The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • Varsity gets workers’ ultimatum

    Varsity gets workers’ ultimatum

    The Kogi State University (KSU) in Anyigba is facing fire from academic and non-academic staff, who are threatening to go on strike by the end of the month if their demands are not met. MOHAMMED YABAGI (200-Level Mass Communication) reports.

    THOUGH the school just resumed for the second semester, the workers seem not bothered as they are raring to go on strike unless their demands are met.

    The academic and non-academic staff of Kogi State University (KSU) in Anyigba are threatening to down tools by the end of the month over the state of the institution and non-payment of their allowance.

    Last Thursday, academic and other activities were disrupted during a meeting of the Joint Action Committee (JAC), a unified body of all non-academic unions on campus. The congress came 48 hours after the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) met with similar agenda. They issued ultimatums, which they said the management and the Governing Council must comply with.

    JAC’s congress began with a minute silence in honour of the late former Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Idachaba.

    The JAC chairman, Comrade Moses Balogun, said members were tired of the prevailing workers’ condition, adding that the congress was organised to give the management for dialogue. Failure to reach out to the workers before September 30, Balogun said, would  lead to an indefinite strike.

    He said: “Members regret the current dilapidating situation that the institution is grappling with and we want the state government to intervene in the matter. The situation we are facing in this institution is nothing to write home about. We want the public to know that the management and Governing Council of the Kogi State University are killing the institution. Government must intervene in this matter before it is too late.

    “We are saddened to inform the public that just about six years ago, KSU was the best state-owned university in the country. It was the sixth best university among all universities, but in the last National Universities Commission (NUC) rating, the institution is ranked 111th of the 112 universities in the country.”

    Balogun, who noted that other state-owned schools, such as Nasarawa State University, Katsina State University and Kaduna State University, used to look up to the institution, wondered when things went wrong.

    He urged management to comply with the September 30 ultimatum for addressing workers’ grievances, failing by the non-academic workers, failure which would result in what he described as “total strike without looking back.”

    Balogun added: “In as much as we feel the pains of parents and students, the action is necessary because if we don’t take the action now, certificates of our graduates will not worth the value of common tissue paper.”

    The university’s ASUU chapter gave management up till September 29 to resolve what it described as “unacceptable situation the institution is facing”.

    Its chairman, Comrade Sylvester Okuteno, said members were worried about things in the university.

    Okuteno said: “The situation we are facing in this school is one that we never thought we would ever experience. It is unbearable. The university is dying, there’s need for urgent intervention. We cannot fold our arms and watch the conditions go worse.”

    Balogun said the JAC’s demands included non-payment of hazard allowance and arrears, responsibility allowance, excess tax on staff salaries, non-implementation of minimum wage and pension, non-implementation of excess workload allowance and staff/students ration.

    After the congress, JAC’s leaders led members on peaceful protests on major roads in Anyigba, chanting anti-management songs. They carried placards, some with unprintable expressions.

    Some of the protesters demanded the Vice Chancellor’s removal for “killing the university”, which they described as the pride of the Igala people.

    The protesters marched to the palace of the Ogohi of Anyigba, Alhaji Aliyu Okolo, to inform him of the “inhuman condition” in the institution.

    The workers said the Governing Council was more interested in promoting its selfish interest rather than the welfare of the staff.

    Balogun, who spoke on the protesters’ behalf, said: “Staff members are leaving the university in droves because their welfare is not being taken care of. When they leave and go elsewhere, they make their new workplace better than they met it through the experiences they garnered in KSU. That is one of the reasons why the standard of the university is on decline. We are saying enough is enough.”

    He presented the union’s demands and the alleged inadequacies of the management to the monarch for presentation to Governor Idris Wada.

    The traditional ruler pleaded with the workers not to do anything that would jeopardise the institution’s progress. He called for caution in the pursuit of their demands.

    The monarch praised the workers for their civility, promising that their letter would be forwarded to the governor.

    A member of the management, who pleaded anonymity, dismissed the workers’ demand as frivolous and mischievous. He said there were other serious issues the council and management are concerned about rather than the mischief of few individuals who think they can hold the institution to ransom.

    “They don’t have any problem with the school. They only have problem with the government, which they accused of overtaxing them. It is an issue on which management has written to government and government, in turn, has instructed the state internal revenue service to look into it. It is being looked into as I speak to you.”

    The source said the vice-chancellor would communicate the management’s position to the workers on Tuesday.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the Students’ Union Government (SUG), led by John Idachaba, has been meeting with the parties to ensure the issues are resolved amicably without the campus being closed down.

     

  • College stands still for Agric Week

    College stands still for Agric Week

    The Oyo State College of Agriculture (OYSCAI) came alive when students of the School of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering Technology marked their Week. HELEN OLAWORE reports.

    Academic and other activities were put on hold at the School of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering Technology of the Oyo State College of Agriculture (OYSCAI) in Igboora when students celebrated their Week.

    The faculty bubbled for a week during the event, which featured a lecture, Rag Day, gift presentation, award night, dinner and a novelty match between lecturers and students.

    There was also an exhibition of projects, which the students designed to bring innovation into food production and preservation. Some of the projects displayed included locust bean processing machine, Solar Drier, Defeathering Machine, Battery Cage System for poultry production and juice extractor.

    In his lecture titled:  From engineering to entrepreneurship, Mr Michael Ale, an engineer, urged the students to embrace entrepreneurship to be independent after school. He said the students must use their skills to solve problems around them and create opportunities for those coming after them.

    Ale, who is the chairman of Borehole Drillers Association, donated a borehole to the college to increase access to potable water on the campus.

    The Provost, Prof Gbemiga Adewale, praised the gesture of the guest lecturer, saying the borehole would be useful for students’ research project. He urged students to improve their knowledge to bring convenience to agriculture and provide food and jobs through the profession.

    The Acting Dean, School of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering, Prof T. M. Olayanju, in his welcome address, said the faculty had the objective to produce intelligent, competent and high-rated technology engineers to modernise the agric sector. To boost their knowledge, Olayanju said the college usually takes its students through rigorous academic exercise, which includes educational trips, practical training and theoretical lesson.

    He said past students of the college were doing well in their chosen fields and higher institutions where they went for further studies.

    The students recognised the Ale’s efforts to make them get the best out of the school. They honoured him with an award for his contribution to the growth of faculty.

    In another lecture titled: Students politics and national development, the caretaker chairman of Ibarapa East Local Government, Hon. Yinus Olaoseegba, said students are partners in the business of national development.

    He said lecturers must be questioned if students could not contribute meaningfully to national development through students’ unionism. The council chief urged students to take their studies seriously and aim high to become active players in the society. He said lecturers must continually update their knowledge to remain relevant in the academic fields.

    Mr Moses Adediran from Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, who spoke on Life sustainability through engineering, said the success or failure of any nation aspiring to climb technological ladder depends on innovation in engineering.

    He observed that Nigeria remained at the bottom of the technological ladder despite its abundant natural and human resources it could use to facilitate its progress. He blamed the development on engineers, who he said have failed to use their knowledge properly.

    Adediran urged professional engineers to avoid unethical practices but hold public safety, welfare and the environment paramount.

    The students marked graduating students’ say during the Week and also engaged in community service during which they cleared the bush around their faculty building and graded the access road to the College.

     

  • VC hails computer whizz kid

    The Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University, Ojo, Prof John Obafunwa, has congratulated Raji Rasheed, a Computer Science student, on his recognition as one of the best 10 computer science students in the country.

    In a letter signed by the Deputy Registrar, A.T. Fatogun, Prof Obafunwa said the management was excited over Raji’s achievement. Prof Obafunwa hailed him for being a good ambassador of the institution at the just concluded Odegbami National Information Technology Competition organised by the Nigerian Computer Society.

    Raji expressed gratitude to the management and staff of the institution for instilling in him the knowledge that enabled him to make the institution proud.

    “I always had this belief that I would go this far in the competition, I learnt a lot during the competition and hope to apply them in other aspects of life,” he said.

  • Faculty gets dean

    The Faculty of Arts of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), has elected Prof Patrick Okpoko as its dean. The election was held at the Senior Staff Club of the university.

    In his acceptance speech, Prof Okpoko said a major instrument to transform the faculty was quality academic research that would foster national development. He added that improvement in staff welfare was crucial to alleviating the faculty’s past challenges.

    His rival, Prof Iwuchukwu, promised to work with the new dean to inspire change in the faculty.

    “We are from the same local government area. And so, I will submit my manifestos to him as part of my contribution to ensure that he excel in office,” he stated.

    The outgoing dean, Prof Uchenna Anyanwu, described his four-year tenure as challenging, saying the lack of allocation to execute projects made it difficult to carry out sufficient programmes for staff and students.

  • Let’s stop the abuse of women

    The joy of living

    Breaks through the barriers of birth

    The sunlit sky

    Sunset at dusk

    The natural scent of musk

    And the pain of death

    The joy of living is like spring water

    Erupting from the depths of your soul

    Beyond the treasures of friendship

    Like a handshake at dawn…”

    The above poem was extracted from The Joy of Living, one of the Eugenia Abu’s collection titled: Don’t Look at Me Like That. The poem shows a divine gift, which a woman has been deprived in the history of mankind. But when will she live in peace?

    During the period of ignorance in the Arab world, which is termed Jahiliyyah by Islamic historians, there were indiscriminate killings of female children and lack of respect for women was rampant. This was seen as the most acceptable way of treating the womenfolk. The birth of a girl-child was considered shameful and seen as curse. The lucky ones grew up and were married off without their consent.

    As wives, they were regarded more as objects of carnal satisfaction rather than partners in marriage. The most degrading and demoralising part is lack of respect to women pride. In that epoch, women could be inherited just as a chattel. Even, women could be inherited by their sons, instead of being loved and cared for by relatives.

    But this was pre-civilisation epoch. In this era, the age-long abuse of women is yet to stop, despite our experience with civilisation.  Given the level of education in the present age, it is an irony that the highly literate generation is so ignorant of women’s rights or rather, it is aware but only chose to be cruel towards the gentle souls.

    As a daughter, a woman is a little angel. As a sister, she is a playmate; as a friend, she cares; as a wife, she is a great companion and lover, and as a mother- she perseveringly bear the pain of labour and always offer a strong shoulder to lean on anytime. I still wonder why a real man who was born of a woman will not value one.

    However, it is so sad that women are deprived the joy of living and shown so much resentment while growing up. They dare not voice their view on certain issues. Some still subject them to harsh life because they believe male child is better. The girl-child is maltreated and reduced to a mere slave in marriage.

    These various forms of discrimination and social torture are well pictured in the works of some writers in Nigerian literature. It is the woman that is relegated to the background and reduced to “baby machine” and housekeeper.

    Some believe women, despite their education, must not be allowed to hold key positions in the management of the nation. These and many more are the ways in which the world are depriving women of their joy, just as depicted in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Buchi Emecheta’s Joy of Motherhood and so on.

    Lately, women have begun to realise their value and have been proving to the world that they are capable of making impact in the society. Once again, literature as a tool for societal change has contributed immensely in promoting the value of women, not only by female writers but male writers, who are regarded as feminists.

    Women’s virtues have been promoted in books such as The Virtuous Woman by Zaynab Alkali, Sacred Apples by Abubakar Gimba and Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah. Apart from the literary impact of these great writers, even God in the Holy Scriptures mention women as companions and helpmates for men. God never said women are slaves and mere object to be inherited. Out of resentment and discrimination, the world seems to forget that nature created both gender each with its unique qualities which the other can’t possess.

    I like to conclude this piece by quoting the words of Marianne Williamson, who said: “In every community, there is work to be done; in every nation, there are wounds to heal, and in every heart, there is the power to do it.” We must say no to discrimination and promotes the rights of women.

    Halimah, 300-Level Law, UDUS

     

  • Ogun govt gets ultimatum on school fee

    Ogun State government has seven days to revert the school fee of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OAU) in Ago Iwoye, students gave the ultimatum last weekend.

    The students said if the government would not allow them to dream of affordable education, they will not allow the government to sleep. The students held a press conference in Lagos after their union president, Olusegun Ifade, appeared on Channels last Friday for an interview.

    Olusegun, reading the press statement titled: Affordable education: Our cry to the public, said: “More than 3,000 students have dropped out from the school since 2011 because of high fees. More than 2,000 students have applied for deferment to come back when they have money to pay school fee. Unfortunately, many left without coming back. Why should we fold our hands when government denies us access to affordable education?”

    The students demanded reopening of their school, adequate funding, withdrawal of security agencies from campus, reinstatement of over 3,000 students, non-victimisation of students’ leaders and reduction of the tuition fee.

    In an interview with Channels, the Commissioner for Education Barrister Segun Odubela, said the students were not sincere with their demand, noting that Olusegun did not show up for a peaceful meeting with the government.

     

  • CAMPUSLIFE girl is Miss Bekwarra

    A CAMPUSLIFE reporter at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), Miss Comfort Ogon, has won the beauty pageant organised by Bekwarra Local Government Area of Cross River State.

    The pageant with the theme: “Showcasing our rich cultural heritage”, was held to mark this year’s yam festival.

    Comfort, who represented Gakem ward in the council, beat nine others to emerge winner of the contest.

    Ruth Offie of Ukpah ward and Rose Odobi of Afrike Akpeche ward, emerged first and second runners-up.

    The event also featured football match, wrestling, cultural dancing competition and gala night, which culminated in the beauty contest.

    Comfort promised to use her office to preserve the rich heritage of the Bekwarra people, adding that she would embark on empowerment projects for girls in the community.

    Comfort, who runs Embrace the girl-child, a non-governmental organisation with the UN-Global Funds for Women, said her position would help her to achieve her three-fold project.

    “My pet project as Miss Bekwarra will be in three folds. It involves a breast-cancer awareness campaign, quiz competitions for secondary schools and pushing for an end to child-labour through empowerment and advocacy to seek improved living conditions for women,” she said.

    Members of the judges included wife of the Cross River State Commissioner for Works, Captain Cassandra Idagbor, Hon Akachu Cecilia, Vice-Chairman of Bekwarra Local Government Council, among others.

  • ‘Nigeria must develop its steel industry’

    The National Association of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Students (NAMMES), University of Nigeria, Nsukka, has organised a public lecture on challenges of the steel sector.

    The event, with the theme: “The practice of metallurgical and materials engineering: effects on Nigeria’s industrialisation bid” was held at the new Engineering Lecture Theatre.

    It was attended, among others, by President of the Nigeria Metallurgical Society (NMS) Prof John Ade Ajayi and Director of Scientific Equipment Development Institute, Enugu (SEDI) Prof Christian Nwajagu.

    In his lecture titled: “Sustainable iron and steel production in Nigeria: the techno-economic backbone of the national transformation agenda”, Prof. Ajayi said though not all G-8 countries produce oil like Nigeria, they are top iron and steel producers.

    “The developing economics such as Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea and Taiwan have all embraced this sector as a strategic weapon to bolster the fortunes of their economies,” he stated.

    He described the iron and steel industries of any nation as a core industry that could produce a spectrum of products for consumers, adding that the sector had the potential to become one of the highest employers of labour in the country.

    Lamenting the poor state of the sector, he warned: “With confirmed mass importation of iron and steel products in Nigeria instead of producing our own, the following are bound to happen: more building will collapse, more graduates will be unemployed, more brain drain will take place; and MDGs vision 20:20 will remain a mirage and the transformation agenda of the federal government will be like Alice in the wonder land,” he said.

    The second lecturer, Prof Christian Nwajagu, emphasised the need to revive the metallurgical and materials sector to achieve technological development.

    Prof Nwajagu, who was represented by the head of department, Machine Building section, Mr C.N. Ifediegwu, said the development gap in the country could be filled by the development of the metallurgical sector.

    In his address, President of the group, Kinsley Amatanweze, 500-Level, said the summit was held to contribute to the industrialisation efforts of the nation, adding that the steel sector must be revamped to drive national development.

    Highlights of the event included the presentation of awards to the lecturers.  Other awardees were the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Enugu State, Engr Godwin Madueke; Managing Director of Funds Associates Limited, Prince Matthew Agu; Chairman of Simplicity Industries limited, Godwin Jioke and former Chairman of Post-primary School Management Board, Enugu State, Prince Alex Akpa.

  • Students unite for community

    It was fun when a group of students under the aegis of Seed of wisdom gathered last weekend in Oko, Surulere Local Government Area of Oyo State to chart the way forward for the community.

    The Students, who had been separated for many years, due to academic engagements, all grew up in the same community. The group has been described as veritable tool to promote education in the community.

    The Acting Coordinator of the group and a graduate of Public Administration from The Polytechnic Ibadan, Olaoye Shuaib, said: ‘‘The Forum is set up to educate, interact and relate with one another just as we do before leaving this land. Though we are starting this forum with childhood friends and relatives who are interested in the growth of this community, but we will soon extend membership to external persons who are ready to contribute to the service of humanity.”

    Shuaib urged members to cooperate with one another to realize the objectives of the group.

    Speaking on discipline and moral behaviour, Adeleke Kohuanm, a student of Applied Physics, University of Abuja, said a disciplined man would always command respect in the society.

    Taofeek Lawal, 200-Level Political Science, University of Ilorin, said he was delighted to be part of the team, adding that the forum would promote peace and unity to drive community development.

    In his remark, Gbadmus Akeem, Kwara State Polytechnic, noted that team-spirit was essential to the development of every organization, imploring fellow members to be their brother’s keeper.

  • LAUTECH wins 2014 Google online marketing contest

    LAUTECH wins 2014 Google online marketing contest

    Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso have won this year’s edition of online marketing contest organized by the internet search firm, Google.

    The contest is entitled: 2014 Google Online Marketing Challenge Contest for the Middle East and Africa.

    A statement by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the institution, Mr. Lekan Fadeyi, listed members of the LAUTECH team in the contest as Adedoyin  Jelili , Olayanju  Abiodun, Adeosun  Oluwole all of Mechanical Engineering Department.

    Others are; Adesina Jamiu, and Akadiri Olawole both of the Urban and Regional Planning Department with Salami Ismaila of the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry. The team was led by the university’s Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Dr Tayo Arulogun.

    The statement quoted the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Adeniyi Gbadegesin, as commending members if the team for the feat while receiving them in his office.

    Gbadegesin also hailed the founding fathers of the institution for bequeathing to it a legacy that has continued to stand the test of time.

    The Vice Chancellor noted that the curriculum, which makes it mandatory for all intakes to register and offer same courses at the 100 level, has continued to put students of the institution above their peers.

    He added that most ICT-related awards so far won by the university is mostly by students whose courses of studies have nothing to do with ICT. He urged students of the institution to keep on being good ambassadors of their alma mater.

    “The team would be leaving the country for Dublin any moment from now to see the workings at the Google office,” The statement added.