The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State is keeping its students engaged during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown with an online basic digital filmmaking course.
The course, which will last for four weeks from August 4, is being facilitated by award-winning filmmaker, Tunde Kelani, a Visiting Fellow of the university.
The course is being coordinated by FUNAAB’S Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies (CENTS)
Its Director, Prof Babatunde Adewumi, said the course was designed to run on virtual learning management system, in line with standard practices in open and distance learning programmes.
He noted that the training would be based on workshop approach in which participants would be engaged in hands-on tasks, based on regular film screenings of instructional and exercise materials supported with discussions.
A statement by Head, Directorate of Public Relations, FUNAAB, Dr. Linda Onwuka, noted that the first batch of 50 students had reported to the two virtual classrooms of 25 participants each as well as a team from the Information and Communication Technology Resource Centre (ICTREC) of the university.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kolawole Salako, declared the course open at a virtual meeting, which had principal officers of the university; as well as renowned Engineer/Linguistic and Culture Activist, Dr. Tunde Adegbola; Art and Culture Journalist/Executive Director, Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), Mr. Jahman Anikulapo; Information Technology Consultant, Mrs. Yetunde Elebuibon-Craig; Filmmaker/Creative Director, Mr. Bola Bello; and ex-international Football Star/Sports Analyst, Chief Olusegun Odegbami in attendance.
To further encourage youth development, education and empowerment in the digital space, MTN Foundation, at a virtual event on July 30, handed over an e-library to the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
The e-library was named after former Secretary of Health, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, who is the chairman of MTN Foundation.
The university is the latest beneficiary of the e-library intervention by the MTN Foundation joining University of Lagos, Ahmadu Bello University, University of Nigeria and University of Benin.
Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi said the infrastructure would give students easy access to additional resources to broaden their learning.He thanked the foundation for supporting his book gift to the e-library.
“Buying books for me has been a lifelong investment and when it was time to give them away, my alma-mater, the Obafemi Awolowo University, came to mind. On speaking with the school librarian, it became necessary to equip the library with some digital resources and this was where the MTN Foundation came in.
“Brightening lives and empowering youths have always been a priority for us at the MTN Foundation. Providing adequate infrastructure for students to access quality education physically or virtually is of utmost importance. This is why we have worked together on this project to empower the students for a formidable future in the new digital era. The world has gone digital and we will not wait behind.”
Ag. Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Odunayo Sanya, said the foundation was honoured to name the library after the founder of Juli Pharmacy.
She said: “This particular library is special because it is tied to the legacy of a man we at the MTN Foundation hold in very high esteem. A man dedicated to the health and development of generations. It has been upgraded to deliver even more value for the students of this great institution. We trust that the symbolism of the inspirational leader who this library is named after is not lost on those who use it.”
Mrs. Sanya, who said 273 OAU students had benefitted from the foundation’s Science and Technology scholarship, added that it would also institute scholarship in Pharmacy and Law in Adelusi-Adeluyi’s honour.
“In honour of our chairman, it gives me great pleasure to announce that the MTN Foundation is instituting the Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi OFR Prize for Pharmacy and Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi OFR, mni Prize for Law. The three-year scholarship for Pharmacy and Law students will benefit eight outstanding scholars from universities across the country,” she said.
Reacting to the donation, the OAU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, said: “We are excited that the chairman, through the MTN Foundation, decided to bestow this honour on the Obafemi Awolowo University. What we have in the Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi e-Library has assisted us in obtaining the university’s accreditation, which earned us a hundred percent. We appreciate the MTN Foundation for this contribution and are committed to setting and implementing sustainable measures to ensure that these resources are put to the best use. This gesture will accelerate students’ learning and bridge the gap in areas where textbooks are not readily available.”
A communal crisis in a Delta State town has left a student of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) dead. Students are demanding justice OKUNGBOWA AIWERIE reports from Asaba.
Socio-economic activities were temporarily halted in Asaba, Delta State on Monday after students from various groups including National Association Nigerian Students (NANS), marched to protest the killing of a 500-level student of Electrical Engineering, University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), Nzete Ogochukwu Patrick.
Nzete was hit by a stray bullet following renewed hostilities in a communal clash within a quarter of Ogume town in Ndokwa West L.G.A.
Chika Ossai, a childhood friend of the victim told The Nation that the victim who hails from Ogbe-Ogume quarters was returning from a church service when he was hit by the bullet after youths invaded Ogbe-Ogume quarters.
He said: “Nzete was a responsible young man who couldn’t hurt a fly. He was a responsible and peace-loving person. Due to his dedication and commitment to the plight of students in the Niger-Delta region, he was elected vice- president of NADESSTU at the University of Port Harcourt. From my investigation, it appears he was among bystanders watching the melee between Ogbeolle and Ogbe-Ogume youths and a bullet hit four persons, while two others are battling for their lives at a hospital, Nzete and another youth did not make it.
Continuing he said: “The sad part of all this is an attempt by some persons to tag him as being involved in the fighting that took place that day. Patrick was not a violent person, he was a law- abiding citizen whose only goal was to graduate and assist his parents.”
Late Patrick Nzete
Nzete’s younger brother, Chinedu, said he may have died alongside his brother had he not been away on an errand.
On the fateful day after returning from Winner’s Chapel, Ogbe-Ogume, he said their mother called him on phone to buy her something.
“My brother was an advocate of peace. He was popular amongst children in the community. On that fateful day, my brother and I went to church, but my mother called me on phone and asked to buy something. I left him in front of our father’s house. During the fight, he and other youths thought it was wrong for kith and kin to fight as we believe both communities are brothers, so he spearheaded peace efforts but when everyone thought it was no longer dangerous, the youth attacked him killing him.”
Recalling the genesis of the problem in Ogume, Ossai said it could be traced to a leadership tussle over the position of Onotuku (traditional prime minister) in Ogbeolle.
He said the prime ministership position in Ogbeolle quarters had lapsed after the incumbent completed his five-year tenure, but resisted the election of his successor, hence the crisis which spilled into Ogbe-Ogume quarters.
He argued that the victim could not have been involved because the crisis did not concern his quarter, adding that the persons fomenting trouble were known in the community.
The protesting students are demanding that those behind the murder be brought to book.
Other students’ bodies at the protest included National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) and National Association of Delta State Students (NADESSTU).
Clad in black attires and armed with placards, the protesting students denounced attempts to unjustly label the victim with a criminal tag.
According to the students, the victim was not one of those fomenting trouble in the community.
Addressing reporters, president of NADESSTU, Mr. Godwin Saturday, lamented that the late Nzete would have graduated this year but for the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.
He called on the authorities to fish out the killers of the final year student, as well as immediately put measures in place to adequately address the communal crisis in Ogume town.
On his part, the Senate president of NADESSTU, Mr. Odogwu Hyascent Ugochi, said the news of the death of Nzete was shocking, insisting that the deceased was not a criminal but a peace-loving youth whom he (Ugochi) had worked closely with in the recent past.
Director of Special Duties of NANS, Zone B, Chika Kessy Ossai, said Nzete’s death was a personal loss.
Ossai maintained that Nzete was not part of those causing trouble, and that those behind the lingering communal crisis were known, alleging that the authorities were simply shying away from arresting the suspects.
According to him, the state governor has so many aides on conflict resolution, yet communal clashes remain a constant feature in the state, adding that the reality has now cast a doubt on the capacity of the aides to resolve issues without recording innocent casualties.
Adding his voice to the students’ protest, the Director-General of Revive Africa Initiative, Ugagaoghene Ogheneyole, urged both the local and state government to rise above board and restore peace to Ogume town.
“People cannot continue to hide under the guise of communal crisis and be causing mayhem, and maiming law-abiding and innocent citizens.
“Nzete was not a criminal, he was not even part of those fuelling the crisis, yet he has become a casualty. Many people have been killed innocently, that is why government needs to act fast to stop this wanton killings of innocent persons in Ogume on account of the crisis,” he said.
This article peeped out of a question I was asked some months ago. After delivering a talk in a conference, an elderly man walked towards me. Looking me right in the eye, he asked: “Son, what’s your place in history?”
At that instant I didn’t know what exactly to say to him because I had never really thought about what my place was. But I simply told him I wanted to play my part well because I don’t want to be forgotten.
A lot of people are doing many things to succeed and survive. People want to build their dreams. Matter of fact, there are people surviving, succeeding and building their dreams. Time is progressing. Often times, our collective dream is moving forward imperfectly.
At other times, looking on our busy streets, I see us moving around chaotically. The test is whether we allow ourselves to be shaped by events or whether we act to shape them.
We often talk about great men. We talk about men who found their place in history. We talk about men, who stood out and functioned effectively in their capacities; men, who by their actions and deeds, were able to put themselves in history. They embossed their names on the hearts of men.
We talk about the intellectual giant Sir Isaac Newton whose achievements stand out like a light house in the dark. Nelson Mandela, a legend who will be remembered by generations yet to be born. We talk about Martin Luther King Jr. We talk about Obafemi Awolowo, William Shakespeare, Ludwig Van Beethoven.
In recent times, everyone talks about Barrack Obama, who redefined hope and brought it to real life by becoming the first African- American President of the United States. We’ve talked so much about them. I think it’s time we become like them. We need to have the spirit, the zeal and the commitment they had to what they believed in. We need to find out and operate in our strengths and uniquenesses with renewed sense of purpose and willpower, and we need to stick to it all the way.
A lot of people have come and gone, a whole lot more of us are still around and that means you still have the opportunity to do something worthwhile and leave your imprints on the sands of time. You have gas streaming in and out of your nostrils; you have your mind functioning appropriately.
What I’m saying is you still have the gift of life. What are you going to do with it? Somebody died last night gasping for breath but here you are. You up this morning and started you out on your way. You are alive not to count the moments that make up your life but to make your moments count. Every day when I wake up and I find out that I’m still breathing; I see it as an opportunity to go farther.
I don’t want to be forgotten. A more important question I asked afterwards was what will I be remembered for? This is the question we all need to ask ourselves. For some folks, it might be scary. For some others, it might be the beginning of self- discovery and the pathway to personal freedom. But either way, today you have a chance to decide what your place will be in history. This question of our place in history must be answered not for us but by us.
Lamide Adenuga, an author and conference speaker, writes via lamideadenuga@gmail.com.
Monster Corona walked in like a marauder into Nigeria polity after escaping the hoodwink and flippancy chain of Asia lord, sprouting from Wuhan province last year December. The Nigeria’s bastion was broke-in from the front door with the connivance of the state gate-keepers, fully armed but with hands akimbo, escorted the unseen beast for an easy entry into the preeminence wonderland of putrefaction. Turbulence, commotion, hurly-burly vapour beclouded the Nigerian’s atmosphere.
The night turned into morning and sun ceased from rising from the east; the moon radiance recessed into dimness, and cities went into a silence mode ditto to a necropolis zone. Coropanic became a strange but acceptable song on every single tongue. Farmers vacate the field; workers of the king took an indefinite leave; students went on a timeless mandatory holiday.
From Kings College in Lagos to Barewa College in Kaduna; and from Government College in Ibadan to Government College in Umuahia. All teachings edifice and dormitories are vacated and deserted till futurity, unknown to anyone. Education became a prawn on the pan of Coronavirus.
It was on March 19th, 2020 when the Ministry of Education joined other countries of the World educational ministry in a bid to containing the spread of COVID-19 in the country by publicly announcing the closure of all schools across the Nation. Education suffers from one of the pernicious blow of the pandemic. A statistical report from the UNESCO estimated that a number of 1.75billion learners were affected by the schools close-down constituting about 99.9% of World student population as of April 13th 2020. Sharing from the adversity dividend, Nigeria rudderless educational boat capsized 46 million students to the torrent of the global pandemic as schools close down nationally.
With an indefinite schools closures, having no flash of resumption any time soon, questions on how learning will continue without the horizon of schools physical walls arise from concerned stakeholders. Thus, emanating from the exemplary educational changeover some developed countries took from the conventional classroom learning to the emergent distance learning.
Albeit, Nigeria’s educational system is a prebake fragile egg that lacks the vigour to tread the mountainous cliff of these advanced countries strategic educational movement that has a long-established supporting system in place for easy induction of virtual learning.
Yet, some states in the country took the over-size shoe of digital learning, recording half-baked successes. Looking sideways to the raised questions of: Do schools in Nigeria have the technological capacity to cater for the 46 million students affected?, Do teachers have the necessary resources and skills to deliver live lessons and record a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) styled lessons?, Do households have the facilities to engage their children in remote learning? After all, it was not an accidental coup to the Nigeria’s schooling system but a deliberate murderer of sound educational structure.
In an attempt to ameliorate the pandemic effect on education, states across the country rolled out their online classes’ framework. From School on Air in Oyo to Radio Classrooms in Abia; Ogundigital class to unity schools virtual learning. States went on the field with unsharpened hoes and cutlasses that could not weed weeds. Although, laudable to some extent but the digital learning architecture benched the vulnerable and the disadvantaged students who lack the facilities to participate in the programme. The absence of radio or television to some homes coupled with the issue of erratic power supply; digital divide challenge exacerbated by inaccessible educational technological resources.
Reports from Teach for Nigeria volunteers capture some students in the rural areas not aware of the online class as many of these programmes concentrate more on cities settlers leaving the poor child to be at the receiving end of their bourgeoisie counterparts. This, in disguise, further exacerbates the educational inequality gap among the children. Mukhtar Agbadi, a 2018 Teach for Nigeria volunteer in Kaduna state, says that, among his 154 students in his class, 55% of the lack access to a stable power supply while 40% of them lack access to either radio or television. This connotes that the probability of more than half of his students not having access to these educational programmes is very high. Alas! How do we expect these children to learn during this pandemic?
With the unfeigned submission of Professor Allison Anderson, a teaching and learning scholar, he expresses that coronavirus will definitely not be the last pandemic to disrupt school continuity. If the prophecy is incontestable, therefore, a futuristic educational master-plan needs to be drawn against impending disruptions. Before moving on, let me quickly beam my light of comparison to the first-world countries education interventionist policies. In China, specifically, the government provides computers to students from disadvantaged households, an endowment of mobile-data packages and telecommunication subsidies.
Similarly, effort is made in France to lend out gadgets to students who have no access to computers. Portugal also towed the same path by partnering with postal services to deliver worksheets to students who do not have internet access at home. If all these could be done by other countries of the world to salvage the situation, I believe Nigeria can also move in the same direction instead of hammering on the crookery homegrown feeding programme.
COVID-19 has exposed us to a new form of pedagogy delivery that we must all embrace. Our teaching and learning system post-pandemic must have an incorporation of face-to-face learning with virtual learning. Blended learning needs to be dramatically encouraged in our schools. This development would lay an easy transition from orthodox learning into digital learning in case we are struck by another disruption in the future. The necessity of teaching and learning with asynchronous (blackboard and whiteboard) and synchronous (zoom, Google Meet, Cisco Webex) will yield significant results when these methods are integrated into face-to-face instruction.
Part of the blended learning benefits is the delivery and submission of assignments through the online platform, thereby saving classroom precious time for discussion, debate, guided practice or other work that would’ve been difficult for the students to grasp. After COVID-19, a shared understanding of digital tools being a complement, but not substitute, for the intimacy and immediacy of face-to-face learning would be known to all. However, knowing its importance does not suffice our educational rejuvenation plan but rather, a need to walk the talk.
From everyone are recommendations of different solutions ranging from the provision of solar-powered educational devices to teachers capacity building; learning methodology repositioning to technological infrastructure adequacy encapsulating Public-Private Partnership. The extension of the scope of Nigeria Education in Emergency Working Group (EiEWG) strategy from the North-Eastern part of the country to other regions suggestion. All these propositions revolve around government commitment and funding. Adequate funding from the government is an indispensable pillar to hold the education building, without it, it’s will totally collapse sooner than we envisage. Imperatively, a synergetic effort between government, private organizations, NGO’s, parents and caretakers need to be established for a rebirth of a solid educational system comes post COVID-19.
As Benjamin Franklin rightly said, “investment in knowledge pays the best interest”. If truly we understand that statement, we would ruminate over the thought-provoking exposition of Dr Saheed Rufai that in a period of COVID-19 or after, the government should not expect a miracle from an underfunded system, ill-equipped teachers or academically bankrupt university lecturer. Sagaciously deduced, future lies before us, this is not the time to engage in educational gimmickries but a transition hour to dot the i’s and cross the t’s.
Dawood, a recent graduate of Public Administration, wrote via Dawood.taoheed94@gmail.com.
Acting Vice-Chancellor, University of Port Harcourt, (UNIPORT) Prof. Stephen Okodudu, has inaugurated two committees to resolve grievances among stakeholders of the university community.
A statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr. Sam Kpenu, said Okodudu appointed Prof. Anele Ihekwaba to head the Committee on Resolution of Subsisting Legal Issues between the University and Other Parties and Prof. Kanu Nkangineme to chair the Committee on Staff and Students’ Grievances.
Speaking at the Governing Council Chamber, University Park during the inauguration on Thursday, the acting VC told them to submit their reports within a month.
He said the numerous court cases and disaffection among staff and students must be resolved immediately to stop the widening gap of communality in the academic environment.
He said: “I enjoin the respective Committees not to use this opportunity for dialogue that this exercise presents, to open new contentious issues or engage in blame game. We have done enough of that already to no fruitful end. To everything there is a time and season.
“For me, who is right or wrong is immaterial at this stage. What is right is what matters now. Just do justice to all by addressing the issues and resolve them on the basis of the fine principles that are encapsulated in the Statute and other regulations governing such issues in the university and by convention established by the founding fathers of this University.”
Okodudu enjoined all stakeholders to eschew divisive tendencies and return the university to the path of inclusiveness.
The chairman of the committees in their different remarks promised to execute the task to the best of their ability.
Fancy looks almost cost Yusha’u Cisse Hashim, a student of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), his life in the hands of bandits. He miraculously survived but now seeks support to heal and rescue his brothers from the hoodlums, reports ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD.
Yusha’u Cisse Hashim, a student of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS), probably has not seen N1 million in his life. However, he is now looking for N300 million to pay bandits to release three of his brothers kidnapped on July 24, when they raided his village in Katsina State.
The 300-Level student of Agricultural Science also has medical bills to pay after enduring horrifying beating in the hands of the bandits on the fateful day.
Campus Life gathered that the raid of Cisse’s village in Sabuwa Local Government Area (LGA), at about 12:25 am on Friday, July 24, left two other members of his family dead.
Recounting the experience, Cisse said the bandits, numbering over 20, did not cover their faces and spoke the Fulani Language.
Though they killed one of Cisse’s father’s younger brothers and his son during the attack, they seemed to have targeted the student as they specifically asked after him, using his nickname. They erroneously thought he was rich.
Cisse injured
Cisse said: “The bandits came into our house, even to my room, when they entered my room, they went to my elder brother’s place requesting money and handset from them, but they had no money, except their phones and little change with them.
“I was so perplexed when these hoodlums said they were looking for me. They inquired about Dan-Alhaji, which is my nickname. My elder brother lied to them that they are all ‘Almajiris’ and just came to sleep overnight there. Unfortunately, one of them flashed his torchlight in my direction and shouted to the others, saying, ‘look at him there, look at the rich one here among them.’
“I was beaten black and blue by seven of these raiders. They removed my clothes; they all beat me mercilessly. One hit my chest with the bottom of his gun; and another was hitting my forehead. They said I should bring my phone. I refused to give them because since I heard they were searching for me.
“I knew they were going to kill me. They kept beating me till the very last hit on my forehead caused me to faint. Then one of them said, ‘we have finished him’. One of the gang members later came back and shot my lap and also pulled the trigger the second time, fortunately for me, the second gun did not hit me.”
Cisse said the bandits also robbed his parents of their phones and valuables before leaving with his brothers.
“They went to my mummy’s room, scattered her room and carted away her money. They also abducted my three brothers and went to my uncle’s house, took him alongside with my brothers to the bush.
“Luckily, they called the next morning asking how many people they killed. We told them they killed two people because they killed one of my father’s younger brother and his son.
“They asked them that they assassinated one son of Alhaji Aisara (referring to me), but they were told that I survived. So they informed us that we should calm down that the other kidnapped people were safe and would be released with a ransom of N300 million. This is what is happening, and there is nothing I can do as I am still in the hospital and my lap is fractured,” he said in tears.
Weeping bitterly over the insecurity in the country, Cisse appealed to the government to take action to protect the lives of the people.
He also pleaded for financial support from public-spirited Nigerians to help him foot his hospital bill and pay his brothers’ ransom.
“I will be very happy if the people render financial assistance for me to free my brothers that are in the custody of the kidnappers and to clear my medical expenses.
Popular youth politician and entrepreneur Runsewe Opeoluwa has said the next crop of leaders in 2023 at State and Federal levels should be successful entrepreneurs.
Opeoluwa, who spoke with The Nation on phone, argued Nigeria needs experienced and successful business managers capable of deploying managerial and investment strategies to positively turn around the economy.
“So many people in elective positions are solely dependent on internal revenue and federal allocations, It’s high time we learned to reach beyond these; rather, we ought to opt for too-notch research and development required to make informed decision towards the appropriate strategic investment and capital projects required to propel social prosperity in the country.
“I usually refrain from commenting on the next general elections and my other ambitions in the nearest future but I’m an ardent believer that there has never been a better time for successful entrepreneurs and public servants to take up the responsibly of leadership in governance.
“I have been inundated by calls from my friends and followers about my next political aspiration, while it is still too early to give definite answers, I want to assure us all that I will address these concerns in due time.
“I am currently focused on my role in public service, the development of my ventures and the empowerment initiatives currently being executed by OJAR foundation; all aimed towards ensuring social prosperity and the attainment of sustainable development in Nigeria”, he said.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned that the myriads of problems hampering the progress of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) would persist if the Federal Government failed to constitute a Governing Council for the university.
Giving the warning on Tuesday after an enlarged meeting of the union, ASUU UNIPORT insisted that the continuous running of the university without a governing council was a flagrant violation of the University Autonomy Act.
ASUU Chairman, UNIPORT, Dr. Austen Sado, who read the position of the union at the ASUU Secretariat Auditorium, said they were disappointed that the government inaugurated governing councils of 13 universities but completely left out UNIPORT.
Sado said that by such neglect, the government had given the impression that it was in support of alleged violation of due process in the university’s system.
He said: “We rely on the University Autonomy Act, which stipulates that once a governing council is dissolved, another council shall almost immediately be constituted as if the council were not dissolved ab initio.
“We are disappointed that the government inaugurated governing councils of 13 universities but completely left out the constitution of a governing council for the University of Port Harcourt. To allow the vacuum created by the dissolution of the governing council to subsist is a tacit approval of the rapacious acts of officers of the university system.
“If the government truly intends to solve the myriads of problems in the University of Port Harcourt and put the university on the pedestal of excellence in teaching and research, then the governing council is an indispensable part of that equation. We, therefore, call on President Muhammadu Buhari to constitute a governing council for the university”.
Sado further faulted the ongoing recruitment of employees in the university saying it was contrary to all known procedures and conditions for the appointment and promotion of staff in the university system.
Sado said a few individuals hijacked the recruitment exercise without modicum of equity and transparency accusing such individuals of peddling falsehood that the movement gave waivers to the university not to advertise vacancies.
He said: “Political godfatherism cannot be a basis for employment in the university. All qualified candidates must be given equal opportunity in the selection process. The union should not be held responsible for any breach of industrial harmony in the university if the charade is allowed to stand.”
Many students have expressed disappointment over the statement by the President of the Academic Staff Union of the Universities (ASUU), Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, that the Federal Government should not reopen schools until it is safe for students.
They also faulted Ogunyemi’s claim that university students would not resume even after the COVID-19 pandemic until the Federal Government met certain conditions. They claimed ASUU was just fighting for its own selfish interest.
Shehu Shamsudeen Ahmad, a 200-Level student of Law at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), urged the Federal Government not to pay attention to the advice given by the ASUU.
“Nigerians should accept the fact that this pandemic has come to stay with us for the time being, let us not use the pandemic as a cover to hinder the progress of our educational system.
Our education is important and, as they say, ‘we are the future of Nigeria’ let our schools be reopened,” he pleaded.
Jubril Ahmad, a 200-Level student of Economics (UDUS), said it was obvious that ASUU was using COVID-19 as a route to get the Federal Government to fulfill its agreements before reopening schools.
He, however, implored the government to use the lockdown to fund schools and improve their facilities.
”The guidelines stipulated by the Federal Government are so paramount which can be effected by the government itself through the provision of funds to schools for successful operation.
This will also go a long way in meeting standards. I am in support of schools reopening any moment from now and than reopening next year,” he said.
Adeniyi Yusuff Olamilekan, a 100-Level student of Mass Communication, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, noted that the 2021 date given by the ASUU was not welcome because it would affect students academically.
He urged the government to provide all the necessary health materials that would prevent students from getting infected and to also change the way schools operated in terms of class size reduction.
Adoyi Peter, a 200-Level student of Medicine and Surgery (Udus), said: “I think the position of ASUU is based on the implementation of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and Memorandum of Agreement (MoA). However, if it’s otherwise, then they have no reasons to support school closure.
If they say schools should be closed then they are enemies of the students, not the government. If other sectors and institutions are on the run then certainly Federal Government should equally reopen schools based on the COVID-19 guidelines and protocols.”.
Ajala Nafiu, a 200-Level student of Veterinary Medicine, Udus, said ASUU chairman was biased in his statement, despite the fact that the students are highly frustrated and fed up with being locked at home.
“I urge President Muhammadu Buhari to please consider reopening schools soon; we are tired of being in our comfort zone.
We want to strive for our future and I believe COVID-19 is just one of our trials on the road to success. If we stop now, I think the successful future will then look seemingly impossible,” he said.
