The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • Four win Space Agency’s research grant

    National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), otherwise known as Centre for Basic Space Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, has announced four Nigeria graduates as winners of its Research Grant for African Students in Space Science and Astronomy.

    They are Abbey Godson Fortune – Masters student, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN); Obi Odinaka Patrick- a doctoral student, the Department of Physics and Astronomy, UNN.

    Other are Ojo Taiwo Theophilus, a doctoral student of Atmospheric Science, Department of Physics and Electronics, Rhodes University South Africa and Idowu Temitope Ezekiel – a Ph.D student of Environmental Science, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya.

    The first edition of the grants for the year 2018/2019 was courtesy of Chukwuka Cosmas Ezenma, a United States-based engineer/philanthropist.

    The Centre Director, Dr Boneventure Okere, who announced the four winners of the 2018/2019 at UNN campus office  last week, explained that the grant was initiated to cover tuition support award of N100,000 each to the winners.

    Further, Okere explained that the awardees were selected among many online applicants whose applications were reviewed based on a competitive selection process, adding that four winners eventually emerged on merit.

    Only two of the recipients-Fortune and Patrick were in attendance. The two others had the grant wired into their bank account details.

    Both Fortune and Patrick, who spoke on behalf of other beneficiaries, said it was a privilege for them to have such benefits from a philanthropist. He, therefore, called on scientists, engineers and other professionals to use their knowledge of space, the atmosphere, oceans, climate, energy and research to address the challenges facing the country.

    The ceremony was witnessed by workers, including two committee members of the research grant.

    Prof. Madu from UNN Faculty of Education represented the donor.

     

  • UNIZIK gets new VC

    The Governing Council of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) has appointed Charles Okechukwu Esimone as the sixth vice-chancellor of the institution.

    Esimone is a professor of Biopharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Microbiology.

    According to the institution’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Dr Emmanuel Ojukwu, Esimone beat 36 other professors who contended for the coveted position.

    In the appointment letter signed by the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Council of the university, Esimone’s appointment would run for a single term of five years.

    Esimone hails from Akwaeze in Anaocha Local Government area of Anambra State.

    Born in Tiko, Cameroon, he graduated from St. Joseph’s College Sasse, Cameroon. He also had his first and post graduate degrees in Pharmacy from the University of Nigeria. He is the pioneer Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of UNIZIK. Esimone was the former deputy vice-chancellor (Academic) of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. He got his professorial chair at the age of 37, emerging as the youngest professor in UNIZIK.  He has well over 200 publications. On the list of 28 most published scholars in Nigeria, Prof Esimone ranked 18th.

    He is a member of several professional bodies, including the Global Young Academy and the American Society for Cell Biology. Prof. Esimone is a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Pharmacy. He is happily married and the marriage is blessed with three boys and two girls.

  • SUG president, three others suspended

    The students Representatives Council of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, has suspended its Students’ Union President Awodola Oluwaseun Samuel, aka Unique. Samuel was suspended alongside his three lieutenants: Lasisi Ojo Samuel, Ayeni Damilola and Olugbede Promise. They are the assistant general secretary; welfare director and social director respectively.

    The suspension was contained in a memo by the SRC Speaker, Anifowose Temitope, and three other officers.

    The statement said Oluwaseun and three others got the axe following a resolution by two thirds majority of the members, which had 46 in attendance when they voted at the weekend.

    The memo said the former students’ leaders were fired for contravening FUOYESU’s   constitution bordering on extra budgetary spending and misappropriation of the union’s fund to the tune of N1,808,000 approved for the ‘fresher’s night’ an event usually organised for new student as well as its proceeds.

    The memo read in part: ‘The affected executives are kindly advised to submit all the properties of the union in their possession, including their identity cards to the students’ affairs. They are also to desist from parading themselves as members of the executive committee with immediate effect until the council sits to review her decision.” The memo instructed Oluwaseun’s deputy to act as president.

    “The general secretary should take the sole responsibility of the secretariat while the committee of welfare and social should act in stead of the social and welfare secretaries respectively,” the memo added.

    The clerk to SRC Babatunde Sunday alleged that Oluwaseun and the affected executives committed a lot of impeachable offences varying from extra budgetary spending, misappropriation of funds and gross misconduct all in relation to the spending of 1.8million on Fresher’s night.

    “The executive in their own way have violated the constitution when it comes to finance. In the aspect of disbursement of money,” Sunday argued.

    “Constitutionally it’s not in the position of the president to disburse money, it is the duty of the treasury so that there is going to be a correlation between the treasury and financial secretary. Now that the money is coming from the president I don’t think there will be a tally”

    “They are other impeachable offences the house hasn’t touched. Our investigation is restricted to the 1.8million for now.”

    Similarly, the Speaker, Comrade Temitope validated the suspension. He added that there were 46 members in the house and only 5 voted against the suspension. The suspended executives, he said, have been holding on to some sensitive documents that could aid the investigation, adding that the development irked one of the SRC members who raised a motion for their suspension so that the documents could be released.

    Nonetheless, Oluwaseun described the suspension as mere rumour, saying he is yet to be formally served a letter to that effect.

  • Curbing mediocrity

    I used to think corruption was Nigeria’s biggest problem, but I’m starting to doubt that. Every time I probe into one of the many issues this country is encountering, at the core I find the same phenomenon: the widespread celebration of mediocrity…” This quote was part of an introductory paragraph to an article written four years ago by a Dutch Journalist, Femke van Zeijl. Nigerians in cyberspace later named ‘Funke’ because of her firm grasp of Nigeria’s issues.

    She started a blog that lasted almost a year chronicling her experiences in the country wondering why a nation so blessed has remained so docile without demanding for accountability and the need for things to be done properly.

    I need to point out that she did not write what hasn’t been written by Nigerians over the years. The interest – I believe – is because she was a foreigner. She added – in the article – that corruption per se does not necessarily stand in the way of development. Otherwise a country like Indonesia – number 118 on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index not that far removed from Nigeria’s 139 – would never have made it to the G-20 group of major economies. An even more serious obstacle to development, according to her, is the lack of repercussions for underachievement. “Who in Nigeria is ever held accountable for substandard performance?”

    Not done, it took this foreign journalist just a short period to start wondering why we seem to wallow so much in mediocrity. “Nigeria,” she wrote “is the opposite of a meritocracy: you do not earn by achieving. You get to be who and where you are by knowing the right people. Whether you work in an office, for an enterprise or an NGO, at a construction site or in government, your abilities hardly ever are the reason you got there. Performing well, let alone with excellence, is not a requirement, in fact, it is discouraged. It would be too threatening: showing you’re more intelligent, capable or competent than the ‘oga at the top’ (who, as a rule, is not an overachiever either) is career suicide.”

    If her article had been written by a Nigerian, people would want to know what part of the country the writer is from; or better still, what his political lining is and other such criteria that we use in analysing our situation.

    Weeks ago, I asked some undergraduates who sent me SMS reactions on a story I wrote to send a WhatsApp or email detailing their comments in long hand. Since SMS sometimes limits the expressions I thought it appropriate they be given the opportunity to say what they wanted to say without limiting themselves due to cost or word constraints. I was surprised when they still sent the same coded messages to me on WhatsApp. I sent another SMS repeating the same instruction and back came the same coded messages; I gave up and knew that my fear which dates back a few years may have started manifesting. So it is not out of place to say we may be having another challenge with this generation regarding the mode of communicating in English and communication generally without realising it.

    Since almost everything has become like instant coffee to this generation, processes are truncated and they want things instantly, even something that may take five years to manifest! This attitude has permeated all facets including education where teachers and lectures often complain of the horrible written English of this generation. And of course, this has repercussions in the larger society, especially when it comes to the area of employment. It also breeds a high level of mediocrity which is now a major concern among us; even to our leadership.

    For the average Nigerian youth, the two most difficult hurdles to cross in the quest to become a productive member of the society and a responsible citizen are gaining admission into the university and getting a decent job thereafter. As we are all aware, several factors have been linked to the rising number of the unemployed in the country. From a weak and declining economy, inadequate capacity building, hostile business environment leading to the closure of many companies, funding problems for educational institutions, archaic style of educational institutions and a plethora of other causes the challenges keeps piling up.

    Writing style and skill is critical now as it has always been. When we beam the searchlight on the employability or otherwise of many Nigerian graduates we will see the link. What the dearth of coherent writing skill has done is that it has led employers of labour to keep redefining their recruitment strategies each time they notice new trends from this generation. Most times, employers’ first priority is to engage graduates with strong profession-specific skills and then to consider if they have the potentials to be ‘groomed’ for employment.

    This potential includes graduates’ personal characteristics and attributes, the diversity of their experiences and skills, as well as their understanding of what the workplace actually is. This is fundamental because employers of labour have complained that many youth definition of the workplace is at variance with conventional norm, some just need jobs ‘to get by.’ While skills and others all seem necessary, English language proficiency seems to be an emerging key factor influencing access to skilled employment, but I am afraid that SMS styled ‘incursion’ into English has done more harm than good in this area.

    So what are employers, either directly or in most cases through their management consultants, looking out for? They are likely to be influenced by a range of perceived attributes, including the quality of graduates’ prior training, their level of cultural enclosure, relevant work experience, and demand for courses studied by the applicants in the labour market. But recently, the test for English Language proficiency has become a tool for employers to screen applicants before the interview stage and this is where most of them are ‘weeded’ out.

    Beyond the progressively declining quality of Nigerian graduates, we are also dealing with a very narrow employment space, so the issue is not excess supply but quality. I recollect that it was Prof Charles Soludo, the erstwhile governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who was among the first to raise the alarm about the ‘unemployability’ of many Nigerian graduates. He cannot be farther from the truth. I interact with a number of Nigerian graduates regularly and I find it appalling those that parade themselves as graduates today.

    And one of the illusions some of them have is the fallacious mindset that jobs come automatically with being a graduate, and you don’t need to justify why the employer should hire you. One of such ‘graduates’ called me recently from Abuja and said he wants to be a writer since jobs are not forthcoming. Though his spoken English was something else I still gave him the opportunity to send in his story. When I managed to read through his two page story that took me almost an hour to decipher, it would be a miracle if anyone hires him. How would any employer employ an individual that cannot speak and write simple English in a country where the mode of communication is English?

    Brig.-Gen. Nnamdi Okorie-Affia (retd), a former Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) also raised this concern during his tenure. He said some universities were sending “graduates” to the scheme who could hardly speak English. According to him, the quality of these graduates is so appalling that employers who can’t find any use for them are left with no choice but to send them back to the NYSC.

    There is little doubt that text messaging is part of the “culprit.” The reasons are obvious; it is quick, it does not adhere to the rules of English grammar and it is relatively cheap and more convenient, among others. As a result of this influence, many students find it difficult separating formal from informal English. This does not allow for depth and critical thinking needed for total development. To say the least, it leads to laziness and breeds mediocrity in the long run. We need to go back to the basics to curb it.

  • Students celebrate Cultural Day in colour

    For students of the Benson Idahosa University, celebrating Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage is not only necessary, but a priority. In the last 14 years that the university management has been organising the Cultural Day carnival, no two editions had ever been the same.

    Characterised by colour, glamour and enthusiasm, the 2019 Cultural Day featured dance and drama. As usual, participants were creatively costumed in admirable regalias, which reflected the rich Nigerian culture. It was a beautiful sight to behold as students across many ethnic groups trooped out to showcase the beauty of the Nigerian culture. The celebration, which held in the school‘s main auditorium, also featured a beauty pageant.

    Declaring the event open, the Vice Chancellor, Prof Sam Guobadia, described the event as a remarkable one, saying the essence of the programme was to promote peace among students and help them identify with their culture.

    Guobodia, who was represented by the Dean, School of Post-graduate Studies, Prof Bamidele Sanni, hailed the students for coming together to celebrate their cultures.

    At the event, Nollywood actor Charles Inojie urged the participants not to forget their culture wherever and in whatever they do. This, he said, would help them connect to their roots.

    He praised the management for keeping the event going. Inoje noted that he felt a sense of belonging during the event.

    He said: “I feel as if I were in my village being in the midst of my people. It connects me to my root and makes me feel a sense of belonging.”

    Inoje also praised the students for coming together to promote their culture. He said such event would make them to be conscious of their roots and heritage

    He said the Nigerian cultural heritage would be more elevated if students showed interest in their culture and learnt about others across the country.

    The highlight of the event was the performances by students of traditional dances of some ethnic groups. The audience hailed the revelers as they performed their traditional dance steps to entertain guests.

    The Ijaws emerged winners of the carnival after they put up a sterling performance, which held the crowd spellbound.

  • Eight get COEASU ‘labour-friendly’ awards

    Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu (FCEE) Chapter, has bestowed ‘Distinguished labour-friendly awards’ on eight prominent Nigerians for their contributions towards the development of education in Nigeria. The honours were given during the sixth national conference of the union, which held at the college.

    Those honoured included: the Provosts, Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu, Dr Pauline Ngozi Ikwuegbu; her counterparts from Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze, and Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe, Dr Tessy O. Okoli; and Dr Ifenyinwa E. Osegbo.

    Others were Dr Lawan Bukar, who is FCEE Governing Council Chairman, and Dr Busuyi Mekusi. Bukar was honoured together with two of his council members, Messrs. Anya Udensi, and Aliyu Ibrahim Ibrahim. Also honoured was a former member of Council, FCET Umunze ,Abudu Ibrahim Radda.

    The union branch chairman, Comrade Matthias Onyishi, said the recognition was to appreciate the awardees for their roles in improving education in the country and to encourage other Nigerians to emulate them.

    Oyinshi noted that the theme of the conference: ‘Emerging issues in education in Nigeria: The way forward”, would afford members the opportunity to brainstorm and interact on some issues that may be detrimental to the actualisation of the goals of colleges of education in particular, and education in generally.

    He identified some of the problems bedevilling colleges of education to iclude: “appointment of a non-teacher as the Executive Secretary of its regulatory body, the National Council for Colleges of Education (NCCE); delay in granting full autonomy to colleges of education to run dual mode in teacher education programmes; and non-payment of peculiar academic allowances (PAA) in most colleges; among others.

    In her address, the host Provost Dr Ikwuegbu praised COEASU for choosing the institution for the conference. “I do expect that at the end, a sound and workable communique will be articulated and made available to government, the regulatory bodies and other stakeholders for utilisation and improvement on the existing curricular,” she said.

    A keynote address titled: “Globalisation of Nigeria education: The emerging issues” was presented by Prof Lawrence Okwudili Eya of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike.

    Earlier in a remark, Enugu State Commissioner for Education, Prof Uche Eze, noted that pedagogies in education are fast changing, adding that the standard of teachers produced by teachers’ training institutions in the country is declining.

    “It is obvious that the quality of the product of the teachers training institutions is going down gradually to the extent that parents are complaining about the quality of some teachers in their wards school.

    “If we don’t look at those factors that are affecting our products, before long, all of us will regret it. Knowledge generation and dissemination are central to the promotion of teaching and learning.”

  • Varsity suspends student for insulting VC

    Authorities of the Akwa-Ibom State University has suspended indefinitely a student, Ms. Nkanang Joy Ufot, for calling the Vice-Chancellor ‘foolish’ on the social media.

    Ufot’s suspension was announced in a statement signed by the  Registrar, Mr John E Udo, on May 9.

    A day before she was suspended, Ufot, who is from the Department of Performing Arts, had made a post on Facebook on the increase in cult activities and insecurity on the campus.

    Her post read thus: “AKSU what is happening? A dry cleaners shop was robbed last night along college road….”

    Ufot’s post immediately caught fire, generating chains of reactions.

    Following her initial poser, another Facebook user commented, suggesting a protest.

    “No…. we don’t want to spoil the schools image…. foolish VC,” Ms Nkanang wrote on the social media site, in response to the call for protest.

    But management did not treat Ufot’s response with kid gloves. Less than 24 hours after the post, the management reacted, slamming her with suspension

    “The university has received a report that you, on your Facebook page, described the Vice-Chancellor of Akwa-Ibom State University, Prof. Eno J Ibanga as that”foolish VC” .

    “At the meeting of the principal officers with the Department of Students Affairs, Chief Security Officer, Ag. Head Department of Performing Arts and Student Union held on Monday, May 06, 2019, you admitted same before the officers of the university “

    “In line with the university rules and regulations enshrined in the student information handbook, the vice-chancellor has directed that your studentship should be suspended indefinitely with effect from the date of this letter, for this act of gross misconduct which constitutes a breach of the matriculation oath. This suspension is pending the outcome of investigation by the Students Disciplinary Committee”

    “Also, the Dean of your faculty as well as the Head of Department have been duly informed to ensure strict compliance with this decision. The chief security officer is, by a copy of this letter, directed not to allow you entry into the university campuses during the period of your suspension, unless you are invited by the authorities of the university”

    Management’s reactions

    Speaking with CAMPUSLIFE, Mr Udo confirmed the indefinite suspension, saying the punishment is subject to further investigation and might lead to expulsion or rustication if found guilty.

    “You know what indefinite suspension means, that is if it is a final act of indiscipline it will lead to rustication or expulsion for a given number of semesters or expulsion from the university.”

    “When we say indefinite suspension, it is subject to investigation and recommendation by student disciplinary committee. So, that is pending.”

    All attempt to reach Ms Ufot as at the time of filling this report were futile.

  • Way out of depression among students

    If you attend a school where first class is what they say you can’t attain. If you attend a school where lecturers threaten you with marks. If you attend a school where nothing ever encourages you. If you attend a school where examination is prioritised than the knowledge. If you attend a school where your involvement in extra-curricular activities is set to dent you. If you attend a school where the only encouragement you get is your parent’s pocket money. If you attend a school where lecturers read out notes but can’t practice what they teach. If you are in a school where hardship is first class. If you attend a school where everyone struggles with everything. If you attend a school where lecturers don’t see the good in you. If you attend a school where carryovers and spillovers are the order of the day.”

    If you attend a school where your grades are being moderated. If you attend a school involved in threats than students building. If you attend a school where you keep silent at everything or get your certificate seized. If you attend a school where you appear before panels but was never given the chance to speak. If you attend a school where you feel you aren’t in school. Remember you are in control. They intimidate you to a height of fear, just keep pushing.

    According to the English dictionary, depression is a state of psychotherapy and psychiatry, a period of low morale or unhappiness which can stretch up to several weeks and may include ideation of self-inflicted injury or suicide. Depression can further be defined as a state of sadness, mental, emotional and physical discomfort that leads to undesirable actions.

    There have been several cases of depression reported across the country. A World Bank report in Feb 2018, stated that 22 per cent of Nigerians suffer from chronic depression. On July 29, 2018, Spectator Index published a World Health Organisation research that ranked suicide per 100,000 per country. Nigeria placed fifth with 15,000 in every 100,000 suicides. These figures are worrisome!

    The causes of depression can be tagged to so many factors such as conflict, death or loss of loved ones, illness, and personal problems, to mention but a few.

    Students of tertiary institutions have been a major target of depression lately. There have been different reports coming out from tertiary institutions about students who have succumbed to depression and found different means of ending it, some of which includes taking harmful substance thereby leading to death. Depression is striking undergraduates who are the country’s hope of tomorrow and suicides have been an antidote to this fast rising sickness.

    The tertiary institution is a world of learning and an environment for grooming minds to be prepared emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually among others. This fast rising reports of depression is a threat to the features and competency of our Institutions. The height at which depression among students is been reported on regular basis is extremely dangerous even to the growth of our country. There must be urgent action to reduce it to a minimum now.

    According to a report in OAU KILONSHELE, a campus news outfit in Obafemi Awolowo Univerisity Ile-Ife, two students committed suicide while three suffered mental health challenges in the last three semesters of the institution owing to poor academic performance. On the 19th of last month, a national medium reports that a 100-Level student of Kogi State University committed suicide over “boyfriend” issue. Another worrisome case was reported of a 100-Level undergraduate of the University of Port-Harcourt who last week committed suicide over an “unknown reason”. A lot of similar cases have also been reported from different tertiary institutions nationwide.

    We are left with different questions as to why suicide has become the next treatment for students who are facing hard times in school, whether academically or socially. Truth is, having seen the rise of depression among 21st  century students, the school management and government are yet to raise an eyebrow on this worrisome issue. However, it is pertinent to know that one of the primary duties of the management is to ensure the safety of their students.

    Some variables are risk factors of depression. They are poor learning atmosphere, poor communication between students and management, students’ victimisation, extortion, lack of social activities, unbalanced academic timetable, obnoxious policies by school management. The management decision is binding on all students and such decision has a way of affecting their health

    Some of the factors mentioned above are some evils that flourish in our institution which have resulted in student’s inability to continue with their academic pursuit. To avoid depression, students need to be comfortable. The system needs to be flexible, accommodating and educating. Students need to see reasons why they should continue staying in the system and not seeing it as hellish.

    The government has equally failed in the fight against depression. A vivid example is the Ondo State government that suddenly jerked up tuition fees of tertiary institutions in the state to almost 400 per cent for both Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko and Ondo State University of Technology respectively. Parents who toil day and night to send their wards to school can no longer cope with the insensitive actions of the governments.

    Parents also have a hand in the depression by their wards. The family is a place for seeking strength, confidence and reigniting hopes. Parents should know that the failure of their ward isn’t the end of their academic pursuit. As a parent, the way you handle your child’s performance matters. When a child fails, he’s getting closer to success, he repeats with the knowledge he has garnered and with the encouragement you give him, that child is certainly good to go.

    The National Universities Commission (NUC) and National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) two regulatory bodies for universities and colleges of education respectively, should introduce a motivational course for all students. This is the very important as daily motivations help balance the mind and makes the body energetic to pursue individual goals.

    Equally, management of tertiary Institutions be it state, public or private, should consolidate on their Guidance and Counseling unit and make same easily accessible to students. Professionals should be made to manage these units. Students should be given unfettered access to the unit to lodge complains. A toll free line should also be made available to students. The best way to control depression is to get closer to them. Students are an important asset to the country.

  • KSU tackles indecent dressing

    Some have been embarrassed, while a good number of students of the Kogi State University (KSU), Anyigba, have been and are being arrested daily by security operatives for indecent dressing. Students are divided in their reactions to the management’s resolve to stamp out indecent dressing in the institution. ISRAEL AROGBONLO reports.

    Students and workers of the Kogi State University (KSU) have been directed to dress decently. The directive is from  the management and a task force has been set up to implement the instruction to arrest anyone dressed indecently.

    Irked by the high number of students wearing provocative outfits, especially female students, in the school, the institution has come out with a dress code.

    The information about the dress code was contained in a memo signed by KSU Registrar Dr Abubakar Iduh, and dated April 12.

    The memo which was divided into two categories – ‘outlawed outfits for male students’ and ‘outlawed outfits for female students – aims to impact students positively.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the directive does not exclude workers who have been repeatedly urged to be role models to students.

    Some of the outlawed dressing codes for males include: plaiting of hair and curly outlook; appearing in dirty and tattered jeans; and putting on dark or welder-like glasses. For the females, KSU proscribed short and skimpy dresses; undergarments such as singlet worn publicly; as well as putting on mini or micro skirts or micro-mini skirts or gowns, to mention just a few.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the school management has been having a running battle over offensive dressings by students for sometime, until it decided to take the bull by the horns.

    The Dean of Students Affairs, Prof Sunday Arogba, said: “The management on its part is out to explore the image of the school in positive limelight as it has always been in past years. We want to make KSU to be reckoned with internationally by inculcating this consciousness of decent dressing in their minds.”

    He continued: “To achieve this feat, we have established a task force to punish dress code offenders. As I speak, they are all on the ground to ensure that the students get themselves acquainted with these established laws.”

    The Students’ Union (SU) President, Iko-Ojo Dominic, has called on fellow students to comply with the directive to avoid sanctions.

    Iko-Ojo recounted that the management has a dress code in the Students’ Handbook. The flagrant abuse of the code coupled with the negative image it is giving the university necessitated the management’s re-enforcement of the dress code.

    “These laws are entrenched in the Students’ Handbook and we expected all students should have been familiar with it by now. I think the management is only re-enforcing these as a reminder of what is contained in the handbook,” he said.

    The SU’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Thomas Emmanuel, said: “The reason for this sudden action by management is to guide against the skyrocketed rate of insecurity in the school. Although, the management has been enforcing this, it was in a light way.

    ‘“You would agree with me that over 80 per cent of students in our citadels of learning today are the most difficult set of people to control. That’s the more reason the management is re-enforcing these laws against indecency in the school, as to have decent future leaders,” he added.

    A student from the Department of Economics, who identified himself as Augustine Overcomer is, however, not happy about the directive.

    “What is Kogi State University turning into?” Overcomer asked rhetorically.

    “Students cannot keep hair, wear body-hugs and long rope sanders. To crown it all, you must not read beyond 8pm in the classroom, else you will be embarrassed by school security.  That means the voice of students no longer count here and our unionism is corrupt,” he said.

    Overcomer has an ally in Abuh Julius, a final year Biological Sciences undergraduate, who equally voiced his disapproval at the punishment prescribed for defaulters.

    “ Though it is a welcome idea from the school management, they didn’t inform the students before making arrests. So, it’s bad taking such decision without students’ prior notice,” Julius said with a sign.

    ‘’Personally, I don’t dress badly but I’m saying this for the sake of others,” he added.

    Nevertheless, Aaron Ikani, a 400-Level Mass Communication undergraduate, urged his compatriots to oblige with the directives.

    “Here is a popular saying: ‘The way you dress, that is the way you will be addressed,” said Ikani who is also a presidential aspirant in the school’s forthcoming SU election

    “In my opinion, students are expected to look good all the time. Looking good alone makes you happy and it will speak well of you anywhere you go. Not only in school, but society also frowns on indecent dressing. I would advise my fellow students to look good all the time by following the outlined directives to the letter. When they (management) see no one to arrest, they will stop coming.”

    Edegbo Juliana, a 100-Level Banking and Finance student of KSU, blamed the management for what she said has become ‘incessant harassments’ of students.

    “They are not supposed to arrest us because we’re now mature. And by the way, is it arresting us that will solve the problem of indecent dressing?”

    Meanwhile, two students who were victims of harassment by the school’s task force  operatives expressed their dissatisfaction  the disciplinary actions meted out on them by the management.

    One of them, a 200-Level Public Administration undergraduate who pleaded not to be named, condemned the new order.

    “I don’t know where on earth students are still treated this way for dressing according to what the society dictates. For crying out loud, this is a university environment and no one should be compelled to dress against his or her taste. It is really disheartening to see us treated this way,” said the source.

    One of the security operatives who simply identified himself as BJ justified management’s deployment of its security officials to embarrass erring students.

    He said: “Before now, the management forwarded circulars to various departments to warn the students about its plan against indecent dressing on campus. But, the students, particularly some female folk still put on transparent clothes with no pants to cover their private parts. As a result, the management has re-strategised to bring defaulters to book by giving order to the security arm to get such students arrested. Management is more determined to ensure students maintaining decent lifestyles on campus.”

    One of the lecturers from the Department of Mass Communication, Mallam Onakpa Muhammed, also decried the high rate of indecent dressing in the institution.

    “Indecency comes in different ways,: through dressing, spoken language and general interaction patterns. The most glaring is indecent dressing and it cuts across males and females on campus,” he said.

    Muhammed continued: “The girls mostly believe that it is only when they wear skimpy things to expose their breasts and laps that they belong to the ‘modern world.’

    “There are trousers meant for wild parties that they now wear to attend classes. It’s crazy if you ask me.”

    Muhammed admonished the management to be more creative in its enforcement of the dress code so students could comply with the directives at will and not by compulsion.

    He also said the crusade against indecent dressing must be carried by all.

    “The job should be for every stakeholder! Muhammed argued.

    “Parents, lecturers, Students’ Unions and others must continue to preach against the trend. The various religious groups should treat this with more seriousness. Punitive measures should be put in place. By the time a few are seen to have paid a heavy price for the offence, others will learn to be of good behaviour.”

    Although, management has recommended no punishment for defaulters beyond harassing students or asking them to return home, Muhammed nonetheless feels management should complement the rule with punitive measures.

    “For me, sanctions like suspension for weeks or months, writing letters of condemnation to their parents and so on will be ok,” he submitted.

    Another lecturer from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences who identified himself as Prof Olugbemi said:  “I don’t think any reasonable students in the Faculty (of Agriculture) would dress indecently because we are always known for dressing moderately in the school.”

  • The reading challenge

    During the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) was launched as the administration’s roadmap to a private sector-driven economy. The publicity was heavy and most Nigerians knew about it. So it was shocking when a ministerial nominee couldn’t say what the acronym stands for. The nominee – an economist – said NEEDS meant the difference between human needs and human wants! Expectedly, he wasn’t picked as a minister.

    That screening, and others, tells us in very clear terms that many people in high offices do not read and may be uninformed about happenings around them. Yet they are supposed to be the policy and decision-makers. Some of them confidently pontificate ill-digested concepts they want to impose on the society, mainly ideas already overtaken by current knowledge.

    I read again the late Prof. Pius Adesanmi’s article “A Nigerian, Library and Lawmakers” recently. Adesanmi’s argument is that Nigerian politicians, unlike their counterparts in Canada, do not read. They don’t do research either. Nigerian legislators don’t make use of libraries either for research or for any other purpose. Most even employ aides to read and analyse issues for them. They hardly read the tacky statements issued on their behalf until it becomes controversial. Beyond our politicians, there’s no doubt that the lack of reading has become a national problem.

    There is therefore the urgent need to make conscious efforts to return our citizenry to reading. We must re-ignite interest in the search for knowledge over the race for material acquisitions which is what engages most Nigerians. Those who cannot read should not lead. Those who cannot read, cannot write because there is no knowledge to pass on to others, and no intellectual springboard with which to transmit it. No road to proper and all round knowledge exclude a good reading culture, notwithstanding whether the material is in soft (electronic) or hard copy.

    Today, it is hardly surprising that we have a generation of youths that detests reading; be it newspapers, magazines, novels, or even the textbooks prescribed for their school subjects! Instead, they prefer to spend much of their time browsing irrelevant websites on the internet or watching meaningless films on television. Don’t get me wrong; browsing the internet is very useful if one goes to useful sites. We all know it is however full of distracting and even destructive websites like sites that lure young and fertile minds towards terrorism.

    Why do most people detest reading? Different factors contributed to the decline among Nigerians. Economic factors, for instance, makes it difficult for some to personally buy books while some see books as “irrelevant” in the “rapidly changing world” as someone told me recently. I simply told him to compare the “rapidly changing world” with the past and tell me which was more stable and better. Taking him down memory lane, I revealed that even during the Native Authorities era “reading rooms” were established in local communities to encourage reading, but they’re are now extinct.

    Local government authorities of today fail to recognise the significance of reading rooms and libraries to individual and societal development. All they’re concerned about is how to get their monthly allocations and share it without undertaking projects that has direct bearing on the welfare of the people. Even where public libraries exist, they are stocked with outdated and unattractive reading materials.

    Millions of naira was spent on the National Universities Commission’s (NUC) Virtual Library Project (VLP) launched in 2001; and since we didn’t look in that direction nothing substantial is there to show for the huge sums spent.

    For the records, VLP was launched to bolster the quality of learning and research in Nigerian schools through the e-books that the project aimed to provide. VLP was abandoned soon after it was launched, but in 2012 the NUC injected N500m into the project.

    The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) also has a Book Development Fund while the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has a project to revive reading culture. Both have however not yet made the desired impact though funds are expended every year. Again, do Nigerians care about reading to ask what is happening there? Is it another avenue where “idle” funds are “utilised?”

    Knowledge – as the popular saying goes – is power. Those who are blindly chasing money today – and they are in the majority – would one day discover that those who pursued knowledge through close contact with books would eventually decide what happens in tomorrow’s society.

    Because of our present disdain for knowledge – which books largely imparts – we are gradually losing – some say we have already lost – our sense of critical thinking. Most of us simply swallow hook, line and sinker whatever the government, religious, economic or business leaders say without critically interrogating them. Should we always believe what they say without subjecting same to logical reasoning? Why are we often scared to gun for the best? Why do we celebrate mediocrity? And why are our institutions of higher learning not encouraging critical thinking?

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

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

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

    Francis Bacon, in England, was explicitly concerned with the way we misuse our minds in seeking knowledge. He recognised explicitly that the mind cannot safely be left to its natural tendencies. In his book “The Advancement of Learning,” he argued for the importance of studying the world empirically. He laid the foundation for modern science with his emphasis on the information-gathering processes. He also called attention to the fact that most people, if left to their own devices, develop bad habits of thought (which he called “idols”) that lead them to believe what is false or misleading.

    He called attention to “Idols of the tribe” (the ways our mind naturally tends to trick itself), “Idols of the market-place” (the ways we misuse words), “Idols of the theater” (our tendency to become trapped in conventional systems of thought) and “Idols of the schools” (the problems in thinking when based on blind rules and poor instruction). His book could be considered one of the earliest texts in critical thinking, for his agenda was very much the traditional agenda of critical thinking.

    Moving forward, Parents should play a role by providing relevant reading materials such as story books with fascinating contents to the age and psychological needs of their children. Monitoring the number of hours spent by children watching films on television or playing video games may also create more reading time for children. Universities, schools, National Library of Nigeria as well as the state library boards should all equip their existing libraries with relevant materials that cater for the interest of all categories of readers.

    In communities where libraries do not exist, local government authorities should at least provide a reading room – virtual and real. Societal progress is not possible with our poor reading culture. I encourage every literate Nigerian to take the reading challenge and read at least one book every week.