The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • The language barrier at Danfodiyo Varsity

    At the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), many students and workers take pride in speaking Hausa. With English relegated, their non-Hausa speaking colleagues are left in the lurch. MUNEER YAQUB writes.

    Language is the most potent tool of communication. It projects identity and promotes cohesiveness, especially in a homogeneous society. For a multi-cultural society, such as Nigeria, with over 300 ethnic groups and more than 200 dialects, adopting a common language would help in unifying the diverse ethnic nationalities.

    English is Nigeria’s lingua franca. It is the language of instruction and communication in official and unofficial circles. Many schools frown at  those who communicate in other language than English.

    But at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), many students take delight in speaking Hausa.

    For students who don’t understand Hausa, living among native Hausa speakers comes with its own challenges. Such is the ordeal of Jasper Adegunloye (not real name), a native of Ogbomoso in Oyo State, who was accused of a crime he did not commit.

    Besides English, the only other language he speaks is Yoruba. His quest for tertiary education took him to Sokoto, a predominantly Hausa-speaking society. Now in his third year, he narrated how he was accused of theft by his colleagues.

    “It was in the library,” he recalled.

    After long hours of study, Jasper came out of the library to fetch his bag that he dropped in the perforated shelf at the library entrance. Having forgotten the exact place he kept his bag, he started opening all holes in the shelf in search of the item. But, he was challenged by a library official, who thought he was up to something else.

    “It was the most horrible day of my life. I had thought the official was a student, trying to challenge me. He yelled at me in Hausa. I was lost, since I don’t understand the language. I snapped back at him and told him I didn’t understand what he was saying. He didn’t understand English. We couldn’t understand ourselves. Before I knew what was going on, he held me by my shirt and dragged me to the security unit.

    “Unfortunately, the guards on duty couldn’t understand English too. This gave the guy a chance to change the narrative. Before I was allowed to explain my own side of the story, I had been treated as a criminal,” Jasper recounted.

    The matter got to a head. His case was taken up by the security unit and he visited the unit for two months before he was finally acquitted.

    He said: “My student Identity (ID) Card was seized, along with my library card. I was not allowed to study in the library for the rest of the semester. This affected my academic performance, all because I could not speak Hausa to people who do not understand English. This was an employee of a federal university for that matter.”

    At the female hostels, there is an agreed time for putting off the light. Bilqees Abu, an Ebira, lives in an hostel with Hausa roommates. She has an ear for Hausa, but she cannot speak it.

    For Bilqees and her roommates, the light in their room must be put off by 11pm. But, one of her roommates broke the rule because she wanted to wash her clothes.

    Bilqees said: “She turned the light on. I wouldn’t sleep if the light is on. Even though her action got me angry, I suppressed my emotion and refrained from letting out my complaint.”

    It became unbearable for Bilqees when the roommate later started a loud conversation with others.

    Bilqees said: “I couldn’t take it anymore. So, I stood up from my bed and walked carefully to her corner in order not to disturb others in the room. I politely told her to switch off the light. But she looked at me scornfully and yelled at me, asking how she was disturbing my sleep. I was shocked. Then, she faced her friends and started insulting me in Hausa right there in my presence.

    “Unknown to her, I understood every word she said. And she was shocked when she had discovered I understood everything she said. I was so annoyed and almost fought with her that night. To be honest, language barrier can cause a crisis in this school.”

    Rodiyah Omotoyosi, a student from Ekiti State, was surprised when she found that Hausa is the major language of communication in the school.

    “You can imagine my horror when I found out that staff of the school, whether a lecturer or a cleaner, speak Hausa to everyone,” she said.

    Rodiyah said she had been having communication challenges since she was admitted into the school. Most of her classmates speak Hausa more than they speak English, she added.

    She said: “I had thought things would take a turn for the better once I settled down, but to my utmost surprise the reverse has been the case. I had issues with a group of security officers the first time I visited the school’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Centre to complete my registration. With my flowing hijab, they thought I must be Hausa.

    “They started speaking Hausa to me, but I could not comprehend. I had to scream that I didn’t understand the language. They thought I was ill-mannered. It was when they realised I don’t understand their language that they spoke English.”

    Kolawole Muhyideen greeted a non-teaching staff in English and was surprised when he responded in Hausa. The student said he didn’t know how to respond to Ina Kwana.

    “He saw the confusion on my face. When I explained what I came to do in his office, he still would not speak in the language I would understand. I was disappointed. He kept responding to my inquiry in Hausa,” he said.

    When the non-teaching staff eventually spoke English, Kolawole said the grammar and accent were worse than speaking Hausa.

    He added: “I wish I had allowed him to speak Hausa, because I couldn’t pick anything from all he was saying. His English was so bad. It was even worse than Hausa. I was so sad. Why would an office in a university, with students from diverse backgrounds, be occupied by someone who cannot even properly communicate in English?”

    The language barrier  also reflects in the classroom between lecturers and students. Subjects that should be taught in English are, sometimes, delivered in Hausa to enable Hausa speakers understand the subjects.

    Murtadoh Abdullahi, an Education and Islamic Studies student from Ogun State, said he had such an encounter with a lecturer.

    “It was my first time in Arabic class,” Murtadoh said, adding: “The lecturer announced that only Arabic was allowed in his class. In the middle of the lesson, the lecturer switched to Hausa. And this went on for about half an hour. I drew his attention to the rule he had set, and to the overwhelming non-Hausa population in the class.

    “Although he switched back to Arabic later, he completed the lecture with a mixture of Hausa and Arabic. At this point, I knew any effort to call him to order might seem like confrontation. And that was how the lecture ended his teaching and I gained nothing. Even though I prepared to face such challenge in the school, I never imagined that it could be that bad.”

    Isa Ismail, though based in Katsina, does not understand Hausa. He is a Yoruba native. He is disappointed at the manner religious activities on the campus are conducted in Hausa. He said he likes to participate in religious activities, but the language remains the hindrance.

    Dean of Students’ Affairs (DSA), Prof Aminu Mode, in his reaction said the management was not aware of what he called the unacceptable” develoment.

    He said: “Lecturers are not supposed to use any other language aside from English to teach in the class, even if the topic is Arabic related. The acceptable language of instruction is English, and it is unfair to the rest of the students who don’t understand any other language beyond English.”

    The dean said it would be an aberration for Hausa students studying in Yoruba land to be taught in a language they won’t understand. He said it would be wrong for any lecturer to impose native language on students apart from the official lingua franca.

    He advised students to report cases of victimisation based on language to senior officers of the university, promising to raise awareness about the need to keep English as the official language of communication on the campus.

     

  • ‘I’m fulfilled being a shoemaker’

    The saying that, what a man can do, a woman can do better seems to be the nudge that is making Adeola Adewole, a female Biology student of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) to see hope in shoe making.

    The 24-year-old entrepreneur has found a niche in shoe making, a pastime she said she must pursue to a “logical end”. Adeola, who hails from Kwara State, revealed how she ventured into the business.

    She said: “I never had flare for any craftwork and I detested anything pertaining to it. But, I had a dream one day in which I saw myself making shoes for people. When I woke up, I shared the dream with some of my friends and we all laughed it off as a bad idea. But, I was bothered about the dream. It was like a pressure from within; the thought kept coming to my mind. When I could no longer bear the psychological pressure, I sought to become an apprentice to a cobbler on campus. From there, I enrolled for entrepreneurship training in shoe making in Lagos.” Being the only female student practising the craftwork on UDUS campus, Adeola said she felt some bit of embarrassment when passersby would gather around her in surprise, mocking her. She said the action almost discouraged, but the will to succeed and push her trade up boosted her morale.

    Does she have her parents’ support to become a cobbler? “No,” Adeola said, adding: “Even though my parents are not in full support of what I do, I don’t see it as a discouragement.”

    Making shoes, she said, has been a source of joy and fulfillment for her. “It makes me to explore my mind for creativity because I think more. So, I feel sick whenever I am away from my business. The truth is, I have fulfillment being a shoe maker,” she said.

    In the face of academic pressure, how does she combine shoe making with her studies? Adeola admitted she was having challenges combining the two activities, but said she planned her time to attend to her business and academics. However, she insisted that her passion for the craftwork was growing more.

    “Though combining academics with entrepreneurship is challenging for me, but good time planning does help me to do the two,” she said.

    She advised ladies to embrace entrepreneurship, saying: “I personally don’t see reason why any lady should graduate without learning one or two skills, especially in this period of unemployment. I believe women can succeed more as a mother and an entrepreneur, rather than being a house a full wife. To me, it is through entrepreneurship that women can be financially independent.”

    Mr Cornelius Dasofunjo, a graduate of the school, who taught Adeola how to make shoes, spoke with CAMPUSLIFE, revealing that she is not his first woman trainee.

    “Adeola is one of the three ladies I taught shoemaking,” he said.

    “Olayinka Obadele, who won state awards on entrepreneurship and now teaches shoemaking, was my first apprentice. Then, I taught another lady, named Praise, on how to design shoes. She just established shoemaking outlet. So, Adeola is the third.”

    Dansofunjo, while expressing optimism that his trainees would succeed in the business, said that women usually show unique creativity when engaged in the craftwork dominated by men. He urged young women to emulate Adeola and add value to themselves through free enterprise.

     

    Muneer Yaqub

  • Learning from books

    Books play an important role in in our life, they add to our intellectual development, encourage us when we are defeated and inspire us to work hard with hope and courage. Inside them, we can experience new things that we would not ordinarily be able to experience. With an active imagination, you can go to other worlds as if you are physically there. Books can change our lives and other people’s lives.

    As individuals, we are capable of inventing new ideas, creating manuals to teach others virtually everything under the sun. – writing books to teach our children about history, other cultures, the world around us and setting up new laws that will forever change our lives and the lives of others. We have educated ourselves beyond our ancestors by reading and studying books and various manuals.

    I read and reread four books recently which I feel are crucial to where we are as a nation today. I’ll use this space to highlight them. I found the 2012 book, “Why Nations Fail,” quite fascinating when I partially read through in mid-2013. The more I read, the more I appreciated the thoughts that went into it. Co-authored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) economist Daron Acemoglu and the Harvard University political scientist James A. Robinson, the book argues that the key differentiator between countries is “institutions.” Nations thrive when they develop “inclusive” political and economic institutions, and they fail when those institutions become “extractive” and concentrate power and opportunity in the hands of only a few.

    So why is Nigeria and most of African countries poor? Africa, from their perspective,  is poor because it has suffered from a long history of “extractive economic and political institutions.” These are part of deeply rooted historical processes which manifested in slow development. The negative impact of the slave trade, which had a devastating institutional impact, the “extractive nature” of colonial rule and the legacy of colonialism since independence equally formed part of why we are poor.

    They raised two salient and age old questions: Why is it that some parts of the world are much richer and more successful economically than other parts of the world? What can poor countries do to make themselves richer? To answer these simple, yet difficult questions, they propose a theory based on differences in economic and political institutions. “Institutions” are defined as the rules (both formal – written laws and the constitution – and informal – like social norms) that structure economic, political and social life and generate different patterns of incentives, rewards, benefits and costs.

    The “extractive political institutions” that was in place for a better part of our post-independence period took the form of military dictatorship which led to a weak state unable to raise taxes, enforce law and control violence as is evident with the Boko Haram insurgency and the spate of kidnappings and armed robbery. This weak state is at its best creating monopolies for the politically connected. But as expected, the result has been economic decline.

    What is their solution? The broader evidence is the need to move towards “inclusive” institutions. “Our framework emphasizes that this is not a technocratic economic problem, this is a political problem. Focus first on developing inclusive political institutions and the economics will sort itself out. All countries which now have inclusive institutions historically had extractive institutions. How did they change them? We emphasize the emergence of a broad coalition which pushes for and underpins inclusive institutions (e.g. The British Glorious Revolution of 1688).”

    In a bold and provocative interpretation of economic history, Matt Ridley, the New York Times-bestselling author, makes the case for an economics of hope in “The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves,” arguing that the benefits of commerce, technology, innovation, and change – what he calls cultural evolution – will inevitably increase human prosperity.

    Over the years, the word “market” tends to set off what is akin to a religious war. Opponents accuse proponents of blind faith in the ‘Miracle of the Market.’ The proponents too often seem to confirm this accusation by overpromising and underproving what the market can do. Each side recites its creeds.

    In the book, Ridley argues for markets as the dominant source of human progress. He synthesizes a great deal of material, spinning the history of humanity from the stone ax to the computer mouse. The chapters tracing the human story from 50,000 years ago through the 17th century are themselves worth the price of reading. With vivid storytelling he illuminates the huge role of markets and trade in material progress.

    Ridley’s key concept is gains from exchange, which make possible gains from specialisation, which in turn make possible technological innovation. Gains from exchange and specialisation certainly rank as the most important economic ideas of all time. Combining technologies to make new technologies is another favourite idea of Ridley. If we look beyond his too casual metaphors he makes sense. How about his cringe-inducing metaphor, “ideas have sex.” For example, the telephone had carnal relations with the computer, and their love child was the Internet.

    He strains to fit the notion of ideas having sex into what he calls the “Procrustean bed” of his “gains from exchange” story of progress. But sharing ideas is not the same as exchanging goods. It is often accidental and involuntary: it’s hard to keep a good idea a secret, so strangers are likely to gain from your idea without your getting anything in exchange. The dissemination of ideas is therefore more mysterious than the gains from exchange of goods.

    I also find “Portfolios of the Poor: How the World’s Poor Live on $2 a Day,” written by Daryl Collins, Jonathan Morduch, Stuart Rutherford and Orlanda Ruthven a nice read. It is based on the analysis of financial diaries, tracking every financial transaction of individual households, taken from studies between 1999 and 2005 in rural and urban areas of Bangladesh, India, and South Africa.

    A key strength of their analysis is that it is “bottom up,” starting with how people actually live, and not narrowly focused on the evaluation of interventions. A central role for finance is in smoothing out income fluctuations to ensure that there is enough money to provide food and other basic requirements on a daily basis. To this end households use savings and borrowings simultaneously, mixing informal, interest free loans from friends and family, wage advances and rent arrears, semi-formal (microfinance) loans, and in occasional cases formal (bank) services. Here the cash flow analysis captures what matters, not the balance-sheet.

    This leads into some suggestions for ways in which microfinance could be improved. There’s demand for a cash-flow management facility that combines the ability to make small savings of any size at any time with loans of modest value that can be accessed quickly.

    Finally, in “The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being In Charge Isn’t What It Used to Be,” Moisés Naím argues that power is not merely shifting and dispersing, it is also decaying. Those in power today are more constrained in what they can do with it and more at risk of losing it than ever before.

    He illuminates the struggle between once-dominant megaplayers and the new micropowers challenging them in every field of human endeavour. Drawing on provocative, original research, Naim shows how the antiestablishment drive of micropowers can topple tyrants, dislodge monopolies, and open remarkable new opportunities, but it can also lead to chaos and paralysis. The author deftly covers the seismic changes underway in business, religion, education, within families, and in all matters of war and peace. Accessible and captivating, Naim offers a revolutionary look at the inevitable end of power – and how it will change your world.

    He acknowledges that wealth is now more concentrated than ever in the hands of elites and the institutions they control. But he argues further that the ability of elites to use their assets to influence and shape the world has dissipated. Rather, power now manifests itself in new ways and places. New technologies and novel social groupings have allowed inventors, activists, terrorists, and many other types of people to exercise more influence.

  • Five reasons why a United States of Africa will not work

    In a recent video, South African far left leader, Julius Malema, admonished Africans to find indigenous ways to address their challenges and unite under a single state. He proposed the elimination of borders created by colonialists and the promotion of tolerance among Africans. To some extent, Malema was right. Borders are alien to Africa and people need to love one another, but he is fundamentally wrong about the prospects of Africa as a country.

    There are many reasons why the idea of United States of Africa will not fly. But, in this piece, I have identified key five reasons why Malema and other advocates of a United States of Africa should have a rethink about the dangerous idea they are pushing.

    First, Africans are historically autonomous. One of the incoherent assumptions of this school of thought is that colonialism brought different tribes together without considering their distinct cultures. This they suggest should be replaced by uniting all ethnic groups on the continent – over 3000 of them – under a bigger entity.

    Perhaps, they are deliberately neglecting the fact that contemporary African countries are struggling because of the bad arrangements by colonialists. Another amalgamation of sort, especially a larger one, will only create further problems; moreover, Africans have always been autonomous.

    Before the scramble and partition of Africa in Berlin (1885), every African tribe lived within their own space with peculiar values and customs. Trade was one of the few things that brought them together while they always respected each other’s identity.

    In fact, traditional Africans often broke away from their original tribes to form new communities for self-realization and freedom. The thought that this way of life can be changed by imposing a single identity is simply absurd and un-African.

    The second reason is the barrier of language. Malema proposed Swahili as the ideal language for a united Africa considering it is the most widely spoken indigenous language. But Swahili only has some 140 million speakers, which is less than 15 percent of the 1.2 billion population of the continent.

    An adoption of such language, if at all accepted by speakers of the other 2000 African languages, would require an extraordinary amount of effort, especially funding.

    China and India are often referenced as good replicas for Africa in this regard, but both countries owe their success to shared ancestral language among their people. Whereas, imposing an alien language on a group, is an attempt to erase their identity. If Malema want Africans to reject English and French because they demean their identities, then he should not be guilty of the same.

    Another reason why the idea of United States of Africa will not work is the administrative system. What would be the preferred or ideal administrative system? Most advocates of a United States of Africa often propose a unitary system with one parliament and president. Others believe either federalism or confederalism would work better to preserve the autonomy of the numerous ethnic groups. Either way, the geopolitical structure of the continent would defy any of this unification.

    The African society is too complex to work under a unitary system. There are preferred modes of administration peculiar to each tribe and country. It makes no sense to suggest they all adopt a unilateral administrative pattern different from what they have known for thousands of years.

    A unitary system is only ideal for a small geographical area with common values. Africa on the other hand covers a staggering 11.7 million square miles – almost three times the size of Europe – and it is deeply pluralised. Equally, neither federalism nor confederalism would likely work. Both systems have horribly failed in many African countries and blocs. Nigeria and the African Union (AU) are good examples.

    Nigeria, for instance, has over 250 ethnic groups, just like there would be in a United States of Africa. However, since the country adopted federalism in 1963, it has struggled with structural problems ranging from resource control to ethnic marginalisation and defining the extent to which federating units should be autonomous.

    Also, if the AU had achieved its goal of uniting Africa under a confederacy, there would be no calls for another form of union. The bottom line here is, people do better when they are not forced into a coalition.

    The difference in economic system and values is another reason why the idea won’t fly. Different tribes have specific attitudes towards the economy. Constricting everyone into a single mode of economic reasoning is inhumane as much as it would be, chaotic. It is antithetical to how Africans have lived for centuries.

    No traditional African society was the same in its approach to commerce and trade as the other, and those values stand until today. This peculiarity is one reason centrally planned economic reforms in many African countries often fail to yield expected results among different tribes.

    Again, a critical reason the economies of equally larger unions such as China and India have worked is because of the homogeneity of values among their people. Regardless of whatever economic model is adopted in a unified Africa, it would be difficult to make it work for every society.

    In final analysis, the idea is a pathway to tyranny. Perhaps Malema and his comrades have yet to realise that the more powerful a central government is, the greater the possibility of tyranny. This is evident in the level at which post-independence African leaders have grossly abuse power. One leader in control of a big entity with enormous resources, going by modern African history, is extremely dangerous.

    More so, rotating the office of the Head of State among each tribe without problems is almost impossible as we have seen in the old Sudan, Rwanda, the Central African Republic and Nigeria.

    There equally cannot be a parliament comprehensive enough to accommodate every tribe that makes up the continent. The end result would be an insufficient representation of interests, which often result in calls for session.

    Nonetheless, the effects of colonialism on Africa are a proof that bringing people together without considering their traditional ways of life is wrong. What Africa needs to work is for countries to allow more autonomy for local and regional governments. Not another forceful unification.

    • Ibrahim is a young researcher on African political economy and a Senior Fellow at African Liberty.

  • Three things govt must do after banning codeine

    In the thick of global attention on Nigeria as a result of the undercover story by BBC Africa Eye and the pidgin unit of the foreign media, the local front has embraced the choice to join the discourse that has built a chalet on social media platforms and found a suitable home on the internet. Analyses have continued to fall on one another.

    While some point at the defaulters of duties whose inadequacies have teleported our dear country to this condemnable state of codeine abuse, some others have opined and argued several parallel thoughts to this. Realities have also dawned on pharmaceutical business moguls, cartels and their cohorts as the “show don end”.

    The government has finally woken from slumber and placed a ban on codeine, as NAFDAC went ahead to close down the production lines of some of these accused pharmaceutical companies. The closedown was deemed commendable by a minority, while a vast majority heavily lambasted the agency for its action.

    Among the various turns that this story has taken and the countless opinions of several writers and citizens, the keenest point that many people have sadly shied away from is how this abuse and the menace it has left the nation to battle with, has to be completely eradicated. It is pathetic that people prioritised blaming NAFDAC for the closedown of the production companies over reacting on better ways to mitigate the rise of the abuse of codeine.

    One thing we can’t emphasise enough is that, the onus lies on us all to contribute our quota to ensuring a saner clime.

    First thing first, the aftermath of the ban on codeine is what everyone must gaze their eye on. The reality of the matter is that, when bans like this are placed on certain commodities, it does not ultimately end the actions that warranted the ban. So for years, we have battled closely with the eradication of cannabis in Nigeria, which has led to its protracted ban; yet, it is a demon that the NDLEA is daily at war with. This is not to say that the ban is needless; but to show that it may not solely bring about the efficiency in forestalling the substantial change.

    Issues of drug abuse first have to be traced to the foundational causes and why people have resorted to abusing drugs. Then, a great consideration has to be linked to the addiction which is not something that can be merely overpowered by a ban.

    In a quick presentation, to ensure this is not a problem–solution mismatch, one will realise that what the ban does is to take away the access to this product. This, however, does not depose the evidently ingrained addiction to the product. The law of economics does prove the existence of substitutes, and what we get to realise at the end of the day is that, while the access to codeine is denied by the ban, people go after close substitutes of the product which will in turn give them the same optimum effect.

    The case may not be different in the ban on codeine. Truthfully, the ban on codeine is a commendable, at least, for the fact that the government finally woke up to its responsibilities. But, the government has to do more, if eradicating substance abuse is the goal of the ban at all.

    Clamping down on substitutes, the first step is to ensure that the clampdown deny access to all other substances that may be abused just like codeine. To think of it, the report by BBC Africa Eye was to show how the drug takes away the beauty of life from people, especially youths and it will be disappointing for the citizens and the world to find out that the ban parallels such aim.

    In clamping down on substitutes, it is only obvious that the government cannot do this without closing up the gap between itself and citizens. One would be shocked at the initial finding that BBC took up a detective role in Nigeria when we should have units in the police force doing some of these undercover works.

    It leads to a question about whether the government even knows the people it governs, but that is definitely not a question for today. The investigation and undercover works should not stop here, it has to continue; to ensure that the black market for codeine is completely shut and make sure other substitutes are not finding their way into the market.

    Also, there is a need to charge governmental agencies to be proactive. One would have expected that NAFDAC, for instance, had written a recommendation to the National Assembly to bring forth a legislation to ban codeine or enforce sanctions on the codeine cartels. But the agency did none of these until the voices of the people became loudest. It is not worthy to be called an agency if it has failed in carrying out its statutory duty for which it was established. Therefore, the government must do everything in its strength to empower its agencies to carry out the duties assigned to them.

    One of the fast ways to eradicate substance addiction is looking beyond the peripheral to seeing deep causes for why these things have come to be. On the rise of this menace, the first focus should be on why there is unfettered access to codeine in the underworld. That takes us to how sales representatives in pharmaceutical companies are extremely pressured to rake in profits for the company.

    It would gladden many hearts there is an investigation as to why these pharmaceutical employees decided to walk that path. One preemptive reply would have been the huge profits that these marketers have to turn in for their companies, just to retain their jobs.

    At a period when codeine was the bestseller in the market, any pharmaceutical sales representative would have lost his job if he did not turn in profits for his company. Job loss should not be the justification for trading in harmful drugs. It is important government keeps an eye on pharmaceutical firms.

    There should be strengthening and empowerment for Counselling Units in tertiary institutions. The addiction rate on campuses is incomparable to what we have outside academic institutions. The substance addictions usually start from the academic institutions before they are exported to the larger society. In view of that, a lot of arduous works need to be done on campuses.

    Once the source is attacked, the spread and supply will plummet. And that is why it is necessary for the government to start its action from academic institutions. This can best be done by strengthening and empowering the Guidance and Counseling Units of our universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. But, it must be said that counselling units in our tertiary institutions are fizzling out with little or no effectiveness at all. They have even failed the purpose for which they are set up.

    The story is worst today. Our universities have become places where student face tons of financial, academic and physiological challenges. Yet, they are pressured to produce high academic results. The only place students go for advice is the Guidance and Counselling unit, and this office is dominated by incompetent people, who lack knowledge of how to properly help students overcoming the challenges disturbing their minds. These days, students drop out of school, get frustrated and lose grip of life. Some even move close to suicide.

    The government has to do a whole lot in overhauling the system. In line with the recent ban on codeine, the government needs to equip and empower universities to generate effective support systems, including Guidance and Counselling, and psycho-therapy. Only then can students who are suffering from addiction of substances see the reason to seek support and open up on their challenges. The little lives that this may save would definitely be worth it.

    This is a call to the government to do more than just banning codeine, as the ban may not solve the big problem at hand. The government has shown it is ready to tackle the menace. The society also has its role to play. The blame game is only leaving us with more lives being destroyed, and there is dire need for an effective intervention. This is paramount at this time.

    • Timilehin Abayomi is a third-year student of the Federal University of Technology, Akure and a campus journalist. You can connect with him on twitter.com/MeetTimbus.

  • Don to students: prepare for leadership positions

    A Professor of Sociology at the University of Lagos, Lai Olurode, has urged students to gear up for leadership positions.

    Olurode spoke at the 2018 Annual Conference of Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit, at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Afe Babalola Multipurpose Hall, Akoka.

    He enjoined them to show more interest in governance.

    Olurode, who is also the Chairman of UNILAG Muslim Community, urged political parties to make the NotTooYoungToRun drive effective in the upcoming general election.

    He said: “Governance has nothing to do with age, everybody should aspire to it. Take for example the huge amount of money APC placed on nomination forms, I expect the President (Muhammadu Buhari) to condemn this act as it is not a good omen for the country.”

    The don lamented that majority of aspiring youths would not be able to afford the “huge amount of money” placed on nomination forms by leading political parties in Nigeria.

    Voice of Nigeria (VON) Deputy Director of Programmes Alhaji AbdurRasak Abdssalam expressed concerns over the readiness of the youth to take up leadership challenges.

    “The issue is that some of the youths of today are also too corrupt to take up from the elders. They are ill-prepared to face the challenges, but going forward, Nigerian youths have to possess the quality in academic excellence, professional competence, hardworking and spiritual guidance to excel,” he said.

    MSSN Amir (President) Dr Saheed Ashafa advocated that one of the ways to get youths in leadership position is the reviewing of Nigeria Constitution to define the age range of youth.

    He said this would help checkmate the political actors, who have in recent times, exploited the gap in the constitution.

    “Youth leadership can be encouraged by making the participation in political process easy and pocket-friendly. A situation where one needs to possess millions of naira to purchase interest and nomination form is a way to discourage youths and it is worrisome. Being a leader in Nigeria should not be subjected to being rich. Good leaders are not necessarily rich personalities.

    “It is advisable that there should be a clause defining the youth demography in the constitution. Youth engagement in leadership has great potential for facilitating national growth and development,” he added.

  • Be sensitive to students’ opinion, rector tells union leaders

    Students of the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO) in Ondo State, have elected leaders into the Students’ Union Government (SUG) for 2017/2018 academic session. Blessing Akeju emerged president in the election, succeeding Temitayo Ayejuyo whose tenure ended last session.

    Blessing clinched the position with 375 votes, beating three other contestants. Also, over 100 students from different departments were elected into the Students’ Representative Council (SRC), the union’s legislative arm, being led by Oluwafemi Omogunwa – the Senate President.

    Speaking during the inauguration of the union leaders, Dean, Students Affairs (DSA), Dr Benjamin Opawale, praised Students’ Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) members for peaceful conduct of the election, describing it as “landmark legacy” in the institution.

    The rector, Mr Idowu Ologunagba, said the union leaders emerged under free and fair atmosphere, urging them to close ranks and work for the school’s progress.

    Ologunagba, while congratulating the union officials, urged them to put the welfare of students above personal gains. He charged them to be proactive and show patriotism in the discharge of their duties.

    He advised them to work as a team, maintaining that there is harmony and understanding in unity. He also told them to listen to students’ opinions before taking major decisions.

    Blessing praised God for his victory, thanking students for supporting him during the election. He affirmed his commitment to his campaign promises, appealing to students to join hands with him to take the union to another level.

  • AAU killings: Varsity confirms death of two students

    Management of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, has confirmed that two of its students died in the shooting that occurred at a bar in Ekpoma town.

    It said the other three victims were former students of the institution.

    The university management said the killings was as a result of a quarrel between friends in a Bar and not cult related.

    A statement by the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Mr. Edward Aihevba, said that Police investigations revealed that the incident was not cult-related and was not a jubilation party by graduating students.

    Aihevba noted that the University Management was embarrassed by the newspapers’ reports that have painted the institution in bad light.

    He said the institution does not condone wild jubilation and that it is totally safe and devoid of cultism or social indecorum.

    According to the statement, The University management condemns in totality, the dastardly acts perpetrated by the hoodlums and the senseless killings and we trust that the law enforcement machinery will fish them out to face the full wrath of the law.

    “It is unfortunate that the casualties include two students of Ambrose Alli University (not graduating) and three ex-student (past graduates). It is necessary to state clearly and unequivocally that cultism does not exist in Ambrose Alli University any more.

    “We state categorically and emphatically that the incident did not occur within our University and the meeting of friends that ran foul of the law of the land could have taken place anywhere in the world.

    “We commiserate with the families of the deceased and we pray Almighty God to grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”

  • I’m still EKSU Pro Chancellor – Adesina

    The management of Ekiti State University Ado-Ekiti (EKSU) has debunked online reports and insinuations that the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Mr. Dele Adesina, SAN has resigned.

    Read Also:18-year-old who raped seven EKSU students paraded

    A statement on Thursday by Director, Information and Corporate Affairs, Mr. Ajibade Olubunmi, stressed that “there was nothing of that nature” as the Pro-Chancellor has been carrying out his assignments assiduously to make the university one of the best in
    Nigeria.

    “Dele Adesina, SAN is still the Pro-Chancellor pursuing the goal of making the university visible internationally.

    “This statement is issued to disabuse the minds of the unsuspecting members of the public who might have been influenced by the fake report of resignation.”

  • 18-year-old who raped seven EKSU students paraded

    …Accomplice also nabbed

     

    The long arm of the law has caught up with a suspected rapist, Chidi Okoye Christian, who was alleged to have raped many female students of Ekiti State University (EKSU).

    The 18-year-old Okoye has been on the wanted list of EKSU Security Unit for some times now following attacks on female students living off campus.

    Read Also:EKSU VC denies arrest over alleged electoral violence

    The suspect, who is not a student of the university, was arrested and paraded alongside his accomplice, Odunmbaku Kayode.

    Kayode used to open the door for the suspected rapist anytime he was returning from the scenes where he perpetrated the crime.

    Incriminating items recovered from Okoye include several smart phones, ATM cards, a Raleigh bicycle, a cutlass and a pistol.

    Speaking while parading the suspected rapist and his accomplice, EKSU Chief Security Officer (CSO), Captain Tunde Ajayi (retd), revealed that not less than seven female students had fallen victim to Okoye in the last three months.

    Ajayi, who paraded the suspects alongside the Investigating Police Officer from Iworoko Police Divisional Headquarters, disclosed that most of the victims are students residing in nearby Iworoko community.

    The EKSU CSO disclosed that the suspect who was usually armed with a pistol with which he threatened his victims to submission before forcibly having carnal knowledge of them.

    Ajayi said: “With a good knowledge of the neighborhood where Okoye himself resides, it was easy for him to unleash terror in the middle of the night and returned to his room which he shared with an accomplice, Kayode Odunmbaku.”

    Okoye, during investigation, confessed to the crime and he was identified by his father who told the Police that the suspect “has been a wayward boy who ran away from home.”

    The duo will be charged to court as soon as police conclude investigation into their case.