The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • CAMPUSLIFE man honoured

    CAMPUSLIFE man honoured

    In recognition of his effort to make students informed, Charles Igwe, a 500-Level Chemical Engineering student and CAMPUSLIFE correspondent at the Nnamdi Azikwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Anambra State was honoured by the institution’s chapter of Nigerian Universities Engineering Students’ Association (NUESA).

    Charles’ effort was recognised at the NUESA annual award held at the Whyte View Hotels in Awka. The event was graced by officials of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) led by the president, Ibe Chukwunonso. The NUESA president, Basil Ozuluonye, also led the association’s executive.

    Presenting the award to Charles, Basil noted that the honour was in recognition of his valuable contributions to the development of the association. Charles was NUESA former Public Relations Officer.

    Charles described the award as first of its kind, and said he would cherish it forever. He thanked his colleagues for considering him for the honour pledging his continued support the association even after graduation.

    The students also honoured Chukwunoso, who is a 300-Level engineering student. The union president was recognised for giving the “most dynamic leadership” to students.

    Also, the department of Industrial and Production Engineering (IPE) received a trophy for its achievement during Inter-departmental Dean’s Cup contest.

  • ‘I regret being a medical doctor’

    It was fashionable while I was growing up to see parents choose the career path of their children and wards. You’re not going to “amount to anything” if you’re seen reading a single honours course in the university. Parents boast about their children reading medicine, engineering and law; you’ll be forgiven as a young student if you think the university is all about these courses.

    But over time, things started changing when business administration and related courses started taking the front burner buoyed by the emergence of “wonder banks” and other fast means of making money. Suddenly values that we hold dear started eroding as “making money” became the norm. Nobody cares anymore how the money was made, all that matters is that you are rich.

    That was the beginning of the ‘demystification’ of medicine, engineering and law. Why bother spending years in the university when you’re not sure of what the future hold became pronounced. People started questioning whether reading these courses was worth all the troubles after all.

    Last week I met a young medical doctor who expressed regrets for studying medicine and qualifying as a doctor. “If I had a singing talent like Dr. Sid I would have jettisoned my stethoscope for the music scene,” he said to my surprise. For the records, Sidney Onoriode Esiri, who goes by the stage name, Dr. Sid is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and dentist.

    We discussed at length for more than an hour because this came as a shock to me especially as I have always held doctors in very high regard and would have loved to be one had I been a science student. This is because my lifestyle, comportment, deep reading culture and discipline correlate with what makes a good doctor.

    As I struggled to encourage this young doctor that he has nothing to regret, my mind went back almost fifteen years ago to a discussion I had with a doctor friend while I was still in the university. This doctor also expressed regrets at the poor human resources planning and structures, unsatisfactory working conditions, poor remuneration, and few professional development opportunities back then. I am made to understand that this is even worse today.

    When he saw the “progress” his colleagues who read Economics and Business Administration were making during the banking “boom” of the Abacha era, he told me he was in “the wrong profession.” In my young mind then, I remembered telling him that all that was happening was a bubble that will burst someday. And true to my prediction, the bubble did burst and my older friend said I should consider calling myself a prophet!

    During that period, 19 banks collapsed leading to the Failed Banks Decree promulgated by late General Sani Abacha which was decreed into law to teach Nigerian bankers who mess with depositors fund a lesson. Unfortunately, there were other bank failures later before the sanity we are now witnessing. When I related all these, the young man felt a bit relieved, especially as I pointed out that even the present day society does not see the doctor as “relevant” as they were up to the 90s.

    After much probing, I discovered that he truly love the profession even though the stress associated with it is not commensurate with the financial rewards. “As a medical doctor, it’s an endless journey of reading and personal development. There are new discoveries almost on a daily basis and if you do not keep track you’ll be left behind. Keeping track means you have to prepare and pass your professional examinations otherwise there’ll be no room for advancement,” he told me, “but one of my major problems is the way the society treats doctors.”

    I agreed with him. If you doubt that take a look around and see how the society is now obsessed with “celebrities” of various hues and shapes; some are even instant celebrities because they participate in a show or event or feature in a movie. The society doesn’t even bother if an individual is an illiterate moneybag, corrupt public official or a person of dubious character. It is no longer a secret that this has been taken notches further when such individuals are awarded honorary doctorate degrees by our universities. These are the “doctors” our society recognises and adore!

    One stark reality about contemporary Nigeria is the dearth of reliable statistics for research and planning; this reality permeates almost every facet of our national life. Take the doctor patient ratio for instance. Nigeria, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) currently posts a poor doctor-patient ratio of 1:3500 as against the standard of 1:600. It also said the entire medical schools graduate between 3,500 and 4,000 new doctors annually. Another statistics has 1:6500 doctor-patient ratios.

    One would expect a call to action irrespective of which ratio is used because we have a dare situation in our hands, but that does not seem to be an issue here like in other things. It is the Ebola issue that seems to shake us out of our lethargy. The doctors showed their magnanimity by suspending their strike. I think this period should provide the opportunity for the government and the society to seriously look into some of the issues the doctors tabled before their strike action.

    Delivering a lecture titled “Medical Education in Nigeria: The Quest for World Standards and Local relevance,” held at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in 2012, the Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu said only 5 percent of applicants gained admission to read medicine. Of these, 2,701 trained in Nigeria left the country to other countries to work in the last four years prior to 2012.

    It is amazing that with this exodus of our doctors we don’t seem to get it. Dr. Amayo Adadavoh and other doctors who have remained and have now died as a result of Ebola are professionals who have spent years in training. The late Dr. Adadavoh was a consultant, and do we really know what it takes for a doctor to become a consultant? We have lost, and may still lose some of our finest professionals because of the way we treat them.

    It is not rocket science to understand why some of them are leaving as the working conditions is getting worse, thereby making other countries more attractive. Some of our doctors are presently working in the US, Britain, South Africa, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Trinidad and Tobago and other neigbouring African countries that treat their medical personnel better.

    Whenever I encounter medical practitioners and I see the evident lack of rewards for people who save lives, I always feel pained. To compound issues, whenever they demand what should ordinarily be their entitlement after spending years in medical school and a longer period preparing for other professional examinations, society is quick to condemn and remind them of their obligation to the same society that has scant regards for their own plights.

    Recollect that prior to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) suspending its strike, there appears to be nothing, either from the people in government or those of us outside, to show that we appreciate the fact that lives of ordinary Nigerians are already hanging in the balance as a result of the strike by doctors working in public health institutions across the country. But does it matter in a system so perverted that public officials now make it a culture that they are travelling abroad for simple medical check-up that can be done in Nigeria?

    My advice to young Nigerian students who have the love of the profession at heart is this: Go ahead and read medicine in the university because it will always remain a noble and dignified profession. You should not look up to society or the government for your fulfillment; just follow the conviction of your heart. Everything about life cannot be viewed from the narrow prism of money. There are still things money can never buy, and being a qualified medical doctor is one of such.

  • Students condemn school closure

    To forestall breakdown of law and order, Ogun State government has directed the management of the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) in Ago Iwoye to shut the campus indefinitely.

    In a release by the Secretary to the government, Mr Taiwo Adeoluwa, the decision to close the university was taken in the overall interest of peace and order.

    The government said students threatened to foment trouble as they rejected all entreaties and concessions made by the government on their demands. The government advised parents to call their wards to order, noting that it would not tolerate any act that will disturb the peace enjoyed in the state.

    Some students alleged that they were flogged by policemen deployed in the campus. It was gathered that some students, who wanted to use Automated Teller Machine (ATM) on the campus, were beaten by the police.

    Adeniyi Shofoyeke, a 200-Level Pharmacy student, said: “I believe the total shut down is a misuse of power by Governor Ibikunle Amosun. It is clear he has disappointed the students. The closing down of the school is uncalled for because students have been peaceful in their agitations.”

    The Students’ Union president, Olusegun Ifade, said: “The closure is illegal, unacceptable and uncalled for. Our agitation has been peaceful. We understand that there are some people who want to hijack the struggle, but we are not political. This is purely students’ struggle. We also don’t want the security agencies on our campus. We call on government to re-open our school and withdraw the army of occupation on the campus.”

  • Major test for generation next

    Major test for generation next

    What should be students’ role in creating a sustainable society? This was the puzzle speakers tried to unravel at the 13th CAMPUSLIFE Correspondents’ Workshop for student-writers held in Lagos last weekend. It was organised by The Nation in collaboration with Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited. KEMI BUSARI, CALEB ADEBAYO (Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife), ESE OKODUWA (Delta State University) and Sani Makama (Nasarawa State University, Keffi) report.

    As leaders of tomorrow, students have a role to play in the affairs of the country. But, they need a conducive environment to operate; an environment that is unencumbered by diseases, such as cancer, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), hepatitis and Ebola Virus. These public health issues and their environmental consequences must be addressed in the interest of national development.

    In addressing these challenges, what should be the role of students? This was the focus at 13th CAMPUSLIFE Correspondents’ Workshop held last weekend in Lagos.

    Co-sponsored by Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited (CCNL) and the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited, the workshop themed: Towards a sustainable environment, was a platform for some students and Corps members to use their writing skills to faster a sustainable society.

    Speaking on Rethinking healthy lifestyle through the sustainability lens, Mrs Iwalola Akin-Jimoh, the Executive Secretary of Youth Empowerment Foundation (YEF), said her experience in youth development has shown that young men possessed limitless capacities to change their society.

    She urged student-writers to explore opportunities around them and use their skills to expose health conditions on their campuses.

    Tertiary institutions, she said, were not unsusceptible to the growing national public health conditions, noting that students must be in the vanguard of engendering a healthy and environment-friendly society.

    Advising the students to use the platform for personal development, Mrs Akin-Jimoh said she loved working with youngsters.

    “For me, my advocacy began with my love for sport. But as a nutritionist, I felt I could do more than that to affect the lives of the people around me. This made me to start YEF 25 years ago and it was based on the experiences I had at the Nigerian Sports Camp,” she said.

    She added: “I will advise you all to explore opportunities offered by The Nation and Coca-Cola  through the CAMPUSLIFE platform to expand your network and bring about personal development. I will always use myself as a case study of how one can build an advocacy network and become a mentor to the generation coming after.”

    For an active healthy lifestyle, young writers, she said, must volunteer, mobilise and educate their peers, faith-based organisations and civil society organisations on health-related issues.

    Mrs Akin-Jimoh divided the participants into five groups of 10 students each. She asked them to identify four health challenges on campuses and two professional organisations  that could help in tackling them.

    The objective, according to her, is to demonstrate the strength in teamwork and collaboration in achieving a planned objective.

    She said: “If you work as a team, you would have built a capacity where you can support yourselves to a certain level and become change agents.”

    How can student-writers identify and report health and environmental challenges on their campuses?

    Seun Akioye, a multiple award-winning reporter with The Nation, answered the participants in his  presentation titled: Achieving sustainable environment: The role of campus journalists. He said industrial activities had endangered the planet more than any other, noting that more than 110 countries, including Nigeria, suffer from desertification. This, he said, costs the world about $42 billion yearly in loss and productivity.

    The environmental challenge, according to him, prompted millions of farmers to move to urban centres to seek alternative livelihoods; a situation that puts tremendous strain on overstretched services in the city.

    Millions of Nigerians, including students, he said, could be compelled to leave their homes in the next 10 years if measures were not taken to stop desertification.

    He urged the students to deploy their reporting skills in exposing environmental challenges peculiar to their campuses, saying they must employ the truth and investigative instinct to tell their stories.

    Akioye said: “Environmental sustainability involves making decisions and taking actions that are in the interest of protecting the natural world, with particular emphasis on preserving the capability of the environment to support human life.

    “As student-journalists, you have unlimited opportunities to change the perspectives and your environment by taking a deep look inside and a wide look around. There are issues around you and in your immediate environment, which can serve as a pillar of great environmental stories. Doing an investigation does not apply to corruption of politicians alone. There is corruption of the environment. You can bring to the front burner, issues that have been neglected from farming in Ile-Ife to fishing in the Niger Delta.”

    He urged the participants to always humanise their stories and evaluate the dangers involved in the reporting process. He urged them to read award-winning reports to learn how to write in-depth investigative reports that may help their schools’ managements to solve problems.

    To present their reports to wider audience, Akioye urged the students to use the social media.

    Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited Community Affairs Manager Emeka Mba said the company is always willing to provide platforms for intellectual debates by the youth. The firm, he said, has been sponsoring the workshop because of its commitment to encouraging youths to be part of the nation-building process.

    He said: “This is about the eighth year Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and its bottling partner, Nigerian Bottling Company, have been investing in students across higher institutions. We believe the youths have a message to deliver and we will always be willing to provide the platform for them to express, not only their minds on burning issues, but their talents in a wide range of areas. This is in line with Coca-Cola Nigeria’s philosophy of shared happiness.”

    Mba enjoined the participants to imbibe the values and attitude of sustainability in their endeavours.

    Earlier, CAMPUSLIFE co-ordinator Wale Ajetunmobi, while welcoming the participants, said the management of The Nation valued their contributions to the section in the last seven years.

    Ajetunmobi said The Nation has demonstrated its leadership in the media by its sustenance of campus journalism through its 10-page pullout.

    He took the participants through writing rules.

    Christopher Amanze, a first-time participant from the Abia State University (ABSU), said: “Every bit of the workshop session was educative, but the most memorable was the interactive session with the speakers and other participants. This is a good programme that must be sustained. I am grateful to The Nation and Coca Cola System for giving me an opportunity to learn the skills I could not have learnt in the classroom.”

  • Campuses’ ‘killer-dressers’

    Campuses’ ‘killer-dressers’

    Higher institutions are waging war against indecent dressing. But many female students keep wearing skimpy attires exposing vital parts of their bodies. They dress in breach of the dressing code, which they claim is an infringement on their right. AFEES LASISI (200-Level Political Science, Obafemi Awolowo University) reports.

    Students enjoy a lot of freedom and many have come to take it as a licence to misbehave. When it comes to dressing, many female students have gone weird. They wear skimpy dresses, exposing vital parts of their bodies. It is not that the men are better. They dress shabbily, provoking comments whether they are really students.

    The reign of skimpy dresses has turned many campuses to fashion runway.

    “Dress to kill” is now a popular slogan in lecture halls.

    Worried by this trend, managements of higher institutions introduced dress codes. While some higher institutions may have succeeded in implementing the rules, others have not.

    Besides, some students have been penalise by their authorities because what constitutes indecent dressing is not clearly spelt out. What is indecent dressing? Students differ on what constitutes this.

    Ayomide Fatumbi, a 400-Level Mechanical Engineering student of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, said: “Indecent dressing is an immodest and improper way of dressing that negates the code of dressing design by God. I dress the way I was brought up, and as students, I believe we should not only be taught how to read and write in schools, but also how to promote our culture and traditions in a decent way.”

    Mode of dressing is way of expressing freedom, said Sope Oyeniyi, a Food Science and Engineering student of LAUTECH. She said: “Everyone is free to dress the way he or she likes without hindrance from anyone or authorities. Restricting the way one dresses is unwelcomed and unacceptable to humanity. It is our right to dress the way we want. No one should compel others to dress in a particular way but if authorities believe they are not satisfied with the way some of us dress, they can instruct the security men at the school gates to disallow whoever dresses shabbily into the campus.”

    A lecturer at the Department of Local Government Studies, The Polytechnic Ibadan (IBADAN POLY), Mr Caleb Arulogun, said some dresses offend the ethics of the society. He noted that indecent dressing remained one of the causes of crisis in education sector.

    Arulogun said: “Higher institutions are not secondary schools where there is uniformity in dressing. Anyone who is admitted into higher institution is believed to be mature and to be able to differentiate his right from left.” He added that parents needed to teach their children morals, while institutions must strengthen its rules against indecent lifestyle.

    Olamide Sanusi, a final year student of Banking and Finance of IBADAN POLY, said there is a connection between dressing style and religious belief. “To me, I dress the way my parents do at home, and sometimes, it depends on the kind of friend people keep. Most students dress well at home, but when in school, they join bad company in ‘advertising’ their body,” she said.

    To prevent students from dressing shabbily while they study, regulators of some professional disciplines such as law and medical science have introduced a regulated dress code. While law students put on white shirt and black trousers or long skirts, medical students wear white lab coat on any clothes they have on them.

    Lawal Sulaiman, a 400-Level Mechanical Engineering student, LAUTECH, said: “Indecent dresses pose a danger for our society as we have witnessed many cases of rape and assaults of our female students. This type of dress promotes criminal acts.”

    A parent, Mr Omolewa Yunus, said school managements must ensure culture and tradition are preserved on the campus, saying students’ background contributed to the indecency pervading campuses.

    He said: “Most improper dresses start from home. Though some students change when they got admission but it should not be left only to the government and school authorities. I will support the implementation of dress codes for all students irrespective of their courses.”

    Corroborating Yunus, Adedoyin Akorede, a 200-Level Medical Rehabilitation student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, said the dressing style of students showed the kind of upbringing they had, adding that peer pressure and environment also contributed to the indecency on campus.

    “The way I dress most times speaks more of my upbringing. Though, there is pressure from friends on campus, but I can never bow to such ungodly dress of most female students put on,” she said.

  • Romance with e-voting

    Romance with e-voting

    Students of the Federal University of Agriculture in Abeokuta (FUNAAB) have elected their union leaders through electronic voting, reports ABIOLA SOLANKE.

    For the first time, students of the Federal University of Agriculture in Abeokuta (FUNAAB) elected their leaders through electronic voting. The exercise, which was conducted by the Information and Communication Technology (ICTREC) unit of the university, was adjudged successful by students.

    The electioneering started with a debate organised by Top-Notch Writers Organisation, a literary students’ club for the nine aspiring to be the union president. The chairman of the Presidential Debate Committee, Oluwafemi Aliu, said the debate was to test the aspirants’ intellectual ability and activism.

    The debate was followed by a press conference organised by the media team of the electoral committee, where students were informed about the modalities of the election. The conference was attended by all aspirants and students.

    According to the leader of the media team, Solanke Abiola, the process would afford students opportunity to choose the best candidates freely in a free and fair process.

    The following day, a manifesto day was held for the candidates to sell their programmes to students. This was held in the multipurpose hall of the university. The manifesto was not without jeering by the audience, who booed some aspirants to disapprove their candidature.

    On the day of the election, students trooped en mass to the Mahmood Yakub Lecture Hall at 9am for accreditation. By 11:22am, the voting commenced at the 500-capacity computer laboratory. Students were given a code to login and vote for their candidate of choice, while agents of respective contestants monitored the exercise.

    A staff of the ICTREC, Mrs P.A. Aiyelotan described the exercise as peaceful and orderly, promising that there would be improvement in subsequent exercise.

    The election ended at 4:26pm. The chairman of the electoral committee, Olumide Ajulo, announced result a few minutes later.

    It was gathered that 3,915 voted. The electoral committee declared Olawale Olajumoke, an Animal Physiology student, as the president-elect, having polled the highest number of votes. Others elected include Oluwafunmilayo Olaoye, Vice President, Samuel Opaleye, General Secretary, Ebunoluwa Oyedokun, Assistant General Secretary, Seun Akosile, Public Relations Officer, Oluwatobi Okaigbua, Social Director, Habeeb Tijani, Welfare/Business Director, Kayode Oluwaseun, Director of Finance, and Anjola Shoge, Secretary of Treasury.

    While many students hailed the process as successful, some complained about their inability to log in with the code they were given. Solomon Ayodele, a student, decried the log in problem, saying several students may have changed their mind to vote because of the problem.

    He said: “I was in the hall for more than 30 minutes and unable to login because the page was not loading. I observed that some of my colleagues could not vote due to the wrong codes given to them. But then, the process was peaceful and free. I hope the problem would be rectified before the next election.”

  • Curbing campus vices

    Curbing campus vices

    Poor academic performances and failure among students of tertiary institutions in Nigerian are resultant effects of evil or immoral behaviours and activities such as cultism, drug abuse, campus cohabitation, prostitution, among others.

    It has also been argued from another view point that peer influence and pressure are causes of students’ participation in social vices that results in poor academic performance and failure. Whatever the case may be, peer influence plays significant role in this regard. As a background to this, it will be pertinent to look at cultism, drug abuse, campus prostitution and how they affect students’ lives and performances on campuses of Nigerian tertiary institutions.

    History shows that cult activities in tertiary institutions began at the University of Ibadan. The first secret cult in Nigeria came into existence in the 1950s, when a group of seven students led by Professor Wole Soyinka founded the Seadog Confraternity, also known as the Pyrate. Aig-Imoukhuede, Pius Oleghe, Ralph Opara, Nat Oyelo and Professor Muyiwa Awe, were the founding fathers of this cult, at the University of Ibadan. The sole objective of the cult was to fight colonialism, to end tribalism and elitism, and to ensure the dignity of man. Their ideas were both patriotic and altruistic, as it was not imagined as a secret cult. The objectives revolved around the maintenance of polite behaviour among people of the different background and chivalry portrayed the dreams of the founders. Its members engaged in humanitarian activities such as donation of blood to hospitals to save lives and presentation of gifts to orphanages, to assist the hopeless in the society.

    Today, the reverse has been the case. Secret cults constitute themselves into a protection group that fight and advance the rights and privileges of their members, including harassments, brutalization, and sometimes killing of fellow students who challenge their members and lecturers who fail them in examinations. Many students have been lured into joining secret societies through deception. Such deception include becoming one of the untouchables once you are a member, controlling the most beautiful girl on campus, passing examinations without study, and so on.

    The effects of cultism on students and their learning processes cannot be overemphasized. This is evident from the existence and modes of operation of cult groups on campuses. Clashes between members of different cult groups result to killings, destruction of facilities and disruption of academic activities.

    Findings also reveal that more than fifty notorious cult groups exist on Nigerian campuses and have also resulted to the death of thousands of students. They include Black-Axe, Eiye, Mafia, Maphite, Klansman, Black Beret, Black Cat, Black Cross, Jurist, Mgba Mgba, Thomas Boys, Black Brassier, to mention a few. These groups operate in different levels at universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

    Cohabitation has also become a common phenomenon among students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Campus marriage, as it is fondly called among students, is a situation whereby a male and female student lives together in a rented apartment outside the school as husband and wife. Living in alone is now a thing of the past as some students want to experiment the bliss of marital life before leaving campus and getting married proper.

    In this pattern of settlement, male students assume the role of a husband and his girlfriend, the wife. This relationship has every attribute of a real marriage, except that pregnancy is avoided and the consent of the parents of both parties is not neccessary. In a nutshell, the male student- often referred to as the husband- relies on his parents for money to become the breadwinner as he provides the female student with money for food, sightseeing during weekends and most often, provides the female with money for her upkeep. The female student on the other hand cooks, cleans up the house and satisfies her man’s sexual appetite.

    The consequences of this immoral act is failure or poor academic performance, as some only remember that they are students actually when examinations come knocking, when they have spent better part of the semester practicing family life. On the other hand, it also results to unwanted pregnancy, which in turn leads to one or two of the students dropping out of school. In some cases, it results to the death of the female student in attempt to abort such pregnancy.

    Moreover, drug abuse and consumption of harmful substances among students has extended to include not only male, but female students of tertiary institutions. Apart from alcohol, marijuana and tobacco, students have cultivated the habit of consuming substances such as cocaine, heroin, morphine and paregoric methadone. These substances or drugs are dangerous to healthy living as they reduce physical and psychological sensibility. They adversely affect excellent academic performance among students.

    To remedy our campuses from this tragedy, and to avert indecent and evil practices among students, governments and authorities of high institutions in Nigeria should actively monitor the movement of students. This can be achieved through the provision of security personnel who are well-trained in human psychology to be able to identify drug addicts and cultists on campuses.

    Guidance and counseling units should be created in institutions where there are none, and should be strengthened in institution where they exist. Students should be mandated to attend counseling sessions.

    Authorities of high institutions, particularly the students’ affairs division and the security units, should monitor carefully the activities of all registered students’ unions, associations and clubs. This is because many cult groups operate under the guise of registered social and cultural associations. These will help to avert all indecent and evil practices on campuses and produce well-trained and excellent students.

     

    Ahmad, 300-Level Mass Comm., NSUK

  • ‘Our Coca-Cola stories’

    ‘Our Coca-Cola stories’

    Past participants at the CAMPUSLIFE Correspondents’ Workshop were the cynosure of all eyes as they shared their experiences with others at the 13th edition held last weekend in Lagos. The panel discussion, moderated by a public relations consultant, Mr Agbo Agbo, involved Jumoke Awe, Femi Asu, Gilbert Alasa and Francis Egwuatu. OLUWAFEMI OGUNJOBI (Language Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University) reports.

    After spending five years for her law degree at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) in Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, and one year at the Nigerian Law School (NLS) in Abuja, the only certificate that has taken Jumoke Awe to places is the one given to her by The Nation and Coca-Cola System in Nigeria.

    This is one of the testimonies shared last weekend at the 13th CAMPUSLIFE Correspondents’ Workshop held at CitiLodge Hotel in Lekki, Lagos.

    Jumoke, now a brand strategist, said she would forever be grateful to Coca-Cola Nigeria and Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited for giving her a platform that opened doors for her.

    “I have never put a curriculum vitae (CV) together to look for job after I left school,” Jumoke, Managing Director of Octo Consult, told the participants, adding that she is an employer of labour.

    This, she said, was made possible by the CAMPUSLIFE platform.

    After leaving Law School, Jumoke said she only practised law for four months during which she registered a media consultancy firm. “I never had any background in journalism except writing for The Nation as a student-writer. The certificates given to me at all the CAMPUSLIFE workshops I attended are the ones I am using to carve a niche for myself in the world of brand communication,” she said.

    Jumoke, the co-ordinator of Street2School, a Feminine Care Development Foundation, said the CAMPUSLIFE certificates and her stories in The Nation gave her the opportunity to consult for Osun, Ekiti and Ogun states on communication strategy.

    She urged the participants to use the CAMPUSLIFE platform to prepare themselves for life after school, saying opportunities abound in campus journalism.

    Jumoke, who referred to herself as a “proud product” of CAMPUSLIFE school, praised the management of The Nation for giving undergraduates an opportunity to express their views weekly. She added that her articles in the 10-page pull-out got her connections, praising the late CAMPUSLIFE editor, Mrs Ngozi Agbo, for nurturing her and others.

    Another CAMPUSLIFE product, Femi Asu, an Accounting graduate got a job with an accounting firm, two years after graduation. But he resigned to pursue his dream in journalism. “My stories on CAMPUSLIFE pages stood me out. Two weeks after I submitted my application at Business Day, the Editor called me himself after he read my articles  on CAMPUSLIFE pages, which I attached to my CV,” he said. He is now an Energy reporters with business journal.

    Femi described CAMPUSLIFE as a “life-changing” platform, which must be explored by undergraduates. He said without the opportunities offered him through CAMPUSLIFE, he would not have pursued his dream to do what he had always loved to do.

    “I will enjoin the participants to stay connected to CAMPUSLIFE, because this is a family you will never regret to be part of,” he said.

    For Gilbert Alasa, a graduate of Foreign Languages from the University of Benin (UNIBEN), the platform has elevated him to a height he never dreamt of. Gilbert, who is serving in Ekiti State, said CAMPUSLIFE made it possible for him to get mouth-watering remuneration for his writing skills. Through his award-winning stories, Gilbert was selected as a trainee in an International Investigative Reporting Training in Abuja last June.

    Francis Egwuatu has just won the 2014 edition of Mr Universe Nigeria held in Lagos last month. He is an engineering student of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO). He narrated how Coca-Cola System and The Nation contributed to his success.

    Francis won the Anambra edition of the contest last year, qualifying him for the national challenge, which he won last month.

    He said the spirit of friendship among CAMPUSLIFE students was key to his success at the pageant, because he learnt how to live with people of different culture.

    The foursome hailed Coca-Coca Nigeria and NBC for the sponsorship, adding that their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is significant.

     

  • Group tasks students on wealth creation

    The Bastiat Society, an international free market think-tank organisation, has educated the youth on the need to generate wealth from their talent. Its country Director, Adewale Bankole, spoke at the maiden African Students for Liberty (ASFL) Conference held at the expansive Trenchard Hall of the University of Ibadan (UI).

    Bankole said the group was out to educate young professionals and entrepreneurs on the need to derive values from their abilities.

    He said: “A society built on limited individual knowledge is a free market’s greatest weakness. It leaves those within the system vulnerable to those who claim that their perfect knowledge or theory is more valid than individual knowledge or the individual will.”

    Bankole said unless individuals restored popular confidence in an economic order based on freedom, the society would continue to be under an immoral economic system based on absolute power, theft and envy. “Business must take the lead in defending the morality and productivity of free societies,” he said.

    He called on students to join group of wealth creator, adding: “It is only through personal development and liberty that you can achieve prosperity.”

     

     

  • We are in interesting times

    It is no longer news that the Boko Haram insurgency has taken over the Northern part of the country. The insurgents have stepped up their bloody war by hoisting their flag in some cities in Borno State. This has its message: government is becoming irrelevant.

    While bloodletting is going in the North, the South is not settled by hike in school fee. Some campuses have been shut, following students’ protest.

    The country is being pushed in different direction by its internal problem such as bombing, kidnapping and armed robbery but the Federal Government seems not to care about finding a lasting solution to these challenges.

    Boko Haram appears to have become uncontrollable. From all indications, it appears the criminals are gaining the upper hand in a bid to achieve their inordinate ambition.

    The situation in the North would have been difficult to solve because of its many parts, but how about bringing down school fees?

    The Federal Government may have ordered the school managements to hike the fee through the back door, given its directive during the last Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike, that universities should be self-sustaining.

    This, however, has been rejected by students of affected institutions, who feel they are already been over-charged to get education that is supposed to be their right.

    From federal to state schools, it has been the same story. Schools are shut over students’ confrontation. While many rejected the fee increment, others said they were not getting value for the money being paid.

    Universities’ Pro-chancellors have given theor imprimatur to fee hike as their chairman , Prof Kimse Okoko, while presenting Committee of Pro-chancellors’ position in a communiqué at the end of its meeting recently in Abuja, said additional funding through tuition was required to salvage the education system from rot and reduce over dependence on federal grants.

    The Pro-chancellors argued that rather than dwell on the notion that high fees may take university education beyond the reach of the poor, the real focus should shift to how to make loan available for indigent students, which include the revival of student loans schemes, bursaries and scholarship, among others.

    The Pro-chancellors seem to have expand the logic of their opinion too far, but the question is: will the loan or scholarship initiative work in a country battling with corruption in all facets of its life? Would the benefit be given to students who merit it?

    If hike in tuition would solve challenges in education sector, why did local ASUU chapters not support the hike?

    Whether increase in tuition alone will supplement and balance Federal Government’s grants to schools, it is left to be seen, but this is also an avenue for schools to be held accountable on how funds are being used and look at other areas through which they can generate funds.

    From University of Ibadan (UI), where the school has the sole right to sell drinkable water throughout the campus, to Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), where various means of funds are generated through schemes like OAU bottle water, filling station etc. and the University of Lagos (UNILAG), University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) to other Universities in the country, the amount being generated internally varies.

    The internally generated revenues of the schools have  been greatly enhanced with the permission of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to schools, to conduct their Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for thousands of applicants seeking admissions and with each school not charging less than N5,000 per student. This is a huge revenue.

    All these give rise to question as to how higher institutions spend their internally generated revenue. And for a school like OAU,  this is one of the main reasons why the students union leadership is at loggerheads with the management over the recent hike in fees that resulted in closure of the campus for over a month.

    The Students’ Union leadership maintains that the school is on a sound financial standing, given what it got from the pre-degree programmes and its recent grant of N8 billion World Bank. This is aside the expected ASUU grant that will come in tranches. So why should an institution such as OAU contemplate to hike school fee? Indeed, we are in interesting time.

     

    Sehindemi, 400-Level English Literature, OAU