The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • Be good ambassadors, varsity graduates told

    Maryam Abacha American University of Niger (MAAUN) President, Prof Adamu Gwarzo has advised its graduands to be good ambassadors of the institution wherever they find themselves.

    He gave the advice at the Class 2018 graduation dinner and award night held in Kano.

    He said the call was necessary to promote and protect the good name and reputation which the university had established since it was established.

    The event was organised by the management of the institution in honour of the 280 graduates (Full time) who attended the ceremony from different parts of the country and Niger Republic.

    “I don’t think you will face any challenge in Nigeria and anywhere you may find yourselves because you are the best in Africa.

    “I am particularly proud of students of laboratory science because the department recorded 99 per cent success in their examinations,” he said.

    Gwarzo, founder of the first English university in Niger Republic, urged Nursing students to study hard as the Council examination would soon be conducted in Abuja.

    He expressed optimism that the students would come out in flying colours after the examination as they had undergone rigorous training during their stay at the university.

    According to him, the students of the university acquired what he described as internationalisation skills in view of fact they had interacted with people from various socio-cultural backgrounds.

    He, however, called on the students to be innovative to be self-reliant and employers.

    He thanked lecturers, management staff and students of the institution for their contributions to the development of the university.

    One of the female graduating students urged parents to invest in the education of girl-child.

    The President during the occasion launched a book written by one of lecturers of the University, Dr Abdullahi Abdulsalam popularly known as Quality.

    The book “Studies on Biogas Purification” was launched with N20 million.

    Prominent artists, including popular singer, Davido and Nura M. Inuwa, the state cultural troupe (Yan’koroso)also performed at the event.

  • Music and social change (II)

    I was at an event some years ago where some of Nigeria’s rave-of-the-moment artistes performed. After one of the performances, the comedian, Tee A, cracked a joke, an ‘expensive’ one at that. He wondered if our artistes really sit down to write their songs. “This song that we just listened to, was it written? If it is, how will it look like on paper?” In the song, the artiste was just mumbling a few syllables until the music ended.

    The message Tee A was trying to pass across – which wasn’t lost on me – was this: writing of songs is supposed to be a deep and reflective period where the artiste is expected to sit down and contemplate the message he is trying to pass across. It could be a love, an emotional, a life or even a socio-political message to correct societal ills. Perhaps some in the audience then might have termed him “old school” because the present generation is not concerned about the lyrics or message of a song but the beat that enables them to just dance away their challenges.

    Being a chip off the old block, I am among those that take the messages in songs seriously. I am a music lover through and through and I love different genres across board. I do this because of my firm belief that the combination of the right lyrics, rhythm and instruments can build a group identity, stir strong emotions, engage audiences and amass people to take action. This, for example, makes music the perfect partner for social change. It is therefore not surprising that in Africa a variety of NGOs, bands and activists are trying to make a difference through music.

    “Now, you see musicians singing about girls, money and fast cars. Not long ago Africa was full of music that made a statement – about government, corruption, things that matter. Our music talks about HIV, women’s rights, recovering from a disaster, xenophobia and much more. It’s not just great music, we’re saying something,” writes Daniel Walter, project leader of Sigauque project, a pan-African music journey on the Mozambique stage. Most of the Sigauque project songs were originally created as part of media for social change projects.

    To this end, music remains an important part of popular culture, it entertains us, and so it is a great platform for discussions on social issues. Concerts are particularly effective because artistes have the opportunity to address large crowds. For social messages to take root, they must be accepted by large numbers of people, and individuals are more likely to accept these messages if their peers do. When music is played over the radio, people hear and sing along to the songs, repeating the messages so that they and others really hear them. This gives people an opportunity to understand what messages the music holds and then to speak about them.

    Music is equally a means by which people can convey important messages and ideals to others in the hope that they will truly listen and, as a result, come together and bring about social, political and economic changes. When asked about the possible future uses of music, Daniel stressed further: “In many African countries today there exists democracy in name only, criticising the government can lead to a loss of opportunities. I see an important role for music in the coming years using a lot of popular messaging.”

    I believe this sounds familiar if you are a close watcher of African affairs. Throughout African history, activism has made use of a wide array of campaign techniques in order to create intended change as well as to set leverage over existing competition. None however can deny the importance of art – music or jingles that is linked to the social, economic and political change.

    A classic example here is the Ugandan singer, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known by the stage name ‘Bobi Wine.’ This popular politician, businessman, entrepreneur, philanthropist, musician, and actor now serves as the member of parliament representing Kyaddondo East constituency in Wakiso District, in Uganda’s Central Region. Bobi Wine is treading in places other opposition leaders before him had not dared. He was able to achieve this because of the cult like following he amassed during his years as a popular artiste.

    He began his music career in 1999. His first singles Akagoma, Funtula, and Sunda (featuring Ziggy D) brought Wine success in the East African music scene. His music connects reggae, dancehall, and afrobeat styles, often with a socially conscious message. He was the leader of the group ‘Fire Base Crew.’ When that group disbanded, he started a new group, ‘Ghetto Republic of Uganja.’ He has recorded more than 70 songs over 15 years. In 2016, his song “Kiwanican” was featured on the soundtrack for the Disney movie ‘Queen of Katwe.’

    Bobi Wine is not your normal run-of-the mill musician; he has an agenda, a socio-political agenda. He attended Makerere University in Kampala, where he studied music, dance, and drama, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In February 2018, Bobi Wine enrolled for a course – “Leadership for the 21st Century” at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. You can see that this gentleman came fully prepared to effectively engage in what he believes in.

    As a result he has been having running battles with the country’s authorities and with President Yoweri Museveni who has been president for over three decades now. It did not come to me as a surprise that long time Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, has teamed up with Bobi Wine to fight for human rights and social justice in Uganda. As a result, there has been a crackdown on their activities by the authorities.

    As a communicator, I have observed that over the years, communication tactics are changing to an even more dynamic and interactive style. This shift has resulted in a move from exclusivity of communications as production and dissemination of information education and communication materials, such as traditional posters, t-shirts, brochures etc, to the use of social media and art – mostly music.

    The target audience for this change is mostly our youths. It is these youths that have found solace in music. Notably, through the years music has been a major maker of African ethnicity and nationality and an indispensable component of ceremony and spiritualty. When children are born there is song and dance. Song and dance are an integral part of food planting and harvesting. In other words, ceremonies and events are incomplete without music! So nearly every form of African life is complimented by music.

    Inevitably, this tradition has raised natural musicians in Africa – whether amateurs or experts. These musicians at the same time live in our times; our times that are characterised by political and economic challenges, chronic humanitarian needs, decreasing recognition and respect of human rights among other challenges. It is no surprise that music has become a tool, tactic and channel through which youths, most of the time unemployed, have found solace and an avenue to exhale from the life’s chocking challenges.

    Walking on the streets you can’t fail to notice young people always having phones on their ears mostly listening to music. In short, music should serve as a veritable channel to “wake up” our “sleeping youths” since all efforts are arousing their socio-political consciousness appears to be failing, or has failed. This is in contrast with the developed western world where changing trends perhaps favour use of social media. This is not to mean that our population is new to using social media platforms. Certainly not, social media is viral but music is certainly its major content.

    Philosophical questions, however, still surround the power of music. This includes the understanding of the source of the pleasure that music gives and understanding it’s expressive, dramatic and emotion power. What is clear though is the emotional power that music elicits, a music – addicted population, a big population – large enough to bring about social change should be desired. What is incontrovertible is the economic and social injustice which the youth is caught up in. Youth unemployment is way off the roof.

    Can we find redemption and a rallying cause devoid of ethnic colouration in music? Can music come to our rescue?

  • ABU student’s suicide sparks controversy

    A 300-Level student of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Aisha Omolola, has committed suicide, leaving behind a note in which she blamed her parents for her action. IBRAHIM ADEYEMI 400 level English Language and TURAWA BASHIR 300 level Literature-in-English Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, report.

    WHY did she commit suicide? The late Aisha Omolola, a 300-level student of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State seemed to answer that question, which is now trailing her death, in her suicide note. She spoke of being frustrated by her parents, adding that she felt they would be better off without her. But some of her friends are cautioning against attaching any weight to the suicide note, which reads:

    “Just like I said, If I am no more. Please hold my family, especially my mum and dad responsible. I have tried to be the best I can be, stayed away from them just because they blame me for their mistakes and they can’t love, help and take care of me like their own. My mum has made life a living hell for me only because she is bipolar and frustrated. Accusing me of being a witch trying to kill her and being a cursed child even though my brother is responsible for my education and upkeep. The only thing she helps me with is my feeding money. I have gone out of my way to take care of my mum by giving her food and money but I still end up being her problem. My brother can’t stick to his promise anymore because he feels I am not his responsibility and I have my own family. I hope and believe that now that I am gone, It will bring them relief and happiness.

    “I am so sorry Collins, I had to leave you this way; Maryam Olayemi, you have been more than a bestie to me. I am also sorry to all my friends and well-wishers. I love to be happy but I’m nothing but a broken child. I don’t believe in God anymore, cos I can’t see my purpose anymore. I love you all so much.”

    Yet, the question keeps popping up on the social media: why did Aisha take her life last December 26 in her apartment at Samaru, Kaduna State. The Library and Information Science student allegedly drank insecticide.Many people condemned Aisha’s action, noting that suicide was becoming rampant among undergraduates.

    Aisha’s death left many questions. Few days after news of her death, there was a claim that she survived. The source was traced to a Facebook post. A photograph attached to it, with more than 1000 shares and likes, showed Aisha recuperating in a hospital. It later emerged that the same picture was posted on Twitter last October when she had an accident.

    Those at her funeral, however, debunked the claim. Audu Abdulqudus, a  fresh ABU graduate and a close friend of the late Aisha, said: “I was the main friend who carried her body the day she died at the Jamaa hospital in Samaru. I, her best friend’s father, Mr AbdulGaniu, and two policemen, took her to the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Mortuary.

    “I was called by Maryam Salami, Aisha’s childhood friend, on Thursday evening  around 4pm. She said her mum told her that they were at the mortuary and that they wanted to bury her.’’

    Confirming the development, Maryam said: “We don’t know what to say. That is how God planned her death; let us just put it that way.”

     

    The suicide note

    Maryam also confirmed that Aisha wrote the puzzling suicide note.

    She, however, added that its interpretation could best be done by its author.

    Maryam said: “Aisha wrote that letter. That’s her handwriting.” Half of what she said could be true and could not be true. It is a personal issue and we should leave it at that. In that letter, she said something that had to do with her and her mother or people around her. We should not interfere. That letter said a lot. I know what that letter means, but I do not want to say anything. That letter should just be left alone. That letter is nothing. People should just let bygone be bygone. We should just pray for her and God should forgive all of us.”

    Was religion a barrier between Aisha and her parents? Maryam answered in the negative.This is contrary to what has been widely speculated on the social media. It was reported that Aisha was victimised by her parents because she converted from Christianity to Islam.

    Maryam said it could not be true, adding that Aisha never stuck to one religion.

    “Aisha converting from a Christian to a Muslim is nothing. That has never or had never been the problem because right from primary school, Aisha has been one person that is either a Muslim today or a Christian today,” she said.

    “She (Aisha’s mother) has always loved her daughter and she felt she was old enough to know what she wanted. Religion has nothing, I mean nothing, to do with this.  Aisha’s mother had nothing to do with Aisha converting from this to that. The mum had no problem with Aisha being a Muslim. Her mother has never interfered,” she added.

    Her suicide note did not tally with the picture of her family she painted on the social media before her death. While the note portrayed her as  having no good relationship with her parents, especially her mother, her tweets and posts proved contrary. On December 18, 2018 – about nine days before her death – Aisha praised her mother on her Twitter handle.

    “Ya Allah, bless my mom…keep her for me, give me the strength, ability and ways to be a blessing to her. Let me be the reason behind her smile and happiness. Please give her long life to reap the fruit of her labour. I love you mom. My Woman, My Everything,” she tweeted.

    Also, on Christmas day, two days before her death, she tweeted again, telling her friends how she would celebrate Christmas with her family even as a Muslim.

    “Ah celebrate Christmas too cos my family is mixed! Let love lead,” she tweeted.

    The late Aisha did not show signs that she was depressed. Other Tweets showed that she enjoyed her life and had reasons to live.

    For instance, on December 11, 2018, she tweeted: “God, I thank you for the gift of life. Thank you for giving me reasons never to give up on life.”

    On October 1, after surviving a ghastly accident, she thanked God for her survival and prayed for long life.

    “For a moment, I thought I was gonna die, in fact I started saying my last prayers asking mom to pray for me too but ALHAMDULILLAH. I am a witness of Allah’s mercy and by HIS Grace I shall live to see more healthy years,” she tweeted.

    Her friends described her as friendly, nice and generous. Maryam added that she was crazy, but nice and friendly.  She also said the late Aisha hardly shared her feelings with others.

    Maryam, still referring to her friend in the present tense, said: “She’s crazy. She has her ups and downs just like any other person. I’ve loved her for who she is. No matter how much she annoys me, I’ll still go there and still look for her.

    “She’s always there to listen to people but she doesn’t share any of her feelings or anything that is going on within her.’’

  • TECH-U VC advises media on national growth

    First Technical University , Ibadan, Vice Chancellor, Prof Ayobami Salami, has urged the media to be more vibrant and focused on setting the right agenda for national development.

    Salami spoke at the Press Week of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Correspondents’ Chapel, Oyo State chapter, where he was the special guest.

    Speaking on the topic: “Promoting professionalism and good governance”, he said: “You would agree with me that, with the deluge of developmental challenges confronting the nation, the media, as the fourth estate of the realm, occupies a strategic position in helping the nation negotiate a better deal. Like never before, it is certain that the media needs to be more vibrant and focused on setting the right agenda for development.”

    Despite challenges the media was facing, Salami said the industry would overcome.

    “Of course, we are not oblivious of the existential challenges bedeviling media practice. The realities show that the media industry is seriously hemorrhaging; from the burdening cost of news production, to the embarrassing magnitude of salary indebtedness, to increasing commercialisation of news items and ethical crisis. When you consider other issues of declining readership, revolutionary incursion of the online media, increasing threats to the lives of journalists, proliferation of fake news, among others, journalism in Nigeria, as it is the world over, is at a crossroads. All of these have certainly impacted negatively on the media today. Therefore, there is no better time to reflect on the state of the media than now.

    “However, what is certain is that, like it did in the era of the military dictatorship, the media will overcome. This is because the media is gifted with some of the brightest and most courageous journalists on the continent. Therefore, I expect that the media would re-enact its heroic wand-not only to rescue the nation at such a time like this, but to also reinvent its practice and nudge it on the pathway of journalism.”

    Speaking on TECH-U, which he described as the nation’s first self-sustaining public university, Salami said the university was conceived to provide functional, skill-oriented education to bridge the  gap between graduates from tertiary institutions and the needs of the society.

    “Nigeria is faced with myriad challenges, chief among which is youth unemployment. The problem of youth unemployment is multi-faceted. While the combined admission capacity of the university system, public and private, is barely up to 40 percent of qualified and eligible candidates, the few that are able to gain admission and pass out from the system have been found unemployable for lack of entrepreneurial attitudes as well as employability-related hard and soft skills. Tech-U was, therefore, established to expand access to university education and more importantly to address the employability gaps through entrepreneurial orientation of the average youth.”

    The VC said the institution had partnered foreign universities to provide international exposure and opportunities to its students. He added that indigent students also get scholarship.

  • Students disagree with NANS over outcome of meeting with Buhari

    Students, under the aegies of the Council of Higher Institutions (COHI), have disagreed with the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on the outcome of NANS meeting with the Federal Government on Friday, last week.

    COHI, an organ of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) Lagos Area Unit, expressed disappointment that the meeting “yielded nothing”.

    In a statement, COHI State Coordinator, Taofeek Iyanda, the group said: “We are highly disappointed in the national leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students during their meeting with  President Muhammad Buhari.

    “We, therefore, want to place our stand as the Council of Higher Institutions, which coordinates the affairs of the Muslim Students in higher institutions in Lagos State that we are opposing the NANS national stand and we see this to be one of the worst things an administration can do to the educational system.

    “This meeting has yielded nothing to (assuage) the ongoing strike of ASUU, which has caused a total shut down in the academic activities of federal and state universities.

    “The leadership has done only one thing – trade of our interest for their personal interests.

    “Considering the statement released by the National President of NANS on December 31, 2018 to go on protest on January 7, 2019, the expectations is to discuss on this, but, unfortunately, to our surprise, they changed the agenda, assuring the Presidency the votes of 20 million electorates.

    “It is more painful that the President of the constituency is being recognised and congratulating the President on his birthday that has been celebrated for a while. All these are nothing but a means of getting some funds from the incumbent which is against the ideal of the establishment,” he said.

    Iyanda noted that NANS was created to protect the interest of students, “but unfortunate they’ve lost their focus. They are not worthy to be referred to as a students’ union”.

    On the ASUU strike, the COHI coordinator blamed the Federal Government more than ASUU, noting that ASUU was fighting a just cause.

    He said: “The strike is simply a means to turn the current and upcoming generation into half-baked literates, who would not have adequate and the required professional competencies to challenge the world development.

    “If the government allows this matter to linger, the implication will come in the way of degradation in the value of education in the country, premature labour forces in the market, and retrogression in research and development of the country.”

    He alleged that the government was using the strike to promote private institutions.

    “If you recall, the universities of Atiku and Obasanjo were opened during the ASUU strikes that came up in their administration,” he said.

  • OAU flays ASUU, schedules exams

    Students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, have been re-assured that nothing would disrupt the 2017/2018 Rain Semester Examinations as the University Management have put machinery in motion to make it hitch-free.

    In a statement, the institution’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Abiodun Olarewaju, noted that the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was not effective in the institution contrary to the union’s claims.

    He said: “The general public is quite aware that the 43rd Convocation Ceremony for the 2015/2016 and 2016/3017 graduating sets of the University was successfully held from Tuesday, 11th to Friday, 14th December, 2018.  Even statutory meetings of the University such as senate, Administrative Staff Committee meetings, Appointments and Promotions Committee (A&PC) meetings, Development Committee meetings, Junior Staff Committee meetings and the Procurement Committee meetings all held as scheduled.

    “In addition to all these, the University played host to several national and international conferences including a very unique one on the Application of Information and Communications Technology to Teaching, Research and Administration held from November 11-14, 2018.  The faculties of Clinical Sciences, Environmental Design and Management and Social Sciences successfully had their annual conferences and Faculty weeks.  During the period the nationwide strike commenced and now, there has been a flurry of academic, research and social activities, unprecedented in the history of our university.”

    Olarewaju noted that no fewer than 20 of the 1,300 lecturers in the institution’s employ were not teaching, adding that their courses had been reassigned.

  • UNILAG graduates to get dual certificates

    University of Lagos [UNILAG] Vice Chancellor Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe has unveiled plans for graduates of the institution to get certificates in entrepreneurship along with their degree certificates on graduation.

    Speaking while presenting the scorecard of his first year in office as Vice-Chancellor, Ogundipe said the institution had designed an elaborate entrepreneurship training for all students throughout their stay, which would begin running from the 2018/2019 academic session once the University Senate gives its nod.

    “The University has developed an entrepreneurship training programme that would culminate into a certificate which will be awarded alongside the degree has been developed. The programme would run throughout the sessions and all students are expected to participate.  The approval of Senate is being sought for the programme to commence in 2018/2019 Session,” he said.

    The Entrepreneurship programme is among the short-term goals, Ogundipe said, his administration would pursue during his tenure, which started November 12, 2017.

    Already, the VC said the centre had begun training students and preparing them for competitions.

    “The Centre has also fired up the spirit of entrepreneurship by assisting to prepare our students for local and international competitions.  The University through the Centre prepared and sponsored some of our students to compete at the Global Management Challenge in Dubai after coming top in the national competition.  Another group of students were also sponsored to Facebook competition and came third.  The Design Thinking programme that Lufthansa commenced in the University was successful.  We have taken over the programme as part of our commitment to promoting problem solving and development of viable businesses in Nigeria.  The programme was sponsored with the sum of N70 million by Lufthansa.  A total of 30 business prototypes were developed and we are looking to escalate some of the viable ones,” he said.

    The entrepreneurship programme also extends to workers of the university, especially in preparation for retirement.

    Ogundipe said: “The Centre also began to train staff who are about to retire on urban farming and other activities that can help them sustain themselves after retirement.”

    Other short-term goals, the VC said he had begun working on included: increasing research grant, internationalisation (N1.25 billion raised in the last one year), exploitation of alumni support, linkages with businesses and government agencies, expansion of the Distance Learning Institute (DLI), and the establishment of a business school.

    As the short term goals are in the works, Ogundipe also said he had activated the medium and long term goals for the institution.  They include: entrenching partnership business models, establishing a microfinance bank, modula refinery, attracting online donations to the university through mobile phones, community service and the like.

    Regarding expansion of academic programmes, the VC said the institution would introduce a programme in Cyber Security to join the world in finding solutions to the problem.

    “We are poised to create new programmes and review existing ones to make them relevant to our present challenges.  An example of a proposed new programme is in Cyber Security.  We have a strong team working on cyber security and as part of the benefits of their work, the university was recently admitted into the Global Epic, an international group of 21 institutions that work to co-create and adopt world changing solutions to cyber security all over the world.  In fact, the National InformationTechnology Development Agency recently signed an MoU with the University on the training of scholars in Master Degree in Cyber Law to strengthen regulation of cyber security in Nigeria.  University of Lagos is the first institution in Nigeria to take this bold step to fill the vacuum in cyber law,” he said.

    By the time he leaves office, Ogundipe hopes to have achieved his vision “to remodel the University of Lagos as a truly 21st century first class university that is number one in Nigeria and one of the top four in Africa by 2022.”

  • Ilorin students group gives awards

    The Ilorin Emirate Students’ Union (IESU) has held her first awards.

    The event was attended by  dignitaries, such as the Magaji of Bijooro, Alhaji Toyin Shuaib, who represented the Emir of Ilorin, and reputable academics across various  institutions.

    The Director of Centre for Ilorin Studies, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Dr Abdulganiyu Jawondo, urged the students to put in more effort towards the development of their union.

    Jawondo advised the students to face their studies in their various institutions, as “Northern Nigeria, a part of which is Ilorin, is a place of prosperity.”

    The keynote speaker, Dr Hassanat Abubakar, a lecturer with the Department of Arabic, UNILORIN, underscored the role of peace and security to unity.

    “To have internal and external peace, and security is to be in total submission to Allah, to be good to one’s neighbours, and to be positive at all times,” she said.

    IESU President, Comrade Issa Habeebullah, expressed his happiness with the success of the event.

    “I am so happy that the programme has gone as planned. I urge all Ilorin Emirate Students to be positive in all their doings,” he said.

    Awards were presented to important dignitaries, such as Alhaji Abdulmumeen Sanni Jawondo,  and Salman Jawondo, a lawyer, in recognition of their support to the association.

    At the event were IESU presidents from the various institutions, including Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto; Federal University of Technology, (FUT) Minna; Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria; Bayero University, Kano (BUK); Federal Polytechnic, Bida; and Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin.

  • #nolecturenovote campaign, best alternative for students

    We have continued to clamour for a good and balanced education system. We have protested and   campaigned against the government that has degraded our education system.

    We have shouted at the top of our voices and our pen has bled out our suffering. We have marched like soldiers to the doorsteps of government officials, demanding  a free and balanced education system; but all has been abortive. What else can we do?

    How do we convince the younger generation that education is the best legacy when we have poor graduates and rich criminals? How do we become leaders of tomorrow if we are not properly tutored?

    Education is the bedrock of economic development and a platform for physical and mental growth. The reason that the country has become stagnant is because of our perspective.

    We should not ignore the fact that perspective rules and is a major determiner of what our world becomes. For you to change the world, you need to change your neighbour, for you to change your neighbour, you need education. If one person can change, the whole world can.

    Education is the most powerful weapon with which you can change the world.

    Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike has lasted for more than a month and the effect is unimaginable. It is capable of destroying our future; the ASUU strike also makes the zeal for education reduce thereby paving way for all sorts of social vices.

    The government has ignored the fact that social menace canot be curbed if you destroy education. When there is no avenue to enlighten Nigerians on leadership, integrity and help them grow their career interest, they get involved in all sorts of fraudulent acts.

    When education is not provided, how do we know what our country is demanding from us? How do we know what is right? How do we know the effect of our actions? How do we provide solutions to sensitive problems? How do we grow our country?

    Students across the country should stand up and demand from this government their right to education. You cannot destroy our future and request for our votes.

    It is disheartening how the Federal Government spends so much on fuel and abandons our future. They send their children outside the country to study and pay no attention to Nigeria’s education sector. They toy with our lives and only pay attention to their pockets.

    The no-lecture-no-vote campaign is the next step for students, even in the Diaspora. We cannot continue to smile while suffering.   Students are part of the country. They are stakeholders and should ensure that they vote out any government that has failed them.

    Give them education, corruption will reduce.  Give them education, technology will increase. Give them education, great minds will be built.  Give them education and the country will be developed.

    “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle,” said Martin Luther King Jr.

    To bring change, we must struggle; to struggle, we must be determined.

    All students, stakeholders, student leaders, student bodies must stand in one accord to ensure that the  campaign is achieved. They should use their PVC to vote out any government that has said NO to their future.

    If we can struggle, we can win.

    • Caleb ijioma is a graduate of Mass Communication of Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic, Ijebu-Igbo.

  • Of defilement and mischiefs of law

    Truth! When law and morality contradict each other, the citizenry has the cruel alternative of either losing moral sense or respect for the law. To corroborate this proposition, the social contract theory regards the ultimate essence of law to be an instrument for turning a state of nature where lives are brutish, harsh and short into a state of utopianism – where things are fair and just.

    So, I have come to realise via my books that nothing should be called law unless it acts in conformity to the gravity of the title given to it, and of course – the last hope of common man. In every situation and circumstance, what law should be striving for is to give every man his due – justice.

    In Section 218 of the Criminal Code Act 2004. Defilement as an offence is defined in a laconic but comprehensive way as a situation of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13years; with or without the consent of the victim. It is even expressly stated in the section that whoever is found guilty is liable for felony, a grave offence which ought – by nature of its gravity – non-bailable. With or without canning; defilement attracts a punishment of 14 years of incarceration.

    Though rape and defilement are similar, they are heterologous because their victims differ. While rape is the sexual involvement of a 14-year-old girl or above — pinpointed on the ground of coercion, defilement is for 13-year-old girl or below. Nevertheless, both are, undoubtedly, serious offences.

    Still on these two offences and, of course, a matter of law and practice it is not ideal for a court of law to grant the accused bail without giving recourse to worthy considerable reasons. In fact, the reasons for granting bail application of any defendant in these two cases must be well explained and convincingly proved before the court.

    Now in Nigeria, regardless of the enactments by various states to protect the interest of girl-child and tackle the endemic nature of this animosity, these vices are still given less concern in our society.  The record of defilement cases has become so alarming that it has turned into a daily occurrence in our society.  For instance, on June 21, 2018, the Vanguard reported that Olaitan Adewoye, 36, a resident of No. 10, Arogundade Street, Harmony Estate, Oke-Iran nla, Ajah, Lagos, was tried at a Lagos magistrates’ court – for defiling his own one-year-old daughter.

    But why, since there are various laws proscribing any culprit of such offence? I believe it should suffice to deter the prospective offenders of the offence. Or perhaps, the punishment prescribed for the offence is not severe enough to discourage one from its commission? Inquisitive.Till now, I am still wondering whether these are the reasons.

    Though it is noticed that  a criminal matter can neither be statute barred nor nullified because of the limitation of time to institute the action before the court, the law considers defilement as the most unjustifiable exception to the rule of statute bar.

    Section 218 of the criminal code provides, among other things, that cases of defilement of a child must commence within two months from the time it was committed. Contrary to this provision, the action will be barred in court.  Gosh! Is law really fighting for justice or striving for technicality? Apparently, the fact is enough to speak for itself.

    Another mischief begot by our law to the case of defilement occurred last week when a Niger State magistrates court granted  bail to a man accused of defiling an 11-year old girl. The accused, a young man in his late 20s, was allegedly to have been having sex with the young Safiya for almost two years before the little girl developed Vesico-Vaginal Fistula(VVF)  – a health condition, which results in the uncontrollable discharge of urine and faeces through a female’s vagina.

    Surprisingly, moment after he was granted bail, he began threatening the girl’s family. Thus, if threatening can be the aftermath, then, how sure are we that the accused would not jump bail or disappear without any trace after the bail has been granted?

    Well, it is quite lucid with legal backing, that every accused has a right to bail and should not be denied of such right. But there are some offences which do not allow bail – for example treason – perhaps because they are regarded as very grievous ones. But why is defilement not put in that category? Why does the law allow offenders to get bail when it is clear it is a serious offence against both humanity and the state?

    Would it even be wrong if we choose to deny the accused of his right to bail when he has elected to deny someone’s right to dignity? With utmost hutzpah, I believe it should not be.

    Now, let us shun the curative measures and employ the preventive ones. In my view, if we can change the punishment of defilement to life imprisonment and deny bail to offenders, definitely, the sanction would be severe enough to deter any prospective offender. And by denying bail to offenders, which, by no means, is worthwhile shall the dictates of the law go unprevailed. Justice shall be done regardless of whether the heaven would fall or heavyweight toes would be trampled upon.

     

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