The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • Lagos may upgrade colleges of education to varsities

    THERE are speculations that the Lagos State government may upgrade the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED) to a “University of Education” any moment from now, as the college prepares for its combined 36th, 37th and 38th joint convocations next week Tuesday.

    This will also apply to its sister institution, Micheal Otedoa College of Primary Education (MOCPED), Noforija Epe, which the government also plans to rename “Micheal Otedola Open Distant Learning University”.

    The paperwork to transform both institutions to universities has already been fine-tuned, remaining only for the Bill to be taken to the Lagos State House of Assembly for further deliberation.

    Workers in both institutions, especially those in AOCOED, have been agitating over the last decade that the state government should upgrade them.

    But the government has maintained silence on the matter, though admitting that the plans have reached an advanced stage.

    In April 2013, the Federal Government announced plans to scrap colleges of education, thereby abolishing NCE, which, according to the National Policy on Education, is the basic requirement for teaching in primary and junior secondary schools.

    The Lagos State government, which is the owner of both AOCOED and MOCPED, latched onto the initiative two years ago. The idea, according to the government, is to upgrade both colleges to boost enrolment and create a space for students desirous of a degree in education.

    When AOCOED celebrated its Golden Jubilee anniversary in 2008, its alumni association seized the opportunity to call for a change of status for the institution.

    Ahead of AOCOED 60th anniversary last year, workers also held a joint news conference, where they appealed to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to make an official pronouncement on the issue.

    The briefing was led by the then Chairman of AOCOED-COEASU Michael Avonsentiyen and Chairman, AOCOED- Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education in Nigeria (SSUCOEN) Wunmi Ombugadu.

    The workers’ leaders noted that AOCOED, which is the oldest institution in Lagos, possesses both physical and intellectual capacities to be changed to a university.

    Chairman of AOCOED-COEASU Comrade Ige Femi said the union has now decided not to jump the gun.

    He said: “We have agitated for this (change of status) in time past. However, from what we have learned, the government is fully prepared for it; but we do not wish to pre-empt them. We know going through a process is more important than mere pronouncement, and we are ready to allow the process to run through. We have been monitoring the flow of information from the Ministry of Justice to the Governing Council and Ministry of Education.”

    Similarly, Public Relation Officer of MOCPED Mr. Damilola Sani told The Nation that workers also threw their weight behind the planned upgrade.

    Nonetheless, Sanni said the entire workers sent a position paper signed by the unions’ leadership suggesting that the college be structured in a manner that would create a platform for both online and traditional students.

    Sanni’s view was again re-echoed by the Chairman of MOCPED- COEASU Comrade Adefuyi Micheal Ayodele.

    Ayodele said: “Last year, we had a congregation where we met with the Governing Council over the same issues. We thereafter went online to investigate some countries in Africa that are operating ODL. In the end, we sent a position paper to the council and government. In the paper, we suggested that instead of ODL, government should allow the college to operates a dual mode, whereby we will have both the ODL platform as well as students physically on campus. The reason is that we have realised that the presence of students on campus has given a boost to the economy of Epe and the college. We would not want that to be jeapardised, if the institution is reversed to only ODL.”

    “We are also aware that the Lagos State has hired a consultant to work on the extant laws of the college.

    “We have our sources in government and I can tell you we will reach out to them this week for an update about the upgrade.

    “Our members too have been improving themselves so that the pronouncement does not catch us off guard. I can tell you that in recent time, over 20 of our members have completed their PhDs and others are still on their programmes.

    Special Adviser on Education Mr. Obafemi Bank-Olemoh was noncommittal.

    “You should not expect me to confirm what you have heard,” Bank-Olemoh told The Nation on phone at the weekend.

    “But I can assure you that government is a continuum. We are working on it. Once we make the announcement, you will hear. Please wait until the announcement.”

    Chairman, House Committee on Education Lanre Ogunyemi also confirmed that the upgrade now enjoys executive approval.

  • Expert seeks assistance for women with mental disorder

    WOMEN are more prone to mental illness and so should be given special attention to avoid the disease, a consultant psychiatrist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Dr Kafayah Ogunsola, has said.

    The youth, she added, are also prone to the disease, as one out of 10 persons between 10 and 30 is said to have been predisposed to emotional or mental disorder.

    Ogunsola canvassed adequate education and corrective measures for  mental health.

    She spoke at a conference tagged: ‘Ummahaat Day’ organised under the aegis of Ummahaat Forum, an organ of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, Lagos State unit.

    Speaking on theme ‘Voice in her silence’, Ogunsola said: “Mental disorders are abnormalities that persist within some certain contexts and women are more prone because of the various positions they occupy in the society; either as wife, mother, sister, mother-in-law, or daughter-in-law.

    She added: “Mental illness often arises from domestic violence, molestation, sexual abuses, divorce, rape, widowhood, loss of loved ones, scarification, bullying and body shaming.

    “Mental health is very critical. Even if you’ve not achieved your goals and potential, you will realise what you can do and be able to make right decisions and meaningful contributions to the society.

    “The needs of a woman alone can lead a woman to depression. Never make joke of anything. Suicide is the most difficult health issue to handle apart from cancer and accident. Adopting a healthy lifestyle may be protective of an emotional disorder, it cannot stand in as treatment, if an emotional illness sets in, especially if it progresses to a certain level of severity. It is, therefore, advisable at this point to seek evidence-based treatment, in the form of psychotherapy, medications or a combination of both. Like other chronic medical illnesses and disorders, early intervention and commitment to long-term follow up is very crucial for a good outcome of mental disorders.”

    The psychiatrist, who noted that conversation around mental health has been on for long, berated the silence of the victims and their inability to seek help, particularly women in their troubled times.

    According to her, there is no generation that has been so pressured as this one, which has caused more pressures for women and make them unable to live up to the expectations of the society.

    Television presenter, Nymat Akashat Zibiri, who gave the keynote address, lamented that a lot of women had been forced to resort to substance abuse to cope with emotional traumas.

    She said: “It is sad that women and teenage girls resort to substance abuse as a way of escaping from various kinds of mental and emotional troubles. Sadly, we don’t entrench Islam; rather, what we entrench is culture. Some women see tramadol and codeine as alternative to alcohol.

    “What we have also realised in recent times is that in some cases, polygamy has become a major avenue for abuses for women. Women rely on drugs to erase bitter experiences from their memory. Unfortunately, these substances never leave their body, but only stay long and attack other organs in the body,” she said.

    She added that when this trend begins to happen, “women will not be able to raise an upright child, children will always stray and crimes will be on the rise, adding: “If you are not mentally and emotionally balanced, you cannot keep a balance family.’’

  • Be determined to succeed, freshers advised

    Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife Prof Eyitope Ogunbodede, has advised new students of the university to make efforts to succeed.

    Ogunbodede spoke at the university’s matriculation held at the Amphitheatre in Oduduwa Hall.

    He congratulated the fresh students, saying that of the 37, 059 students who applied for admission, only 6,650 were lucky.

    Ogunbodede said the institution has been able to produce manpower as well as experts that meet the needs of both the nation and the international community across all fields.

    He appealed to the new students to maintain the standard of knowledge and intellectual excellence the school had been known for globally.

    He also admonished them to face their studies squarely by combining academic excellence with culture in a challenging, competitive and diverse environment.

    Ogunbodede advised them to have role models especially among the lecturers, and seek counsel from the right channels, especially from the Students Affairs unit, as well as the institution’s Health Centre.

    The VC advised them to keep away from bad company who might want to lure them into social vices.

    “The university seriously frowns on all forms of anti-social behaviours that are capable of disrupting the smooth running of its academic calendar. Therefore, we implore you to desist from anti-social displays,” Ogunbodede warned.

    Two of the new students Ayodeji Aduloju, and Ayandokun Tolulope of the departments of Political Science and English respectively, thanked the school authority for making their dream a reality.

    “OAU has been my dream school from the onset. I love OAU and I’ll make sure I make my parents proud and one day make OAU proud too,”  Aduloju said.

  • Journalists, beware of fake news

    It is true that journalism is a highly stressful, demanding and poorly paid profession. So, the sheer extent of the pressures, vicissitudes and other hazards faced by working journalists, writers and social critics, even in Western “democracies” that supposedly value journalism as the fourth estate of the realm, continue to be seen as a shock to many.

    Studies reveal that about 70 per cent of journalists and writers experience one form of intimidation, psychological violence, harassment and other undesired treatment in their careers on a regular basis.

    Worse still, about 35 per cent has, indeed, been subjected to physical violence in which they sustained injuries to their persons. Mahmud Hussein, an Al-Jazeera journalist, is incarcerated in Egypt without trial for over two years. Some, like Jamaal Khassoggi of Saudi Arabia, actually paid the ultimate price with their lives.

    It is worth noting that at the critical center of our value of human rights and democracy; simply put our belief and emphasis of the human manifesto, lays the right and privilege to be provided with, receive, impart and disseminate information. So is the capacity to freely express oneself a prerequisite to the progressive development of nations, individuals and any society. I n the last few decades or so, however, the world has seen an escalation of threats to the rights of freedom of expression, the ability to receive and disseminate information and other such pillars of democratic societies. If not already, believe me, it is coming to your town, village or country very soon!

    Journalists and writers have very important roles to play as important critical voices that help in the freedom to receive and impart information which helps in the sustenance and maintenance of our democratic institutions. They serve as watchdogs; they enable and encourage public debate of issues about society, they hold people in positions of power to account by speaking the truth and so on. Generally, therefore, one is not so much surprised that over the last decades, with increases in knowledge, technology, the proliferation of media outlets, a number of societal forces have been brought into play that now threaten these critical and essential voices.

    Our dear country is no exception to these trends. The need to have a clearer picture of the situation to put in place preventative measures and strategies to combat these threats and permit journalists and writers the opportunities to do their jobs efficiently and effectively; and consequently, to uphold democratic institutions, is more essential than ever.

    In what forms are these threats manifested, the reader may ask? I will offer a few:

    • the prevalence of undesirable and unwarranted interference, defined as any behaviour that interferes with the physical and moral integrity of the journalist/writer in the course of his or her work. These may include but not be limited to physical violence: assaults on journalists, intimidation, harassment, etc;
    • the prevalence of psychological and even economic violence. Journalists/writers may be stopped from engaging in their work because a number of economic pressures are brought into play that makes it difficult for them to exercise their profession.
    • There is judicial violence: here we observe that a number of journalists/writers being prosecuted, threatened with prosecution, arrested and sometimes imprisoned using a variety of laws, most notably archaic defamation laws;
    • the emergence of the “fake news doctrine,” made very popular by United States President Donald Trump, where every “unfavourable news item or report is dubbed as “fake” to forestall its being reported and gaining currency;
    • the fear factor. This is very important: even if you may not have experienced the violence directly yourself, your colleague may have. A colleague may have received death threats for continuing to write about a certain issue, and this may influence others from writing about the same issue/s; and
    • the actual unwarranted interference, together with the associated fear factor, and the issue of self-censorship. We know of many situations where writers/journalists are made to censor themselves, by editors, by management or by other powers that be, especially the intelligence apparatuses; self-censorship is effected in very subtle ways and methods, which at a certain level, makes the pressure harder to counter.

    True, a blatant clampdown on journalism would be difficult to justify in many contemporary societies but the long-term psychological effects of less overt methods may for the same reason be more difficult to expose, and, therefore, condemn.

    So why are governments, corporations, indeed, societies clamping down on journalism/writings, and the practitioners? I will like to focus on two issues from the Nigerian perspective.

    First, many journalists/writers have been selling mistrust for years; too much mistrust of institutions, mistrust of individuals, too much mistrust of themselves as well while expanding the various media and methodologies utilised in the process. Certain social media categories fall into this genre. They are literarily inviting government clampdown given what they report and the way they do it.

    Second, governments, corporations and society are attacking the core fundamental values of the profession because of the developments and emergence of technology in the digital age. So, they claim that they are clamping down on the profession in the name of protecting us by “denying” us the convenience of being informed. While there may be some element of truth in this assertion, in the process, these powerful entities are creating a host of choke points that curtail the very essence of the profession and locking down more and more of our computing and communications gear, methods and processes while creating a system of control over what we say, read, hear and do.

    Journalists/writers should be the leading teachers of media literacy. Only the ones who engage in the profession with integrity, honesty of purpose and a genuine interest of society will be among the biggest beneficiaries, because they’ll foster much more trust in their own work. Remember that as “cash paying customers,” people will pay for products and services they really can trust. Nigerians are no exception.

    • Temidayo Oshinubi is a 300 Level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos.

  • Our graduates are ready for work, says LASU VC

    The Lagos State University (LASU) will hold its 23rd convocation on Thursday. Its Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Lanre Adigun Fagbohun, says the 14,369 graduands are ready for work. During an interactive session with reporters, he spoke of his plans for the university. ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA was there.

    During the last convocation, the university produced 24 First Class graduates. But this year, it is 57. What accounted for the increase?

    It is the product of the quality assurance that management put in place. Every unit of the university has keyed into the vision of what we want to achieve for ourselves. LASU is now a university that is restless. Our students are engaged in various activities and you see them competing with themselves and with the outside world. Charity begins at home; so, we sharpen our students. First, to forestall a scenario where they will suffer complex issues among their contemporaries outside the university.

    Would you say that LASU graduates are  work ready?

    I will say with all confidence that the graduating students are trained and ready for the world of work. This is not mere wishful thinking; it’s a question of what we have packaged into them. The ‘Ready-Set-Work’ (an initiative of Lagos State government to instill employability skills in students in tertiary schools in Lagos) is the main platform which has enhanced the employability and the entrepreneurial skills of our students. It has exposed them to the world of work so much that employers now come here (LASU) and pick our students long before they graduate.

    We have also started the LASU Career Development Centre (LCDC). It’s an online platform. The moment you are registered as our student, you are automatically registered under that platform. It’s a platform where we continually train students on how to prepare curriculum vitae, approach interviewers, and how to get counsel on any business of interest our students intend to follow after graduation. You will also find on the platform a number of professional bodies students can join before graduation. Besides, we also have guidance counsellors. As our student, we use the opportunity of the counsellors to put you through should you be confused and do not know where to go.  This is a continuous process. We launched that platform early last year, and it’s doing very well. Third, LASU has a Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies. The idea is to ensure we breed students who can expunge the entrepreneurial fear of joblessness. Lots of activities are going on and you media can attest to it by coming around and interacting with our students.

    The World Bank has named LASU as African Centre of Excellence (ACE) for innovative and transformative Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). How is the university responding to this challenge?

    Centres of excellence are structured in such a way that different institutions are given different mandates. We, in LASU, are into tech. We are going to be training postgraduate students in different areas by deploying innovative methodologies to teaching them. We have taken to bear innovative approach for this.

    Centres of excellence are considered knowledge incubators that can produce knowledge for  the African continent. It was a very stiff competition that the World Bank itself presided over before making a choice of LASU, among other 16 universities that applied from Nigeria and about 154 from across Africa. So, I thank the entire LASU community that our university is now one of them.

    What new ground will LASU  break from next year?

    First, we are desirous of consolidating on our international partnership and some of the linkages we have with our partners abroad. We are going to be sending our students and workers there, while they also will be sending theirs here. So, do not be surprised if by next year, you see our students and friends from America, UK and other European countries taking lectures with our students here. We believe in cross fertilisation of ideas.

    For sometime, LASU stopped giving honorary awards. Does it mean it has not yet found distinguished Nigerians deserving of such awards?

    It is not to say that we don’t have Nigerians that are qualified for our (honorary) awards. Our problem is that our process is very rigorous. Very soon, we will commence the honorary awards and, by then, you will see the kind of people that we will parade as our awardees. But for now, we want to tread softly.

    Early this year, the university announced that the VC had signed over 30,000 certificates and that students should come for them. How many have been collected so far?

    I want to say as at today, if you are a graduate of LASU and have not collected your certificate, it is because you are not interested in that certificate. The university management created a platform during the university’s birthday where we announced that over 30,000 certificates were yet to be collected and that students should come and pick them up. We gave a three-month window which has since lapsed. So, if any student wants to collect his or her  certificate, he or she must be prepared to pay a fine for late collection.

  • MAPOLY workers down tools

    THE Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institution (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP) of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta have embarked on an indefinite strike to protest the non-payment of members’ salaries and allowances.

    The duo locked the main entrance. The protesters were armed with placards bearing various inscriptions some of which read:”Amosun, where is our pension deduction; ‘Amosun, enough is enough’; ‘Amosun, pay our entitlement, our members are dying’.

    In a communiqué co-signed by the chairmen of NASU and SSANIP, Messrs. Kola Sopade and Olawunmi Musbau, the workers said they had issued an ultimatum to the management to pay their members’ outstanding salaries and allowances.

    The communiqué reads: “The union held a meeting with the management. The outcome of the meeting was given to the congress.

    “At the end of the meeting, the union members resolved that having stayed off action on the notice given to the management, the government should pay our outstanding four-month salary. Our contributory pension should be paid; Our cooperative dues should be paid without delay; and that our union dues should be paid.

    “The congress also expressed concerns over the incessant loss of lives of our members due to their inability to afford hospital bills occasioned by non-payment of salaries which again has caused the death of another staff.

    “After extensive deliberation, congress decided to embark on indefinite strike with effect from Friday, 26th April, 2019.”

    But the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) MAPOLY chapter has distanced itself from the strike.

    Its Chairman Babatunde Osifalujo told CAMPUSLIFE that lecturers were not part of the strike, adding that lectures were ongoing.

  • Students Union suspends member

    THE Students’Union of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBUL), Lapai, Niger State has suspended its Financial Secretary indefinitely.

    Comrade Yahaya Umar Faruk (Aluta mayo) was suspended for alleged misappropriation of funds and misconduct.

    The Students’ Representative Assembly (SRA) Speaker, Abdurahman Sadiq, made this known through the Clerk, Usman Isah Ndanusa.

    The allegations against the financial secretary were  presentation of incomplete receipts, contrary to what was approved by the legislative house, missing of seven booklets of receipts, and unconstitutional behaviours during the proceedings.

    SU President Comrade Ayuba Muye confirmed Faruk’s suspension, and directed CAMPUSLIFE to Sadiq for further information.

    A member of the SU, who pleaded anonymity, said the cat was let out of the bag when four of the five members who comprised SRA’s financial and budget committee discovered the ‘fraud’. The committee, thereafter, announced the suspension, the source added.

    In his defence however, Faruk described his suspension as ‘unconstitutional’, adding that few members of the union executed the sanction without going through due process.

    “I am not guilty unless there is factual and concrete evidence against me,” Faruk said.

    Another source, also a member of the union who is close to both parties bud did not want his name in print, claimed the Faruk was axed owing to personal interest from some members of the union.

  • Outrage as students discover foetus at hostel

    Female students of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL), Niger State last Wednesday woke up to the spectacle of a dead foetus at one of the female hostels. Though no one could say if the management’s efforts to identify the wrongdoer was successful, students at the hostel where the foetus was found are angry about how they were subjected to abuse during a medical test conducted as part of the investigation. ABDULSALAM MAHMUD reports:

    The usually calm and tranquil ambience of Kobo Campus of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL), in Niger State, was disrupted last Wednesday by the shocking discovery of a foetus at a female hostel. The about six-month-old foetus, CAMPUSLIFE gathered, was found at dawn in a refuse bin inside the hostel.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that at about 6am, a 100-Level student of History and International Relations, who was walking on the hostel veranda, first stumbled on the foetus, before alerting other students and security officials.

    Immediately, the news spread across IBBUL campuses, attracting the attention of the Chief Security Officer (CSO), Major Tete Kudu (rtd), the Dean of Students’ Affairs (DSA), Dr Musa Ma’ali, as well as a nursing staff working at the university clinic.

    Their mission was to interrogate and carry out medical tests on female students at the hostel. To ensure that this was successful, they ordered the hostel gate locked to prevent the culprit from escaping. Interestingly, some of the female students, CAMPUSLIFE learnt, missed their Friday morning lectures as a result of the medical test.

    The incident was greeted with harsh reactions from staff and students who described it as ‘abortion’. They all condemned the act and criticised the unidentified perpetrator.

    Although the issue is still being discussed in hushed tones on campus, CAMPUSLIFE checks revealed that management had cautioned occupants of the hostel against disseminating the event on social media platforms to avoid tarnishing the image of the institution.

    Efforts to get Dr Ma’ali to speak on the matter were futile. Calls and text messages sent to the DSA were neither picked nor replied to at the time of filing this report.

    Students who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE preferred anonymity for fear of being visctimised by the management.

    A 300-Level female student, who pleaded anonymity, said they were all shocked when they heard that an aborted baby was found at their hostel. She added that the foetus might have been dumped in the dead of the night.

    Aside being the first time such horrific incident would occur in IBBUL, the source was equally irritated that the individual test conducted by the medical staff on students, made her, alongside others, miss the departmental lecture scheduled for 8 am.

    “I am yet to fully comprehend why this disturbing and horrific incident should happen. The student who committed this wicked act must be heartless. If she had paid absolute attention to her studies, this would not have happened,” said the source.

    Another student, who simply gave her name as Zainab, described the event as ‘terrifying’. She wondered why a lady who still depends on her parents will have unprotected sex and thereafter abort the innocent baby.

    “This may be the first time such an incident is happening at the hostel; but it has succeeded in painting us black. Some people may begin to think others in the hostel are also promiscuous and indecent,” Zainab said.

    Yahaya Nma, a male student, said the lady who terminated the unwanted pregnancy should seek divine forgiveness, adding that the school authority must do everything possible to identify the culprit.

    “There are no two ways about it. The perpetrator committed abortion to save herself and her family from embarrassment. But the concoction or pill she took to terminate the unexpected pregnancy could have killed her in the process. She endangered her life,” Nma said.

    He stated that most of the female students are still angry that the nurse and security officers could not detect the culprit even after subjecting them to ‘embarrassing’ medical test for hours.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the nurse was forced to stop the delivery verification examination after the female students protested against the manner she was carrying out the exercise.

    A student, who reluctantly gave her name as Saratu, said the hostel gate was finally opened by 11 am after it had been locked for over four hours.

    “No doubt, there is every reason to probe the incident. But we had to compel the investigation team to stop their screening for our own safety. After using only one surgical glove on several students, some of us refused to allow the nurse insert her hand into our private parts. We had to protect ourselves from contacting vaginal infections,” said Saratu.

    However, a credible source from the management side, who also refused to mention his name because he was not expected to reveal the outcome of the medical investigation, said in contrast to the students’ submission, the perpetrator was caught during the test performed on the students.

    “The lady who aborted and discarded the foetus was eventually identified. She confessed to have done it, and pleaded for mercy. She was seriously rebuked by the staff of the school who came to conduct the medical test at the hostel. It was unanimously agreed that the issue should not be exposed. It is the reason why the identity of the girl was hidden from other students,” the source noted.

    A male lecturer at the Faculty of Languages and Communication lamented the rising moral decadence among youths and undergraduates.

    The lecturer, who did not want his name in print,  pleaded with the school authority not to show mercy to students who engage in social misconducts or acts that contravene the rules and regulations.

    “I was devastated hearing the bizarre story!” he said.

    He continued: “Female students on campus should remain decent, upright and virtuous. Getting pregnant should be their after-school aspiration or plan. And it should even be after marriage. IBBUL, as a school, does not condone decadent behaviours. It will gladden my heart if the culprit is identified and thereafter punished. That is the only way to deter other students,” the male lecturer said.

    Mrs. Hadiza Ibrahim, who is in her final year, but appealed that her programme should not be identified, said the absence of streetlights or halogen bulbs at strategic places on Kobo Campus encourage some students to engage in unholy acts.

    “Provision of streetlights at every dark spot on the campus is necessary. The security men should frequently inspect the classes, lecture halls and other places that can be regarded as ‘den for committing evil’. The school management should not relent in its desire to make IBBUL a great citadel of learning and character-moulding; they should also deal with unserious students who want to drag the name of the school in the mud,” Ibrahim concluded.

  • Kebbi State students exco suspended over corruption

    Some executives of the National Union of Kebbi State Students have been accused of siphoning the union’s funds. CAMPUSLIFE checks revealed that the account of the union has allegedly been run down by the leaders, who claim they used the funds for some personal ‘investments.’ Bashir Turawa reports.

    Three of the executives of the National Union of Kebbi State Students (NUKESS) have been impeached. Similarly, two others have been suspended for allegedly embezzling the union’s funds.

    The President, Mohammed Umar Buhari;  Vice President 2, Nazir Aliyu and the  Financial Secretary, Aminu Shehu Kalgo, CAMPUSLIFE learned, were axed for mismanaging the funds.

    The Public Relations Officer, Abdulrahman Ibrahim Diri and the Assistant Secretary-General of the union, Shamsu Abubakar Sauwa, were also suspended.

    The five were axed following the decision of the committee set up by the students’ representative council (SRC), which investigated the matter and found them guilty of all allegations.

    According to the report, a copy which was made available to CAMPUSLIFE, the suspended executive received N1,444, 800, since October when the administration kicked off.

    A breakdown of its expenditure was given as N565,000. However, the balance in  the association’s bank account was N6,687, instead of N873,113 after the expenditure was deducted from the amount.

    Chairman of the investigation committee Aminu Ahmad confirmed the impeachment and suspension of the five executive members. The punishement, according to Ahmad, followed further probe of how N873,113 disappeared from the union’s account.

    “The union got the sum of N1,444,800; the total expenditure was N565,000 and the remaining balance was N6,678 naira. An outstanding amount of N873,112 is missing now,” Ahmad told CAMPUSLIFE.

    Ahmad continued, “He (Buhari) claimed to have donated the sum of N 70,000 to one of his friends and N20,000 to his colleague which is unconstitutional. The constitution only allowed him to use N15,000 every two months for donations.

    “Thereafter, we submitted the committee interim report to the speaker who insisted that anybody found guilty must face the wrath of the law. We had a sitting with 16 honorable members, presidents of his (Buhari) local chapters, among others. They all raised a vote of no confidence against him (the president). This was supported by all the honourable members. Then we allowed Section 23 subs-section (I) of our Constitution which states thus: “The union shall maintain strict financial discipline among its members’. That is when the house wrote its recommendation and I read it out loud in front of the stakeholders, staff advisers and the present executive members who upheld our decision.  None of them (impeached members) was able to defend themselves because they all agreed to have squandered the money” to take its course.

    Diri revealed how the union fund was looted by sidelining the treasurer and changing the account signatories.

    “The legitimate withdrawal made by the union is about N300,000 which entails monthly stipends for the executives and meeting allowances. When the issue started, the assistant secretary general and I were not always carried along, even though we’re active members. The president changed the signatories of the union’s account to his and the financial secretary’s, while removing the treasurer’s. Whenever we called the president and financial secretary, they would always dodge summons and whenever we asked how much was left in the account, the president would always say N480,000. This continued till Shamsu Kalgo, who is a stakeholder in the union, revealed that the union has about N6,000 only in the account”.

    While being interrogated by SRC, CAMPUSLIFE gathered that Buhari and others claimed to have borrowed the union’s funds for personal investments.  He said he borrowed N200,000 for an unnamed investment. Buhari said his second vice also borrowed N100,000 for investment, while the financial secretary borrowed  N120,000. They however signed an agreement to return the money, CAMPUSLIFE was told.

    Rejecting his suspension, Diri said even though he and the Assistant secretary general were able to exonerate themselves from the scandal, the SRC still suspended on the ground that as active members of the executives, such atrocity couldn’t have gone without their knowledge.

    “My suspension and that of the assistant secretary general lack constitutional backing because we were able to defend ourselves and the staff adviser didn’t sign the recommendation letter. We were at first suspended for 30 days but later reduced to 15 days,” he said.

    However, Buhari has described his impeachment as ‘unconstitutional’, saying that it has political undertone.

    He said:”This is a recommended impeachment and not official impeachment. The students representative council were being given order to investigate NEC (National Executive Council) by the stakeholders, which was not constitutional. They are supposed to conduct their responsibilities by themselves without any order by any person. That is to tell you there is interest in the investigation and the report does not tally with what they investigated,” he noted.

    He also denied being invited by the SRC, claiming that the council only invited the PRO, the assistant secretary general and the vice president.

    However, a letter inviting the president to SRC sitting was made available to this reporter.

    All efforts to contact other executives impeached were futile.

  • Ogun Assembly urges TASCE workers to maintain peace

    The Ogun State House of Assembly has appealed to the various unions and management of the Tai Solarin College of Education (TASCE) to maintain peace, saying the lawmakers have  intervened to resolve the disagreement between the management and staff.

    The House Committee on Education, Science and Technology Chairman, Olayiwola Ojodu, made the appeal after meeting with stakeholders on the state of affairs in the institution at the Assembly Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

    Ojodu, in company with members of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, and the state Head of Service, Lanre Bisiriyu, met the warring parties.

    Bisiriyu advised on the urgency of having another crucial meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the college as well as workers’ representatives to ensure the immediate resolution of the issues.

    A staff member of the college, Mr Daniel Aborisade, said there was the need to have another crucial meeting  with all stakeholders’representatives. According to him, the way forward was to deliberate to increase revenue to meet the financial obligations of the college, promising that with the intervention of the House, all issues would lead to the amicable resolution of the conflict.

    Also, Bisiriyu, an angineer, counselled the stakeholders to remain united at resolving the disagreement, adding that there was the need to make the institution more self-sustaining via increase in student enrolment.