The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • Maths Dept shines at contest

    THE Department of Mathematical Sciences, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL), Niger State, has won three prizes at the just-concluded conference of National Association of Mathematical Science Students of Nigeria (NAMSSN) held at the Federal University of Technology, Minna.

    The students, who participated in both academic and non-academic activities, emerged winner in football competition, won a gold medal in 400M relay,  came third in the quiz segment and also clinched the Miss NAMSSN Beauty Pageant as most participating and active chapter awards.

    Similarly, a 400-Level student Atoloye Habeeb, won a bronze medal for the university at the 11th National Mathematics Competition for University Students (NAMCUS)) at the National Mathematical Centre, Abuja.

    Head of Department of Mathematical Sciences, Dr Abubakar Abdulkadir, thanked the university management for its continued support to the department. He promised that the department would do more in subsequent editions of the contest.

     

  • Wanted: Better welfare for journalists

    Journalism is a profession imbued with danger. Therefore, it requires greater attention in terms of the welfare of workers.  The Nigerian press has been bedevilled with an ugly phenomenon called “poor welfare” and it keeps getting tougher, year in year out.

    There is no doubt that the society may have to support the initiative because it deserves a better and more improved brand of journalism championed by credible journalists, guided by professional ethics and general public interests. For this to happen, society should be bothered about the welfare of its ‘watchdog’.

    In recent years, development in the media industry is raising serious concern over the twin challenges of funding and ethics that are deeply and negatively impacting on the operations and credibility of the media and its practitioners.  The expansions in the industry have, unfortunately, not translated into improvement in the quality of life of journalists vis a  vis better conditions of service.

    Poor welfare of journalists is manifesting in financial intimidation, threats, inferiority complex, physical pressures and psychological hazards, as well as social and emotional risks for practitioners and their families. No thanks to the state of insecurity in our nation which has exposed journalists to harm or even deaths in the line of duty.

    Of course, neither is it debatable that the welfare of journalists affect the quality of their profession, ethical conducts, efficiency and  the credibility of their employers.

    Premium Times Centre For Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), in a publication of August 27, last year by Kinsley Obi, stated that “media issue of poor remuneration, as well as poor welfare, provisions for journalists, has been identified as one of the greatest challenges eating up media industry in Nigeria. The wider ramifications of the problem are that most media organisations also do not pay salaries, as well as benefits like pension, insurance and other statutory requirements like tax remittances”.

    As a result, the terrors of punishment they suffered in the hands of overzealous security officials, political elements and economic forces still hamper them.

    Arguably, that is why we hear of brown envelopes, weak investigative spirit, fake news, hate speech, corporate begging, and so many scandalous cases which have reduced the reliability, competency and relevance of media among its audience. It has also  battered the image of the profession.

    Akabogu, C. E. (2005), in his paper titled: ‘The Ethical journalist and brown envelope syndrome: The way forward’, argued: ‘’Although some journalists will always reject bribe, a greater majority of them do take bribe because they are generally not well paid. This is coupled with a lot of financial problems within and outside their working environment.”

    The inability of the central labour organisation and sectoral unions to strongly confront the challenge has also helped in adding fuel to the wave of explorative and unfair treatments of the journalists. All hands must be on deck to battle unscrupulous employers to save its members and the society upon which the media operates.

    Dapo Olorunyomi, Publisher of Premium Times, said: “One of the major problems of the media house is the business model brought which most media houses are run. Business models based on advertising can no longer work in the country.”

    Olorunyomi, therefore, suggested that media owners must come up with innovative ways to make money based on the platforms they operate to sustain the business and eventually improve the salary structure of their employees.

    Further, he also recommended that “sustaining democracy is largely dependent on an effective media which also largely depends on adequate remuneration”.

    Beyond improved perequisites for journalists, the freedom of press is still under incarceration. There’s the need for the government to understand that promoting good governance and socio-economic development of a nation is hinged on best journalistic practices. This clearly echoes the words of Helen Thomas, who states thus: “We don’t go into journalism to be popular. It is our job to seek the truth and put constant pressure on our leaders until we get answers.”

    The freedom of the press puts journalists in a better position to fulfil their constitutional responsibility of holding government accountable to the people.

    Ralph Akinfeleye, a professor of Mass Communication at the University of Lagos, says of unfettered journalism practice: “The other name for democracy is free journalism and there can’t be sustainable democracy without a free press. The government must understand this for developments to occur.”

    With the coming of democracy, we thought our society will reflect the above truism.  Unfortunately, democracy still appears to a nightmare in Nigeria.

  • History as UNN unveils first alumnus as VC

    Fifty-eight years after its establishment, an  alumnus of the University of Nigeria (UNN) Prof Charles Arizechukwu Igwe has become its Vice-Chancellor (VC).

    Of the 15 VCs the premier university has produced, Igwe is the first ‘made-in-UNN’ product, having obtained his Bachelor’s, Master’s and doctorate degrees from the university.

    Igwe, a professor of Soil Science, was selected as VC by the  Chief Mike Olorunfemi-led governing council, after the  screening of about 70  contenders.

    Last Friday, Igwe delivered his inaugural address to workers and students, vowing to turn his alma mater into a tech-driven institution.

    Igwe said he had spent about four decades in the university, having joined its workforce from the lowest rung of the ladder.

    “I have witnessed some of the finest eras in the history of this citadel of learning. I have also witnessed its difficult times,” Igwe said.

    He said the UNN would be technologically-driven, academically robust and would promote enterprise and entrepreneurship. His strategy, according to him, would be an integrated development model, anchored on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    He said his administration would develop a database of the university’s alumni with the aim of harnessing their goodwill and partnerships to improve funding.

    “We shall ensure sustained infrastructural development and supply through public-private partnership, attend to ongoing and abandoned projects, and enthrone maintenance culture  and environmental cleanliness,” he added

    Igwe, who is from the Faculty of Agriculture, also promised to refocus the university, make it self-sustaining as well as a model for survival to other institutions nationwide.

    Appreciating the research effort of the university, which led to the generation of electricity using organic waste products, Igwe said his administration would harness the potential of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Engineering and the Centre for Energy and Research Development to break new grounds in electricity supply.

    In his goodwill message, the first National President of the University of Nigeria Alumni Association, Prof B. I. C. Ijomah, described Igwe’s emergence as a new dawn for the university and its alumni who had endured years of being ruled by alumni of other universities.

    He expressed confidence that Igwe would restore sanity to the university’s alumni association.

  • ‘Dress code’ signage sparksrow in UDUS

    Students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS) have destroyed one of the two ‘dress code’ signages on the campus.

    The students were expressing their displeasure over management’s interpretations of dress code as expressed in the signages.

    Management unveiled two big signages on the main walkway to the hostels, depicting the institution’s ideal dress code, as well as those outlawed.

    In one of the new signages, tight-exposing trousers are outlawed for female students, and tight jeans for male students. This pictorial triggered  renewed war of words with students seeing the signage as an ‘imposition’ with no recourse to their ethnic backgrounds.

    A few weeks ago, CAMPUSLIFE exclusively reported, how management initiated a dress code that set it on a collision course with the students, who were disappointed when some of them were forced to return home because of their manner of dressing which the authority considered ‘indecent’.

    While the management sees it as a step towards ensuring sanity and morality on campus, students described management’s action as outright breach of their fundamental human rights and a misplaced priority in the face of other pressing challenges.

    “The fact that the school is situated in the North does not mean it is owned by those people. It is a university owned by the Federal Government. Therefore, I see no reasons why the school would impose a particular dress code on students of different cultures, beliefs and background,” says Tosin Olayemi (not real name) a 200-Level student of Accounting.

    Abdullahi Majeed, a 300-level student of Fisheries, also reacted angrily.

    Majeed insisted most students would kick against some of the recommended dress code

    “When I first saw the billboards, I thought the school is actually getting it right until I saw the dresses that were disapproved. No students would ever wear such oversize trousers in this age. How would I look putting on those big Jean trousers?” Abdullah asked rhetorically.

    Read Also: MAPOLY students at the mercy of thieves

    “To avoid these ‘this is subjective or who wear these’ questions, the management should come out clean with the right dress codes”

    But a student, Aminah, whom CAMPIUSLIFE met at one of the signages, implored students to abide by the management directive. He noted that being in the university does not connote total freedom as conceived by many, rather freedom are also meant to be guarded.

    “We are all mature. Let’s abide and move on; dressing indecently does not make girls like you and dressing half naked attracts no guys with pure mindset to you.

    “We all have limited time here. To have a peaceful stay in the university, we should all abide by what the school wanted.

    “The belief that universities offer unlimited freedom is myopic. Remember, certificate is awarded based on learning and character

    “So because I wear jeans and a blouse, does it make me less a student?” asked Cynthia Abel, a 200-Level Political Science undergraduate.”

    She continued: “There are other pressing issues on campus but that won’t be attended to with seriousness. Students are waylaid and had their valuables stolen, no tangible effort was made to book the culprits. Let me just finish my four years and leave this school.”

    Ishaq Abdulmumeen, a 400-Level student of Adult Education, believes that what connotes decency and indecency is at the discretion of the university management. He noted that indecency among students is getting deplorable which without a measure, would degenerate into an uncontrollable menace.

    “We are not the one to tell the management what we want. They are to tell us what they want and we have to adhere in as much as it is to instill morality.

    ‘’Indecent dressing is rampant on campus these days. This is the best time to curtail it else, it would turn to something else”

    Interestingly the Students’ Union has also pitched its tent with the management.

    “Before the signages were erected, we met with the Dean, Students’ Affairs over what actually connotes decency or indecency. We (students) have to realise that UDUS being in a Muslim dominated state does not condone indecency. Sokoto is guided by the tenets of Islamic teachings, therefore, the university is obliged to form her moral codes in accordance with the norms of the host society,” said SU’s secretary-general, Sulaiman Abubakar.

    The pictures there are not subjective. No religion or ethnic groups preach indecency and as the saying goes, “the way you dress, the way you’ll be addressed”, students should comply with the directives”

    “We understand that there are certain stringent measures in the dress codes. We learnt some of the approved dresses do not conform with age that we are. Once we are able to compile the grievances of students on the issues, and there is a need for certain changes or modifications, we would definitely forward it to the management for consideration especially dresses with which students are convenient, but not indecent,” he added.

  • UNIBEN student commits suicide over ‘heartbreak’

    A 300-level student of the Department of Medical Laboratory Science, University of Benin (UNIBEN), Miss Christabel Omoremime Buoro, has committed suicide after a break up with her boyfriend of many years.

    Christabel, aged 21, was discovered on Tuesday evening at her hostel flat at Plot 4 Uwaifo lane, Newton Street, Ekosodin area in Ovia North East local government area.

    Witnesses said the body of Christabell was discovered after she allegedly took some deadly substance to end her life.

    An empty sachet of Klin detergent was found at the spot where she took her life.

    Read Also; FG debunks Ebola rumour in Nigeria

    According to the source, “A small girl of that age will take her life all because of one boy. The policemen that came to evacuate the body were very angry after reading out loud the note she dropped.

    “Thank God that she even dropped a note, if not the roommates would have been in hot soup, because investigation would have started from that point.”

    Two persons were said to have been invited by the police for questioning over contents of the letter.

    In the suicide note, she reportedly stated that she took her life because the guy she loved didn’t love her in return.

    The institution spokesman, Mr. Michael Osasuyi, said the incident did not happen within the school premises.

    Osasuyi said a team has been dispatched to investigate the incident and report back.

    He said the team was yet to submit its report.

  • MAPOLY students at the mercy of thieves

    Petty thieves are on the prowl at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital stealing students’phones, especially during examinations. The students and management are squabbling over the issue. FASILAT OLUWUYI, HNDI MASS COMMUNICATION reports:

    Students of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, have one major problem: stealing of their phones and personal effects.

    They are appealing to the school authority to tackle the problem.

    Cases of stolen items belonging to students have reached an alarming rate, despite the presence of security men on campus. Though stealing appears most prominent across departments during examinations,  checks by CAMPUSLIFE revealed that the thieves have also invaded students’ hostels  in Oluwo and Onikolobo, among others, to perpetrate their atrocities. Absolving their colleagues from the act, the students told CAMPUSLIFE they suspected that the perpetrators were outsiders who operated with the connivance of some security officials.

     

    Background

    During examinations, students are barred from taking their handsets, bags and other belongings into the exam halls. This leaves them with no other option than to drop their belongings outside the halls. However, many students discovered that after their exams, their phones, cash or their entire luggage had disappeared.

    Also, students who take their phones to school to charge during lecture hours fall victim.

    But the management said it was not aware of the development as the victims did not  file any complaint. It blamed the students for being careless, saying their smarter colleagues who finished exams earlier than them, might have been responsible for the thefts.

    Also Read: Man arraigned for stealing MAPOLY students’ phones

     

    Checks by CAMPUSLIFE showed that though the management has severally warned students against bringing phones to exam halls, many ignore them. 

    Victims react

    A victim, Mistura Gbenle, an HND 2 student of Mass Communication, said: “During our last exam, we were in joyous mood and most of us decided to take our phones to school to take pictures for great memories.

    “I don’t take my phone to school during exams, unfortunately on that fateful day, I had to because my friends too decided to come with theirs.

    “While we were about entering the hall, my friends and I initially kept our phones in our pocket, but the fear of being caught with phones during exam set in and we decided to keep them in a bag.

    “The paper lasted three hours. I finished first and stepped out, only to see the bag on the floor with the two phones missing.

    “We even put the phones beneath the bag and wrapped some clothes around it to make them more secure. We were so devastated that day, but we couldn’t even report to the school authorities.’’

    Another victim, Funmilayo Avose, an HND2 Microbiology undergraduate, recounted how she also lost her personal effects during exams.

    “I couldn’t believe my eyes. I kept searching as if they were needles,” a bewildered Avose told CAMPUSLIFE.

    “I think the school management should allocate security officials in every examination hall to secure our belongings,” she added.

    Abdulqudus Ogundapo, also an HND2 Accounting student, said it had become a recurring decimal that once a particular paper was over, students would be anxious to examine their luggage to know if their personal effects were missing or not.

    “My phone was stolen outside the school premises, “ Ogundapo recounted.

    He continued: “I usually advise my friends not to take their phones and bags to exams because I’m aware that some people don’t go near the halls to write exams, but to steal,” he said.

    Oluwafunmilola Sopeju, an HND2 Pharmaceutical Technology student, recalled how, after her exam, she lost a bag containing four phones and two ATM cards.

    “After searching the premises thoroughly, we later saw the bag, but everything inside it, including the phones and ATM cards, had disappeared.”

    Similarly, Ayomikun Falegbe, an HND2 Pharmaceutical Technology undergraduate, narrated how he gave her phone to a course mate for keep, only to find out later that the bag housing his gadget and that of his colleague’s phone and ATM card, had disappeared.

    “On getting to the bank to complain about the lost ATM card, we discovered that all my” money in the account had been withdrawn, Falegbe said.

    Emmanuel Oladokun, an HND2 student of Business Administration, also shared his encounter. “After I finished my exam, I came outside the hall to pick my bag. I searched everywhere, but I couldn’t find it. I also called the security officials and asked my friends whom I thought were playing pranks on me.

    “Immediately my friends said they were not responsible, I rushed to other halls close by to check for it.

    “During the process, my friend and I walked past one of our lecturers, who asked if I had informed the school security and I said yes. He (lecturer) then advised us to write a letter of missing property. Rather than do that, I quickly rushed down to the bank. There, I discovered that they had already started manipulating my account. I just asked them to block it immediately. Unluckily for me, they had withdrawn N70,000 and N20,000 with two ATM cards  that I use for my two accounts.

    “I felt so bad because the money wasn’t mine. I went through a lot during the period and it was very challenging for me because I had to return the money that was stolen from my account, as the owner wasn’t ready to tolerate any excuses.”

     

    Students’ Union reacts

     

    The Students’ Union President-elect, Samson Omoniyi Idowu, said the union was aware of the ugly trend.

    Speaking through his Public Relations Officer, Johnson Johnson, Idowu said SU would look into the issues as soon as the new executive was inaugurated.

    “The issues of phone theft and bags getting missing during exams have been something that I’m aware of, but I cannot speak on the measures put in place by the past administration.

    “But during the last academic session, we tried as much as possible to sensitise students that they are the number one security of themselves.

    “You are the first person to secure yourself before anybody can secure your property or your life. So, as much as possible, we always advise them not to come with their phones and their bags; anything that is important to them should be kept at home.

    “Even the school constitution and students’ handbook stated that bags should not be brought to exam halls likewise mobile phones, as possession of phones in examination halls amount to malpractice.

    “Also, as much as we have it in a sane society, we cannot have security men coming into the exam halls because of the nature of human beings. We cannot afford to create tension for the students; that is why security guards will not be available in the exam halls, but within the vicinity of the halls where students will hardly notice them.”

     

    Management reacts

    Luke Adelaja of the Directorate of Student Affairs said the school was not aware of most of the incidents.

    “All these things you’re telling me is not in our record. Though from the school security reports, we had some cases of phones and bags being stolen,” Adelaja told CAMPUSLIFE.

    “Such things have never been reported in our office. We are not aware of it.”

    The school’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Yemi Ajibola, corroborated Adelaja.

    “I am not even aware of any stolen phones,” Ajibola said.

    “Let’s assume a matter has been reported to the police, and the culprit turns out not to be our student; and the case wasn’t reported to the school authority, then we have nothing to say about it.

    “I remember a lady brought such a case in which her phone was stolen and some amount of money also withdrawn from her account. She was asked to put down her name and write a statement. We also told her that she should go to the bank to check. She came back to this office with proof of the face of the person that withdrew the money.

    “We are yet to see the lady (victim) return. We tried all we could to help her at that time,” he added.

    The Chief Security Officer (CSO) of MAPOLY, Mr Adekunle Adekoya, also lamented the problem of phone theft in the institution.

    Adekoya said during examination, the greatest challenge of the security unit was how to prevent students’phones and bags from being stolen.

    However, he said the unit was not closing its eyes to the matter.

    “Bags and phones are not allowed into exam hall while students are asked to keep their bags outside as a result of increase in phone theft,” Adekoya said.

    He continued: “Notwithstanding, we have been working relentlessly to bring this malady to the barest minimum.

    “So far, so good. This trend has been drastically reduced, but I want to implore the students to also assist us by not bringing their phones and bags when coming to examination halls.

    “It is entrenched in the exam pass. It is not advisable because bags and phones are not allowed in exam hall to make our job easier.

    “The truth is, those stealing phones are not ghost. They are either your classmates or friends who might have written the exams and come out earlier.

    “Such a thief will not bring a bag (to exam hall), but will just randomly pick somebody’s bag that looks attractive. Once exam is over, the real owner will start looking for the bag and some people will say, ‘that bag looks like my bag’.

    “As security, we also find it rather difficult to identify the culprits because by the school’s rule, we are not allowed into the exam hall, but rather a few metres away.”

  • ‘We are living the CU mandate’

    In October 2002, Covenant University (CU) in Ota, Ogun State, admitted its pioneer students. During its 10th anniversary, the institution conceived the ‘Vision 10:2022, a 10-year vision, which will catapult it to be among the 10 best universities by 2022. Three years to the target year, the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Aaron Atayero, is upbeat that the vision is on course. In this interview with ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA, he says the institution’s meteoric rise in nearly 20 years of its existence is a testimony in that direction.

    FOUR mandate to be one of the 10 outstanding universities in the world is barely three years away. To what extent are you close to this mandate?

    Vision 10:2022 is a prophetic mandate with the thrust of having Covenant University listed among the top 10 universities in the world. Sequel to this mandate, the university subscribed to the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Ranking, which is the most prestigious ranking body of universities globally. At present, CU has made her debut into the World University Ranking, entering the ranking at the 601-800 bracket, which adjudges us as the best university in Nigeria and West Africa. By this development, Covenant is now among the top three per cent (97th percentile) of over 26,000 universities in the world. Again, we entered the the Emerging Economies University Ranking in 2019, ranked 151 out of the 442 universities in the rankings. Still, in this year’s subject rankings, Covenant ranked 501-600 in Engineering and Technology in addition to being ranked 500+ in Business and Economics. Besides, in  the ranking of African Universities, Covenant is ranked among the top 10 on the continent at -6. Moreover, the university was ranked 301+ in the maiden edition of the University Impact Rankings. By this ranking, Covenant is now in the elite group of Top 1.2percent of universities globally. In all, Covenant is ranked in five of the rankings.

    How many inaugural lectures has CU churned out since it began its academic sojourn? How many have been delivered this year and how many are we expecting before the year runs out?

    Covenant made its entry into the higher education sphere in October 2002. The first inaugural lecture of the university took place in March 2011. So far, we have had 20 inaugural lectures. The 20th, which was the third this year, took place in April. 1n 2019, we have had three inaugural lectures. Four others have been scheduled to hold before the end of the year.

    READ ALSO: Covenant Varsity to represent Nigeria at global competition

    In terms of investment, does CU have a yearly budget, considering that resources are immediately deployed into any initiative that aligns with the university’s vision?

    Covenant is a vision-birthed university with a divine mandate to raise a new generation of leaders. In other words, there is a prophetic dimension to the operations of Covenant University being directed by the Chancellor, Dr. David Oyedepo, as instructed by God, who is the founder and funder of the university. This is why resources for any initiative of the university are immediately available, as these initiatives are directed by God. In the words of the Chancellor, “we don’t do anything until it is commanded.” Vision 10:2022 is a prophetic mandate from God to the chancellor. That is why suddenly Covenant is among the top 1.2percent elite universities in the world within a space 16 years of its founding. Nevertheless, like any responsible and well-managed organisation, the university has yearly budgets for its operations.

    In 2017, CU signed up with Elsevier to track her achievements in terms of research, publications, and citations. To what level has this initiative achieved the said monitoring?

    Vision 10:2022 is a 10-year mandate and we need to monitor our progress in terms of research, publications and citations which constitute part of the ranking parameters of the World Universities Ranking. By so doing, we would be able to reinvent our strategies towards achieving the vision. Since the vision was unveiled on October 21, 2012 at CU’s 10th anniversary, the research output of Covenant in international peer reviewed outlets has experienced a whooping 906.36percent increase.

    Let us talk about enrolment in universities. It is a fact that many private universities nationwide are still shopping for students for admission. What is the scenario like in CU?

    Covenant has certain uniqueness that endears the university to prospective candidates. Our programmes are highly subscribed  and competitive, so much so that we are not able to accommodate all applicants. Covenant is blessed with a dynamic Chancellor and Chairman of the Board of Regents in the person of Dr. David Oyedepo who provides focused strategic leadership to the university together with members of the Board. We also have a crop of committed faculty and staff who have imbibed the seven core values of the university. Besides, our campus is serene, safe, secure, pleasant, and empowering  Information and Communication Technology(ICT)-driven, teaching and learning environment. We have robust international linkages with top-ranked global institutions. Our pedagogy is focused on graduating job creators rather than employment seekers.

    In terms of scholarship, to what extent are your students involved in innovative research?

    Innovative research is one of our focus as a university. In line with this drive, we have established several research clusters to undertake collaborative research in different fields. Our students are actively engaged in research activities of these clusters. Several of our final year projects in the fields of Engineering and Computer Science for example, through our Hebron startup lab, are being developed into high value startups. Moreover, our students’ involvement in innovative research have seen   high value startups, such as PiggyVest, ThriveAgric, KoraPay, PayStack, Wilson Lemonade and more than 100 others evolved from Covenant within these few years.

    What is the university doing to further encourage staff/student exchange? We observe that except researchers, we do not often see international students in CU. Is our perception wrong?

    Covenant University has increased its international institutional academic collaborations by more than 500percent in the last two years. The scope of these partnerships include, but limited to the exchange of academic employees for teaching, student exchange, joint research and credit recognition. A few instances on recent student and staff mobility may suffice as evidence of these dramatic increases and collaborations.

    Four Covenant University students of Engineering are interning with Centrale Nantes, one of France top four engineering universities. Several postgraduate students are executing a portion of their research at another partner institution- University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Another partner, Sciences Po, an Ivy League university in International Relations, will be hosting six of Covenant University’s students studying International Relations for three months, next semester, while few of their students will join us at Covenant. Covenant is also expecting several students from Centrale Nantes, Mauritius campus in the next session.  Covenant University has equally in the last one year hosted almost 12 research interns from Azerbaijan, Mexico, Austria, Denmark, and Slovenia. Some of them include Clemens Rainer, Lucy Emireth Uranga Leyva, Natali Gareca, Ieva Miceikaite and Javad Rustamov. Another set of 10 more of these research interns have applied to utilise three academic months at Covenant in the next academic session.

    Still on staff  mobility this semester, 28 international scholars from reputable institutions like Cambridge University, UK; Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands; LUISS, Italy; University of Pittsburgh Bradford, USA; Howard University, USA,  University of Johannesburg; and the University of Cape Town both in South Africa;  University of Ghana, Ghana; Seoul National University, South Korea; Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing (JAAS) China; and more have joined Covenant University as international visiting scholars. Eleven of these international visiting scholars were on campus this semester to teach both undergraduate and postgraduate students. The remaining 17 will be on campus next semester to teach and engage in possible research collaborations with members of faculty in receiving departments.

    It may be no gainsaying that most of our senior faculty members also collaborate with international partners as either team leaders or co-researchers on diverse globally recognised and funded research projects.

    Moreover, you may be wrong about not seeing international students on our campus. International students are in multiples of 10 on our campus. These students are from different countries, including Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, UK, United States, UAE, and Australia. Nonetheless, we anticipate over 250+ international students on campus in the next session. These are the numbers of foreigners who have applied to join Covenant University as both PG and undergraduate students. Two European scholarship-awarding organisations (Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Scholarship and DAAD) have also reached out to Covenant University to serve as a host to Non-Nigerian students who emerge as beneficiaries of their scholarships.

    Finally, Covenant University has flagged her International Excellence Scholarship award. The scholarship is open for academically excellent Non-Nigerians who want to pursue a Post Graduate program at Covenant. So far, more than 50 persons from different parts of the world have applied to be admitted.

    As successful as CU is in Nigeria and beyond, we guess it is about time the university started programme in Law and Medicine. What are still delaying these programmes?

    As I earlier mentioned, Covenant is vision-driven, we do not undertake an initiative except it is divinely directed.

    Your key mandate is to restore the dignity of the Blackman. To what degree has the university been fulfilling this mandate within the black continent?

    Our mandate to restore the dignity of the Blackman is predicated on our vision of raising a new generation of leaders imbued with Godly character, noting that at the root of the challenges the continent is faced with is leadership. In line with our vision, we have established a curriculum and quality assurance processes that ensure that we turn out total graduates who are mentally resourceful, intellectually reinforced, enterprisingly self-dependent, futuristically visionary, and responsibility sensitive to the changes demanded for the leadership role or dominion nature they are made for.

    Moreover, feedbacks from our alumni base for those in employment and in self-employment within and outside Nigeria, shows that they are demonstrating responsible leadership in their respective engagements and in the process restoring the dignity of the Blackman.

  • Certificate blues

    In a company I once worked, a lady with a degree in Actuarial Science discovered that she earned the same salary with a far junior employee who did not complete secondary school. As a result, she resigned her employment. In justifying his actions, the chief executive of the company said he is more interested about who “gets the job done” and not about paper qualification. This was close to 15 years ago.

    A few weeks ago, some key players in Silicon Valley indicated that they would no longer emphasis degrees but would be more interested in talents and skills. As the world shrinks due to globalisation, new and complex challenges are emerging rapidly; 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 yearly, 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 can hardly express himself, either in writing or orally? Our tertiary education system – more than ever – has an onerous task of looking beyond the mere award of certificates to ensuring they 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 degree they are acquiring will lead them after school other than the porous hope that they will get some job and start a career 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 new “industry” of motivational speakers and “life” coaches has developed with a very ripe market of “buyers” for these services in the half-baked, poorly trained and ill-exposed products of our educational system. Don’t get me wrong. This is not to imply that these workshops and conferences are not necessary, they 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 society and leadership crises on almost all fronts are pointers 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 refocus on the imperative of applying 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 translates 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. 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.

    Since our lopsided educational policies refuse to take a firm stand, ‘success literatures’ have taken over the book stands and libraries as a testament to the widespread subordination of intellectual rigour of hard work and diligence to riches at any cost. These ‘success-teaching’ entrepreneurs have created a burgeoning industry out of the lacuna 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 only passing his Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). 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.

    Read Also: ‘FG to use certificated skill acquisition to fight unemployment’

    It is very easy to find graduates who know next to nothing in 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 are 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 potential in every learner, leading them to acquire the much needed skills to become a source of value addition to life and society.

    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. Yes, the government has a huge role to play by giving direction through well thought out policies, but that in itself cannot be the whole truth. The civil society too has a huge role to play as well.

    Given the role of education in human societies, Nigeria’s future remains very bleak. I say this 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 problematic 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 defines 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.

  • Who vandalised Osun Poly’s Health Centre?

    Who vandalised the Osun Polytechnic Health Centre at Iree in Boripe Local Government Area of Osun State? The school is accusing the students, who strongly deny the allegation. But the students are blaming the centre for the death of their colleague in the facility, ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMLA and LAWAL SODIQUE OLAYINKA report:

    The sudden death of Shehu Aminu, in Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, is generating heat. The school and students are bandying words over the incident.

    A week ago, the institution’s medical centre was vandalised in the wake of Aminu’s death. A worker, who asked not to be named, said management spent additional N10 million to acquire more facilities for the centre.

    Until his death, Aminu was a Higher National Diploma (HND) student of the Department of Food Science and Technology. The deceased reportedly slumped in the examination hall.

    The management and students are giving conflicting accounts of his  death.  The Students’ Union (SU) has absolved its members of  vandalising the centre as alleged by the management. Its President, Comrade Bolaji Olaniyi Ezekiel told CAMPUSLIFE that some hoodlums took advantage of the peaceful protest organised by the students to do the havoc.

    Although the management said it started the Tertiary Institutions Students Health Insurance Programme (TISHIP) in 2007 and that students have been paying the mandatory N2,000 yearly, in accordance with the guidelines on TISHIP implementation,  checks by CAMPUSLIFE showed that the school also imposed sundry fees, such as the compulsory N1,000 medical examination fee, as well as ‘T-Shape Fee (the school’s general medical fee) of N2,000 each year making a total of N5,000 medical fees per session.

    CAMPUSLIFE findings further revealed that while students are angry over the outrageous medical fee, which they said is not commensurate with services rendered, they put the blame at the doorstep of the SU for instigating a protest at a time tempers were high and exam was just two days to wrap up.

    Students who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE revealed the undercurrents between the leadership of the SU and the led. They blamed the students’ representatives for not being calculative. According to them, the Departments of Food Science and Technology, where Aminu was once a student, is one of the notorious department in OSPOLY.  Besides, the department, CAMPUSLIFE learned, has been in a running battle with Olaniyi-led SU for his administration’s failure to prevent the management of OSPOLY from slamming sundry charges on students in the name of medical fee. So when Olaniyi chose the option of a protest, after Aminu’s death, his adversaries saw an opportunity to get back at him by hijacking the protest and turning everything upside down.

    As at the time of this report, the management of the institution is still  the loss at the facility, which a source in the management unofficially put at about N150 million.

    There are also arguments about the exact venue where Shehu died. While the management claimed that Shehu died when he was being rushed from the school clinic to another hospital; students claimed that he was already dead at the school Medical Centre due to negligence of the health officials on duty.

    When CAMPUSLIFE visited the school at the weekend to assess the situation, the Medical Centre was in a sorry state. Aside the wreck, which the facility has become, there were also broken windows, doors and vandalised equipment. Littering the floor were rumpled old and new files used for keeping patients’ records. There were also broken doors, torn or punctured roofs and empty wardrobes. Smoke was yet coming out from the torched building, which obviously was in complete ruins. It would require a comprehensive rehabilitation to get it back to its former state

    Checks by CAMPUSLIFE revealed that the attack on the medical facility might have come as a result of bottled up emotions trailing series of students’ complaints that have remained unresolved. Students, who felt bad about the loss of their colleague, are accusing the school’s health officials of their indifference attitude to patients, an allegation the management has denied.

    Students’ complaints, it was discovered, ranged from wrong diagnoses and prescriptions.  This is in addition to the fact that most times, students buy drugs at pharmaceutical stores outside the campus as a result of non availability of drugs at the school clinic.

     

    Students are culpable, management insists

    But the school’s management  insisted that workers at the clinic did their best to save the deceased when he was rushed to the clinic.

    Spokesperson of the institution, Mr Tope Abiola, told CAMPUSLIFE that workers at the health centre did their best when the deceased was brought into the clinic.

    Abiola, who spoke with CAMPUSLIFE, recounted that Aminu was already at the point of death upon his arrival at the clinic. “It was unfortunate that he collapsed in the examination hall because he was exhausted, possibly because of the ongoing Ramadan fasting at the time, which might have reduced the level of glucose in his system,” Abiola said.

    He continued:“He was later referred to another hospital, but unfortunately, he gave up the ghost on the way.

    Abiola said aggrieved students, who live off campus, stormed the school, armed with dangerous weapons the following day.

    “His death later caused pandemonium in the town. Students trooped out as early as 6:00 a.m. the following day, brandishing dangerous weapons, and singing war songs round the town. This suddenly made the inhabitants of the town to run for cover.

    “By 7:00 a.m. the irate students, in their thousands, marched to the campus to perpetrate the dastardly act. They sacked the security of the school and stormed the newly renovated Health Centre stocked with drugs and state-of-the-art equipment, carting away some of the medical equipment.

     

    Students: we’re not

    The Students’ Union leader, Comrade Bolaji Olaniyi Ezekiel, popularly known as “HOPE”, blamed the school clinic for failing to attend to the victim promptly.

    Ezekiel told CAMPUSLIFE that although a peaceful protest was organised in front of the school gate to express their grievances, he was not aware how some miscreants invaded the school from the rear and attacked the Health Centre.

    “You would recall that on Friday May 31, Shehu Aminu, a student of Applied Chemistry HND1 fainted after writing his examination at a PLT2 Hall within the campus. Aminu was rushed to the school’s medical centre at about 4:45pm. To our surprise, we were informed that the medical centre had closed for the day and so the victim could not be attended to. However, he was later rushed to a nearby hospital on a motorcycle, but gave up the ghost before they got to the hospital.”

    “The Students’ Union immediately convened a peaceful protest to express displeasure over the situation. A part of our strategy was ensuring that security personnel were on ground. In spite of this effort, some individuals somehow still gained entrance through the many routes leading to the campus to perpetrate this nefarious and destructive acts.

    “While I was addressing the students outside the main gate on the need for a 24-hour medical service delivery and justice for Aminu, some group had led another to destroy the medical centre without the consent of the congress due to the lack of perimeter fence in the institution.

    “We wish to dissociate ourselves from the destructive actions exhibited by this uncouth, uncivilised and violent group of people. Permit me to state clearly that our demands were just for the Institution to operate another medical centre outside town that will commence operation from 4:00pm.”

    Similarly, the speaker of the Students’ Representative Council, Comrade Oyelakin Adedapo Sunday, condemned the destruction of public property. Nonetheless, he expressed regrets that the otherwise peaceful protest got out of hand.

     

    NANS factions clash

    Two factions of the  National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Osun State chapter, have equally waded into the matter, albeit with conflicting stances.

    While a faction led by Comrade Abdulmojeed Oladimeji Oyeniyi, condoled with the institution and condemned the students’ actions, the other faction led by Comrade Abidoye Omololu, a.k.a Castro, blamed the management and urged the police to carry out thorough investigation in order to fish out the perpetrators.

    “Following series of reports over this ugly scenario, our leadership has received both truth and fallacies of what transpired before and after the death of Aminu. However, it is imperative to note without any fear or favour that ‘an eye for an eye’ will only make the whole world go blind. We should also state that the era of aluta with gangsterism, hooliganism, and so on, is gone and this is the era where diplomacy, sincerity, and maturity should be embraced,” noted Oyeniyi.

    He continued: “Nigerian students are known as custodians of justice, but our zeal to get justice as and when due must be embedded in a spirit of patriotism, diplomacy, maturity and sincerity, without dragging ourselves in the mud.

    “Hence, I’m urging concerned Nigerian students to sheath swords and embrace peaceful dialogue at a crucial point like this, in order to avert a reoccurrence because we can never shy away from the fact that two wrongs can never make a right.”

    Nonetheless, Omololu’s countered Oyeniyi’s position, blaming the management on the shoddy manner it handled Aminu’s case. Omololu also said Oyeniyi lacks official capacity to speak on the matter.

    “As part of our campaign against indiscipline and hooliganism, we again call on Osun State Police  Command to, as a matter of responsibility, bring the perpetrators to book. More so, innocent students should not be punished.

    “However, the inability of the health workers to forestall Aminu’s death is nothing but a clearer evidence of extortion in the name of medical fee by the school. Or how do we interpret the scenario of a rejected patient where the health assistant meant to provide first aide at 4:00pm maintained closure for the day?

    “We call on the school management to, as a matter of necessity, investigate the medical staff on duty whose negligence we believe, orchestrated the ugly incidents, and befitting punishment should be meted out on them.”

    Management counts loss

    “This type of protest has never happened in the institution since its creation about 27 years ago. It is barbaric for students to perpetrate this type of evil. You all can see can see how they (students) looted the Health Centre, carted away items, vandalised the building and set ablaze facilities they could not carry,“ Abiola continued while counting the loss.

    “All files and records here in the centre were destroyed. How can you destroy your personal property? Those things the polytechnic use for their treatment are destroyed. This shows that the future of the country is bleak, if students that are being trained as leaders of tomorrow could resort to this type of odious activity. I am afraid of the future.”

    Abiola said the impressions that the clinic lacked personnel, drugs and equipment, are meant to tarnish the management and school’s reputation.

    Abiola said the institution began the Tertiary Institutions’ Social Health Insurance Programme (TISHIP) in 2017 and in accordance with the guidelines on its implementation, students are required to pay a fee of N2,000.00 which entitled them to free medical services at both the primary and secondary levels.

    According to Abiola, the school appointed a Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO), which  has been footing the bills of students that require secondary medical care in line with TISHIP policy.

    “To complement the primary care being provided by the Health Centre, a service agreement was reached with Labab Hospital, Inisha and Osogbo, for the provision of primary healthcare in emergency cases, which may occur after the close of work in the institution since we are non-residential,” he added.

     

    Conflicting tales

    Other students, who spoke with   CAMPUSLIFE, either chose not to mention their names or used only their first name for fear of victimisation.

    One of them, Olaposi Samuel (not real name), an HND 2 undergraduate of Mass Communication, condemned the vandalism by aggrieved students. “I am not also pleased at all. The students should have engaged in a peaceful protest and demanded for 24-hour working medical centre instead of this ugly action. Yet, the SUG president, who called for the protest, is to be blamed as well because he should not have called for the protest at such critical moment.

    Another student, who introduced himself as Oluwasegunfunmi, a Higher National Diploma 2 of Science Laboratory Technology (SLT), also blamed the student’s action, he, however, added that they should not be totally held culpable.

    “Such things are bound to happen in a school where management do not reckon with the yearnings of the students. I hope the school management has learnt some lessons from this horrible incident,” said Oluwasegunfunmi.

    “This is simply a step taken too far,” noted Ayobami, also a National Diploma Food Science and Technology undergraduate.

    “Shehu Aminu’s death is really painful and a great loss to us, but two wrongs cannot make a right. Now students would be charged to pay for damages and this may possibly lead to another trouble. May God console the family of the deceased,” Ayobami added.

    But another student justified the students’ action.  Lukman, a National Diploma student of Computer Science said: “What is the essence of a non-functioning medical centre that gives paracetamol only as drugs for all ailments? The medical personnel are harsh. They treat patients with disgust and complain a lot. Also, the troubles students go through while undergoing the compulsory  medical examination ahead of registration is too much.”

  • Experts urge students to embrace entrepreneurship

    Students have been urged to embrace entrepreneurship as it is the only path a country desirous of economic development can tread. They are equally challenged to think big, regardless of the economic situation or their lean start up capital.

    These, among others, were business tips given to Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) students, organised by LIFE AFTER SCHOOL INITIATIVE and hosted by LASPOTECH Students’ Union (SU).

    With the theme: “Purpose-driven generation”, the programme held at the Ikorodu campus of the institution. In attendance were a number of budding entrepreneurs to inspire  the students, connect them with fellow entrepreneurs, and provide them with start-ups  to attain their desires.

    Head Marketing and Communication at Sidmach Technologies, Lanre Basamta, said the biggest problem with start-ups is having small dreams.

    Basanta, who spoke on: “Entrepreneurial brand and communication”, noted that if only the students have the courage to push their dreams, the sky would then be their limit.

    He described entrepreneurship as the hope of Nigeria, adding that it is also the quickest road to improve the economy. He also pleaded with the government to create policies that could help expand entrepreneurship.

    Basanta urged the students to make themselves a brand, take calculative decisions, take time off and think on what to do and refine their skills. He also asked them to create values in their minds as well as understand the capacity to provide the needs of the people.

    “SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) are the hope of the global economy. There have been years of acculturation where the only thing we think about is jobs, which are no longer available. Therefore, what is going to change our great nation today is entrepreneurship. It is not something desirable or something the government should talk about, but something that should be intentional as a country.

    “Unlike 10 years ago, the environment is a whole lot different now when we talk of entrepreneurship. There are lots of funding out there for start-ups, as well as ideas. As start-ups, you should be able to have a wonderful idea. Beyond that is to have a Business Plan, and then you can begin to access fund from the bank. We have the Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture, among others that can help you with funding,” he said.

    Another speaker, Adeniji Kayode, said youths of nowadays have lots of opportunities they are not taking advantage of.

    Adeniji, a lawyer, said youths for instance, are not maximising the business mileage offered by the social media.He, therefore, implored students to be creative, improve on skills they acquired as undergraduates, and learn the positive side of social media.

    Nollywood actor, Adeniyi Johnson, reiterated the need to be educated before joining the movie industry. He also advised students to learn outside their field of study.

    “For you to succeed after school, you need to be more creative because today, jobs are not forthcoming. Most of the successful people we know now are not doing things they studied in school. Whatever vocation you could lay your hands on, don’t stop learning it. Whatever you learn will definitely be useful to you.”

    READ ALSO: N250m BoI grant for UNILAG entrepreneurship scheme

    “Your education will always stand you out no matter what. I am now doing the business part of my profession. Have a passion for what you do, don’t look for money first, be creative and prayerful. If you come into the movie industry for fame and for people to take selfie with you, you will fade away,” he warned.

    A digital marketer and a social media influencer, Pamilerin Adegoke, also said consistency made him different among his peers.

    Adegoke advised the students to cultivate the habit of reading.

    Like Johnson, Co- Founder of Bike and Blend, Temilade Salami, appealed to students not to make money their priority.

    She also urged them on the need to have a structure for their dream business.

    A comedian, Oluwasegun Ogundipe, popularly known as Lafup, said the ability to create something that connects with his passion was the career decision that helped him succeed.

    Ogundipe urged the students to connect with themselves and “look for your own way of carefully and deliberately choosing your friends because that person that will or might help you realise your dream is here”.

    Chief Executive Officer, Moreklue Group, Ademola Ajibola, also said the students need to realise their dreams when they are in school.

    A film director and a producer, Titi Jeje, reiterated that education is not a guarantee to success.

    He said: “What you learn here is just the basics, but the practical aspect in the field will determine your success. Never settle for less and always believe in what you do.”