The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • UDUS: SU seeks extension of tuition

    From Abdulwaheed Sofiullahi

    The Students’ Union (SU) of the  Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) has written the leadership of the institution, seeking extension of deadline for tuition payment.

    The development followed criticisms by students on the SU President Comrade Faruku Barade who earlier supported the leadership’s directive that put the deadline for registration at the weekend.

    Speaking with CAMPUSLIFE, the Dean of Students Prof Aminu Mode, warned that students who failed to meet up with the deadline risked deferring a session.

    Last week, CAMPUSLIFE ran a story where many of the affected students appealed to the institution’s for extension.

    Earlier, Barade supported the three weeks’ window by the institution, adding that there was no point for extension.

    “It is trite to our students of UDUS. Even this hostel power generator is not functioning. You will hear students complaining and crying out about it. So how can the university maintain all these without students paying their registration fee on time?” Baraade had said in his defence of management.

    He continued: “It is only in UDUS that students write exams without payment of school fees. It’s only in UDUS that students enjoy clinical services without payment of TISHIP (Tertiary Institutions Social Health Insurance Programme). So, I urge our students to comply with the registration policy.

    “Please, we should be fair to the management. I want you to know that the management of the university is basically on the students registration fee. If we are not willing to pay this in time, how can the university survive?”

    In what appeared like a U-turn however, SU, in its letter dated  January 22, signed by Barade, pleaded for additional three weeks.

    Read Also: UDUS appoints students as library assistants

     

    The memo reads in part: “With deep sense of humanity Sir, we hereby write for the subject above.

    ‘’The student leaders of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto and the entire students are grateful on the leniency and caring heart of the school. We appreciate your commitment for enhancing the well-being of the students.

    “However, subject to the resolution reached by the Students Union, we beseech the management to extend the deadline of the registration from the earlier date (25th January) to 15th of February, 2020,”.

    According to the letter, Barade’s put his appeal for extension on the financial situations of many students as well as anomalies in the payment system.

    “Sir, most of our students are willing to pay but they are experiencing anomalies while generating remita. Again, due to economic condition, most people are depending on salary while others are less privileged students that are shouldering their academic responsibilities by themselves.

    They are therefore not used to this newly introduced system which we believe is for the benefit of all,” Barade added.

    Speaking with CAMPUSLIFE Barade confirmed that the letter had been submitted to Mode who, who upon receipt, promised that their plea would be considered by university.

  • Niger, Kuwait Foundation partner on IBBUL

    From AbdulSalam Mahmud

     

    Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello says the government has concluded discussions with a Kuwaiti Foundation on the establishment of a teaching hospital at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Lapai (IBBUL).

    Bello stated this at the Kuwaiti Embassy in Abuja, after he visited Mr Abdulaziz Al-Bisher, the Ambassador of Kuwait to Nigeria.

    Read Also: UNILAG medical college inducts 138 doctors, dentists

     

    Bello, who had on his entourage the Vice Chancellor of IBBUL Prof Abu Kasim Adamu, and his predecessor Prof Muhammad Nasir Maiturare, said he was at the embassy to concretisse the cordial relationship between Niger State and Kuwait.

    Earlier, Al-Bisher explained that the foundation would focus on health and other related sectors, as part of the partnership.

    Al-Bisher noted that the intervention would add value and improve the living standard of Niger State’s people.

     

     

  • Jaiz Bank Chairman is Fountain varsity’s Chancellor

    Our Reporter

     

    THE  Board of Trustees and Management of Fountain University has appointed Chairman, Jaiz Bank Plc, Dr. Umaru Mutallab, as the new Chancellor of the University.

    Mutallab’s conferment was held during the university’s ninth convocation at the school auditorium in Osogbo, Osun State.

    The board had earlier announced Mutallab as Chancellor during a  visit to his Abuja office by the executive of NASFAT and management of the university last year.

    Speaking during the convocation, Mutallab said he was honoured,  promising to deploy his wealth of experience and resources to foster the growth and development of the institution.

    Read Also: UNIBEN gets second female Vice Chancellor

     

    He said: “This is indeed the right moment for me to publicly acknowledge the honour accorded me. I consider this a privilege to serve my dear community and humanity.

    It comes to me after a modest five-decade career in the corporate world, and at a time that a retiree of my age is willing to commit more of his energies to charity and every possible way of pleasing the Almighty.

    I consider this a call to serve the young generation of youths to whom we all owe a duty of facilitating a brighter, prosperous and rewarding future.’’

    The President, NASFAT Worldwide, Alhaji Niyi Yusuff appreciated the chancellor for accepting the offer, stressing the institution is lucky to have such a prominent personality with wisdom, networks, and resources on the school’s board.

     

  • Association takes sexual harassment campaign to UNN

    From Agha Inya

     

    Gender Development and Policy Centre (Gen-Cent), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), in collaboration with Women Aid Collective (WACOL), has taken the campaign against sexual harassment in tertiary institutions to the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC).

    The centre, which promotes gender research and policy matters, had earlier launched the anti-sexual harassment campaign in Nsukka campus of the university.

    At the event held at the main hall of UNEC weekend, the Director of Gen-Cent, Prof Anthonia Achike, challenged students to speak out whenever they encounter incidences of sexual harassment, assuring that Gen-Cent  has experts who are poised to take up cases and ensure justice is done to victims.

    Achike advised students to shun acts and behaviours that predispose them to be sexually harassed, urging them to ‘dress decently and move in the company of people you trust ‘.

    Achike explained that one of the objectives of the sensitisation exercise was to articulate views that would guide the centre in developing policy on sexual harassment for UNN.

    “If you are not bold to report cases of sexual harassment, you are encouraging the act”, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, UNEC, Prof Edith Nwosu, who represented the Vice-Chancellor, told staff members and students.

    Nwosu said the issue of sexual harassment in tertiary institutions had assumed a dangerous dimension and had attracted global attention.

    Read Also: ABU sacks 16 lecturers over sexual harassment

     

    She described the menace as a cancer devastating human dignity, urging workers and students to exercise self-control.

    The DVC praised the Gen-Cent and WACOL for leading the campaign, stating that the programme would give her workers and students the boldness to confront the issue.

    Nwosu reiterated that the university’s administration had zero tolerance for sexual harassment, and would ensure that victims who speak out would be protected.

    Dr Obi Nnamuchi, who presented a paper on: “Legal issues in sexual harassment”, on behalf of the director of WACOL, stated that although Nigerian law does not specifically recognise sexual harassment there are related provisions in the Constitution that can be applied to bring justice to victims.

    He urged students to break the silence on any form of sexual misconduct, stating that that was the only way of addressing the problem.

    Fliers containing complain hotlines of Gen-Cent and WACOL were also distributed to participants  at the event.

  • Kidnappers release abducted UDUS student

    From Abdulrasheed Hammad

     

    A Student of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) Hauwa Abubakar Kana, who was kidnapped some days ago on her way  to school has been released by the abductors together with the other victims.

    Kana, a 300-Level student of Veterinary Medicine, was kidnapped on January 19. He was later released after his abductors collected an undisclosed amount as ransom, family sources told CAMPUSLIFE.

    Sources informed CAMPUSLIFE that Kana, alongside her co-passengers were attacked with weapons and thereafter kidnapped on the road between Maraba-Nassarawa.

    Speaking with our correspondent, the victim Kana, narrated her ordeal to Campus Life, stating that the kidnappers blocked the road to kidnap her and the other passengers for a huge ransom.

    “We were attacked between Maraba-Nasarawa and they blocked the road, the next thing we heard was gunshots.

    “We spent four days in the custody of these kidnappers, we were brutally beaten by these hoodlums who demanded N10million from us all.

    Read Also: Adamawa youths block highway, protest kidnapping

     

    “But I don’t really know the amount of money that was later given to them. Everybody paid the ransom before being freed. We all paid the ransom at the same time and all of us were released. I can’t even explain how I feel,” she said said.

    A friend of the victim Amira Hussaini Zange, equally expressed her sadness over the incident.

    “I was heartbroken,” said the 400-Level Botany undergraduate of UDUS.

    “I felt sorry for her and myself because she is a very close friend of mine. But thank God that friends and families really helped out with prayers and financial support. May Allah rewards everyone abundantly.”

    Kabeer Shuaibu Kana, a cousin to the victim, expressed his dissatisfaction over the incident and prayed that God should safeguard our movement in this country.

  • UNIABUJA suspends admission, as father laments son’s admission denial

    From Arogbonlo Israel

     

    Odinaka Victor Kenechukwu may have been a victim of admission quota system.

    Like every other candidate, Odinaka, 20, sat for his Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) last year. However, he was denied admission into the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) where he had hoped to study Medicine. In addition, Odinaka also did well at the university’s post-UTME scoring 33 out of 50 per cent. In the 2017 West African Senior School Certificate Examination Council (WASSCE), he emerged with distinctions in all the subjects registered.

    CAMPUSLIFE learnt there was no stated cut-off mark for JAMB by the school while post-UTME is slated for 50.

    Nonetheless, the leadership of the university which sympathised with Odinaka, said the 20-year-old candidate may have fallen a victim  of admission quota system.

    “At present, my son is at home depressed and very disappointed in the educational system,” lamented the victim’s father Mr Odinaka Hycienth.

    “It is so painful that after years of preparing for this, things are turning out this way.

    “What we want is justice because there’s no way we will allow such intelligent family member to pass through this trauma, and still come back to rewrite UTME.”

    However, the institution’s Vice Chancellor (Academics) Clement Alawa, said: “Merit is 45 per cent of the quota for Medicine. This score (33) does not guarantee merit admission.

    By our carrying capacity, admission into Medicine is 50 candidates. So, calculate 45 per cent of 50 for merit. The 36 states and FCT are the catchment areas for UNIABUJA.

    Read Also: UNIABUJA expels 100 students for malpractices

    Catchment is 35 per cent of the admission. The scores from the Eastern stated are very high and this explains it.

    Meanwhile, the university has suspended admission due some irregularities noticed in the system.

    This was contained in a memo released to the Admissions Committee.

    The vice chancellor Prof Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, said committee did not meet up with JAMB guidelines for uploading all admissions on the central admission processing system (CAPS).

    The report reads in part:

    “It has come to my notice that the JAMB admission guidelines of uploading all admissions on CAPS have not been fully met. This is totally unacceptable.”

    “I hereby direct that all admission processes and payment of acceptance fees should be put on hold pending when all shortlisted candidates have been uploaded to CAPS. Also, subsequent admission exercise MUST follow this.”

     

  • George Soros $1b critical thinking fund

    Agbo Agbo

     

    Obviously concerned about the rise of authoritarianism globally, George Soros, the global financier and philanthropist, has announced the creation of new global university network to foster critical thinking and open inquiry and better prepare students for current and future challenges “amid the current resurgence of authoritarianism.”

    He is walking his talk with US$1 billion in funding to boost the initiative and has asked other philanthropists to contribute as well.

    The fund will be managed by the Open Society University Network (OSUN), which will operate globally as a network of higher education, research and cultural institutions.

    The network will integrate teaching and research across universities worldwide and will offer simultaneously taught network courses and joint degree programmes and regularly bring students and faculty from different countries together with in-person and online discussions.

    A statement on OSUN’s website says it aims to “counteract intellectual monocultures and polarisation by uniting institutions around the world in collaborative research projects and by encouraging students to examine issues from different perspectives and through reasoned arguments.”

    It therefore seeks to reach the students who need it the most and to “promote the values of open society – including free expression and diversity of beliefs.”

    OSUN is being co-founded and run by two institutions, Central European University, which recently relocated from Budapest to Vienna, and Bard College, New York, with the support of the Open Society Foundations (OSF).

    A dozen universities will be participating in its first phase projects. Ashesi University, Ghana and Rift Valley Institute, Kenya made the pick in varsity and research institutions involved from Africa.

    Announcing the initiative at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Soros, who has given more than US$32 billion over the past 30 years to education and social justice causes, said he considers the Open Society University Network to be “the most important and enduring project of my life” and he wanted to see it implemented “while I am still around.”

    He added: “I believe our best hope lies in access to an education that reinforces the autonomy of the individual by cultivating critical thinking and emphasising academic freedom.”

    OSUN says it will seek to promote rigorous education and reach institutions in need of international partners, as well as neglected populations, such as refugees, incarcerated people, the Roma and other displaced groups.

    For someone who has written extensively on dearth of critical thinking in out tertiary institutions, this is a welcome development which I encourage our lecturers and undergraduates to embrace and follow closely.

    The university is supposed to be the engine room of all shades of ideas and innovation, and not a place where some may be jittery to critically explore the concept of witchcraft, for instance. Such exploration starts when we are imbued with critical thinking skills.

    Critical thinkers are the voices of reason in times of mass hysteria or panic which is why Soros is so convinced to part with a whopping $1 billion to encourage it. As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”

    The critical thinker usually has the comprehensive skills to consider all possible options toward solving a problem. He often remains calm and knows when he is right. Critical thinkers are less likely to fall for scams or tricks because they approach everything with a healthy amount of scepticism.

    Those who lack critical thinking skills often assume that everything they hear is true, regardless of the source.

    Socrates, it was who set the agenda for the tradition of critical thinking. Simply put, it is to reflectively question common beliefs and explanations, carefully distinguishing those beliefs that are reasonable and logical from those which – however appealing they may be to our native egocentrism, however much they serve our vested interests, however comfortable or comforting they may be – lack adequate evidence or rational foundation to warrant our belief.

    Socrates’ practice was followed by the critical thinking of Plato (who recorded Socrates’ thought), Aristotle, and the Greek skeptics, all of whom emphasised that things are often very different from what they appear to be and that only the trained mind is prepared to see through the way things look to us on the surface (delusive appearances) to the way they really are beneath the surface (the deeper realities of life).

    From this ancient Greek tradition emerged the need, for anyone who aspires to understand the deeper realities, to think systematically, to trace implications broadly and deeply, for only thinking that is comprehensive, well-reasoned, and responsive to objections can take us beyond the surface. Can anyone question the fact that we need deep thinking in Nigeria?

    Read Also: ‘Nurture critical thinking in children’

     

    Francis Bacon, in England, was explicitly concerned with the way we misuse our minds in seeking knowledge. He recognised explicitly that the mind cannot safely be left to its natural tendencies.

    In his book “The Advancement of Learning,” he argued for the importance of studying the world empirically. He laid the foundation for modern science with his emphasis on the information-gathering processes.

    He also called attention to the fact that most people, if left to their own devices, develop bad habits of thought (which he called “idols”) that lead them to believe what is false or misleading.

    He called attention to “Idols of the tribe” (the ways our mind naturally tends to trick itself), “Idols of the market-place” (the ways we misuse words), “Idols of the theater” (our tendency to become trapped in conventional systems of thought) and “Idols of the schools” (the problems in thinking when based on blind rules and poor instruction).

    His book could be considered one of the earliest texts in critical thinking, for his agenda was very much the traditional agenda of critical thinking.

    By virtue of what they stand for, higher institutions are supposed to be the pillar of critical thinking, this is the major reason research is a fundamental part of all studies.

    But the way things are presently, you have your answer if you attempt to measures the products of our higher institutions. I don’t have to stress this as I assume we are all too familiar with the state of education in the country.

    Let’s start from the area of pitching one ethnic group against another. There are stereotypes about almost all ethnic groups in Nigeria. Right from as long as we can remember, we are told to beware of certain ethnic groups because “that’s the way they behave.”

    We grow up not questioning these stereotypes and when we assume positions of leaderships they are already etched in our minds and difficult to ignore. But a critical thinker will judge people based on their character and not ethnic group.

    What about infrastructure? Currently, government at all levels in Nigeria concerns itself with the building of infrastructure. Let me state from the onset that I’m a firm believer in world class infrastructure because they make our modern existence easy.

    But the big question remains: while we concentrate on infrastructure, should we continue while the moral firmament of the country is tattered? As we build infrastructure let’s not forget that we need to ‘build’ the people that would appreciate and value the infrastructure and literally ‘own’ them.

    A critical thinker always has the self-awareness to know the difference between a rational thought based on careful consideration and an emotional response based on personal bias.

    Emotion is the enemy of reason. By understanding his own perspective, he can also consider the perspective of others and come to a conclusion based on fact, not feeling. He also embodies the phrase “work smarter, not harder.” They are masters of efficiency.

    From solving problems to facing real life situations, critical thinking is a valuable skill for students, and eventually citizens, to master because it teaches a variety of skills that can be applied to any situation in life that calls for reflection, analysis and planning. It is equally important in the new knowledge economy.

    The global knowledge economy is driven by information and technology. One has to be able to deal with changes quickly and effectively.

    The new economy places increasing demands on flexible intellectual skills, and the ability to analyse information and integrate diverse sources of knowledge in solving problems. Good critical thinking promotes such thinking skills, and is very important in the fast-changing workplace.

  • Respite, as UNIBEN outlaws hostel fraud

    For over seven years, hostel racketeering has prevailed at the University of Benin. Shylock students made a habit of exploiting their colleagues by applying for hostel space and paying the official rate, only to resell same to anxious hostel seekers, demanding cut-throat charges. Now, a new leadership which took off in December, has slammed the door against that. Management has warned perpetrators to quit or  face the music. IFUNNANYA OSAKWE a 200-Level MASS COMMUNICATION student of UNIBEN reports.

     

    It came as a big relief.

    Many unlucky students of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), especially the newly admitted students popularly known as ‘jambites’ who preferred the school’s hostels, but are unlucky to get one are being subjected to various  rackets by fellow students who sublet their spaces albeit at higher rate.

    That has now become history!

    With a new leadership on board, any student found subletting space his or her hostel would henceforth be sanctioned.

    The news, however, comes as a soothing balm to many desperate hostel seekers who, ahead of the announcement, had fallen victims to fellow students who have turned themselves to ‘bigger landlords’ overnight.

    The ban was due to the shocking discovery by the institution leadership that students whom these spaces were allocated were subletting them at a much higher rate.

    Findings by CAMPUSLIFE revealed that at the main campus, UNIBEN has six hostels for students from across all faculties, while the seventh is exclusively for students of Medicine. There are also four other hostels located at the Ekenwan campus of the institution with two housing females, one for males and the last for postgraduate students.

    The hostel racket has prevailed across the 11 hostels over the last seven years. Though official rent is put at N18,000 per session, many unscrupulous students sublet their space to interested colleagues  for as much as N30,000 and N50,000 or even more, CAMPUSLIFE further learned.

    Last week, management, in an official statement, stated categorically that subletting of hostels has been outlawed.

    “It has come to the attention of the management of the University of Benin that hostel spaces are being sold by different categories of people,” UNIBEN Public Relations Officer (PRO) Dr Benedicta Ehanire had posted on the institution’s website.

    The statement continued: “The action, viewed by the management as racketeering, has been strongly condemned.

    “It must be emphasised that the sales of hostel spaces remain outlawed while perpetrators, whether the sellers, middlemen or buyers will face sanction.

    “Furthermore, students who have been allotted hostel space, officially, but are no longer interested, should inform the Student Affairs Division for retrieval.”

    As it is the tradition, a student is entitled to a hostel space once he or she has paid the tuition and N1000.00 non-refundable accommodation application fee on the university’s portal. Allocation, which lasts for a session, is done on first come first serve basis as students pay the N18,000.00 online. Once available spaces are fully booked, the university closes the portal.

    Efforts to reach the hostel Co ordinator or School Executive Council proved futile as no election has  been conducted to usher new coordinatos in to office.

    Victims recount ordeal

    A victim, Ugochi Ike, recalled how she sheepishly coughed out N50,000 for a hostel space following her desperation.

    “I applied for school hostel and I was told that there was no more vacancy. Then I accidentally stumbled on a WhatsApp group where hostel spaces were being sold.

    “I was surprised because of the understanding I had initially that there was no longer space. I called the person and was told to pay N50,00 for the hostel space. I had to pay because I was practically homeless in the school,” said the 100-Level Political Science undergraduate.

    “I’m so glad that the school management is now aware or this racketeering,” Ike added.

    “I paid N40,000 for hostel space. I never knew that it was not the actual rate because the perpetrators have been posting sale of hostel spaces on so many UNIBEN group chats,” said another victim Martin Oladipo, a 100-Level Fine Arts undergraduate.

    He continued:  “It was so disheartening when my course mate in the Department of Computer Science told me that he paid N18,000 for hostel space. I was so sad because I would have used the money they extorted from me to do something useful.”

    A third year Mechanical Laboratory undergraduate Osamwen Solomon, also likened the act as corrupt.

    “It is annoying and disheartening that some faceless students buy hostel space with the intention of subletting it at a higher rate while they have already secured an apartment at either Ekosodin, BDPA or Sasogie (private hostel residents).

    “Many of these new students will prefer staying around campus because of the proximity to class and to observe the environment for one year. Also those with financial difficulties will prefer hostel as an option. It is sad that some students have turned this into their selfish business venture where they invest and get double,” said Osamwen.

    Obuetor Wisdom Utiwoma, a 200-Level Political Science undergraduate, who lauded institution leadrship, canvassedth legal backing for the policy.

    “It’s (directive) a very good effort on the part of the school management part.

    “The VC has been showing us with her policies that she is a honest and trustworthy person.

    “She has brought a lot of changes in the school, starting from the banning of cow grazing in the campus, renovating of hostels, availability of power and some other things, “said Utiwoma.

    Jane Obaje, bemoaned the man inhumanity to man culture of perpetrators.

    A student of Computer Science and a victim,  Obaje expressed  her disappointment  that a student will cause pain to others all in a bid to make money.

    “What those students are doing is very bad. I was a victim of this illegal selling of hostel spaces. The space was sold to me at N60,000.

    Read Also: UNIBEN students laud management over hostel renovation

     

    “I couldn’t believe my fellow student will dupe me, and in the most sensless manner; yet these same students will go about complaining that the system is corrupt but they are more corrupt.

    “I wonder how our future will be like with our youths going into illegal business at this level. The school management should make very strong sanctions to stop this racketeering,” Obaje added.

    Henry Noble, a 200-Level Mass Communication student, applauded the management for the directive.

    He said: “It’s a wise move. Students should stop extorting money from their fellow students in the name of selling hostel space to them. That’s greed and avarice. How can you buy hostel space for N18,000 and resell it N40,000?

    “There should also be some form of programme to enlighten the students, especially the new ones on the illegality of subletting hostel spaces”, said Noble.

    Similarly, Clare Oguokeme from the same department, shared her ugly experience as a victim.

    “I had to buy hostel space from an individual who said that she has rented a house off campus. Though the charge was reasonable; yet it still does not make it right.

    “I hope these perpetrators will understand that everything is not about making money especially at the expense of others,” said Oguokeme.

    Steven Arinze, a 100-Level student in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, implored management to deploy some of its officials for enforcement.

    “It is not only about banning of the subletting of hostel spaces. They (management) should also make sure that they (perpetrators) adhere to this law either by putting officers in place to monitor the activities of hostel application,” said Arinze.

    “They should also make a form of identification card with picture of the person the hostel space was allotted to.”

    Dumkene Moses, a 100-Level student of the Department of Theatre Arts who once fell prey to the hotel tricksters, said the only way the management could curb the problem is by emulating the model by University of Ibadan.

    “In the University of Ibadan, every student in the hostel has an identity card. Before you go inside the hostel, you must show it to the hostel security officials at the hostel door.

    “If University of Benin adopts this system, it will definitely put an end to this subletting of hostel spaces”, Dumkene Moses said. This illegal selling of hostel space must be stopped. It is making the life of students especially we, the new students, difficult.

    “My parents had to borrow the N40,000 I used to buy hostel space, because these same people have bought the hostel spaces just to sell it at a higher rate”, said Samuel Okeke, a student of Mechanical Engineering.

    A 100-Level Optometry undegraduate Mike Osubor, pitched his tent with Dumkene.

    Osubor lamented over the trend, describing it as an act of wickedness.

    Said Osubor: ”For a long time now, I have been applying for hostel space but it has always been futile because students who are into subletting hostel spaces will have taken the spaces.

    “The official rate for hostel space is N18,000; but these perpetrators sell it from N40,000 and above. This is a wicked act. They are making it difficult for students like us from poor home to get accommodation in UNIBEN.

    “The school management should make an Identity card for each student that pays for hostel space. Then, security officials should be appointed to check the Identity cards of anyone going into the hostel.

    “I believe these will curb the subletting of hostel spaces.”

  • Shock, disbelief, as Gateway final year student is electrocuted

    He never had a premonition of his death. As a popular artist on campus and a final year student of Mass Communication of Gateway Polytechnic, Saapade in Ogun State, Alimi Abiodun, popularly known as Fadabio or BIO, already had his mind set on his usual Friday gig at a hotel in Saapade. Unfortunately, that was to be his last show. He was electrocuted on last Thursday, while setting the stage for a performance. SONAIKE ADERONKE, ND2 Mass Communication, student of Gateway Polytechnic, Saapade, reports

     

     

    Gateway Polytechnic has been thrown into mourning! Reason: The students lost a colleague, a promising hiphop artist and an ND2 student of Mass Communication, Alimi Abiodun, popularly known by his stage name as Fadabio or BIO.

    How it happened

    The circumstances leading to his death was rather tragic; he was electrocuted at nightfall on Thursday last week, while putting finishing touches to his usual weekend gig.

    Abiodun’s death caused lectures at Gateway Polytechnic, Saapade to be suspended the following day, as some aggrieved students also attempted to destroy the school property on allegation that the school’s Health Centre could not do much when the deceased was brought there in a severe state.

    There were various accounts leading to Abiodun’s death. One eyewitness said there was no power at the hotel the deceased usually performed; so the hotel management put on a generator to allow Abiodun set up the instruments ahead of the show the next day. It was while Abiodun was trying to connect the speakers that he suddenly experienced the electric shock.

    Another account stated that the deceased was still battling for life after the shock, and was rushed to the General Hospital, Isara where the doctor on duty pronounced him dead on arrival.

    However both the management of the school and one of Abiodun’s bosom friends Micheal Akindele, debunked the rumours, saying the deceased was only ferried to the General Hospital Isara, dead.

    The deceased’s remains was eventually conveyed to Abeokuta, his home town where he has since been buried.

    On Friday, some friends in their personal capacity, organised a candlelight procession for Abiodun, something the management also claimed not to be aware of.

     

    Management absolves self

    The school’s Dean of Student Affairs, Mr Oladapo Solaru, excused the school of Abiodun’s death, wondering why aggrieved students should channel their anger to the school.

    He said:  “Though we’ve sent our condolences to his family, the school still did not have anything to do with his death. Therefore, the students did not have reasons for the riot. They were just being impatient thinking the school was involved in his death.

    “The late BIO was a good and responsible student. According to what we heard about his death, he was trying to fix the speakers for his show the next day when he was electrocuted. He was helped by some people who slammed him with dry wood in order to separate him from the conductor. They poured water on him afterwards. Along the line, he gave up to ghost and his body was taken to the General Hospital at Isara for embalming.”

    Solaru denied knowledge of any candlelight held in Abiodun’s honour, adding that the school intended holding a more befitting candlelight for him today.

    However, Abiodun’s best friend and former roommate Michael Akindele, whose building has now been cordoned off because of the development, denied that his former friend was taken to the school’s Health Centre.

    Akindele, populary known as Farado, said: “I used to be his roommate before he told me earlier this semester that he didn’t want to have a roommate any longer.  So I rented my own room opposite his in the same hostel. On the day the incident happened, he came to call my roommate and I because we happened to be course mates and used to attend lectures together.  However, I chose to stay back home so he left for school. By evening, he came home to change his cloth and left for the hotel.

    “It was late at night that we received a call from an anonymous person that BIO had an accident, so we left for the place.  On getting there, we heard that he was electrocuted while trying to fix some loudspeakers for his performance next day. He was assisted through mouth to mouth respiration by a lady and was quickly rushed to the General hospital at Isara where  the doctor pronounced him dead.

    ‘’We knew nothing about the candle night some people did but as his course mates , we are planning to have ours by the end of this week’’.

    Tributes

    If anything, Abiodun’s former colleagues would miss him for his cool mien and innocuous approach to life.

    Director of campus intervention National Association of Campus Student (NACS), Ogun JCC, Comrade Oyesanya Oluwagbemiga, expressed emotion for Abiodun who, until his death, was the Social Director of National Association of Ogun State Student (NAOSS), Gateway chapter.

    Said Oluwagbemiga: “The late BIO is one of our comrades and a member of NAOSS executive. He is my friend and also like a younger brother to me. He neither drank nor smoked.

    “The last time I saw him was the same day the incident happened. We were together in school discussing our plans for the next day. He also went to collect his school fee receipt before we departed around 4:30pm. It was later in the night I heard about his death. I could not believe my ears so I started calling his number but nobody was picking up. It was later by 12 am that someone called me to confirm his death.”

    Similarly, National President of All Polytechnic Students in Nigeria Comrade Olasunkanmi Adetoyeje Adeoye, also expressed similar disbelief

    “BIO’s death was a shock to us all. The late BIO was someone that made everybody happy. He was a peaceful student who desired progress, development and unity of this institution.

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    “Whenever there was crisis on campus, it was the late BIO who would come to campus to mediate. It is so unfortunate losing someone like BIO at this moment.

    “I did not see any reason why the student should be causing riot because the school has nothing to do with his death,” Adeoye further reacted on students rioting over Abiodun’s death.

    “Immediately, the incident happened, they ought to have taken  him to the hospital not the school clinic late in the night when nobody would open the school gate for them. Besides, the least the school clinic could offer is first aid treament, meanwhile BIO issue had passed that stage.  However, I’m not surprised that students reacted because he (Abiodun) was a man that sought the peace and unity of this institution.”

    Other sympathisers gave their tributes on the deceased facebook page.

    Opatola Afolashade Comfort wrote: “Where do people go to when they die?

    “Somewhere down below or in the sky? I can’t be sure but it seems they simply set up home inside our dreams.

    “Let soldiers raise their guns and shoot into the sky to echo the message: ‘Abiodun is dead’’’.

    Another poster Onayele Abiola stated thus:  “Gone from our sight but never from our hearts. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. I wish you peace; I hope you feel surrounded by much love. May your soul rest in perfect peace. “

    Another friend Popoola Abdullahi, lamented that he never imagined he was seeing his friend for the last time a day before his death.

    “I described with deep sorrow in my heart when I received the saddest news of your demise,” the poster stated.

    “If I knew when you called me yesterday (Wednesday last week), that that would be our last call, I would probably have picked it. You told me about taking care of your Mum. I’m going to miss you bro. I love you but God loves you most. Continue to rest in the blossom of God, RIP.”

  • Making certificates count

    By Agbo Agbo

     

    As the world continues to shrinks economically, new and complex challenges are emerging rapidly. Some of these challenges need newer and sometimes radical tools to help address them.

    Most people agree that education, especially at the tertiary level, plays a fundamental part in addressing complex present day challenges.

    For us to address a critical challenge like the shrinking labour market and the rapid production of graduates annually, we have to explore ways of making our certificates count.

    For those who have been opportune to sit on job interview panels, one recurring decimal is the gulf between certificates presented and applicants.

    How, for instance, do you reconcile a first class or second class upper degree certificate with an individual that finds it difficult to express himself articulately? Our tertiary education system – more than ever – has an onerous task of looking beyond the mere award of certificates to ensuring certificates are beneficial to individuals and the larger society.

    I find it strange that some undergraduates go through higher education for four, five and sometimes six years without having inkling about where the degrees they are acquiring will lead them after school other than the porous hope that they will get some job and start a career someday and somewhere.

    This lacuna has led to the proliferation of workshops, seminars, refresher courses and conferences bent on bridging the gap created by the quest for certificates by Nigerian graduates, a failure of our educational system in adequately preparing graduates for the future.

    Trust Nigerians for not missing out on opportunities. A completely new “industry” of motivational speakers and “life” coaches has developed with a very ripe market of “buyers” for these services in the half-baked and poorly trained products of our educational system.

    This is however not to imply that some of these workshops and conferences are not necessary, some credible ones definitely are.

    Without doubt, education is one of the major arbiters of socialisation but when it is reduced to mere ability to obtain a certificate by fair or foul means; it becomes a tool for underdevelopment and retrogradation, sometimes on scales hardly imagined. Our past leadership crises is a pointer to this.

    For qualitative education to be achieved and sustained, critical value must be placed on it so that those who receive it can see beyond its “putting food on the table” and focus on the imperative to apply the gains of education to the needs of society. In other words, education, especially at the university level, needs to be properly valued and repositioned.

    A look at some of the curricula in our tertiary education system seem to suggest that we are gradually being left behind as some courses have not been reviewed to fall in line with the changed times.

    It is sad to know that some of our lecturers are still relying on researches conducted years ago; some of these no longer fit current challenges.

    For instance, of what use is churning out hundreds of thousands of graduates every year without requisite entrepreneurial skills? But today, as I have argued elsewhere, teaching and scholarship has been watered down with regular research gradually becoming a rarity.

    Education is supposed to prepare young people for the challenges of facing the future and making the best of it. It is supposed to help students to discover themselves, nurture their innate abilities and give vent to their God-given talents.

    Education is not supposed to put food in the hands of a hungry lad. It is supposed to help him learn the skills of scouting, hunting and getting food to satisfy the hunger as well as create value out of his acquisitions which can be exchanged for a store of further value which eventually translate to wealth creation.

    Education can therefore not be about passing examinations and getting promoted into the next grade. It cannot be about acquiring certificates or certifications that do not empower the holder to add value to society in real terms.

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    I see it as a journey in self-discovery (which is why it never ends), a journey that leads a man to the place of his assignment, the duty post that enables him to contribute not only to the enrichment and betterment of society but also towards empowering him to attaining self-actualisation.

    Our system has, over the years, glamorised riches and made it the ultimate. A side effect of this is that ‘success literatures’ have taken over the book stands and libraries as a testament to the widespread subordination of hard work and diligence to riches at any cost.

    This in addition to the earlier stated point about the success-teaching entrepreneurs who have created a burgeoning industry out of the lacuna that has been created by formal education.

    Where did we derail? From the beginning of the quest for certificates, our prospective undergraduate is engaged in a rat race of passing his UTME exams to scaling the extra road block of Post UTME screening exercises. While in this race, most of them may not have been properly mentored to know what they are up against.

    The journey of higher education in Nigeria places unduly strong emphasis on students passing examinations and acquiring certificates.

    Serious attempt to link or lead the students and eventual graduates to discovering their calling and how the education being acquired will empower them to be masters of their destinies in the very near future are most times discounted.

    It is very easy to find graduates who know next to nothing about their chosen field of study. Again, you may ask, how did he get the certificate?” The answer is simple – by passing exams! So those who contend that Nigerian graduates are ill prepared for the real world of work cannot be more right after all.

    What’s my take on this? I believe the time to rethink our entire tertiary educational system is now. Education must be structured to unleash the potentials in every learner, leading them to acquire the much needed skills to become a source of value addition to life and the nation.

    Much of the ignorance that encircles contemporary Nigeria today certainly stems from the education industry. It is easy to point to government’s lackluster attitude as the major problem of the educational sector.

    But that cannot be the whole truth. The education industry is also an adversary unto itself. In the lower levels (especially in the public schools), there are quack teachers who cannot read or write good English, and yet English remains the language of instruction.

    Given the role of education in human societies, Nigeria’s future remains very bleak if efforts are not made to address the crises in our education sector. I say so because the educational system is merely a pastiche of the society.

    This is especially true of the universities which should be centres of excellence, but which have become a pitiable extension of the rotten political system in Nigeria.

    If the universities – indeed the entire educational system – must be the vanguard of excellence and development, they have to operate at a level higher than the ugly realities that define contemporary Nigeria.

    An important question to ponder is this: must every secondary school leaver go to the university? Why can we not resuscitate technical/vocational schools, equip them to award certificates in select vocations such as carpentry, auto mechanics, masonry, photography, craft, pottery, printing technology, etc.? If done properly, it would reduce the unnecessary strain on the varsity system while affording some youths the opportunity to gain practical proficiency in some chosen fields without acquiring degrees in the universities for which they are ill-equipped.

    More than anything else, we need the return of a vibrant intelligentsia that can bring back the era of all round research that addresses societal needs. We should rebound from the long history of the humiliation of the collective psyche of the Nigerian intelligentsia which dates far back to the military era. It is not too late for a reawakening.