The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • Bringing theories to town (1)

    By Agbo Agbo

    A fundamental aspect of scholarship is the use of theories to explain phenomena. Theories provide frameworks for asking research questions, interpreting information, and uncovering the deeper meanings and stories associated with an event. A theory explains how some aspect of human behaviour or performance is organised, thereby enabling us to make predictions about that behaviour. In essence, theories help us understand where we are making it the topography of our strategic map, determining our starting point and our destination.

    How will our society look like if the theories that are safely “locked up” in our universities and institutions suddenly come to town? I believe it is high time we begin advocating for some of these theories to be brought to “town” to assist citizens understand why things are the way they are in the country and globally.

    The components of theory are concepts and principles. A concept is a symbolic representation of an actual thing while a principle expresses the relationship between two or more concepts or constructs. In the process of theory development therefore, one derives principles based on one’s examining/questioning how things/concepts are related. Concepts and principles serve two important functions: they help us to understand or explain what is going on around us. They also help us predict future events – tantamount to filling in the gaps.

    Many people think that theories don’t have practical applications, but this is not true. The purpose of theory is practice. If reality were a dot-to-dot picture, a theory would be a way to connect a set of data dots. However, varying theories connect different data dots in different ways resulting in a wide variety of pictures and practices. This therefore makes a theory the foundational belief about how the world works.

    Each of us has a philosophy, ideology, and political line – ways of comprehending the world and responding to the situations we find ourselves in. Our theories may not always be coherent or rational but we hold them whether we acknowledge that fact or not. But in the scholarly realm, theories are far deeper because they bring clarity to everyday event. However, most of the theories we know or read about are often “locked up” within the four walls of our institutions.

    One good thing about theory is that it constantly changes and not permanent or fixed; they are constantly being constructed because in every situation we use theory to see patterns and tendencies, to discern potential trajectories (insofar as that’s possible) and to decide on appropriate responses and strategies. We use theory to determine on any given day whether it’s better to feign compliance, to take up arms, or to stay in bed with the blankets over our heads.

    On February 19, last year at 5.30pm, 110 schoolgirls aged 11-19 were kidnapped in a dramatic fashion by Boko Haram militants from the Government Girls Science and Technical College Dapchi-Bulabulin, Yunusari Local Government of Yobe State.

    The unfortunate and embarrassing event led to buck passing between the former Yobe state governor, the military and the police. Ex-governor Ibrahim Gaidam had insisted that the military and the defence headquarters should be held responsible because they ordered the withdrawal of troops from Dapchi town shortly before the attack and abduction of the schoolgirls. According to him, Dapchi town has been peaceful and never witnessed such an incident until barely a week after the military withdrew the troops from the town.

    “If the soldiers had been on the ground, the attack on the town and subsequent abduction of the schoolgirls would not have happened…” He was quoted as saying. Days later, the military through Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, Operation Lafiya Dole spokesperson, agreed that it redeployed troops from the town “to reinforce troops in Kanama area following attacks on troops’ location at the Nigerian-Niger Republic border.” But “Dapchi town was formally handed over to the police division located in the town.” In a swift reaction, the Yobe State Commissioner of Police, Sumonu Abdulmaliki, said in a statement that there was no time the military handed over Dapchi town to the police.

    So, what went wrong in Dapchi? Theory will assist in answering this critical question. In a paper: “National Security, Good Governance and Nation Building: Foundations for Effective and Inclusive Policing” Dr. Dan Mou, a national security expert provided a clear perspective through his model theory.

    According to him, there are varieties of national security systems or architectures. First is the captured national security system (CNSS) or architecture: under this system, it is argued that the dominant interests of a given social cleavage or a set of them in that society have taken control of the state security apparatuses, so that the national security policy and objectives are influenced by the elite group. According to him, it is a common security architecture or system that operates in most nations, in different degrees, including in Nigeria,

    Next is the autonomous national security system (ANSS) or architecture: this is said to exist where the state security apparatuses are operating independently of the dominant elites or classes in that society. National security policy and its apparatuses are more rational and objective in carrying out state policy, implementation and security policies that concern/cater for all its citizens.

    There is yet a second broad approach; the organizational determinant categorisation of national security systems or architectures: segmentary national security System (SNSS) or architecture; Coordinated national security system (CNSS) or architecture; and Integrated national security system (INSS) or architecture.  The three key distinguishing words are segmentary, coordinated and integrated.

    The eminent national security scholar pointed out that with the exception of South Africa and Libya (during Gaddafi), all other African countries (including Nigeria) have adopted the segmentary security system or architecture even though the degree of application varies from one country to the other.

    “In Nigeria, for instance, under the administration of former Presidents Shehu Shagari and Jonathan administration, the military and other security agencies all operated separately with little coordination and integration between them and other security agencies.  The same appears to be the case now even with the present President Muhammadu Buhari Administration.  This became more visible in their different strategies and operations regarding the control of the Herdsmen and Farmers conflicts and clashes all over the Nation, but especially in the North Central Zone of Nigeria.  In the event of any security threat, as was the case with the Herdsmen and Farmers clashes, therefore, these services reacted differently, with little coordination and integration of their efforts.

    “Despite President Buhari’s personal commitment, political will and allocation of a lot of resources, Boko Haram is still to be completely wiped out.  The limit of the segmentary national security system or architecture, the SNSS, in my view, is also partly what is hindering the successful conclusions of the military/national security operations throughout the country, including the failure to address decisively the Herdsmen and Farmers conflicts, all over the nation.”

    Citing a further instance, he noted: “instead of the armed forces coordinating efforts, with the Nigeria police force and other security agencies, they always order the Nigerian police force, even the Police Special Terrorist Units, to withdraw before they start their own operations, as it was the case with the “Cat Race” operation “Ayem a Kpatuma” in the North Central, particularly Benue State.”

    With his theory we can piece together what actually went wrong in Dapchi. From the analysis, it may not have been the commanders involved per se, but the model of national security in operation in the country. Other lapses he noted with this model include not allowing for proper coordination of the national security efforts of the various services and security agencies. Another fundamental drawback of this strategy is that it “allows room for ‘blame shifting’ when it is shown in the case of an actual security lapses that the entire security defence programme failed to yield good results.”

  • IBBUL to tackle robbery at students’ hostels

    Management of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL) in Niger State, has evolved  strategies to curb robbery attacks on students in off-campus hostels at Lapai town.

    The school management stated this at  a meeting to find lasting solution to security challenges in the institution.

    The Vice Chancellor, Prof Muhammad Nasir Maiturare, expressed displeasure over the increasing rate of attacks  by hoodlums on students staying off-campus.

    Maiturare, who said IBBUL is known to be one of the most peaceful campuses in Nigeria, assured that efforts would be intensified to provide adequate security for students who reside both on and off-campus.

    Maiturare sympathised with the students who sustained injuries during ‘gruesome’ robbery attacks at some off-campus lodges, and prayed for their quick recovery.

    The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Lapai Police Division, Superintendent Yakubu Yusuf, and Officer-in-Charge of Lapai Office, Department of State Security (DSS), Mohammed Yahaya, promised to cooperate with the university to stem insecurity in the school, and Lapai town.

    The university’s Chief Security Officer (CSO), Major Ndagi Tete Kudu (rtd), pledged to strengthen collaboration with various security operatives in Lapai.

    He assured that effective security measures that would help protect students and their properties would   be unveiled soon.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that an  expanded security meeting, involving the school management, students’ representatives, Lapai Emirate Council, Lapai local government area, and other relevant stakeholders is being scheduled.

  • Excitement as army builds bridge in ATBU

     

    Following the collapse of a pedestrian bridge at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, (ATBU), which killed some students about two months ago, members of the Nigerian Army during a visit, promised to build a new one. Not only are the ‘men in green’ fulfilling their promise, they are also constructing a motorable bridge, DAVID ADENUGA and ABIODUN JAMIU 300-Level Political Science Of Uthmanu Dan Fodiyo University report

     

    Students of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi State will soon heave a sigh of relief.

    A new motorable bridge is being constructed for them to replace the pedestrian bridge destroyed by flood, which left in its wake three dead students and others seriously injured.

    CAMPUSLIFE had reported that the metal bridge linking the students’ hostels and the lecture halls collapsed during a downpour on August 5.

    Following that tragic incident, many concerned individuals, corporate bodies and government officers visited the institution  on  condolence visits, promising to do something about the bridge.

    One of such visitors were men of the Nigerian Army. They promised to construct a motorable bridge for the university.

    The Nigerian Army has kept to its promise of building the facility at the main campus in Gubi.

    CAMPUSLIFE learnt the construction of the new bridge started on September 19. The facility is 30 metres long. Upon completion, it can withstand  weight of about 60 tonnes,   CAMPUSLIFE was told.

    The bridge, which will serve as the only route between the students’hostel and their lecture rooms during the rainy season, is expected to be completed before the end of next month.

    Although students just resumed for their second semester examination, CAMPUSLIFE, which visited the university last week, saw men of the Army Engineering Corps working frantically to ensure they meet the deadline.

     

    Students praise army

    In a WhatsApp chat with CAMPUSLIFE, a second year student of the Department of Animal Production, ATBU, Dennis Ishaya, lauded the collaboration between the management of ATBU and the Nigerian Army on the facility.

    He said: ‘’I’m overwhelmed about the ongoing construction of a new bridge to replace the collapsed one, which claimed lives of our dear colleagues. I want to use this medium to thank the management of the school and those responsible for the action taken towards securing a more conducive learning environment for students in Gubi.

    ‘’Moreover, I pray that God in His infinite mercy will continue to direct the paths of the school management and all other bodies towards a better life on campus.’’

    A 300-Level student of the Department of Chemical Engineering, Adam Mohammed, praised the Nigerian Army for the work in progress.

    ‘’We have to give kudos to the Nigerian Army for fulfilling her promise by building a standard bridge across the stream in which some students drown. This is a big relief for us; and we hope this will be a life saver when completed,‘’ Muhammed said.

    Speaking with CAMPUSLIFE on phone, the Students’ Union (SU) President Naziru Mohammed, said his colleagues were quite excited about the new facility as well as the dedication of the officers at site.

    Muhammed is hopeful that the new bridge would go a long way in making life a lot easier for students to access their lecture halls.

    He said many of his colleagues, who returned to school after the semester break, were surprised to see that the construction was almost done.

    ‘’The students upon resuming were surprised to see that the construction is almost completed. We want to express our appreciation to the Nigerian Army for fulfilling their promise. In fact, until what happened to us (collapse of the pedestrian bridge),we didn’t know the Army too engage in construction, we thought they only fight wars. We are really excited about this development,’’ said Muhammed, a final year undergraduate of Animal Production, during a conversation on phone.

     

    New bridge, a relief, says management

    Meanwhile, ATBU Vice Chancellor, Prof Mohammad Abdullazeez has said the new motorable bridge would make it easier for students to access their lecture rooms.

    ‘’We want to thank the Nigerian Army for fulfilling their promise as they commence the construction of a new bridge,’’ he said.

    He continued: “Initially, the bridge was pedestrian. Now what they are trying to construct is a permanent motorable bridge, any car or heavy duty vehicle can pass through.

    ‘’When you look at the distance between the  academic areas and the hostels of the students, it takes about 23kilometres without the bridge. But by the time they finish the bridge, some will just spend about 400 metres to their  academic centres.’’

    All efforts to get the specific amount budgeted for the construction of the new motorable  bridge proved abortive at the time of filing this report.

  • AOCOED celebrates World Teachers’ Day

    By Glory Thomas

    Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Oto/Ijanikin (AOCOED), Lagos has celebrated the Wold Teachers’ Day.

    The event featured educationists within and outside the institution. They spoke on issues ranging from teacher remuneration, poor infrastructure, poor morale, entry point for education programmes; teaching practice (TP), human capacity development, and politicisation of employment in the  profession, among others.

    Moderator of the event Dr Bunmi Odedina of the Department of Theatre Arts, was the first to pose the question: ‘’Are teacher, rewards still in heaven?’’

    Aside the often-discussed poor salary and other emoluments, increased enrolment and proliferation of private school are some of the major factors that have affected quality education delivery, Odedina said.

    Provost of the college, Dr Omolola Aina Ladele, frowned at the profession, which according to her, has ‘moved from the foreground to the background’, and has become a dumping ground for those who could not study other programmes of their choice.

    Ladele craved more recruitment and training for her colleagues in view of the surge in enrolment, especially at the basic level globally, and the need to give this bracket of learners sound education.

    “The quality of teachers will be compromised, if we cannot get enough teachers into our classrooms. For beginning teachers, research has indicated that the first five years are the most difficult; hence a lot of support during these years. Some issues they struggle with are knowledge of the subject content and classroom strategies, choice of assessment tools; handling of relationship with students; teachers, school environment and ethical issues.”

    Director of Teaching Practice (TP) Dr Durojaiye Saheed bemoaned absence of quality assurance that was once accorded TP in the 70s and 80s.

    Durojaiye recalled that during the 70s, students, who performed poorly in TP were asked to repeat the exercise  until they got it right. Then, some of the best brains were  considered for teaching, a factor Durojaiye attributed to the high quality education delivery.

    He said:“During my time, TP was never to be taken for TP used to be taken with utmost seriousness. Once you performed poorly (in TP), you may have to repeat it again.  So, as a pre-service teacher, we all must learn to do it right.

    “We also used to have some of the best brains in education. But over time, quality was compromised. Recruitment process also became lopsided. We used to have the very best employed to teach our children but now, almost everything is being politicised. It all depends on who you know.”

    A retired principal, Mr Akin Samuel, urged teachers to show dedication to their calling as well as be business minded.

    “The economic problem has affected education; and teachers are the major victims because of the poor take home. This does not allow them to unleash their full potential to the benefits of the children,’ he said.’

    Samuel noted that private schools were few in the 70s and 80s, lamenting that their proliferation has led to recruitment of quacks by shrewd school owners to circumvent standard.

    Simeaon Fowowe who teaches at the college School of Early Child Care Education (ECCE), noted that findings had shown that teachers who were entrepreneurial-minded shown more passion to their profession than others who don’t.

    “If you spend five days teaching children every other week, use the weekends to do something else, you could organise private lessons for some children or engage in petty business. We have often discovered that teachers who make additional cash to their monthly income are a lot happier with their jobs.”

    Vice Principal (Academics) AOCOED International School Mrs Mercy Olawunmi Blessed, advised teachers to look beyond the poor pay package, and harsh economic condition so they don’t derail from giving their best to pupils.

    ‘’As a teacher that is worth his salt, do not allow remuneration to be the yardstick to your performance. Though we must all agree the poor pay can be frustrating, teachers should give their utmost performance.  There is no way you will have commitment outside your profession that it will not affect your best,’’ she said.

    Another participant Muyiwa Ashimolowo also of ECCE, suggested that in future editions, management should also inculcate teachers across private and public schools in the neighbourhood to such forum as a means of engendering cross fertilisation of ideas.

  • OGITECH students urge management to cut ‘obligatory fee’

    By Glory Thomas

    STUDENTS of Ogun State Institute of Technology (OGITECH), Igbesa, Ogun State have urged the institution’s management to reduce the ‘obligatory fee’.

    They described the fee as exorbitant.

    A fresh student pays N25,000 acceptance fee, and N50,265 for tuition, in addition to the obigatory fee.

    Many students, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, admitted that they did not know the reason for the obligatory fee describing it as mere exploitation. They urged the management do a breakdown of the fee, for better understanding.

    CAMPUSLIFE learnt that the obligatory fee was introduced in 2014/2015 academic session as ‘consumable fee’ with students initially paying N5000, until the 2017/2018 academic session when the nomenclature later changed to obligatory fee.

    Under the nomenclature, National Diploma (ND) students are to pay N25,000, while their counterparts in Higher National Diploma (HND) programme would part with N35,000. This is besides N50,265,00 tuition fee across board.

    Justifying its stance, however, the management insists the obligatory fee forms a part of the tuition. Instead of attacking management, it urged the students to channel their grievances to Ogun State government, which owns the school.

    However, students are bemoaning the harsh economic atmosphere, urging the management to introduce lighter measures in collecting the fee.

    Bankole Modupe Ameenat, an ND1 Computer Science student, appealed to the management to reduce the obligatory fee, and allow his colleagues to pay other fees in instalments.

    She said: “All fingers are not equal. I  haven’t been able to write the last (second) semester exam, because I didn’t pay the tuition. It is not that I wish not to pay. I have the half payment of N30,000, after paying the obligatory and the acceptance fees, but I couldn’t because this is not allowed and this led to automatic carry-overs.”

    “I sponsor my education. I have no parents, but I am doing all I can to be somebody in life. My brother is the one bailing me out.”

    Akinbola Faith, an NDI Science and Laboratory Technology (SLT) undergraduate, supported Happiness.

    “Some students didn’t pay the money (school fee) till the second semester. If it (tuition) were allowed, then students would have paid the fee and it wouldn’t have led to automatic carry-overs. Some students even have the half payment with them, yet couldn’t write the exam because the school does not accept half payment from us.

    “We don’t know the purpose of the (obligatory) fee. We were only asked to pay it,” said Oguniyi Janet, another HND1 Computer Science student.

    Janet continued: “There are some people desirous of attending school, but did not have the means. Such group of individuals will find it difficult to pay the school fees once.  But if the school fees were in intalments, it will encourage more people to go to school.

    “We paid N35,000 as obligatory fee in our HND1. We are asked to pay for second year HND2, which is not supposed to be. We deserve to know the purpose for this fee.”

    CAMPUSLIFE findings further showed that most students could not explain the rationale for the obligatory fee.

    “I don’t know what the fee is used for. As far as I’m concerned, it is useless, “ said Fasasi Abimbola, an HND1 Micro Biology undergraduate.

    She continued: “We paid N35,000 for HND1, but, for now, I don’t know the amount we are to pay in the second year. Maybe, it will increase or reduce.

    “The fee is just too outrageous. It doesn’t make any sense at all. Besides, it is not impacting on us. There is nobody from other schools, who did not wonder what obligatory fee is all about.They should add it to our school fees and make everything N85,000. We know it is our tuition; they don’t need to give it a new nameat all.”

    Akinde Oluwatoyin, an ND1 Business Administration student, agreed with Abimbola.

    She said: “We don’t know why we are paying obligatory fee. Besides, the money is just too much. Other schools are only paying school fee. There is nothing like obligatory fee.

    “In our second year, we were not supposed to pay the fee. But, on our portal, they are asking us to pay both the school fee and obligatory fee.

    “Obligatory fee has continued to increase. In our first year, we paid N25,000. The fee has  jumped to N35,000. I plead with the management to reduce the money.  It is just too much.’’

    OGITECH (SU) Students’ Union has also aligned with their colleagues’ position on the obligatory fee.

    “I don’t know the main purpose of obligatory fee. We, the SU, will have a general meeting with the management when will resume. We want to ask them what the money is all about and what they are using it for,” SU vice president, Olaleye Temitayo Ameedat, said

    She continued: “The particular fee is on everyone’s portal; so, there is nothing we can do for now. Even the incoming ND1 students have stated paying it. After meeting with them, it is either they reduce or cancel it.

    The school Bursar Mr Salam Yenu described the obligatory fee as part of the school fee.

    He said: “The students sit on chairs and also make use of some practical equipment in their various departments. How did they think we get all those equipment?

    “They were not given to us free and they are meant for the purpose of studies. That is part of where we are spending the money on. So, it is part of the school fee.

    “Whatever money we receive from the students is the directive of the government.Therefore, either directly or indirectly, it is the government that sponsors the school and the money is part of what they have been using to run the school.

    “Do not give the(obligatory)  fee any meaning. If you attend any school, but fail to pay school fees, the school will not allow you to write exams. It is the same thing here. It is only because we break it down. Go to other schools and see what they are paying.

    “I am not the one to reduce the fee, it is the government. What the students are paying is not hidden. At the same time, the money is not going into private pockets. We are not the one collecting the money. It is being taken to the consultant and the consultant is the government.”

  • Sex-for-grades: A crime thriving in silence

     Promise Eze

    Like a tornado, sex for grades is effacing life away from Nigerian universities. Every year, stories abound of how lecturers in universities seduce and blackmail students. We all hear about it, but it’s almost never proven. The malfeasance buried in silence is denying victims to speak up. A lot of female students are being abused, but silence has buried their pains.

    Academic institutions are meant to nurture and groom students, but they have become hunting grounds for the sexual gratification of men enstrusted to protect them.

    Sex for grades has become a culture, a sturdy plant growing on the ground of silence, fertilised and trimmed by silence. This silence is deadly. Not only has it buried dreams, it has rendered lives useless.

    The BBC Africa Eye recently broadcast a year-long probe it conducted,  aimed at exposing the menace of sex for grades in two top West African universities – University of Lagos and University of Ghana. In a sting operation, undercover journalists who disguised as students were able to expose randy lecturers who are keen on prepositioning sex to young female students in exchange for good grades.

    No sooner had the documentary hit our screens when Nigerians began to react angrily over the immorality of our lecturers. But this could be described as sheer hypocrisy. Sex for grades has been existing for decades. Why has the matter not been treated with utmost seriousness all the while? Politicians also rose to condemn the crime. Are they saying that they aren’t aware of the problem? Must Nigerians wait for BBC’s investigation before they start pulling down the skies?

    Randy lecturers in Nigeria have metamorphosed from mere teachers into sex predators and seeking whom to devour. They lounge furiously at the breasts of female students even without their consent just as a monkey would grab a banana by impulse. They throw ethics of their profession to the wind in quest for sexual pleasure. One begins to wonder why knowledge givers should now begin to play the beast of no nation. This, however, is not to submit that all lecturers are culpable of this monstrosity.

    Oftentimes, female students are trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea. The strugglers and the academically weak appear the most vulnerable. With no official medium through which they can express their grievances, they are forced to pour their tears on their pillow cases. They are enveloped in a system that treat lecturers as demigods; a system that has bestowed so much power to lecturers.The phenomenon of sex for marks in our ivory towers wouldn’t have been this bad if there is a system that actually enforce set boundaries.

    Silence is the lethal weapon used by these sex prone lecturers to torment their victims. They place them in a tight corner. ‘You either shut up or keep failing my course’  ‘talk and you would never graduate’they would blurt into the ears of their preys. These are not empty threats. Their victims would be left with two choices: to give in and have her way or speak up and get tormented for as much time as she is in school.

    The problem is ubiquitous though. In sane climes, there are effective and efficient means of controlling sex abuse to the barest minimum; but in Nigerian victims of sex abuse are left to suffer all forms of maltreatment in silence. She has no one to run to. The continued affront leaves her traumatised and empty. She craves suicidal thoughts. She feels dirty. her shame is too heavy to bear. She left home seeking knowledge, the university of course is a home of knowledge — but she encounters men wishing to dart into her skin more than they would want to instill knowledge into her brain. But she must revelled in silence because her degree is so important to her. Her predator uses silence to gauge, censor and abuse her. She owns her body though, but her tutors want to have a bite of that sumptuous flesh. She has a will but that will has become a horse to be trampled upon by a learned sexual pervert. Even if she voices out her pain who would believe her? Who would listen?  ‘Where is your evidence?’ the authorities would always quiz anytime she comes forward with her experience.

    The seeming indifference by the authority is another factor. A government that will fold its arms until rape and other forms of molestations are committed is cowardice.  The flippant attitude of the government in making and enforcing laws to penalise sex offenders is only adding muscles to the problem. In 2016, the National Assembly passed a bill criminalising sexual harassment in tertiary institutions; a bill that is yet to see the light of day. As long as the problem is not dealt with on time it would continue to worsen and deteriorate.

    It is a matter of common knowledge that most cases of rape are unreported due to victims’ fear of stigmatisation. Therefore, one can easily submit that, like Boko Haram, sex for grades won’t go  easily in our tertiary institutions. It takes two to tango! Just as culture is defined as a way of life, sex for grades has become a culture to some lecturers and students alike. But breaking the silence would give the malfeasance a heavy blow. Avenues should be created where sexually harassed students can run to when threatened by lecturers. Official phone numbers and emails should be made available to students to make reporting the crime easier and faster.

    • Eze is a 200-Level Education Economics undergraduate of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.

  • As our culture decays

    By Agbo Agbo

    A Judge in Angelina County, Texas, United States of America passed an unusual judgment in 1994. Judge Joe Martin sentenced Jeffrey Bob Nelson, a used-car salesman who appeared before him for the 11th time for driving without driving licence to six months of reading! Nelson served his sentence in the city library reading three classical works – John Bunyan’s Pilgrim Progress, Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, and John Milton’s Paradise Lost.

    Why did Judge Martin pass this unusual sentence? By reading Paradise Lost, Nelson will learn about sin and the fall of man. In the Pilgrim Progress, he’ll discover how John Bunyan personalised virtues like prudence and forbearance through the colourful use of allegory. On the other hand, Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov who killed an unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money but finds himself racked with confusion, paranoia, and disgust for what he has done. The moral is that we have to take responsibility for our failures and not pass the buck to someone else of to society.

    It is against this background that I’d like to look at the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC’s) scoop on two randy lecturers at the University of Lagos and a University in Ghana which has triggered a national conversation. While this conversation goes on I hope it will be structured and not restricted to our varsities alone. This issue goes beyond the four walls of our varsities. With few exceptions, every aspect of Nigerian life is in decline. “Decay” is the word.

    Our culture is decaying faster than we may realise or admit. To this end, we need to interrogate the culture that encourages and abets this vile crime of sex-for-marks, rigs the educational system against female students and undermines their personality and the credibility of their qualifications. We also need the strong arm of critical institutions like the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) who must rise up and put in checks and balances on how to checkmate its members.

    This development is another low for our varsity system because it further erodes an already battered brand equity issue. This de-marketing is a further plus for foreign varsities that see Nigeria as a fertile market. It will also seal the fate of Nigerian graduates in the labour market.

    Historians have warned over the centuries that societies that lose their sexual self-restraint soon decay and disintegrate. Edward Gibbon, author of “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” identified five marks of the Roman decaying culture which we should study seriously in light of this and other developments.

    According to Gibbon, these signs must not be taken lightly. They are: obsession with sex and perversions of sex; a widening disparity between the very rich and the very poor; concern with displaying affluence instead of building wealth; an increased demand to live off the state; and art becoming freakish and sensationalistic instead of creative and original.

    Look at these five signs critically again and tell me if they’re not all “alive and kicking” in Nigeria. Obsession with sex and perversion of sex is here with us. You would have thought that with the conviction and jailing last year of Professor Richard Akindele at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, others would simply “zip up” and behave. Even with the BBC expose, I don’t think we’ve seen the end of this.

    Beyond being the poverty capital of the world, the widening disparity between the very rich and the very poor in Nigeria is simply incomprehensible. Within a few years the system has practically wiped out a hitherto thriving middle class. The lingo now is you’re either “up there” or “down here.”

    Our society has also grown in “sophistication” with citizens no longer bothered about the sources of wealth. Nigeria is perhaps one of the few countries in the world where a pauper can become a millionaire overnight and questions won’t be asked. There is flagrant display of affluence instead of building wealth. Everyone seems to be in a race to take the prize of who will rape Nigeria more.

    It is therefore not surprising that the majority want to live off the state. This is the singular reason why our election is often seen as war. Since no one is interested in building wealth, the only route to instant wealth is the capture of state power and rent seeking. A follow-up to this is that even our entertainment is becoming sensationalistic instead of creative and original. Make out time to listen to the lyrics of the countless songs released by our musicians and you will put this to perspective.

    The speed with which the Nigerian family has disintegrated as a result of a change in sexual mores and a loss of sexual self-restraint is startling. Yet, we scratch our heads and wonder why more children are performing poorly and behaving so badly in Nigerian schools. Children suffer emotionally and educationally when their families collapse under the weight of increased rates of adultery, divorce, unmarried parents, absent fathers and mothers and an array of legally invented “family” styles.

    Self-discipline is a necessary ingredient for success in school, but children must learn it from their parents’ example. So, the lecturers who indulge in sex-for-marks are not only endangering their careers, they will end up scaring their families for life.                                                                                                                                                                                                        The only Nigerians who should be shocked anymore by our cultural debasement are those who have not been paying attention to the country we have become. There is very little left that should shock or surprise anyone.

    The catalog of coarseness – especially among our youth – is exhaustive. We may not be paying attention because of the struggle to survive, but pornography is rising rapidly. The concept of childhood innocence is gradually slipping through our fingers.

    In entertainment, crudeness often substitutes for creativity. Most of us still frown upon incest, the sexual abuse of children, and public inferences to sexual acts. Yet even these are not universal convictions; search any of these issues online, and one will find that each is advocated by a surprisingly large and articulate collation of persons and groups. Parents shouldn’t be surprised that their children are already aware of these issues.

    Are you also aware that public shame is no longer as strong as it used to be in the past? To the discerning Nigerian, these things are not just troubling but deeply painful. The statistics on divorce, cohabitation, abortion, out-of-wedlock births, addiction to drugs or alcohol, etc. are indisputable proofs of a people in moral free-fall. Our indignation is tempered by a humble grief; even the redeemed struggle with challenges, but at least they are aware. Are we doing too little to stop the cascade of sludge seeping into all aspects of our culture?

    It remains disappointing that too often; many Nigerians are so self-preoccupied that they are startled by reports of vileness and irreverence in popular culture and the varsity “cold rooms” like the BBC just exposed. Many are shocked when they learn of the breadth and depth of cultural decline, but they shouldn’t be.

    To express surprise upon learning of a university forum for “porn stars,” the inability of secondary school students to differentiate between honour and self-gratification, “music” that glorifies “Yahoo Yahoo,” “I don hammer,” and the epidemic of alcoholism among adolescents is only to reveal one’s inattention to the society around us.

    Already, we now have “cross dressers” in our society. Men want to become women and vice versa. It used to be a western problem, but gradually we’re learning to “accept” and “live” with it.

    It is in this cultural milieu, one in which the line between decline and fall is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish, that discerning Nigerians can provide the light and warmth and clarity of the morals of old and live out its tenets with countercultural abandon. To stand with and for the truth always is to affront the zeitgeist and point fingers toward the right way.

  • Medical University, Ondo to hold maiden convocation

    The management of the University of Medical Science, Ondo, (UNIMED) in Ondo State, has disclosed plans to hold the maiden convocation of the institution.

    Five years after it was established, the institution revealed that it would graduate 40 students, in three departments-Physiology, Anatomy and Bio Chemistry, out of which one graduating with first class honours.

    Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Friday Okonuofa, disclosed this while briefing CAMPUSLIFE on activities preceding the maiden convocation of the institution.

    Okonuofa said the school has gone through a very smooth running since its establishment, without any suspension of academic activities which has impacted negatively on the growth and development of the institution.

    He highlighted some challenges facing the institution, stressing the funding as a majore one.

    Okonuta, however, noted that the government had been coming to their aid in the area of accreditation of courses by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

    “Funding has been a major concern. Education is on the concurrent list though, but government has been supportive to meet accreditation requirements as well as payment of salary,” he said.

    The event, which will kick start on November 5 with medical outreach, and convocation lecture to be delivered by former Vice Chancellor,  University of Ibadan, Prof O. A. Bamiro, would end with a grand finale on Friday, December, 13.

  • How I was sexually harassed, by Lola Shoneyin

    Hours after BBC investigation released a documentary exposing Nigerian, and Ghanaian academics sexually harassing students for grades, the award winning Nigerian writer, and director of Lagos Aké Arts and Books, Lola Shoneyin, took to her Twitter page to explain how she had been sexually assaulted while growing up.

    She narrated how one of her Dad’s friends had molested her sexually. She she said the undisclosed fellow was once a deputy vice-chancellor of a public university.

    “A DVC lunged at my breasts in his office. I froze from shock before flinging off his hands. For months, I felt terrible shame. Played the scene over in my head to see what I could’ve done to invite such violation. Nothing.

    “I had to live with the lingering sensation of this man’s palm on my breast for weeks. I felt so dirty. I wish I had slapped him. I wish I had screamed. But I didn’t. I was terrified.”

    She went further to explain her father’s reaction when he heard of the ugly incident and how she was compelled to talk about it because of the worries it gave her.

    “My dad slapped his chest and said, ‘Omo re mi!’ (my own child in Remo). He felt so betrayed.”

    “To be honest, I told my parents because I felt a stomach-turning combination of shame and fear. I believed the man was capable of turning up at my door. It was very hard and very embarrassing. There are loads of experiences I didn’t share, or haven’t shared with them though. How many stories will I recount? “ she stated.

    She was thankful for the release of the yearlong investigation on sexual harassment by lecturers at West Africa’s most prestigious universities by BBC’s Africa eye.

  • UDUS students bemoan poor medicare

    By JAMIU ABIODUN

    Students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, have continued to lament inadequate medical attention at the university’s clinic. Aside insufficient manpower, students are often given prescriptions, but with no drugs. This is despite the fact that each student pays N2000 medical fee each session. JAMIU ABIODUN 200 Level Department of Political Science reports.

    It  was already 8pm. Darkness had gradually enveloped the land. However, along the narrow but exquisitely tiled pathway that leads to the waiting room of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS Health Centre, were some frustrated students whispering to one another in hushed tones.

    One would have considered it as mere hissing, but they were the reactions of ‘impatient patients’ who had waited for hours at the university’s health centre.

    They had painstakingly tarried for doctors to attend to them, but none was in sight. Incidentally, most students who visited the clinic that day retired to their hostels, disappointed.

    Among them was Aisha (surname withheld), a 300-Level Adult Education undergraduate. She had taken ill two days earlier and was confined to her hostel room, until her friends helped her to the school clinic.

    However, no doctor was anywhere in sight. She was sprawled on one of the chairs in the clinic located at the edge of the exit way.

    She said: “I was at the clinic before 8pm waiting for the doctors, but they did not come until an hour later and started attending to patients about 30 minutes after. I was in serious pain but endured it. I waited at the reception for over an hour before I was attended to.

    Although the doctor prescribed drugs for Aisha, none of those drugs was available to be dispensed. She was asked to return the following day. Yet, the result was the same.

    In that moment, Aisha returned to the doctor in protest. She was disappointed at the doctor’s reply.

    “To my surprise, the doctor said: ’Come back later please.”

    In Aisha’s eyes, her pains were already mixed with anger. While her colleagues continued to receive lectures, her health condition worsened, forcing her to leave for her home in Kebbi State, for proper check-up.

    The Department of Health Services of UDUS provides both public health and medical services to members of the university community. The centre provides medical, nursing, pharmaceutical and laboratory services. However recurring cases of ‘there are no drugs, come back late’ have stirred concerns among students, spurring many to lose faith in the university’s health centre. This appears more worrisome, with the realisation that each student pays N2000 as medical fee.

     

    Big Clnic, Empty Shelf

    Like Aisha, Mudathir Folorunso 100-Level student of English Language also took ill. He could not risk travelling to Oyo State, where he hailed from owing to distance.

    Folorunsho had earlier shrugged off his friends who often lamented the unbecoming attitude of staff and the shortage of drugs in the clinic. After much pressure, he grudgingly accepted to go.

    “Many friends of mine do complain about the clinic, but I hardly listened. I thought they were all making false accusation until I witnessed it, myself,” Folorunsho began.

    “After waiting for over two hours, I was called in and the doctor asked about the symptoms I’ve been observing. He prescribed drugs for me and I went to the pharmacy unit to get them.

    “I got to the designated room. I sat on the waiting chair at the doorstep till the doctor arrived. I showed him the prescriptions, but to my surprise, he said there was no injection that I should just go. The statement got me confused.

    “ As I was thinking of what to do next, I saw the doctor that examined me. I walked up to him and told him what his colleague said. What he said shocked me. ‘Whatever they said is the final, my own is just to take statements of patients and prescribe drugs for them. It was at that point I eventually agreed with what my friends have been saying about the clinic.”

    Another student, N’allah Saadudeen, 100-Level Education Economics undergraduate, squirmed almost lifelessly on his aged bunk bed.

    “Who be dat?” Al-ameen’s  bunkmate thundered in pidgin. Na’allah grumbled. Like others, school clinic had failed him. He sought miracle elsewhere.

    “At about 7am, I woke up and realised I was feeling cold and feverish,” Na’ Allah recounted, adding: “I thought it was the weather but when the situation turned out to be more serious, I ended up at the clinic.

    ‘’The doctor prescribed drugs for me. I then went to the pharmacy unit to get them, but they asked me to come back the following day because there were no drugs.”

    He continued: “I returned to pharmacy unit the following day as instructed, yet no drugs. I eventually resorted to the use of herbs which was given to me by my class captain.

    Sulaiman Shadiat was another ‘victim’.

    “I went to the clinic and met a doctor who prescribed drugs and injection for me .  I went to the pharmacy unit where I was directed to the injection room, which at the time was under lock. I went back but was advised to go and buy a syringe. I just had to comply,” said Shadiat a 200-Level student of Biochemistry.

    Our CAMPUSLIFE reporter visited the clinic, walking through mass of patients who were mostly students. He was directed to the waiting room after submitting his clinic ID card. Findings by this reporter revealed that of the three offices meant for doctors, only one was opened for use.

    Having waited for hours without being attended to, the reporter walked up to the attendant at the help desk to inquire the reason for such delay.

    The attendant, supposedly in his mid-twenties, and who this reporter is not identifying for fear of victimisation, was indifferent.

    “That is how it has been going. You can see that it is the same doctor that is attending to emergency as well. You just have to endure it” he urged our CAMPUSLIFE reporter.

    Thankfully, he was attended to by a fair skinned doctor, albeit with prescriptions, and like others, with instruction to return the following day.

    Our reporter complied as directed but was informed by the same doctor to help himself.

    “It is just paracetamol. You will get it at the rate of N50.00. They will sell it to you,” said the doctor on duty.

     

    UDUS Clinic: A mere consulting centre?

    Still at the clinic, our CAMPUSLIFE  reporter was joined by an already frustrated patient Abdulbasit Muhammad, a patient who told him (reporter) that he was only at the clinic for mere consulting and not for prescription.

    Thinking our CAMPUSLIFE reporter was a patient, he warned him to always look out for expiry dates whenever he is administered drugs at the pharmacy unit of the clinic.

    “I am not here for the drugs because I just don’t trust them. I am just here to meet with the doctor, get his prescriptions and then go out to get the drugs outside,” said Muhammed, 26.

    Whenever they give you any medicine in this clinic, make sure you check the expiry date. There was a time I checked out of curiosity, only to find out that one of the drugs had expired.

    Another student, Hamza Nazif, a 100-level English Literature undergraduate, who had his knee injured following a clash with one of the school security officers, recalled how he could not have the knee x-rayed.

    “The director asked one of the matrons to accompany me to see a doctor at UDUTH (Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital) for an X-ray. But on getting there, the matron gave me the money earlier given her by the director as well as the request form and went back with the driver. I then shuttled in between offices until I met the doctor assigned to me who then directed me to a cashier. I eventually left the hospital because I had General Studies continuous assessment test to write that day.”

    ‘Dearth of manpower, bu reaucracy, our problem’

    When contacted, the Director, Health Services Department, Dr Ibraheem Omar, recalled that in August, the clinic embarked on rationalism, directing workers in the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) unit to join the Outpatient Department (OPD). According to him,the influx of patients to the clinic coupled with administrative bottleneck have been twin factors affecting the clinic.

    “We have rationalised,” Omar told CAMPUSLIFE.

    “Those who work at less demanding units like the maternal and child health department are implored to assist the outpatient department where most demanding works are in order to maximise the deficit.

    They have been assisting and it greatly helps.

    “In fact, the vice-chancellor is concerned. He once posted online a picture of students at the waiting room, asking if it is true. I told him that is the present circumstance and he pledged to assist in whatever way he could.

    “The influx of students to the clinic over the months has been alarming. We have over 100 students’ medical files to attend to.

    ‘’What we do is to prioritise; we attend to the most urgent cases.”

    He continued: “Before now, we used to attend to almost 100 patients a day. But now, we attend to over 200 students daily. There was a day we had over 100 files submitted, all of which must be attended to. In fact, a professor in the university was here last week, but we had no bed to admit him. I have to admit him here in my office.

    On shortage of drugs, Dr Omar said: “There is no hospital in the world today that would have all kind of drugs available in its pharmacy. However, the shortage of drugs here is as a result of the bottlenecks that affect prompt procurement of drugs as and when due. Protocols have to be followed before the management could release funds. So before we could stock the pharmacy with another drug, which we call the ‘lagging time’, there would always be shortage. Any student that comes within that period would be told to come back later or plainly told ‘there is no drugs’ at the pharmacy unit,” he concluded.