The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • LASPOTECH gets licence for radio station

    • School marks 40th anniversary 

    The Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) has acquired a licence to operate a radio station. Its Rector, Mr Samuel Sogunro, who made this known at a press briefing to announce the school’s 40th anniversary celebration, confirmed that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) granted the school a permit to operate the radio station, having assessed equipment put in place by the state government. The station is to operate on 101.9 frequency.

    Sogunro also listed some recent landmark achievements under his leadership, stating that the polytechnic got patent rights for three machines developed by members of staff and students.The machines are fuel-less electric power generating set, automatic car jack, and biogas energy system.

    He added that the polytechnic had adopted the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) for its operation, noting that it had also started the process of implementing Enterprises Resources Planning (ERP) for a smooth running of the school.

    He said: “The academic board has approved the commencement of general agriculture for all students. This, in effect, is to mobilise our students for realisation of mass production of agricultural produce, poultry, fish farming and the likes. This is to encourage food security and ensuring that we are able to produce well for our communities.

    “The polytechnic also acquired water space and two hectares of land for fish farming and horticulture in Agbowa area. It is worthy of note, in a bid to ensure the security of lives and property, the polytechnic is strengthening the surveillance by providing CCTV on campus.”

    The rector stressed that the polytechnic was developing human capital for the realisation of transforming the school into a model polytechnic in Africa and to attain university status.

    While praising members of the management team, the rector said: “I wish to put on record, the contributions of retired and serving members of staff for the various roles played in bringing the polytechnic to the enviable status it holds in the education sector today.

    “The management believes that it is paramount to honour employees, who have contributed immensely towads the development of the school. Staff members at different levels have been selected for long service and meritorious awards to appreciate their services.”

  • Silent victims of ASUU strike

    When negotiations cannot solve the problem between two parties in conflict, the matter will be prolonged until one party bows to the pressure of the other or a third party intervenes.

    The above aptly describes the ongoing face-off between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    We should recall that the last meeting between the two parties ended without any resolution. Though issues discussed were not disclosed to the public, but those who know the action and its interpretative meaning could guess right that: the government may wish to re-enact its deceitful method to lure the angry lecturers, while the lecturers may not be ready to dance to the tune of government’s deception again.

    The presidency even confessed to the public that the lecturers’ demands are valid, but thereafter adopted illegal, harsh, compelling and dictatorial policy to threaten them. This is not a way to solve the problem; rather the government should look at another holistic approach that will pacify the lecturers to call off the ongoing action that has disrupted the academic activities in most of the public-owned universities and kept students back home.

    If the issue is being critically looked at, one would understand that the travails of ASUU did not begin with this administration; rather it has become what I term “chop and leave” food for successive administrations.

    I posited, in one of my articles, that the problem facing education in Nigeria did not start in the contemporary times. It could be traced to 1980s when the budget allocated to education fell drastically below 30 per cent. Since then, strike has become a recurring decimal in that sector.

    Like we all know, ASUU is one of the pressure groups in the education sector; there is no iota of doubt that if the government is able to meet its demands now, that will spark-off another flame of strike actions by other pressure groups in the sector, as they would all come to realise that the only way to negotiate with the government is to embark on industrial actions.

    In this same year, we have faced similar actions from the Senior Staff Association of Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of University (NASU), but these actions were not felt because there was no disruption in the academic activities. What could have been a total shutdown in the country was shelved when the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) suspended its planned strike.

    ASUU has realised its power of strike as a tool that can be used to make the government concede to its demands. Its action is felt more in the education sector; so the lecturers use strike as means of forcing the government to improve their welfare and increase funding to public schools.

    The problem now is that, the government is stoking another fire, which may draw back the success achieved in negotiations with ASUU.

    A few days ago, the Federal Government announced the implementation of “no-work-no-pay” policy against the lecturers.

    It is clear that, even if the government did not revoke the policy, which I believe cannot end the strike, the lecturers have understood the power behind unity and are ready to face the hardship as they know that their travails would not last long. The government tends to lose more, because this is happening at an election period.

    There is no iota of doubt that the lecturers would be able to withstand this harsh government policy, because most of them also engage in independent research and consultancy where they make money. So, introducing no-work-no-pay policy is like deferring the lecturers’ regular pay and keep it for them till a later day.

    The lecturers seem not ready to dance to another music of deception. They have reached for the government’s jugular at a delicate period, having realised that they have nothing to lose. It is only the people in power that will lose more, because the general election is around the corner.

    What is clear is that, both parties are in a diabetic state. In the end, they have nothing to lose. The strike action will end one day and the lecturers will receive their arrears, but the year of graduations of students may have been altered. We, the students, are the silent victims of the government-ASUU face-off. Truly, when two elephants fight, it is the grasses that suffer.

     

    • Nurudeen is a student of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto

  • Coca-Cola, bank engage students on corporate communications

    Masters’ students of the School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University (PAU) have visited the corporate headquarters of Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited (CCNL) and Wema Bank Plc  to learn practical tips for managing corporate communications.

    They were accompanied by the Corporate Affairs Manager of the school, Dr Mike Okolo, who is also the lecturer taking Organisational Communication. Okolo said the purpose of the visit was to corroborate a theory the students were taught in class.

    CCNL’s Public Affairs and Communications Director for West Africa Business Unit, Mr Clem Ugorji, said the carbonated soft drink firm usually engage students to improve their skills in diverse areas, including communication and public affairs. He added that Coca Cola had impacted on young people’s lives by helping them pursue their passion and expose them to opportunities that would give them rewarding career.

    He said the Coca-Cola’s corporate affairs policy is centred on making impact in the environment where the firm operates.

    Ugorji mentioned that the soft drink firm instituted an operational structure that involves creating maximum market, advertisements, demand creation, consumer engagement and strategic support to its bottling partner in public engagements and technical quality assurance.

    Ugorji, who disclosed that corporate communication in Coca-Cola run from top to bottom, emphasised the importance of culture in administering a multi-national organisation, noting that culture plays vital roles in ensuring that staffers understand organisational goals.

    At the Wema Bank, the Managing Director, Mr Ademola Adebise, the bank’s communication strategy was developed to reach out to millennials, which, he said, informed the bank’s choice for digital journey campaign. He highlighted the importance of upholding core values of an organisation, saying it required putting customers first.

    The university’s Director of Relations and Development, Dr Franklin Wiggle and Programmes’Adminstrator Mr Sylvester Efomah also accompanied the students.

  • A road well travelled

    In May 2013, I wrote a two-part series titled “ASUU and the politics of emotion.” The articles were written against the backdrop of the then over seven months strike embarked upon by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Regarding ASUU, it appears governments never learn lessons – or they do but deliberately choose to ignore – from the past which is why they make the same mistakes over again about the tertiary education sector. Most often, they pander to the emotion because emotions are irrational and lacking in facts.

    The prolonged ASUU strike of 1993/94 which led to the loss of an entire academic session will be a good starting point. That strike was a strike like no other because it lasted for close to a year. The then federal military government did all within its powers to break the will power of ASUU including proscription. Part of its strategy was the determination to enforce the no-work, no-pay rule. Majority of ASUU members were caught pants down by this policy because it led to job losses, unwarranted dismissals, forced evictions from official residences and other arm twisting methods. Those that survived learned a timely lesson: devise other legitimate means of survival. Some became research consultants to international/multilateral organisations while others left Nigeria for greater opportunities abroad. The country lost some of its brightest minds as a result of fallouts from that strike

    So, you can understand my concern when the federal government, last week, invoked the no-work, no-pay rule against ASUU. Without holding brief for ASUU, one thing should crystal clear by now; the best way to deal with ASUU – from experience – is through constructive engagement and continuous negotiations. Threats and emotional strategies may have worked in the past, it may not work now. ASUU members have even taken the bold step of appealing to students, their parents and critical stakeholders that their fight is not about salaries and allowances alone, but against the underbelly and very soul of Nigeria’s public university system especially over the poor funding of public universities. Experience should have shown that dealing with ASUU members is totally different from dealing with labour leaders.

    Before it was rescinded days later, an ill-conceived directive came from the federal government directing the vice-chancellors of public universities and inter-varsity centres to enforce no-work-no-pay rule on the lecturers who are on strike. I believe a bird would have whispered in the ears of those in authority that this rule cannot work for obvious reasons. The most vocal critic of the rule is Mr. Femi Falana SAN who provided the legal explanations to why it won’t work.

    The now rescinded directive was communicated to universities in a memo dated November 29 by the National Universities Commission to universities’ VCs. The memo, which was signed by the Director, Research, Information and Technology, Dr. S. B Ramon-Yusuf stated that payment of salaries from any other sources would be viewed as violation of extant rules and government’s directive.

    It partly read, “In view of the current Industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, the Federal Government has directed that there shall be no payment of any form of salaries and allowances to the staff on strike in federal and inter-varsity centres.

    “Consequently, I am to direct vice-chancellors to apply the “No-work-no-pay” rule. However, universities and inter-varsity centres are to pay salaries and allowances to non-teaching staff. All Vice-Chancellors and Directors of Centers should note that the salaries to staff on strike from whatever source of funds shall be viewed as violation of extant rules and directive of the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

    Reactions to the memo were swift. Even before Mr. Falana provided the legal angle, the chairman of the University of Ibadan chapter of ASUU, Dr. Deji Omole fired the first salvo stating that it was shameful for the federal government to owe lecturers unpaid salaries and allowances and still want them to continue to work while the Presidency and the National Assembly members feed fat on the wealth of the nation.

    He said a government that prides itself as having integrity should honour agreements reached with the union instead of resulting to harassment and intimidation of union members on a patriotic struggle to save public education in the country. Omole noted that the directive would fuel the struggle, adding that the union members had resolved to get proper education for the children of average Nigerians. He said military government tried unsuccessfully to intimidate the collective will of Nigerian masses, adding that members of the union had resolved to fight for the future of the country.

    From the legal standpoint, Femi Falana, said the “no work, no pay” policy is not applicable to members of ASUU who are currently on strike. He said the federal government acting through the National Universities Commission (NUC) lacks the powers to direct vice-chancellors to seize the salaries and allowances of striking lecturers. He noted that the government was not properly advised for “resorting to a desperate measure of not paying the workers.”

    According to Mr. Falana, the federal government referred to “extant rules” to justify the ‘no work, no pay’ policy; a directive anchored on section 43 (1) of the Trade Disputes Act which provides that “any worker who takes part in a strike shall not be entitled to any wages or other remuneration for the period of the strike.”

    “Otherwise, it would have realised that even under the defunct military junta the application of ‘no work no pay’ rule, threat to eject lecturers living in official quarters, promulgation of a decree which made strike in schools a treasonable offence and the proscription of ASUU did not collapse any of the strikes called by ASUU,” he said.

    He pointed out that the latest strike has complied with the provisions of section 31 (6) of the Trade Disputes (Amendment) Act, 2005, stressing that the law does not punish acts which are lawful in any democratic society. To this end, section 43(1) of the Trade Disputes Act cannot be invoked to justify the seizure of the salaries and allowances of members of the ASUU who have decided to participate in an industrial action that is legal in every material particular.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, section 31 (7) of the Trade Disputes Amendment Act provides that anyone who takes part in an illegal strike commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine of N10,000 or six months imprisonment or to both fine and imprisonment,” Mr. Falana said.

    He cited the University of Ilorin case where the appointments of 49 lecturers were terminated on the grounds that they had taken part in the ASUU strike of 2001.”In setting aside the termination of the appointments, the federal high court held that the appellants were entitled to their salaries and allowances. Convinced that section 43 (1) of the Trade Disputes Act is self-executory, the Court of Appeal held that the order for the reinstatement of the respondents and for payment of their salaries and allowances when they were on strike was not only illegal but inequitable…the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeal and confirmed the order of the federal high court for the reinstatement of the appellants and payment of their salaries and allowances.

    The implication of the judgment, according to the senior advocate, is that a university lecturer “whose employment enjoys statutory favour cannot be disciplined or sanctioned without being afforded the right of fair hearing by the Governing Council. With respect to the current ASUU strike, no university governing council has accused any lecturer of misconduct to warrant the seizure of salaries and allowances.”

    The way forward, as I mentioned earlier, is constructive engagement and continuous negotiations. “Revisiting the Needs Assessment Report,” which I wrote in September would be a good starting point. The government should revisit and critically study again the comprehensive Needs Assessment Report of 2013.

  • How post-occupancy test can stop building collapse, by don

    Regular assessments of building structures will prevent their collapse and other disasters associated with poor construction. This was the kernel of the 68th inaugural lecture of the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUT MINNA) in Niger State. MAHMUD ABDULSALAM reports.

    Worried by the spate of building collapse across the country and the attendant loss of lives, a lecturer at the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUT MINNA), Prof  Stella Nonyelum Zubairu, has proffered a way to stem the tide.

    According to her, carrying out periodic Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) tests on buildings will go a long way in reducing the rate of building collapse.

    Zubairu, a professor of Architecture, who delivered the school’s 67th inaugural lecture with the theme: ”Post-Occupancy Evaluation: A necessary tool for architects, facilities managers and other professionals in the building industry”, said: “From an architectural perspective, POE is the systematic study of buildings in use to provide experts with information about the performance of their designs. The test also helps the owners and users with guidelines to achieve the best out of what they already have. The value of POE is being increasingly recognised, and it is becoming mandatory on many public projects.

    “POE is valuable in all construction sectors, especially healthcare, education, offices, commercial and housing, where poor building performance will impact on running costs, occupant’s well-being and business efficiency.”

    Prof Zubairu disclosed that many buildings in the country don’t function according to their designs, and therefore, offer low comfort and utility. She pointed out that such scenarios usually have great impact on building running costs, client satisfaction, health, safety and comfort.

    She added: “Learning from and correcting past mistakes in design and commissioning of buildings through POE can be extremely cost-effective and improve workplace productivity.”

    The professor of Architecture noted that POE had its origins in Scotland and the United States (US) in the 1960s, saying: “’While POE evaluations carried out in the 1970s and 1980s were targeted at performance of buildings, more recent developments in POE have been focused on Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) and Universal Design Evaluation (UDE).”

    In the midst of other purposes and reasons, she said the principal benefit derived from conducting POE was the provision of valuable information to support the goal of continuous improvement of built environments.

    She said: “POE forms a ‘logical final step’ in the cyclical design process. This is because it provides a knowledge-based information from users about completed projects, which could then be utilised to either improve spaces in existing buildings or form a programming platform for future buildings.”

    Prof Zubairu, who is the Acting Dean of School of Environmental Technology (SET), explained that performing POE may require two exercises: carrying out a post-project review to evaluate a project’s delivery process, and an assessment of the performance of a building in use.

    She said the major assessment done on buildings’ performance is in the form of evaluating their designs, which must take into cognisance the effectiveness of space planning, aesthetic quality, standards of lighting and acoustic environment, ventilation, temperature and relative humidity.

    “Other factors to be considered are air pollution and air quality, user comfort, maintenance and occupancy costs, structural defects and an assessment of whether the development is being operated as designed,” she said.

    The inaugural lecturer said the assessments on the performance of a building could not start until six to 12 months after it must have been occupied. If not, she said, accurate results may not be determined.  “POE is central to improving the performance of low and zero-carbon building designs, and vital for sustainable construction,” she said.

    The don, who maintained that if users of buildings were consulted at the initial design stage, better and more user-friendly designs would be produced.

    She recommended that POE should be included as stage four of the normal services of architects to enable them improve on future designs after assessing the feedback from POEs.

    She said: “Legislations should be enacted to compel architects, facilities managers and engineers to carry out POEs in order to assess the impact and effectiveness of building spaces, structure and services on the users of the building. This will lead to better building performance.”

    The duo of the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Abdullahi Bala, and the university’s Seminar and Colloquium Committee chairman, Prof Bisi Ayanwale, hailed the inaugural lecturer for her “tremendous contributions” to the growth of architecture profession, calling on experts in Nigeria’s building industry to adopt the key recommendations made by the lecturer.

  • Robbers loot two ATMs at IBB varsity

    A 15-man gang stormed the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBU) in Lapai, Niger State and looted the cash in two Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) of a second-generation bank on the campus. MAHMUD ABDULSALAM reports.

    IN  a commando style, a 15-man gang invaded the main campus of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBU) in Lapai, Niger State and vandalised the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) of a second-generation bank. The hoodlums carted away an undisclosed amount of cash.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the  uniformed hoodlums entered into the campus on Lapai-Paiko-Minna Road through a bush path.

    A security guard, who was on duty, told our correspondent that the robbers arrived on that fateful day the school premises around 3 am. He said they were armed with guns, machetes, daggers and spiked clubs.

    The robbers, he said, night have been given a tipped-off by someone who knew the ATMs were loaded with cash the previous night.

    The source said the robbers came in three vehicles, which were parked a few metres away from the school gate.

    “They came down and gained access into the campus through a bush path,” the source said.

    A cadet officer, who was assaulted by the robbers said:“I was watching over the school Administrative Building, which is not that far from the ATM gallery. It was around 3am or thereabouts when I saw three armed men dressed in uniforms, standing beside the ATM Gallery and signalling to me to move towards them.

    “They told me they caught some thieves who burgled the ATMs. This made me to believe them. They asked me to follow them to see the robbers. Then, they took me to an open place where I saw my fellow security guards sitting on the ground with their hands and legs tied with ropes. Other members of the robbery gang were keeping watch on them.”

    The cadet, who was injured on the leg, added: “The robbers were violent, hitting with sticks and iron. We all sustained injuries on the heads, hands, bodies and legs. They threatened to even kill anyone who wanted to be stubborn.”

    One of the security men  said they fell for the hoodlums’ trick because of the uniform, adding that the communication among the robbers indicated there was an informant that gave the hoodlums a tip-off. The robbery, he said, was “perfectly executed”.

    He said: “None of us thought they could be robbers because of the way they were dressed. We thought they actually caught thieves, since they were in uniforms. We later knew it was false alarm used to gather all of us in one place. They vandalised and looted the ATMs without being repelled.

    “We were firmly tied; we could not struggle with the robbers, because we had been overpowered. Those who watched over us had daggers and guns with them. There was no way we could challenge them. They simply had a free raid on the ATMs.”

    Although the robbers overpowered the security men guarding the ATMs, CAMPUSLIFE gathered that some other security guards escaped.

    One of the escapees said he ran into the bush when he saw how the robbers were beating his colleagues.  He said there was no  security guard  that could have confronted the “dangerously armed robbers”.

    He said: “The robbers were irritated by the responses of our security men who could not give them the access pin code to unlock the ATMs’ vaults. But what baffled me was how they got the uniforms they used for the operation.”

    It was gathered that the robbers used a sledgehammer, axes and chisels to destroy walls of the ATMs’ gallery. They made their way into the ATMs’ cubicles and looted the cash loaded in them the previous night. The machines were completely destroyed.

    The hoodlums, it was learnt, fled the campus some minutes past 5am, after operating for about two hours.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that police arrived on the campus shortly after the robbers escaped.

    The Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Muhammad Nasir Maiturare, led top members of the management to the scene on assessment.

    He said the incident would investigated to prevent a recurrence.

    Read also: Robbers attack Ekiti bank in an ambulance, kill four

    He said the school security architecture would be “comprehensively reviewed”, to protect the campus from invasion again.

    A student, Amina Zubairu, who was on campus that day, described the robbery as “tragic and unfortunate”. She urged the school to strengthen security  on the campus, noting that the story would have been different if the school was in session.

    She said: “Insecurity in Lapai has always been a thing of concern to students. Now that it has crept into the school campus, something urgent must be done to avoid putting students’ lives in danger.”

    A 300-Level student, Kasim Mohammed, urged the management and Lapai Local Government  to seek government’s intervention  to address the growing cases of robbery in the town.

    He said: “It is imperative that the police and other security agents be deployed in Kobo and the main campus of the university. The school must ensure its security guards are properly trained to be combat-ready for any security breach. The school should provide modern equipment to combat this perennial security problem it is facing. This is very important.”

    All efforts to get the university’s Chief Security Officer (CSO) Major Tete Kudu (retd), to comment failed.

    A policeman was killed and three students injured in a similar robbery attack last November on two banks close to the campus.

  • Making primary healthcare work

    A 400-Level medical student of the Imo State University (IMSU), Ekenedirichukwu Ahaneku, was selected by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to participate in a global Primary Healthcare summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. At the event, Ekenedirichukwu, a CAMPUSLIFE reporter, led discussion around impediments to youth participation in primary healthcare delivery. CHUKWUEBUKA OSUJI (400-Level Library and Information Science) and NOEL OSUJI (300-Level Medicine and Surgery) report.

    Youth groups and students working for the realisation of Primary Health Care (PHC) across the world gathered at Astana, Kazakhstan for a three-day global health conference focusing on building partnership to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    The event, organised by World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), was held to commemorate the 40th anniversary of an international declaration in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, which recognised the importance of primary healthcare. Nigeria’s Ministry of Health also supported the programme.

    Health professionals, including the WHO Director-General, Dr Tadros Ghebreyesus, Kazakhstani Minister of Health Salidat Kairbekova, attended the event with representatives of health ministers of signatory countries and health organisations.

    Participants discussed ways to redesign some of the concepts and original principles of primary healthcare. The event served gave signatory governments opportunity to renew their commitments towards achieving universal health coverage.

    The conference featured a session tagged: Youth pre-conference, aimed at showcasing youth engagement in PHC, their challenges and barriers impeding the realisation of primary healthcare in their respective communities.

    Participants in the side discussion engaged private healthcare providers about the roles of the youth in realising the visions of PHC through policymaking, practice and strategic implementation of global policies. They also discussed how they could leverage opportunities to bring about change.

    A 400-Level Medicine and Surgery student of Imo State University (IMSU), Ekenedirichukwu Ahaneku, who represented Nigeria at the conference, led the discussion during youth preparatory workshop tagged: Our future, our health, held on the first day as part of the conference session.

    During the plenary attended by 30 youth representatives, Ekenedirichukwu addressed the poor level of youth engagement in primary health care.

    Ekenedirichukwu, a primary healthcare volunteer and member of Nigerian Red Cross Society, is the Executive Director of Blas Innovative Minds, a social enterprise that has objectives to educate and improve capacity healthcare workers.

    The discussants resolved that there was need for incentives that would facilitate greater participation of youths in primary healthcare delivery across the world. Their resolutions were added to the recommendations issued by the organisers at the end of the summit.

    On the second day, the event featured general sessions, which focused on revitalising primary healthcare to achieve universal health coverage and how the government can take revolutionary approach to advancing the course.

    Participants agreed that a large number of countries, especially the third world countries, had done little to improve access to primary healthcare in line with the global target.

    Ghebreyesus described the level of achievement of PHC in developing countries as “appalling” and “sad”, while admonishing government representatives to seek ways through which their countries could improve access to healthcare for people at the lowest rung of society, who cannot afford expensive services in private hospitals.

    On the third day, the discussion focused on actions that should be taken towards the actualisation of accessible and effective healthcare and leveraging viable economic policies that would encourage investment in healthcare. The participating medical students had an opportunity to have one-on-one engagement with the WHO Director-General and Kazakhstani Minister of Health to discuss their resolutions at the youth workshop as well as prevalent issues affecting primary healthcare in their communities.

    After the plenaries ended, the participants gathered for social show in which they displayed their cultures. They also visited some primary healthcare organisations in Astana, Kazakhstani national museum, and some heritage sites. The event ended with a dinner at the Astana Opera.

    Ekenedirichukwu, who is also a CAMPUSLIFE reporter, described the event as “inspirational”, saying he learnt tips to make him improve his capacity to bringing about change in the way primary healthcare is delivered to Nigerians.

    He said: “My activities have always been directed towards the promotion of primary healthcare. This fetched me the opportunity to attend the conference. My attendance was fully sponsored by UNICEF and I see this as a rare opportunity. I will continue to champion the implementation of Astana Declaration in Nigeria in order to ensure that young people contribute to the promotion of primary healthcare.”

  • Women win N1m in LAUTECH innovation contest

    A group of three women – all final year Computer Science and Engineering students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Oyo State, has won the maiden edition of the LAUTECH Innovation Challenge (LIC) held on the main campus of the school.

    The students, who made up Team Impact, won N1 million seed investment fund, after they emerged the best team in the competition.

    The team, led by Abiodun Okunade, competed with 29 others to win the coveted investment fund prize.

    Other members of the Impact Team are Yetunde Akinbola and Comfort Tayo.

    The Team Impact is to reduce the learning difficulties faced by children with Down Syndrome. Before winning LIC, the team had made 50 animations for a child with Down Syndrome and discovered the innovation could be extended to others.

    Abiodun said: “Presently, the prevalence of Down’s Syndrome in Nigeria is one per 865 live births. The genetic disorder keeps the cognitive skills of the victim at the barest minimum possible. We designed an innovative solution to help the children living with the medical condition. The innovation won the first prize at LIC and this shows we are on the right track in our effort to help victims of Down Syndrome cope with learning.”

    The first runner-up in the competition was Team SmartFi. People’s Choice Award was presented to Team Highlanders.

    Dignitaries who served as judges included Special Adviser to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Education, Dr Bisi Akin-Alabi, a businessman, Chief Abdulrasheed Ayinla, Mr Icon Akorede of Light House Group, Dr A.S. Oyadeyi of Physiology Department and Chief Executive Officer of SQI, Mr Adeyemi Aderinto, among others.

    LAUTECH Innovation Challenge is a competition that seeks to initiate best possible social entrepreneurial ideas by students to solve real problems.

  • Barrier breakers

    The world has changed; and it is still changing on a daily basis. Who would have imagined twenty years ago that the demography of the world would witness a radical shift the way it has happened. In January 2013, Christine Lagarde, president of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, calling on global economic policymakers and politicians to “reflect on some of the megatrends shaping the future.”

    Among the four cardinal megatrends highlighted, she gave attention to the seismic shift in demographics that is currently being witnessed in the global youth bulge: “Sixty per cent of the population in the Middle East and North Africa is under 30. It is 70 per cent for sub-Saharan Africa. Again: either a great opportunity or a source of instability.” In Lagarde’s opinion, for us to navigate our way into the future world, global political economy cannot ignore the youth.

    As a student of human society, I am inquisitive about understanding the broad forces defining our age, and how we can harness the potentials of young people to alter the world for the better. This challenge is not just for young people in other parts of the world. It also applies to young people in Nigeria in a fundamental way because of the crisis of unemployment that is staring us in the face today.

    Worldwide, we are living with a generation of people who have enormous potentials because they are globally connected and have a social consciousness because of the breaking of barriers which this global shift has engendered. Ours is a world that hosts an impressive array of inspiring young people with bustling energy, creativity, restlessness and imagination, and who are ready to make big social impact.

    By the sheer nature of their individual accomplishments and service to humanity, today’s young people are personifying the time-honoured maxim that young people are the conscience of the world and the drivers of social change. The Arab Spring is a classic example.

    The emergence of this global youth culture is one of the significant features of the new world order whereby young people of divergent national and social backgrounds, living in far-flung corners of the world are united by the same social habits, dress codes, taste for music and language clichés, and are fans of the same musical and sports celebrities.

    The wide distinction that was 50 years ago between the dress code and social habits of young people in Los Angeles and Lagos, and the significant difference we had between the kind of music enjoyed by young people in Ibadan, Sacramento and Delhi have all disappeared today, thanks to the revolution in information technology. Who would have predicted twenty years ago that Nigerian music will be getting the global attention it now has?

    I recollect reading an article by David Wraight, a gifted Australian social exponent, public speaker and writer who is the CEO of an international youth advocacy group known as YFCI. In that article, Wraight contends that we are witnessing today the emergence of a globalised generation of youth, often referred to as the Millennial Generation. As globalisation and modern technology continue to shrink our world, we are presented with a new landscape that contains amazing possibilities for world change. People are connecting worldwide as never before – particularly young people – and are overcoming cultural, geographical, language and ethnic barriers with ease. There is an emerging ‘global consciousness’ and young people want to be a part of it. No longer are we talking about one nation of youth being mobilised and empowered, but we now have to grapple with the implications of a ‘globally connected’ youth community mobilising to bring about world change on a scale never seen before.

    On the idealisms of this globalised youth generation, Wraight wrote: “They believe that they can change the world for the better, but they are unsure what they should change the world to; so they search for an ideology or system of belief to use as a foundation for the change they seek. They are actually searching for something worth living for and dying for. They are optimistic and idealistic with a deep desire to make their mark in the world… They are no longer prepared to be spectators watching the world go by, but want to be ‘players’, to get their hands dirty, to make a difference. They are knowledgeable about the affairs of the world and very mobile, travelling as much as resources and opportunity allow.”

    Today, a social media revolution has unfolded before our eyes, forever changing the way people connect in the world. This media revolution has created platforms, forums and networks for young people to become increasingly interconnected. With the power of technology, young people from across the globe are reporting on youth issues, with an emphasis on voices that are not ordinarily heard in international mainstream media. Young social entrepreneurs are partnering with one another and sharing ideas and visions on how they can harness their vitality and create a world in which everyone counts.

    Many international organisations that have come to recognise that the youth of today are particularly receptive to social networks are now offering more participatory roles for them to brainstorm on crucial issues and challenges facing the global human community. In many developing countries, social institutions are placing young people at the cutting edge of change and development priorities, giving them an opportunity to make their voices heard as innovative change makers and agents who can find workable solutions to the world’s developmental challenges.

    As a result of the passion, resilience and commitment of today’s generation of young people, a brave new world is taking shape before our very eyes. It is a new world, radically different from the world prophesied by Aldous Huxley in his 1932 book titled, ‘Brave New World.’ While Huxley predicted the emergence of a world in which big biotechnological revolutions would carry the news of the day, the brave new world we are witnessing today is of another kind. It is a world where young people at the frontiers of global imagination, innovation and positive change are harnessing their remarkable potentials to alter the world around them for the better.

    The eager and adventurous unemployed young are indeed the ‘shock troops’ in the destruction of the old social order everywhere. The essence is the combination of energy, frustration and discontent. What all such movements have in common, is a genuine indignation at the social institutions that have begotten and then cold-shouldered them, a quasi-military organisation and the resolve to seize power for themselves embodied in their leaders. A wise and powerful government would at any cost anticipate and avert these destructive activities by providing various and interesting new employment and the necessary condition for a satisfyingly successful life for everyone. These young people are life; we neglect them to our peril.

    Today’s youth are coming together to devote their lives to common causes. They are no longer satisfied with just being passive spectators. They are often very suspicious of dogmas and averse to rigid traditional rituals. They are generally more existentially inclined. They are hungry for love, for truth, for beauty, for life and for spaces to unleash their creativities. They are looking for real role models who embody these ideals. They want to see living models of truth among members of the adult society rather than be preoccupied with a grandiose dissertation on truth. And the beauty of it is that they can pick role models across national boundaries because of their interconnectedness to major developments around the globe.

    The earlier the government starts thinking of providing level playing fields for these barrier breakers the better for us. Alternatively, we risk an implosion we are least prepared to handle.

  • UNIZIK opens Chinese study centre in Ebonyi

    The Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Anambra State, has established a teaching centre of the Confucius Institute at the Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu in Ebonyi State. This followed a signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the UNIZIK Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Joseph Ahaneku, and the Provost of the college, Prof Justina Mgbada, for the setting up of an institute for Chinese studies in the college.

    Speaking during the tour of the facility, the VC explained that the institute would afford people within the catchment area an opportunity to learn mandarin, noting that it would go a long way in assisting most of them in doing business with the Chinese.

    Prof Ahaneku said the establishment of the teaching point is in line with his administration’s resolve to give the Chinese programme a national outlook. He urged the people of Ebonyi State to utilise the opportunity that the programme offers.

    Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, who graced the event, donated an executive Peugeot 506 car to the institute to assist Chinese teachers discharge their duties.

    The provost, Prof Mgbada, expressed joy on the fruition of the MoU, which, according to her, appeared impossible at the outset. She praised the VC for his tenacity, which, she said, led to the success of the partnership.

    Prof Mgbada assured the VC of the college’s resolve to abide by the regulations of Hanban – Confucius Institute headquarters. Being the first non-affiliated institution to be accorded the privilege, the provost said the college would live up to expectation.

    In the entourage of the VC to Ishiagu include the Deputy VC for Academics, Prof Charles Esimone, his counterpart in Administration, Prof Carol Arinze-Umobi, UNIZIK Director of Public Relations, Dr Emmanuel Ojukwu, and some staff of the institute led by their Director, Prof Yu Job.

    In a related development, UNIZIK hosted the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Arts Exhibition contingent from Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The exhibition was held at the university auditorium.

    Receiving the team led by Prof Wang Jun Wen, Prof Ahaneku, said the visit would open opportunities for collaboration with the university, especially in the area of medicine.

    Prof Wang thanked the VC for his support to the institute, expressing optimism that the partnership would yield good fruit.

    The event featured variety of Chinese music, drama, kung fu and martial arts presentations from the TCM contingent and students of Confucius Institute.