faculties; academic staff offices; academic staff quarters; student hostels; university library, information and communication centre; laboratories; convocation square; sports facilities; municipal facilities such as water, roads, electrical and other installations among  others.

He said: “Through the support of TETFund, we have continued to transform the face of the university toward meeting our goals of developing into  a world-class university that is dedicated to meeting the human resource and research requirements of Nigeria and the global community.”

Executive Secretary (ES), National Universities Commission (NUC) , Prof. Abubakar Rasheed described Kundiri as one of the best performing VCs in Nigeria.

Rasheed assured that the university would get approval for the establishment of a faculty of medicine before the end of 2020, adding that a team of experts from the NUC would soon embark on an assessment visit to Wukari to evaluate facilities and the level of preparedness of the institution for the take-off of the programme.

He  said: “The vice-chancellor has been on the neck of the NUC for approval to establish the faculty of medicine, and from the number of completed projects and facilities I have seen on the ground today, I am convinced that the request is genuine and on course.”

The NUC ES was accompanied to the inauguration by his TETFund counterpart, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro; Chairman, Governing Council of the university, Laurence Ngbale; Chairman, House Committee on Tertiary Institutions, Alhaji Suleiman Goro, the Aku-Uka of Wukari, Dr Shekarau Angyu, among others.

By Phillip Anjorin and Friday Omosola

The Governing Council of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic (RUGIPO), Owo, has reduced the tuition fee of the institution.

In a circular signed by the Director of Public Relations Unit, Samuel Ojo, it was stated that the cut was effected to enhance student enrolment in the school.

It was observed that the Governing Council also removed the age-long differential payment, which implies that all students are to pay the same amount irrespective of  state of origin.

The circular also stated that new National Diploma Science students would pay N60,400 while non-Science students would pay N57,400.

In the same vein, new Higher National Diploma Science students are to pay N66,400 while non-Science students N62,000.

The circular further informed the students that the review would take effect from the 2020/2021 academic session.

Meanwhile, the Chairman Council of Governors, Oluyede Adeleke Michael, said the reduction was aimed at providing relief to the students and  to increase the population of the institution.

The Chairman, National Association of Nigerian Students, JCC Ondo axis, Akintewe Babatunde Afeez, noted that the move  was  devoid of political intent as alleged by some students. He also lauded the  Governing Council and the governor for the reduction.

He said: “Our own interest is that it was reduced and that’s all. It’s in our general interest as Nigerian students, a struggle that our younger ones matriculating would benefit from onwards.”

However, some students of the institution appreciated the Governing Council and others who made the reduction possible.

By Azeez Ridwan

A visiting Associate Professor of the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medical and Allied Health Science, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Prof. Ahmad Adekilekun  has berated the government for poor funding of the health sector.

He said this while delivering a lecture entitled: ‘The state of health in Nigeria’, at his award conferment as  patron of Ta’awunu Health Department, the health platform of an Islamic Organisation, Jama’atu Ta’awunil Muslimeen, Nigeria.

Adekilekun stressed the need to make health care accessible and affordable for the people. He urged the government  to take action on  the implementation of National Health Act 2014 for the proper execution of the Abuja Declaration of 15 per cent  allocation of national buget to the health sector.

He said: “There is a drastic need to add more to the oufit of Health care system in Osun State and Nigeria at large as it is nothing to write home about.

“The National Health Act 2014 which was introduced in October 2014 makes provisionfor the creation of National Health System to provide the best possible health services as well as promoting and reviewing the right to health services in Nigeria.”

Dignitaries at the event included  the Osun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Rafiu Uzamot, represented by Dr. Abdulateef Gbolagade, Prof. Oguntola Alamu, and Dr. Nurudeen Imran Toyibb.

BY Fortune Amaechi

Social vices are unhealthy and unethical. They are negative behaviours which are against the morals of the society and are frowned at.

However, an overview of activities in Nigeria reveals how social vices have become the order of the day among the youth. Internet fraud, cultism, prostitution and the likes have attained peak levels. It is believed that social vices are common among youths of all gender. But it would interest you to know that some of our so-called “elders” even shockingly our “parents” involve themselves in unethical and immoral acts so its begs the question: Who is setting the proper examples/standards?

Internet fraud, for instance, has  become an almost acceptable and stable income system to youths.

It  is an illegal online business coined in a layman’s language as yahoo yahoo, 419 or even G (a term mostly used in tertiary institutions) as these fraudsters are commonly referred to as “scammers”.

Thes fraudsters take on any form such as internet ticket fraud, charity fraud, Online gift card fraud amnog others to fool their clients. Interestingly, the female folk has joined the trade.

Poor parenting is the major cause of social vices.Through proper planning, parents are to give birth to a certain number of children they would be able to cater for and nurture in terms of providing their basic needs and giving them quality education. However, when a family produces more offsprings than they can cater for, such children go in search of means of livelihood most times on the streets. When parents shirk their responsibilities, training their children becomes difficult.

Peer pressure is another   reason young people find themselves in illicit acts. For  youths who grow up in urban areas where cultism, internet fraud and prostitution hold sway, they would certainly be negatively influenced.

It’s more like a competition among youths to prove who is better off in terms of who wears the latest clothes, shoes or who has the latest phones. For these vanities, most youths go to extreme levels.

In this era of the coronavirus, the  alarming rate of unemployment in Nigeria has left many handicapped and disoriented as they retire to the saying: “There is no job in Nigeria.” Thus, idleness is a great enhancer of illicit affairs.

Correcting social ills should be the major preoccupation of parents. The home is the first point of training, hence, the saying: ”Charity begins at home.”

Parents should do well to teach their children/wards morals, principles and acceptable societal values from a young age, to  help  position their mind in making the right decisions and doing the right thing. In this mindset, the youth will be able to handle whatever the society throws at them.

Also, it  is imperative that every learning institution starting from the primary schools to the tertiary institutions, have trained professionals in major vocational skills, who will at their best inculcate in students theoretical  and practical aspects of  skills, to reduce the rate of unemployment.

The government should also provide good job opportunities and create empowerment programs for the youths  to get them busy since  “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop”.

Again, this is a passionate appeal to  every parent to instill the right morals and appropriate societal values in their children from a tender age.The Holy Book says: “Train up a  child in the way he should go and when he is old , he would not depart from it.” Having done this, our country will be a better and safer place.

• Amaechi is a 300 level Food Science and Technology student of Abia State University.

BY David Ekweoba

THIS year will be remembered as tough economically. The coronavirus was unprecedented, restricting physical and social interactions, through lockdowns and isolation. Only the internet prospered.

Online business and activities have, hence, become very attractive and necessary.

During recessions, desperate measures are taken by people to ensure survival. Financial crimes have resurged, fairly proportionately to the economic situation. As hard times are here, there is the need for one to have multiple streams of income. Online business seems promising, but it is risky. Notable among online risky ventures are Pponzi schemes.

A ponzi scheme is a form of fraud in which investors are encouraged to recruit others. It is based on recruiting people (with their money) rather than manufacturing products or providing  services. Similar to pyramid schemes, they can be very hard and at times very easy to detect.

The originator of such scheme usually makes an initial payment and, thereafter, others need to be recruited. The continued growth of the scheme is dependent on the influx of subsequent investors. The managers of the scheme will have to keep their promise of a guaranteed return on investment to their investors.

To do this, deposits of new investors are used to settle old investors.

Many investment schemes are ponzi but are not immediately obvious to the rational mind, because the originators are shrewd and innovative. They give the schemes various names with unsuspecting terms. Some offer opportunities in foreign and crypto currencies at an exchange rate, but they are frauds claiming to give their victims financial freedom.

Greed, gullibility and harsh economic times are some factors responsible for buying into it.

The  get-rich-quick or sure-get-rich schemes flourish during recessions. Worthy of mention is the increased number of fraudulent schemes amid the pandemic.They schemes are mask as genuine. The difficulties caused by the pandemic are to be blamed and not the pandemic

To avoid being a victim one has to be prudent.

Finally, ponzi schemes will continue to thrive as long as there are people to be deceived. Experience and insight will always prove to be invaluable in outsmarting fraudsters.

By Abdulganiyu Abdulrahman Akanbi

Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin has unveiled an  online radio station to be managed by Department of Mass Communication.

The radio station, however,  began services last Wednesday. This was made known on the institution’s Twitter handle.

The Vice-chancellor, Prof. Noah Yusuf launched the online radio which can be downloaded on Google Playstore.

The application is data-free on Google Play Store for MTN users in the country. The application can be downloaded by searching Al-Hikmah Radio.

By Segun Olatunji

The Lagos State branch of the Alumni Association of the University of Benin has donated two boreholes to the institution.

The boreholes with 1000 capacity overhead tanks are sited at Hall 1 (female hostel) and Hall 4 (male hostel).

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Lilian Salami, who inaugurated the project, was happy that the alumni have continued to show commitment to their alma mater.

She urged them not to relent as the school was determined to make improve its infrastructure.

The Alumni President (Worldwide),  Ikenna Obiasor, praised Prof Salami and her team for the progress in the institution. He  said the association would undertake co-ordinated projects by various branches to enhance the institution’s development.

The Lagos Branch Chairman, Stephen Onojemete, assured the VC of continuous support.

The ceremony was witnessed by former alumni presidents and members.