Category: Campus Life

Mudathir Hayatullahi

Dear Honorable Minister of Education, with a high sense of humility, I really commend your efforts towards the development of education in our country.

Three weeks ago, you directed 237 vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts of Nigerian higher institutions nationwide to resume the session through virtual learning amid the spread of COVID-19. This, according to you, would enable students continue their studies through digital devices while at home.

Much as I see this idea as awesome, my question is: “Are we good to go with such system in Nigeria?”

Although you have pledged that the Federal Government will do its best to resolve the labour crisis with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), whose members are on strike; but will this have an effect on us? What if ASUU refuses to backpedal?

You should also not forget that not all lecturers are social media handlers. Many are only good in face-to-face interactions. In the end, it is the students that suffer most if some of those lecturers fail to live up to expectation.

You also said the vice chancellors of private universities have expressed readiness to kick start the idea immediately, claiming to have top grade virtual learning system. However, what about the government owned institutions?

Sir, it may not be out of place for me to advise that as someone who superintends the Ministry of Education today, you need to go some steps further to understand the level of decadence in the public education system. Most worrisome is the perennial underfunding of the system by successive administrations, a development that has further dragged our education sector behind.

If we are not to deceive ourselves, we should all accept the stark reality that Nigeria as a country, is not technologically advanced enough to embrace online education, particularly government-owned tertiary institutions.

Public institutions have an army of intelligent students many who still find it hard to pay their tuition, especially when partial payment is not accepted. On the other hand, private institutions will have little or no challenge migrating onto virtual environment. They have enough students from rich backgrounds whose parents may not shed a drop of sweat to deploy handsome sums as tuitions for their wards.

As a student in Nigeria, I see the e-learning as a good alternative as it will further improve our education system. While your aim is to help Nigerian students continue learning while observing the lockdown, no one can specifically say how long this lockdown would last. To cap it all, many students in public schools will suffer if the virtual learning system is eventually implemented because all hands are not equal.

Technologically, Nigeria is still bereft of prerequisite infrastructure that will enhance virtual learning. I don’t think our schools here can flex muscles with their contemporaries in other climes; no thanks to government that have failed to do the needful despite repeated agitations by ASUU to revitalise public institutions.

For instance, inconsistent power supply will make students miss many online classes while at home, while many others may yet forget specific time certain lectures are to hold as the stay-at-home directive drags on. Let us not also forget that it might take some times for students who for years have been used to the traditional face-to-face method, to start adjusting to the online alternative, no thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic that suddenly forced the country to adopt such initiate.

Now, our parents’ sources of income have almost dried off because of the lockdown.Their wards who depend on their support to buy data, tabs, laptops, among others, may be the biggest victims in this trying times.

Another disadvantage is that not every student of higher institutions can afford android phones and tablets, and other communication gadgets. Many students still use small phones; some don’t have at all. Some students reside in rural areas where issues of electricity and network services are still a daydream. These crops of students will be worst hit when this system finally begins.

For e-learning to be achievable, we need stable electricity. Second, we need a very strong and reliable internet network system with modest charges. This will enable students access the platforms of their various schools unhindered.To make this work, I suggest our government should liaise with the existing communication outfits to provide free services for students.Thirdly, since it is virtual learning programme, the curriculum of all the institutions should be harmonised to make it easy for students to learn

Lastly, there should be provisions for students who can’t afford to buy android phones and tablets, even if they would have to pay later. There are a good number of online retail shops that the government can liaise with across the states for door-to-door distributions of the gadgets.

• Mudathir Hayatullahi is a 200-Level English student of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.

By Sodiq Mojibola

 

In 2018, over 200 people reportedly died in Nigeria over disputes bordering on land and cattle rearing between farmers and herdsmen.

These crises were dominant in the North where agriculture plays pivotal roles. Over 3,500 deaths were recorded between 2015 and 2018, and about 10,000 deaths since the beginning of the Fourth Republic, predominantly in the Middle Belt, including Plateau, Bornu and Taraba states.

These sad occurrences have left our economy in recession. Hundreds of people have been displaced, no thanks to the rampant crises between the herdsmen and farmers. The sudden explosion of this menace last year was due to the expansion of agriculturists.

Not to dwell on the figures of lives and properties lost in this battle, it is no more news that Nigeria’s borders have been closed. Shut since last August, the country is getting accustomed to an impoverished economy in the guise of making our local products acceptable and better.

On the contrary, the gains of our grains are not enough to feed a mouth, not to talk of a family in a nation of over 180 million people.

Our cash crops don’t yield cash in this turbulence but remain leftovers of this agricultural weed. Our pastures are turbulent; the inhabitants are at the stake of disappearing in the surge of mindless herdsmen and older cousin – Boko Haram.

Our green land has become a scarlet red field of spilled blood and littered bodies like a corn field razed by a wildfire. Our country has become a distilled nation of criminality and corruption. While we are still making  plans on improving our internal security, governors of the Western region had proposed a regional security outfit codenamed ‘Amotekun’, to assist the Police in fighting insecurity. Little did we know that a greater challenge was looming.

First case of Coronavirus was recorded on February 27. The NCDC revealed that the case is an Italian who works in Nigeria and returned from Milan, Italy to Lagos on February 25. The Italian was later released by the Lagos State Government on March 20, after being given a clean bill of health.

Ever since the white man brought the virus, the number of infected people has been on the rise and still counting. As at Tuesday, the number has reason to 1273 while 239 have been discharged and 40 deaths recorded, according to NCDC.

The Federal Government has  banned social gatherings, including the lockdown of Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as a further measures to contain the virus.

Businesses, schools and religious institutions have been shut. Transportation is restricted and social distancing is advised.

Despite contributions from government, industries, religious organisations and philanthropists,   there are reports of uneven distribution and politicisation of relief materials. Hunger pervades the land. Out of anger, citizens have taken to the streets to protest insincerity on the part of those whose responsibility is to distribute the relief packages to citizens.

“If the Coronavirus doesn’t kill us, hunger will”, that was the song on the lips of frustrated Nigerians who disobeyed government orders of staying indoors. They said nowhere was safe anymore; ‘’staying home without food is unsafe’’. Businesses have crumbled, robbers are wreaking havoc and community thieves are making life a living hell for people.

Promising future leaders are threatened by this virus. There will be no future leaders if nothing is done to curb these disruptions in our economic and social  life. It is, therefore, essential for any government that believes in breeding future leaders to prioritise the citizens.

The questions on the lips of Nigerians are: Will this country get back on her feet if it ever gets out of this pandemic? Will we ever be able to strengthen our down-sloping economy? Will our administrators ever be accountable? So, many questions have been asked and the people hope thatn the government will not fail them in this turbulent time.

 

Agbo Agbo

 

The late Prof Ibrahim Ayagi, who passed on at the age of 80 last week in Kano, was a prominent face during the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) debates of the mid-1980s.

An economist, banker, administrator and educator, he was rightly described by President Muhammadu Buhari as “an accomplished economist, banker and administrator who made outstanding contributions to the development of education in northern Nigeria, promotion of entrepreneurship and small businesses.”

I never met the late prof in person, but I had the opportunity of “meeting” him during the robust and intellectual debates on the SAP. He joined other scholars – especially those on the left – to advice the government of former President Ibrahim Babangida to reject the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan because of its harsh conditionalities. As a result of his consistent opposition to the loan he was fired as Managing Director of the then Continental Merchant Bank.

Born in 1940, Prof Ibrahim Ayagi attended Karaye primary School Kano from 1950 – 51; Dandago primary school Kano, 1952-52; Gwarzo Senior Primary school Kano from 1953 -56; Wudil Teachers College Kano, 1958-60; Katsina Teachers college, 1962-63; Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, 1963 -70. He proceeded to University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the USA from 1970 – 74.

The late Prof Ayagi maintained a regular newspaper column educating Nigerians on the evils of the Bretton Woods Institutions – World Bank and IMF – and the damage they were doing to developing countries. I still have dozens of those articles – alongside many others – tucked in a file at my family home. Despite the criticisms, the Babangida administration succumbed to international pressure, took the loan and imposed structural adjustments on Nigeria.

When the fourth republic began in 1999, former President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed Prof Ayagi Chairman of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (NEIC). His appointment did not go unnoticed in the west.

In a screaming headline on Tuesday 9 November 1999, Reuters wrote “IMF Critic Heads Team of Economic Monitors!” “…Ayagi is well known locally as a critic of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and he opposed attempts by former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida to accept an IMF loan…”This did not deter the Obasanjo regime the opportunity of tapping into his vast knowledge of how the Nigerian economy should operate.

Ayagi’s NEIC worked diligently and silently behind the scenes to get Nigeria out of its crippling foreign debt crisis when the country took a bold step by making a $12b down-payment on its $32b debt. This move led to the cancellation of the balance payment and debt cancellation. When the time came for whom to take the credit for this feat, Ayagi did not disappoint.

He and his colleagues at the NEIC stood in the shadows and allowed Obasanjo and the Okonji-Iweala to take the credit when the deal sailed through. It was quite unfortunate that rather than ride on that pedestal to grow the economy foreign borrowings started again by successive governments.

Many in Kano – and perhaps the country – may remember a widely reported news story when armed robbers invaded the residence of Ayagi.

According to the report, he refused to budge as the robbers literally tortured him to near-death and asking for money and valuables. Ayagi – the report stated – repeatedly said in Hausa “Ba zan ba ku ba! Ba zan ba ku ba!”  (“I will not give you! I will not give you!”).

Ironically, the incident took place a stone throw from a police station. Some of attackers were later arrested by the police and charged to court while the late Ayagi spent some time in hospital. He was discharged with a pronounced limp.

Events of post-SAP Nigeria clearly vindicated the late Ayagi and his colleagues who opposed the loan. I will single out just one of these that deal specifically with the education sector for lack of space.

Ayagi and his colleagues vividly pointed out that one of the conditionalities of the IMF loan which focuses on the removal of agricultural and educational subsidies would impede the growth of the economy because of the critical role education and agriculture plays.

They were proven right a few years ago when the World Bank revealed that its policy on African education was a failure as it stunted the production of the critical human capital necessary for economic development.

In an event in September 2018, the co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates agreed when he singled out Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as countries that need “to invest more in human development as this is the only sure means to curb the rising poverty level in both counties.”

According to him, there is the urgent need to channel more investment towards education, health and family planning as a means of human development as this is the only way in which poverty can be alleviated.

Speaking on the Goalkeepers data report released some days to the event, Gates said Africa is a young continent so there is a need to invest in young people. The report was the second edition published by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to discuss several aspects of work done across the globe.

The first Goalkeepers data report was published in 2017. The report tracks progress on 18 key Sustainable Development Goals indicators and analyse promising approaches to achieving the goals.

Citing the report, Gates said by 2050, more than 40 per cent of the extremely poor people in the world will live in Nigeria and the DRC. Currently, Nigeria has the highest number of extremely poor people as it took over from India which held the unenviable position.

A Brooking Institution report in June, 2018 said the number of Nigerians in extreme poverty increases by six people every minute. Although the Nigerian economy came out of recession that year, many Nigerians slipped into extreme poverty.

The introduction of SAP, and the subsequent implementation of the IMF/World Bank conditionality attached to it, came with negative consequences that affected many sectors of the economy such as agriculture and industry.

In fact, SAP came at a time when Nigeria was beset by a charged political atmosphere fueled by the biting economic hardship that hit most families. Cognizant of the situation, the government still went ahead to implement the IMF conditionality that led to unpleasant consequences such as retrenchment, wage cuts and withdrawal of subsidies etc. The result was galloping inflation, currency devaluation, unemployment and other adverse economic consequences.

The implementation further created problems for the economy as it worsened the socio-political woes it was supposed to address.

These problems include; low capacity utilisation in manufacturing sector due to insufficient foreign exchange to purchase raw materials and spare parts, exorbitant rate of foreign currency to Naira which led to increase in cost of imports, thereby increasing the funding requirements of the industries which the government was incapable of shouldering due to its already burgeoning external debt burden.

Organised labour also vigorously opposed the loan by mounting public enlightenment campaigns against its adoption. Labour educated Nigerians on the adverse implications of such measures on their well-being and those of the next generation. Just like with the intellectuals, subsequent events vindicated them as well.

As Ayagi predicted in several of his articles, the introduction of SAP did not transform the economy of Nigeria or stimulate industrialisation as widely touted. Numerous economic problems remained intractable. For instance; there was apparent lack of commitment to adjustment and national development by the economic actors who had command over resources.

During the course of implementation, many distortions surfaced while others defied solutions. Of particular significance were the problems of continuing depreciation of the Naira in the foreign exchange market, high and volatile interest rates, slow growth and near paralysis of the real sector, sky-rocketing inflation, unsustainable fiscal deficit profile, heavy external debt overhang, increasing unemployment, social discontent and the emergence of social movements leading to the proliferation of militia groups among others.

May his soul rest in peace.

 

Agbo Agbo

When Diana, the late princess of Wales, was involved in the accident that claimed her life in France in 1997, a paparazzi who was trailing her did the unthinkable. Rather than help the dying princess and her friend, Dodi al-Fayed, he started clicking away with his camera dreaming of the millions he will get from selling those photos to the media. He approached several newspaper houses in a bid to sell the photos to them. Unknown to him, his “millions” vanished when editors started calling one another and agreed not to use the pictures so as to protect the dignity of the dead.

But the new normal is a different ballgame altogether. The paparazzi wouldn’t need to approach any newspaper now; he can simply upload the pictures and the money may roll in. On my way to Lagos from a trip to Benue State years back, we witnessed an accident right in front of us along the Ife-Ibadan expressway. Our driver stopped a few meters from the scene while we alighted to assist the victims. To my greatest surprise, most of the passengers immediately brought out their smartphones and started recording and snapping away!

Help only came from a gentleman and me who ventured into the wreckage to assist in bringing out passengers we could visibly see were still alive. The gentleman called the FRSC in the process and they arrived about thirty minutes later to take over the rescue effort. We had a heated argument later in the bus about the conduct of the other passengers. Unfortunately, most of them didn’t see anything wrong in their conduct! They stated that they weren’t “qualified” to assist the wounded!

From that incident, I started seeing the dark side of social media. A situation where the misfortune of individuals becomes “news” and opportunity for “likes” by others should be worrying. I believe most readers can identify with this dilemma. You see it across the social media where people post uncensored pictures of accident victims and scenes with scant regard to the pains of the family members of such victims. This has remained the ugly side of the social media.

The social media – a platform for social interaction among people in which they create, share or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks – has radically altered the way we live and interact. Anchored on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive platforms through which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content, it is indeed revolutionary. However, the issue with social media is that most people do not know how and where to draw the line.

It is not only about personal conducts; the social media is also changing the dynamics of politics and governance.With its overwhelming ability to connect the world through personalised devices, the social media has changed the way we see and understand the character of individuals and leaders. All over the world, individuals, leaders and their associates now maintain social media accounts, bypassing the orthodoxy of the traditional media and its commendable gatekeeping role.

Recollect that from the time former United States’ president, Barack Obama, began to use the social media in a more personable format, politicians have cashed in on its strategic function of direct access to the public. I believe we will not forget in a hurry the “Fresh Air” campaign of former president Goodluck Jonathan who in 2010 used Facebook to announce his presidential bid taking the shine off his rivals who were scheduled to do the same earlier using the traditional media. His opponents were seen as “analogue politicians” who cannot effectively “connect” with the youth. The rest is now history.

On the flip side; as much as social media has done a lot of good, the direct access leaders now have to the people helps us to see that they have clay feet as well. Suddenly, people are realising that they are “human” after all with all the foibles of being human. They can be jealous, vindictive, throw tantrum like kids, and whip up ethnic tension with scant regard for its repercussions.

A classic example is the US president Donald Trump who has deprecated the essence of leadership through some impolitic tweets he sends out. According to Melanie, his wife, he never lets an insult pass him by. His Twitter storms, according to critics, reveal him as unregulated and unhinged. At times, it looks like scenes out of a comic book, except it’s for real.

Who could ever imagine that a time would come that the president of the US would take to Twitter to directly comment on live TV shows and ratings, insult journalists using crude language, or insult women by saying blood is oozing out from their wherever? Even dictators who do not pretend they have regard for their people, such direct attacks are incomprehensible.

Where would one place a leader who can devote time and energy to playing the role of his own attack dog? Experts in PR, political communication and psychology are confused as his actions seem to defy known tested theories. An Ethics official who resigned from his administration said Trump has made America a “laughing stock.” Trump has revealed a dilemma that won’t go away anytime soon.

For those of us who grew up associating the US presidency with decency, dignity and moral integrity, Trump has taught us that it is possible for a man never to be ennobled by the eminence of the office he holds. With his Twitter rants that no one seem to know how to stop, he keeps showing the world that the office cannot make a man who will not let the nobility of leadership refashion him.

Back home, there was a Facebook exchange between the wife of the president, Mrs. Aisha Buhari and former Senator Shehu Sani, three years ago when the president went for his extended medical leave. For those who held the view on social media that Nigeria is a ‘zoo,’ the exchange made their day and confirmed their belief that Nigeria is no better than a jungle.

It all started when Senator Sani tagged Mrs. Buhari in a Facebook post saying: “prayer for the absent Lion King has waned. Until he’s back, then they will fall over each other to be on the front row of the palace temple. Now the hyenas and the jackals are scheming and talking to each other in whispers; still doubting whether the Lion King will be back or not. Now the Lion king is asleep and no other dare to confirm if he will wake up or not. It’s the wish of the Hyenas that the Lion King never wakes or come back so that they can be kings…”

In response, Mrs. Buhari – who is never shy expressing strong, sometimes controversial political views – posted her own loaded message: “God has answered the prayers of the weaker animals. The hyenas and the jackals will soon be sent out of the kingdom. We strongly believe in the prayers and support of the weaker animals.” Those who follow former Senator Shehu Sani and his political allegory can piece things together to arrive at the conclusion of who the hyenas and jackals were.

During the last Indian election, the BBC sent one of its reporters whose Indian ancestry was an advantage to cover the election. Within that period, the Indian government placed a ban on social media interactions because of fake news. An expert tried to hazard a guess why this was done by using “Deepfake” technology to buttress his argument. He took a minute clip of the reporters’ report and did wonders with it. The reporter who couldn’t speak a word in any of the Indian languages was shocked when the technology made him report perfectly in some Indian dialect! This technology makes it increasingly difficult to distinguish real audio and video recordings from fraudulent misrepresentations created by manipulating real sounds and images

Welcome to the world of fake news – disinformation, ‘alternative facts,’ deliberate data alterations, unbridled propaganda and outright lies – at the click of a button.

 

 

It is over two weeks now that the Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu, directed managements of tertiary institutions nationwide to restart the session by transiting to virtual learning in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. As weeks roll by, that statement appears to be purely ‘political’. Findings by CAMPUSLIFE reveal that most tertiary institutions, including first generation universities, are yet to commence the exercise. A handful that have started seem to be merely on skeletal operation, a pointer that the country may not yet be prepared for what it started. Reports by: OKERINMODUN FAITH OLUSEGUN (OAU); IBRAHIM ABAGA (IBBUL); PHILLIP ANJORIN (AAUA); IFUNNAYA OSAKWE (UNIBEN); FASILAT OLUWUYI (MAPOLY); ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD (UDUS) and NAOMI AGHA (DSPZ).

From Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife to Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL) Niger State, and coursing Southward to Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro, and many more…the story is the same.

The virtual learning initiative by the Federal Government amid the Coronavirus pandemic seems to be a mirage, though seen by many as a laudable step to keep the students in tertiary institutions learning on the go as COVID-19 continues to claim more victims globally. Institutions visited by CAMPUSLIFE coupled with reactions from lecturers and students simply show that the government might have acted before thinking.

Many students and teachers who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE felt the government has failed to consider key factors like uninterrupted power supply, enough data for both students and lecturers, acquisition of tech equipment/training; and provision of tabs or laptop computers for students, among others, which are a prerequisite for an unfettered virtual learning. For universities, their woes appeared to be more complicated as their lecturers under the aegis of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are on industrial action.

Following a two-week warning strike earlier, ASUU began an industrial action on Monday, March 23, alleging coercion on the part of the government to enrol its members on Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS).

 

Federal Govt directs virtual learning

A fortnight ago, the Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu, held a teleconference with 237 vice chancellors, provosts and rectors of tertiary institutions nationwide for nearly five hours, instructing them to activate their virtual learning environment to ensure students continue learning, while at home.

Adamu had also assured vice chancellors that the government was putting things in place towards ensuring ASUU was back to classes.

Although private universities expressed their desires to key into virtual learning, and boasting of a top grade virtual learning platforms, same cannot be said of their counterparts in the public institutions.

Interstingly, CAMPUSLIFE learnt that a some private universities and a few public universities, such as First Technical University, Ibadan, Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Lagos State University, Kwara State University, and Al-hikmah University,  the preponderance of public institutions were still in the dark on the next line of action.

Besides, most of the aforementioned institutions are only deploying the WhatsApp platfom rather than the more sophisticated virtual learning environment, to teach.

Meanwhile, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), has lambasted the Minister of Education for not being fully in charge of his constituency.

Speaking with CAMPUSLIFE, National President, NANS, Comrade Danielson Bamidele Akpan, said students were embarrassed and disappointed that Adamu’s utterances portrayed him as a man who didn’t  understand the enormity of the challenges of education ministry he superintends.

“We are categorically saying our Minister of Education does not fully understand that sector he leads,” Danielson said.

He continued: “How can the minister direct all tertiary institutions to transcend to virtual learning when the necessary infrastructure that will facilitate that are not in place?

“How many students own laptops and can afford enough data for online lectures? Even the first generation universities are still struggling. This is a man that has not been visiting public schools often since his appointment. Perhaps this would have afforded him an opportunity to appraise the ugly scenarios of our education system. You can’t just sit down in your office in Abuja and ask vice chancellors, rectors and provosts to migrate to online teaching.

“And for him to give that directive in the midst of industrial strike by ASUU is another thing that beats our imagination.

“We know ASUU’s demands are mostly for their members’ interest, while as students we will also protect the interest of our members. We appeal to the Federal Government to do the needful as far as ASUU agitations are concerned.

“Be that as it may, I believe staying safe is the most important thing for our members now. Other institutions globally have also shut down with only their research centres open for skeletal services.

“Up till now, I can tell you that since that directive was given, only a handful of institutions have begun.

“Even if we had the facilities (for virtual learning) what of some science-oriented courses that require laboratory practical? Will those ones also do virtual learning? It is sad and unfortunate that government has not improved our tertiary institutions to a point where they can successfully compete with their counterparts elsewhere. So what the minister has said is  a mere political statement.”

Head of Department of Mass Communication, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL), Niger State, Dr Ternenge Ende, said government seemed to have omitted some key issues involved in the online teaching which include, availability of ICT facilities, competence of the lecturer, students and constant power supply, among other things.

“Adopting online teaching without due preparation and appropriate support infrastructure for use by instructors, students and other critical stakeholders may be an invitation to disaster,” Ende noted.

A final year student from Business Administration of IBBUL Micheal Omotayo, said the school doesn’t have the facilities to embark on such services.

“The kind of school we are in, it will be hard. Most students are yet to understand the physical teaching and you are talking about online,” said a third year Mass Communication undergraduate Ruth Okomiso.

Jerry Jonathan, a 200-Level student of Psychology, told CAMPUSLIFE that IBBUL should not consider the online teaching because poor network and power supply will be a huge hindrance to the system.

 

We are still uncertain-OAU

For the time being, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU)Ile-Ife, has expressed its uncertainty to commence virtual learning.

This was confirmed by the university’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Olanrewaju Abiodun.

“For now, we can’t ascertain anything like that but when we get to the bridge we will cross it,” Olanrewaju said.

“As at now, we are also considering the situation but when the time comes we would put everything in place,” he added.

However, Olasunkanmi Ajao, a final year student of Health Education in OAU, also thinks virtual learning might be a herculean task.

“I don’t think that (virtual learning) can be enhanced or possible because to a certain level, there are no measures in place to foster that,” Ajao said.

He added: “To me, Nigeria isn’t ready and by extension our university system isn’t ready for that” he added.

“Nigeria has to be improved before they can do things like this,” said a 300-Level Adeniji Iyanuoluwa of the Department of History and International Relations.

“Power and some other things would militate against this. I don’t think it can work out even if management of universities decide to commence.”

 

E-learning not feasible-ASUU

The Branch Chairman of ASUU-OAU, Dr Niyi Egbedokun, the virtual initiative would merely remain a daydream since ASUU members who he said were the human infrastructure that would prosecute it were still on strike.

“E-learning during ASUU strike? Egbedokun asked rhetorically.

“University lecturers all over the country are on strike and you also think e-learning will take place! Is someone planning to bring expatriates here to achieve that? My simple mind tells me that no ASUU member will break this current strike because of any lie from any quarters.

“I have expertise in pedagogy and technology of e-learning. I know e-learning is not a process that can just be jumped into. It requires enormous preparations in terms of technology, architecture, human development/training. In fact, the training aspect could take as long as it requires to prepare the facilitators. In the current circumstances, universities are not prepared for e-learning.”

 

Mixed reactions at DSPZ

At the Delta State Polytechnic Ozoro, lecturers and students are still expressing missed reactions over the possibility or otherwise of virtual learning in the school.

A lecturer in Computer Graphics Department of Mass Communication Mr Oshai Steve, said virtual learning is not yet attainable in the school.

He said: “I don’t think we have the facilities and resources to drive it now.

“To facilitate virtual learning requires a high level of ICT infrastructure. Lecturers must have also undergone an on-the-job training on effective use of digital tools.’’

On the contrary, Oshai’s colleague Mr Bright Okoro, a former Head of Department of Mass Communication, said virtual learning in the institution is possible, though it could begin gradually.

“If Coronavirus persists, we will begin to see a situation where students can attend lectures from their homes, having received necessary information from their schools’ websites. All we just need is some finance and willingness on our part.  We can put all the facilities in place such that within the school premises you can access information and even check your result without coming to the department, but there was no sustainability.’’

 

We are uncertain-AAUA

At the Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), the lockdown order came after students resumed from a two-week mid semester break to write their first semester examination.

Students in the school told CAMPUSLIFE that the development may have resulted in the school not considering virtual learning option.

A 200-Level student of Sociology of AAUA, Akinbuwa Akinwale, believed there is no way all schools would not adopt virtual learning if the lockdown persists. She noted that it will be further advantage for students many who are now addicted to social media.

“Virtual and distance learning will definitely be of much benefit at this particular period of time because majority of students now spend their time with their gadgets and on internet. I think it will be fun and of much pleasure receiving lectures both on and offline. My worry is: How will continuous assessment and other marks be awarded? Negatively, this will go a long way to affect some students who do not have access to internet and phones that can browse. This is coupled with poor level of assimilation since lecturers will not be physically there to explain some grey areas to students,” he said.

Corroborating Akinwale, a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Dr Ishola Lamidi, lamented that the perennial underfunding of public institutions nationwide would continue to be a clog in the wheel of ICT development in Nigerian universities.

He said: “When you go round the institutions today, how many universities have the (ICT) resources? It may interest you to know that some private institutions are better equipped than public universities and this remains one of the reasons why ASUU go on strike.

“Most of the infrastructure we have in our institutions today are funded by TETFUND (Tertiary Education Trust Fund). Go to another environment and you’ll discover that virtual learning is a norm because institutions are well catered for and they have the facilities to back it up.

‘’No virtual learning has yet taken off at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeoukata Ogun State.’’

However, CAMPUSLIFE learned that some of the lecturers have personally started engaging the students via the WhatsApp platform by sending them recorded audio messages and text at least twice a week.

Anuoluwapo Oyedokun, an ND1 Hospitality Management undergraduate, who have been taking part in the General Studies course on WhatsApp, expressed her frustrations. Unlike face-to-face classes, Oyedokun described the WhatsApp exercise as ‘uninteresting and not interactive’. She stressed that the lecturer in question is only sending in audio messages which many of them could hardly understand.

 

UNIBEN still improving ICT deployment

At the University of Benin (UNIBEN) checks by CAMPUSLIFE revealed that before now, the institution had facilities for distance learning which were not adapted for usage by regular students. Also unlike before, since the refurbishing of the school generating sets, the power situation has improved under the present administration which came on board in December.

Meanwhile, a senior lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Dr Daniel Ekhareafo, has identified some methods which could be applied to make virtual learning in UNIBEN learning a reality.

He said: “There is what we call Google hangout which is a software. For instance, if you go online and send a code to all your students, they can easily log on provided they all have a 4G phones or laptops. This will enable the lecturer to engage up to 250 students at a go, and in an environment pretty virtual that both parties can see each other.

Ekhareafo said constant power supply is an indispensable factor behind the option he identified, noting that thankfully UNIBEN could now join other ICT-compliant institutions because of now constant power.

Also, another student from the Department of English and Literature, Osakwe Ogechi, sees a possibility in virtual learning.

“I believe online lectures will help us to meet up with our academic calendar. This directive is the only solution to our studies as Coronavirus is still a threat to all activities in the country.

KWASU/Al-hikma varsities embrace whatssup

Students of Al-hikma University and Kwara State University have been receiving their lectures via the WhatsApp platform.

On how it is done, sources told CAMPUSLIFE that a lecturer would drop a voice note or by typing mode for the students.

“We will thereafter drop our questions in the group and the lecturer will answer it. After the lecture, we will now write the attendance online which will comprise students who attended the lecture on that day,” said Habeebullah Abdulrauf, a 300-Level student of Arabic in KWASU.

Unlike others, Abdulrauf said he and some of his contemporaries do not have smart phones or tabs to log on.

“Well, I don’t have smart phone to receive the lecture through online classes. I used to go to my friend’s place to listen to the lecture.

However, Yusuf Abdulrasaq, a 200-Level Islamic Studies undergraduate, said he did not have a smartphone and had never bothered himself since the whatssup session began.

“I don’t have smartphone, and that’s the reason I haven’t listened to any lecture since the beginning of this e-learning platform. Even my friend who used to receive lecture on his phone has stopped now because there’s no money to subscribe.” he revealed.

Incidentally, Sulyman Halimat Opeyemi, a second year English Language undergraduate of  KWASU, explained how this e-learning is being executed in his school.

She said: “e-learning is just like a normal class whereby students will firstly write attendance for about 10 minutes before the lecturer delivers his lecture by dropping the information on the WhatsApp group. Thereafter, students will then be given the opportunity to ask questions.

“This e-learning is a lot easier platform for asking questions. It also affords students who are naturally shy or timid to ask questions during session,” she said.

AbdulAzeez Atere, a 300-Level Agric student at Al-hikma, said he initially supported e-learning but lost interest after the first experience.

“I don’t even like the way it’s done, financial problem, unstable power. Some may even forget they have lecture because they are at home.”

 

A member of the National Youth Service Corps(NYSC), Akintunde Ahmed, has donated about 100 hand sanitisers to dwellers of his community at Ake Titun CDA, Abeokuta, Ogun state.

The graduate of The Federal Polytechnics, Ilaro said the gesture was to assist in containing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in Ogun and Nigeria.

 

Agbo Agbo

 

The Faculty of Engineering, Bayero University Kano (BUK), – last week –  set-up a seven-man committee to design and fabricate prototype ventilators. According to a signed statement from the institution, the Dean of the faculty Professor Salisu Dan’Azumi said the seven-man committee was set up with a view to producing prototype ventilators for emergency use in hospitals and other isolation centres in Kano.

According to Dan’Azumi, the committee under the chairmanship of Professor Abdussamad U. Jibia from the Department of Mechatronics Engineering is expected to design and fabricate a prototype ventilator.

He said the Committee, which had since swung into action, was given two weeks within which to present its report to the Faculty Board including the design and construction of prototype ventilator for emergency use in hospitals and homes to treat patients of  COVID-19 pandemic.

Equally, Professor Dan’Azumi revealed that the committee was charged with the responsibility of suggesting the modality for mass production of the designed and fabricated ventilators, adding that if it succeeds in the production of the equipment, the deanery will approach the university management for sponsorship and possibly reach out to relevant agencies such as Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), federal and state governments for mass production.

The team, he stressed, had been brainstorming with a view to achieving the desire objectives. This is cherry news in a period of gloom. Penultimate week, two local technicians in Jos, Plateau State fixed two broken down ventilators at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) free.

No one mandated then to undertake the venture, but since they are public spirited individuals they felt the urge to assist fellow Nigerians and humanity.

These initiatives from BUK and the Jos technicians are commendable developments in a country where most Nigerians have come to view their varsities through one prism – incessant strikes. My desire is for this initiative to have a domino effect on our numerous research institutions – within and outside universities – investing time and resources to seek for solutions to everyday ordinary challenges.

This is time for our academics to come out and be counted. But one critical challenge remains: who will fund the researches? Research needs grants and funding with clearly defined goals and objectives. If there is anytime we need productive researches it is now.

It has been widely reported that private individuals and corporations have donated billions of naira as their contribution to fight the pandemic. Since necessity is the mother of invention, I’d suggest that a fraction of this amount be set aside to assist in local research efforts to proffer solutions on how to stem the scourge and invariably kick start innovations toward the production of local medical equipment.

Let’s not forget that Lassa fever is also ravaging our population in some states of the federation – COVID-19 has pushed it out of the news headlines.

In these unprecedented and extraordinary times it would not be out of place to call on corporate Nigeria and well-meaning private individuals to join forces to push for the establishment of truly world class medical centres in the country.

The 130-bed isolation centre put together in record time by Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) and presented to the Lagos State government is worth commending. I understand one is being put together by billionaire Aliko Dangote in Kano. That such facilities were, or being, put together in record time shows that with determination things can get done.

While appreciating GTBank for their kind donation; corporate Nigeria would write their names in gold if they go steps further in subtly insisting that something positives comes out of this period when we eventually look back.

I urge them to come together and put in place modalities that would bequeath a world class medical facility to the Nigerian people. If such facility comes into fruition, Nigerians can use it as a base to insist and force the government to take things up from there. They would be remembered for posterity more if they do this than merely donating money.

However, the uncertainty surrounding donations by private individuals and corporate organisations towards the coronavirus containment is still worrisome, especially as Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, stated that the presidential taskforce on COVID-19 has not received “any kobo” from any private individual or organisations. But this, I believe, will obviously be sorted out, perhaps when these individuals and organisations know where their money is going into?

In this global fight against the COVD-19 pandemic, two important components – testing kits and ventilators – are in short supply. Even advanced western nations face this challenge. On this page last week, I mentioned that Innoson Motors said it is willing to tamper with its production line to produce ventilators if the federal and state governments support its efforts by placing orders or providing loan facilities.

The Auto manufacturer says it applied for an N4b loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the presidential taskforce and a private bank. It says it already had plans on ground to fabricate hundreds of ventilators within the next 90 days.

To state that COVID-19 has exposed what we all already knew – challenges faced by Nigerian health sector – will be an understatement. It is quite unfortunate – but not surprising – that Nigerian tertiary hospitals, where very critical medical cases are referred to, face the challenge of ventilators.

It exposes the fact that people with critical respiratory problems will have no help managing their breathing difficulties. It also shows why people die despite being in hospitals where consultants could handle their cases.

Unfortunately for Nigeria, the urgent need for ventilators came at a time of global economic uncertainty occasioned by the drastic fall in global oil price. There was uproar on Twitter recently when the federal Ministry of Finance through its verified twitter handle pleaded for ventilators from an American billionaire, Elon Musk, during his Twitter Ventilators Give-Away.

The ministry later stated that the tweet was unauthorised. We are in a dire situation now thus this is not the time for apportioning blames but to seek solutions.

It’s a known fact that ventilators are not cheap to procure. This is why there is a global shortage of the life-saving machine. Yes, Nigeria is not the only country in need of the machine; it’s just that ours is very pathetic. But one way or the other, ventilators must be brought in for the sick.

What is gradually becoming clear in this crisis now is that we may not be able to return to our familiar pre- crisis reality. Pandemics, wars, and other social crises often create new attitudes and behaviours which will need to be managed. Imagination – the capacity to create, evolve and exploit mental models of things or situations that don’t yet exist – is the crucial factor in seizing and creating new opportunities and funding new paths of growth.

Imagination is also one of the hardest things to keep under pressure. With imagination, we can do better than merely adopting to a new environment – we can thrive in shaping it. To do this, we need to strategise across multiple time scales, each requiring a different style of thinking.

In the COVID-19 crisis, for example, this is what we are already doing – rapid reaction and defence. Policy makers should however have it at the back of their minds that the focus should shift to constructing and implementing plans to understudy and prepare for the likely economic recession that may follow. As the recession – I hope this doesn’t happen – abates, the focus shifts to rebound and making adjustments.

Over time, the situation becomes more malleable and imaginative countries shift their focus to reinventing – seeking opportunities in adversities by applying more creative approach to strategy. Crises place heavy demands on leaders and it’s easy to loose times for reflection, but great leaders are trained to reflect in the most difficult of periods.