Category: Campus Life

Today, some CampusLife alumni pay tribute to the pioneer editor, Ngozi Agbo, who died eight years ago. Her dedication, commitment to journalism and youth development inspired hundreds of students to pursue illustrious careers in journalism and other fields hinged on excellence.

Thirteen years ago, The Nation conceptualised the CampusLife magazine as a pull-out for students by students, with the aim of promoting original content from campuses across Nigeria and training young people to become versatile journalists. Ngozi Agbo (nee Nwozor) was the first person saddled with the responsibility of breathing life to that idea.

In her five years as CampusLife Editor, Ngozi trained hundreds of students across Nigeria to practise ethical journalism. She was not only interested in them delivering stories but became their motivator, big sister, advocate, financial supporter, helper, and much more.

Ngozi introduced two initiatives, the CampusLife Student Writers’ workshop, and an awards ceremony, sponsored by the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) as annual programmes to help improve students’ writing and reportorial skills and incentivise their hard work.

Today marks the eighth year, “Aunty Ngozi”, as she was fondly called by her students, passed on.  She died following complications during childbirth one month short of her 36th birthday.  But the graduate of English from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) with a Master’s from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) lives on in the hearts of the students she trained.  Many of them have become outstanding journalists, communication experts, lecturers, and activists, with local and international recognition for their work.

Tributes to Ngozi from CampusLife alumni

Gilbert Alasa

After God, I owe all I have become today to my encounter with this woman. She believed in me at a time when I didn’t believe in myself. Aunty Ngozi gave me a voice in a noisy world where no one gives you a chance. She allowed me sing my own song and tolerated the occasional wrong note. She taught me that with hard work and focus, each of us can rise to the pinnacle of achievement, irrespective of where and how our journey started.

It all began in 2008, first time I stumbled on the eight-page Campus Life pull-out in The Nation. I was awed by the enormity of talent and passion brimming from the pages of what later became a trendsetter for Nigeria’s media. And to my amazement, all the reporters were students; some were even 100-Level students! So I decided to “shoot” Aunty Ngozi a mail, telling her how I loved to be part of the movement. Her response was prompt and reassuring:

“Gilbert, I must say I’m impressed with your mastery of the English Language even in this small mail. You don’t sound at all like those green-eyed Jambites one sees around.  I however regret to tell you that we must wait until you get into a higher institution. I’ve been asking my bosses for additional pages so we can include people like you as well as NYSC members who I feel have something interesting to say. Pray for favour for me.”

Just before I could scream Jack, my by-line became a regular feature on the platform every other week. I explored CampusLife to build a wider following, knocking on every door, challenging injustice, speaking for those who could not speak for themselves and talking to everyone that matter on campus and even outside. For me, this was the very genesis of my journey into significance. And every day, I am grateful that though I may not have taken the right decision at every point of my life, joining CampusLife was certainly my most rewarding decision ever.

We should remember the beautiful soul she left behind, a wonderful son. His success as a young man should form a barometer with which we assess our own success.

• Gilbert Alasa is a media and communications professional based in Lagos.

Toluwani Eniola

Whenever the story of my journalism career is told, there will always be a woman that has a special place in that chronicle. That amazing woman was Aunty Ngozi Nwozor, who gave me the opportunity to practise journalism right from campus in 2007 when I was in my second year in the university.

Aunty Ngozi was that link between dreams and reality. She went from being an editor to a sister and indeed a mother. When I was homeless after getting my first job, she quickly stepped in to save the day.

In Ngozi, I found God’s bountiful provision for a fulfilling career in journalism and though she is gone now, her input lives on. I bless God for the beautiful memories we shared and for her indispensable contributions. I miss you, Aunty Ngozi!!!!

I would have loved to tell her that my stories made great impact, that I won many national awards, including DAME Investigative Reporter of the Year, an ICFJ fellowship; earned two Master’s degrees, one in a world-class university and that I have been published in many foreign newspapers.

If she were alive, I would organise a thank-you party and present all my laurels before her and say, “Thank you so much for kick starting all these achievements.”

• Toluwani Eniola is a U.S. based journalist

Hannah Ajakaiye (nee Ojo)

Aunty Ngozi led a vision which empowered students to be change agents on their various campuses. Also, her ingenuity and industry birthed the CampusLife award which was the first of its kind as it provided a platform for students’ journalists all over Nigeria to be recognised. It is not surprising that some of the young journalists making impact in the industry today were mentored by her. Aunty Ngozi died empty, she impacted a generation.

One key mantra that I learnt from her which I apply to my work is that excellence does not discriminate. In her lifetime, Aunty Ngozi was a stickler for excellence. Her work ethics, carriage and confidence were impressionable. She was proud of her profession as a journalist and she carried herself with the grace and dignity expected of the noble profession. From her, I learnt resilience and commitment to learning new innovations in the industry. She inspired me to be intentional about my career goals. She taught me to aspire for a higher standard as a journalist of international repute. This mindset is the drive behind the many international fellowships, awards and opportunities I’ve gotten in the few years of starting out as a full-time journalist. I wish she was alive to see how things have turned out for me and many some other CampusLife writers who are making global impact around the world. I have no doubt that even in death, she would be so proud.

• Hannah Ajakaiye (nee Ojo), Chevening Scholar, University of Sussex, UK.

Ngozi Emmanuel

Aunty Ngozi meant a lot of things to different people. However, for many of the young people she groomed at CampusLife, she was our mentor, our “Aunty Ngozi”.

In many instances, she was a mother to us. Aunty Ngozi was at the forefront of our fight for a better student life in our various campuses. She motivated us without flattery or undue pressure and she inspired confidence in all of us. Every day now, I think of the towering beauty that she was; a kind, humble and compassionate journalist who used her gifts to build a group of strong independent forward-thinking young people.

Personally, CampusLife was one of the best things that happened to me growing up and Aunty Ngozi was at the frontline of it. Today, I believe I am all that she ever desired I shall be. If I told her I am doing a PhD now, I do not think Aunty would be surprised at all. She had so much faith in me. So much hope. So much expectation. I miss her every day. I miss how she worried about me even in things like eating disorders. I wish she was here today to see us all.

• Ngozi Emmanuel lectures at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; currently a PhD student at the University of Leicester, UK.

Fisayo Soyombo

It felt strange to receive a call from The Nation’s  Kofoworola Belo-Osagie requesting a tribute in commemoration of the eighth death anniversary of Mrs. Ngozi Nwozor-Agbor.

People like ‘Aunty Ngozi’, as we fondly called her, do not die. They may transit to glory but they live on through the thousands of beautifully-flickering candles they’ve ignited in their lifetime. How can Ngozi Marion Emmanuel, the young Nigerian lecturer whose academic career is conquering nations, or Hannah Ojo-Ajakaiye, one of Nigeria’s most accomplished young journalists, or Ayodele Obajeun, a Supply Chain Professional for P&G Middle-East, continue to set the world aglow then we say ‘Aunty Ngozi’ is dead?

Many campus journalists of today may not know that ‘Aunty Ngozi’ was the one who cleared the path for the space they now enjoy on the pages of national dailies. The Campus Life pullout that she was picked by The Nation to run in 2007 was a first and was such a hit that many other newspapers followed suit. The success of that project is a lesson about how ideas don’t necessarily have to be popular for them to be successful. The crowd doesn’t need to believe; the proponents and the arrowheads just need to be personally convinced.

Specifically, I’ve been asked the question: “What would you have loved to tell her about what you have achieved if she were here today?” My answer would be that I still have my integrity intact. That probably wasn’t the answer anyone was expecting. In a world as vainglorious as ours, journalists are often judged on things like awards, official titles and the depth of their pockets. None of these things matter to me. If Aunty NG were here, I’d have loved to tell her I’ve had opportunities to sell my soul for a pot of porridge but so far I haven’t. And I don’t intend to!

• Fisayo Soyombo is an investigative journalist and former Editor of The Cable.

Wale Ajetunmobi

As a student of Industrial Chemistry who spent hours in the laboratory mixing chemicals and deriving reaction formulas, journalism was not the planned career for me.

I had discovered a new skill in writing prior to getting into the university. I felt comfortable with my ability and nothing compelled me to push the skill until 2007 when I came across “CAMPUSLIFE” in The Nation. I started contributing stories, even without speaking with the Editor of the page – Aunty Ngozi. She published my stories (opinion or news) almost weekly, earning me the nickname “chemical journalist” among my classmates.

I graduated from the university to join Aunty Ngozi on the CAMPUSLIFE Desk as a graduate trainee. Under her two-year professional tutelage, I learnt practical and emotional skills and values every young person needs to excel in his career. Those values have guided my journalism practice till today.

The most striking of her personal values were honesty, patience and punctuality. If you were lacking in these, Aunty Ngozi would not allow you move close to her. These were the core of her counselling service to young people as a guardian, youth pastor and mentor.

I remember her counsel three months before she passed away. I was contemplating leaving “CAMPUSLIFE” to apply for a job in a chemical processing factory. I could notice a tinge of disapproval from her facial expression when she said: “Wale, you are one of the best writers that have contributed stories to CAMPUSLIFE. You have worked closely with me and I can vouch for your writing ability. You write better than those studying Mass Communication. If you would take my advice, you should be a journalist and you would never regret taking this step.”

Eight years on, I have had no regret heeding her advice. Continue to rest happily in the bosom of the Lord, Mrs. Ngozi Theresa Agbo (Nee, Nwozor).

• Wale Ajetunmobi is a Special Assistant to Lagos State Governor on Media

By Egwuelu Isabella Ifeyinwa

 

As students, we need to be prayerful and upbeat having been on lockdown for weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic which currently ravages the world.

The past few weeks have been a strange one filled with uncertainties. Many students are confused on the next line of action. The good news however, is that as a student, you could be productive during your stay-at-home period, albeit in diverse ways.

Now many countries are going on lockdown and many people are not being allowed to leave their houses; you might find yourself at  a loss with your usual routine.  Nonetheless, the question is: ‘What do you do with all this time at home’?

To achieve this, it is necessary to have a simple ‘To do list’. This will help you track your time, prioritise tasks, and set alarms and reminders so you never forget the important tasks that need to be carried out.

If you want more free time to do all those things you have always desired doing, then you need to study what you do with your time.

Prioritise your tasks (including spending time with loved ones and yourself) and then allocate the time you have. In other words, you need to learn some serious time management skills as this lockdown could last as long as God knows when.

What have you been doing recently? Are you where you want to be? Do you know where you are going? Is your present life everything you have ever dreamed? The lockdown has given you the time and space to really appraise everything, see what works and what doesn’t, and make a plan to adjust both.

In the end, you might end up realising that you have been neglecting yourself and use this time to dive deep into the concept of self-love.

Learning a software skill will be crucial during this time; so it is important to pick out your stack of tools, learn them and start to leverage to keep you productive.

If you are feeling frazzled, set aside an hour to go through tutorials and videos to learn. That hour of focused learning will save you tons of hours later in lost productivity.

Take the opportunity to register for online courses on diverse areas outside your field of study or profession. There are loads of online courses out there for free. Most of them get you certified right away and you can even put the badges on your LinkedIn.

During a pandemic, it’s logical to invest in your health. Now that you have all the time in the world, you have absolutely no excuse to skip exercising.

We know that staying in shape may not seem like the easiest thing to do, especially when you are confined to your living spaces.

If you are struggling to motivate yourself, don’t worry because there are a lot of apps and workout videos you can find online.

Read Also: Lockdown caused more deaths, says Nobel Laureate scientist

 

Spend time with your family. In today when all family members are so caught up in their works and offices, we hardly find time to sit and talk to our family members. Make the most of your time and have an engaging chit-chat session with your family.

Besides, this is the perfect time to start future-proofing your income, treat this quarantine as a reset button for your finances

You will also need to consider your bills, food, health items, and medicines. Ask yourself: “How can I save more?” Buy only the necessities! And then, layout your recovery plan after and look for ways to start earning from home.

If you don’t need to earn right now, then you could start a blog. There are so many skills online that you could take that will give you the self-relief.

All you need to do is to find the ones you have great interest in. Remember, it doesn’t have to be school-related.

As we all know, the 2019/2020 Academic Session has not ended, as we are yet to write our exams online and do other important things to conclude the session.

Having this in mind we should also study for our exams while at home so that whenever the pandemic ends, we could confidently return to school.

This is a good opportunity for us to effectively study and cover all what we have been taught. You need to make good use of this time, especially for those who were actively involved in the activities that come with the second semester in school.

As we study effectively, may the Lord enlighten the eyes of our understanding with speed and accuracy, and may this semester grades be the best result yet for us all.

Lastly, let us not forget to pray. This is the best time to build a relationship with our Creator, not only because we are afraid, but because we need Him every day in our lives.

 

 

The Nigerian Universities Nursing Student Association (NUNSA), has announced Justina Ejelonu the ‘2020 Nurse of the Year’.

The gesture, according to the organiser, is in the spirit of celebrating this year’s International Nurses Week being the international year of nurses and midwives as announced by World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Council of Nurses (ICN).

The late Justina Ejelonu was a 25- year-old pregnant nurse and an employee of First Consultant Hospital, Lagos. She contracted the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in 2014 as one of those attending to Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American immigrant who was EVD index case in Nigeria.

Ejelonu resumed at the hospital on July 2014, same month sawyer was admitted at the hospital. She was assigned to nurse the foreigner, a duty she carried out with diligence, energy and passion.

The association stated that though Ejelonu was bestowed a posthumous  award in December last year by the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, they expressed disappointment that Ejelonu is yet to be recognised like Dr Adedavoh who worked in the hospital and was the one who insisted Mr sawyer could not leave the hospital having been suspected of exhibiting some of the symptoms of EVD.

“NUNSA finds it so disheartening that our dear country has refused to honour this heroine whose life was cut short in the process of curbing the spread of the Ebola Virus disease.

‘’In lieu of this, NUNSA is celebrating the late Justina Ejelonu’s excellent service to humanity. We find her worthy of the posthumous award of ‘Nurse of the year’ in recognition of her heroic deed.”

 

By Daniel Adaran

 

More tributes are being showered on the former Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of Lagos State University (LASU) Justice Isiaka Oluwa.

Frontline lawyer and former Federal Commissioner for Works under General Yakubu Gowon Alhaji Lateef Olufemi Okunnu (SAN), said the late Oluwa would be remembered for ensuring Lagos State University (LASU) Faculty of Law had the distinction as the best in Criminal Law nationwide during his time in the saddle.

The late justice passed on Saturday 9th of this month.He was 102.Until his death, he was Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of Council of LASU between 1988 and 1990.

“During his term as LASU Pro-Chancellor, the university had the best programme in Criminal Law nationwide.  He had that distinction and maintained it until he relinquished the office.

Incidentally Isale-Eko Descendants Union of which he also formerly chaired, was to later institute an annual ‘Justice Oluwa prize for best student in Criminal Law’ in LASU,” Okunnu said.

Read Also: COVID-19: Ekiti corps member carries out enlightenment

 

Oluwa, Okunnu explained, also ensured that as the third chairman of the then Isale Eko Descendants Scholarship Committee, many students of Isale Eko origin had the opportunity of scholarships that made them realise their ambition.

Going down memory lane, Okunnu recounted how Isale Eko Descendants Scholarship Committee was birthed in 1972 by the late Justice Teslim Elias who was a one time President of the World Court in the Hague, and with the sole purpose of facilitating scholarships for natives of Isale-Eko.

“He (Elias) gathered some of us to donate to fund to educate children of Isale Eko origin. As we grew older and older, generation passed on, we assumed full ownership of IDU.

“Justice Oluwa was the third chairman of the scholarship committee. I must say he served IDU and Lagos State very well.

“Besides, he had always wanted governments to govern justly.

“He had the welfare of his people at heart.He always emphasised that once you had an opportunity to be in any high position, always think about the masses.”

 

By Adebukola Adeyemi

 

A serving corps member at Are-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Ohore Emmanuel, has embarked on a personal enlightenment of residents of the state about COVID-19  pandemic.

Ohoro has been standing at different junctions carrying placards with various inscriptions reading: ‘Ekiti-Kete against Covid-19’, ‘Covid-19 is already  a won battle’; ‘#Mashup#Washup#Sanitise#Stay safe,’ among others.

Read Also: Corps members to collect certificates at local govt offices

 

As usual, Ohore stood at the popular Fajuyi Park, Iworoko, and Are-Ekiti for five, one and seven hours respectively preaching the gospel[el of COVID-19 and sharing up to 100 face masks to people.

“The fight against this virus is for all and it is not a respecter of anyone,” he said, advising Nigerians to always adhere to safety tips about the virus.

 

By Afe Babaola

 

The Founder and Chancellor of the flourishing Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) has offered prescriptions on how Federal government can reopen schools and universities within four weeks in phases.

According to Aare Babalola, only the Almighty God Himself can determine when the current corona virus pandemic will be eradicated globally come to an end globally.

In a 15-point prescription he rolled out in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State at the weekend, Babalola opined that the daily increase in the number of patients did not suggest that covid-19 will soon come to an end.

He noted that schools nationwide were hurriedly closed down by government fiat on March 23, 2020 even when some of the pupils and students were either writing examinations or embarking on final year examinations.

The legal huminary recalled that the earliest recorded pandemic occurred around 430 BC during the Peloponnesian war which led to the death of about 66 percent of the Athenian population. Many other pandemics including the Black Death of 1347 have since followed.

Aare Afe Babalola suggested that government should not wait until all towns and villages in Nigeria are free from corona virus before reopening schools and universities.

Private Institutions which are reputed for quality and functional education, predictable academic calendar, moral and physical training, discipline, clean environment, and personal hygiene should be allowed to resume academic activities within four weeks after they have been certified to have fulfilled the underlisted conditions:

• The school must establish that it has residential accommodation for all students including most, if not all the staff.
• Parents shall give written undertakings supported with medical certificates that the student is fit/healthy to resume academic work.
• The institution which must be fenced must have a main gate manned by security men, nurses and other medical personnel.
• There shall be about 3 running water tanks at the gate where students will wash their hands with soap. There shall be portable sanitizers similar to those manufactured by ABUAD with NAFDAC registration number 037328. Each student must be armed with the portable sanitizer.
• He added that there shall be infrared thermometers at the gate where students, staff and anybody coming into the University shall be tested by a nurse or medical personnel.
• The University must have in place the following testing machines; Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR Machine) and Serological Test Machine.
• He stressed that each school must have in place a building specially designed to accommodate any student who is suspected to have any type of infectious diseases ranging from cough, chicken pox, measles, diarrhea etc other than Covid-19.
• Each University must have two functional fumigation machines: one for external fumigation and the other for internal fumigation.
• All hostels, classrooms, cafeteria, conference halls and sports facilities shall be fumigated before resumption.
• The schools, he added, must have testing kits as the students must undergo test fortnightly:
• There must be provision for face masks which shall be used by students and staff in classrooms, conference halls and everywhere on the campus”, the Founder stressed.
• During session, visitors shall not be allowed into the institutions, and if allowed, they shall go through the screening at the gates and seated in a special room outside the hostel noting that such visitors shall be very few.
• Aare Babalola further proffered that final year students forced to go home while preparing for their final examination should resume first, take their examination and vacate the university within two to three weeks.
• Thereafter, the next level of students that will resume shall be new students who will undergo the same set of tests like those of final year students.
• The resumption of other levels of students shall be staggered

to ensure compliance with these prescriptions, the Ministry of Education in States where the private institution is situated shall, on behalf of the Federal government, visit the private institutions and give certificate of compliance with the above suggestions before such private institutions can resume academic activities.

Public Institutions

 

The prescriptions for private universities shall also apply to public universities with some variations.

• For those students who are residents in the public university, the same prescription stated above shall apply.
• For the students who live outside the campus, the parents shall give written undertaking that their children will go to school either in their private cars or buses arranged by parents and/or students.
• Both the buses and the cars which bring students to the institution shall be screened at the gate.
• Public institutions shall provide the same items which private universities are bound to have in place including fencing of the school, provision for main gate, running water tanks, soap, sanitizers, infrared thermometer, testing kits, a building for infectious disease and fumigation machines.
• Resumption of other students shall be staggered.
• To ensure compliance with these prescriptions, the Ministry of Education in the states where the public institution is situated shall on behalf of the Federal Government visit the public institutions and give certificate of compliance by the public institutions before the public institution can resume academic activities.

 

• Are Babalola is the Founder/ Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti