The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • ASUU strike and the politics of emotion (I)

    I made several calls to some of our campus correspondents last week to ascertain how they are coping with the prolonged ASUU strike which entered its fourth month last week. As expected, it was lamentation after lamentation. After an initial six depressing calls, I reflected deeply again about Nigeria and asked myself the question that has been asked millions of times by well-meaning citizens: why are we like this?

    Is there something mentally wrong with us as a people generally? Why do we lack the ability to consider the long term impact of some of our actions? Are our problems psychological? Are we in fact mad as some now suggest? Why do we expend so much energy discussing inanities while serious issues are left unattended to?

    I ask these questions because we certainly engage in conduct that makes no sense and is often entirely abnormal. Taken down to its micro level, you see it happen almost unhindered every day: Don’t maintain an aircraft and continue to fly it with its problems and expect that it repairs itself in the air. Sell your votes to corrupt politicians and vote them into office and later start complaining about poor health care facilities, bad roads etc. Appoint ministers and public officials based, not on merit, but regional sensibilities and later start complaining about incompetence. Buy multiple SUVs rather than fix bad roads. Buy bulletproof or armoured vehicles for ‘protection’ since kidnappers, armed robbers and hired assassins are on the prowl. Graduate thousands of half-baked Nigerians from bad universities and then ‘encourage’ them to go out there and create jobs!

    I heard a comedian say the other day that if Jesus Christ came down tomorrow, judging by his heavenly conduct and splendor, we Nigerians would refuse to vote him as our President and saviour – so, we have even denied ourselves spiritual intervention. If all of these and more is the new normal here in Nigeria, has the time not arrived when we should consider as a nation a well-deserved visit to the psychiatrist?

    Now to the issue at stake; the prolonged ASUU strike. After an unnecessary rigmarole, the buck finally stopped at the President’s table, as the Americans would say. That was after the government threw up its arms in the air and started employing ‘emotional intelligence’ by appealing to ASUU to call off the strike “in the interest of our children”. As is often the case, ‘eminent citizens’ dormant politicians and lobbyists also seized the opportunity provided for them on a platter of gold by joining the fray and singing the same song to show the government that they are on their side.

    The battle thus moved from the negotiation table to the realm of psychological warfare with both sides striving to gain the support of Nigerians. ASUU officials took to the streets of major cities across the country in their bid to explain the rationale for the prolonged strike and for citizens to implore the government to honour the agreement it signed. Similarly, Vice-President Namadi Sambo appealed to ASUU to sheathe its sword and call off the strike in the interest of the students and the nation. Recall that he also led a committee that met with ASUU, but his committee met a brick wall.

    When the ASUU strike was in its second month, government officials started insinuating that the union was infiltrated by opposition element which was why they stuck to their guns that the 2009 agreement they signed with the government must be honoured in totality. Even the President, in his last media chat, said the lecturers never stayed this long before suspending previous strike actions.

    Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, also said the strike, “from all indications”, had the trappings of political undertones to discredit the president, he insisted that his NEEDS Assessment Committee actually released about N100 billion to federal and state universities for the development of projects. He also raised the issue of state universities joining the strike since some of them have no issues with their principals. However, it was in the news last week that some varsities claimed they have not received a dime from the government since the release of the funds.

    At a point in the psychological warfare, ASUU sources claimed the government was planning to forcefully reopen the universities. Expressing his reservation on this, ASUU Chairman, University of Uyo chapter, Mr. Nwachukwu Anyim, said: “As a branch, we do not think that such a directive would resolve the issues at stake. Rather, such a directive would deepen the prevailing crisis. A show of force by the president could only, at best, result in a ‘pyrrhic victory’. We stand on the existing agreement between the union and the federal government. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between government and ASUU and also the NEEDS Assessment Report should provide the road map for the resolution of the ongoing strike by ASUU”.

    Did the President get his facts right when he said the strikes normally do not last this long? He did not. In 1994, the union went on strike for six months. In 1995, it was five months. It downed tools for seven months in 1996. It was five months in 1998, five months in 1999, two months in 2001, three months in 2002 and six months in 2003 which ended in 2004. It went on strike for two weeks in 2005, one week in 2006, three months in 2007, one week in 2008, four months in 2009, five months in 2010, three months in 2011 which ended in 2012, four months already in 2013 and the strike is still on!

    What I intend to do in the next couple of weeks is to look at this issue critically and holistically once again. I’ll still look at the issue even if the union decides to call off the strike after its meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan because matters regarding our tertiary institutions are fundamental. The meeting with the president is the outcome of the resolution reached last week at the meeting between Vice-President Sambo, who is also the chairman of the Federal Government negotiation team, the supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike and ASUU.

    The enormity of the crisis at hand is being felt across our shores. Already, universities in Ghana, Benin Republic and Togo are now overwhelmed by the number of Nigerian students applying for admission and have even started rejecting applications. So finding solutions to the carrying capacities of our varsities should be on the front burner for some time to come, so also is mapping out strategies on what to do with the products of these universities. You’ll agree with me that this won’t be an easy task.

    In my previous articles on ASUU related issues, I’ve received calls and messages that I’m sympathetic to their cause and never seem to see anything wrong in their actions. My reply to such readers is simple: provide the necessary infrastructure and tools to a substantial level then bring in administrators with track records to enforce discipline and civilised conduct akin to what the late sole administrator of Ahmadu Bello University, Major-General Mamman Kotangora did; but this time within the confines and parameters of democratic culture.

    Yes, there are definitely some bad eggs within ASUU ranks just as there are principled ones. When all the necessary tools are in place, we would then concentrate on fishing out lecturers that lecture in five universities at the same time; those who sell marks for sex; those who insist handouts must be bought by students or they carryover courses; those who sponsor cult members and a motley of other allegations, some so outrageous to mention. Lecturers will then have to choose where they belong. The rot remains because government believes in just ‘throwing’ money at the varsities without proper monitoring mechanisms in place. The various NEEDS assessment reports are there for all to see.

    This notwithstanding, I make bold to say that if we have a determined, credible and accountable government that insist on due process in place we have the potentials of having some of the best universities in Africa. Though the rot is enormous, I believe that this strike – which is one too many – has at least made more Nigerians aware of the issues at hand. How we address this and move forward will definitely determine the future of tertiary education in the country.

     

     

  • ASUU strike: Thieves invade Nasarawa varsity

    ASUU strike: Thieves invade Nasarawa varsity

    When the ongoing Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike is called off, students of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK) will be shocked on their return to school. Reason: Their hostels have been invaded by burglars and petty thieves. Properties in off-campus hostels are being carted away by the thieves suspected to be students and members of the university’s host community.

    Hostels in Students’ Village, Ungwan Lambu and High Court areas, where many students reside have become a safe haven for the thieves, who invade students’ rooms daily.

    When CAMPUSLIFE visited those places last week, rugs, carpets, mattresses, television set, home theatres, gas cookers, fans and wall clocks had disappeared from there. The doors to many of the invaded rooms were left open.

    Finding revealed that more than 30 rooms were burgled. The thieves broke the doors and windows to enter the rooms. There were signs of broken ceilings, indicating that some of the intruders may be living in those buildings.

    Worst hit are Transport Lodge, Pinnacle House, Jarkasa Palace, New Jersy House, Ta’al House, Green House, Mambila House and Celebrity Lodge.

    Ruth Maga, a 200-Level Geography student, whose room was stripped bare, told our correspondents: “A neighbour called to inform that the door to my room had been broken and some of my property stolen. I could not believe it until I got here. As you can see, nothing is left in the room except the photos I pasted on the wall; even my cooking pots and stove were stolen. I wonder if the police are patrolling this area. Two other rooms in my hostel are also broken. My fear is, how do I start buying these items again when school resumes going by the current economic situation? I don’t know what the landlord association is doing about this”

    Baba Idris, the ward head of Angwan Lambu, blamed the incident on security lapses, saying there was no police patrol in the night when the criminals operated. “You see, when the students were in school, there was an arrangement which brought together students, local youths and police. They always went on patrol at night around Angwan Lambu and High Court areas. Through this arrangement, there were fewer cases of robbery and burglary.

    “But now that the students are not in school, the police no longer come here; our youths cannot carry out the task alone. I will advise that students should come and pack their belongings till the time the strike will be called off.”

    A security guard, who did not want his name in print, said strangers visited the areas from time to time, claiming that outsiders were the perpetrators. “Every day, strange faces come around and I suspect that they may be capitalising on the fact that most of the houses have no security watch to carry out the crime. In my opinion, I think the respective landlords should provide security guards in their houses. The police hardly come around and when they do, they would come to that primary school (pointing) and turn back,” he said.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that two burglary cases were reported at the Angwan Lambu Police Post and a suspect, said to be a student, is being prosecuted in court.

    An affected resident in Green House told CAMPUSLIFE last week it was the second time his room was invaded.

    “The first time, they broke into my room and stole my home theatre. I came back to mend the door and put a new padlock. They came back and stole every item left in the room,” he said.

    The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Keffi Police Station denied that the place was not being well patrolled. Rather, he said crime rate had reduced in Angwan Lambu since he assumed office. He said his men could not be everywhere, adding that the burglaries were rare cases.

    A student, Bala Ibrahim, urged landlords to ensure the protection of tenants’ properties.

    “Charging high rent should entail securing our properties whether or not we are in school. Besides, why are they not remitting part of our rent to us to cover the period we are not in school?” he asked.

    A landlord, Mr. Emma Sharafon, who owns Sheraton House in Angwan Lambu Phase II, said there was no way he could hire private security personnel because his tenants still owed him.

    “Some are yet to complete their rent for the outgoing year. I don’t see myself providing security guards for the tenants when they have refused to pay their rent. I don’t even stay in Keffi, so there is practically nothing I can do to help the situation.”

    Contacted, Rabiu Tijani Omame, suspended Students’ Union Government (SUG) president, said he could not speak on the matter because he is on suspension. Attah Douglas Arre, chairman of Faculties’ Presidents, said he was not aware of the incident but promised to investigate.

     

  • ‘I sing to spread the gospel’

    ‘I sing to spread the gospel’

    What triggered your interest in music?

    I have been a lover of music, but I suddenly developed interest in it when I bought a walkman. I found myself listening to music all the time. So what triggered my interest? I really can’t say; it just happened.

    So, why rap music or pop music, and R ‘n’ B? Besides? you blend it with gospel.

    I love all kinds of music, whether it is rap, pop or R ‘n’ B. I would have preferred slow songs, but I am not blessed with sonorous voice. But I naturally blend with rap. It is easy for me. When I got to school, I met gospel artistes and groups such as Spokesman, Lecrae, Trip Lee and IHN (In His Name) of WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?). So, I decided to get involved. I joined IHN and I got all their songs and started listening. I was able to write my own songs from there.

    Can we then say you do strictly gospel music?

    Yes, you can say that. That is in fact the only thing I can do.

    Many Christians have the opinion that rap is not sacred in gospel, do you agree?

    I always try to avoid speaking on this belief but what I can tell you is that there is no such thing as “not sacred”. It is either sacred or not. Let me put it this way; everything I do is meant to glorify God. That is how I see music. Whatever the kind of music, if it doesn’t glorify God, it is waste of time.

    What keeps you going, despite being a beginner on the music scene?

    It is the holy spirit. There is no money but it shouldn’t be about money. It is about doing what I can to spread the gospel because the holy spirit has taught me that cars, money and materials things are vanities. It is God and people He has placed in my life that keep me going.

    Who are your role models?

    They are many but I will mention a few. My mum and dad have been sources of inspiration for me. I have other role models such as Lecrae, KB, Sho Baraka and the Deitrick Haddon and J Clone, Eazy, Creative Music and PressSpoil Crew among others.

    Which is the most precious to you between music and your Engineering career?

    Music is most suitable but I am getting my engineering degree first.

    Aside music, what other form of art do you do?

    I am a photographer. I love photography and poetry, spoken word especially. I also draw using technical and free hand too.

    With this kind of music, do you believe Nigeria can build a society that is peaceful and healthy?

    Yes, I believe this. Gospel music is the way out. I see a revolution coming to the music world and not only in Nigeria but all over the world. I am happy to be a part of it. Believe it, sooner or later, the world would experience this revolution.

    Where do you see yourself in the nearest future?

    I see myself doing what I love to do, what I am naturally created for and what God has called me to do. I don’t know what future holds for me but definitely, I will continue to sing to spread the gospel of God to the people of the world.

  • Okagbare’s exploit in Moscow

    Okagbare’s exploit in Moscow

    Nigeria’s contingent to the World Athletic Championship held in Moscow last August nearly did it again if not for the blessing from the track queen, Blessing Okagbare. Yes, she made us proud and we were quick to identify with the green-white-green flag.

    The ugly incident in the last Olympics tournament and the 14-year medal drought the nation experienced almost killed Nigerians’ enthusiasm had Okagbare not represented Nigeria well in the contest.

    It won’t be wrong to tag the contingent “Team Okagbare” rather than “Team Nigeria”. This is because it appeared as though the nation went to the competition with one athlete. She was the only one that performed credibly at the competition, where as we went there with a coterie of athletes, who participated in different track and field events, such as sprints, long jumps and relay race, among others.

    The athletes, before leaving for Moscow, promised to deliver medals irrespective of the colour. Some of them had standing records and did impressively well in previous preliminary competitions. These made Nigeria’s sports lovers, upon seeing their rare talents, to believe that things would turn out well for the nation at the competition. But the nation nearly missed the medal ceremony if not for the Beijing 2008 Olympics bronze medalist, Okagbare, who fought tirelessly to register the nation’s name on the medal table. Then the begging question: who is to blame, the athletes?

    Nigeria is the only nation that enters a competition with a banner of god luck. It is a known fact that before an athlete wins a medal in a competition; he must have passed through rigorous trainings to improve on his skills and to keep fit. And this a routine exercise. It is disheartening to know that the nation did not give her contingents necessary preparation for them to hoist our flag above other nation during the tournament.

    The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) had announced that the athletes would be camped for a two-week training abroad before the world athletic event commenced, to enable them train well and be in the spirit for the fight for medals. This, they never did for reasons best known to them and the National Sports Commission (NSC). The beleaguered athletes were left to depend on self-sponsored and last-minute training with their coaches, a development that depicts the height of insubordination of our public officials.

    Not everybody noticed the dance of the spirit the two bodies were dancing, until things became no longer at ease with our athletes and they started falling apart from the competition one after the other and then massively. Most of them could not scale through the first stages of the games in which they participated.

    Those that made us to be hopeful, the women team, became helpless as the tempo of the game was too fast for them to beat due to poor preparation. For the men, the competition ended for them before it started. And to crown it all, most of them failed to maintain their own personal records. Pity!

    It was obvious that the AFN took our athletes to Moscow just to fulfil all righteousness. Different reports showed that most of the athletes were not fit for the events but were still took them to the competition. They did this to avoid sanction from the World Athletic Federation. Our athletes took part in the competition with no passion for the medals. They gave us false hope. They played with our emotions. Because they were aware they were going there just to try luck.

    Little wonder everyone in the federation was busy mentioning Okagbare and heaped on the innocent girl the hope of more than 150 million Nigerians for medals. They knew she was the only dependable athlete. They also knew she had being training hard, though with the support which was not from them. Of course, she had told whoever cares to listen on several occasions that her supports comes majorly from some well meaning Nigerians like her state governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, and not from our so called NSC.

    It is a pity Nigeria can never learn from its previous failure! One would expect that the nation would have performed better at the Moscow games, owing to their dismal outing during last year Olympics that raised a lot of dust. But unfortunately, it was still business as usual. And of course the same result or something closer to it became inevitable.

    Come to think of it, even a two-week camping is a far cry to what is required for an athlete to get prepared for a world championship. We are yet to learn our lesson from last-minute preparation.

    Nobody is talking about the 2016 Olympics. May be it’s not yet March 2016, when they would start their rush-hour preparation, go for a two-week camping and come back with a lot of excuses and regrets, which are gradually becoming their own version of medals. It is known fact that nations like United States, China, Kenya, Jamaica, and others that performed well in these competitions started preparation for the next edition immediately they returned from previous tournament. But this is never the case with Nigeria, who believes her athletes to have magical powers to win gold medals even when they are not fit.

    Not preparing your athletes for an event ends up killing their careers, and this has caused most of them to taking up other countries’ nationalities. 2014 Common Wealth Games are around the corner, and we are yet to have a routine package to prepare out athletes. It is time the nation took athletics serous like it is doing for soccer. Corporate bodies, multinational firms, telecommunication and beverages companies should also extend their sponsorship to athletics and also their endorsements to athletes. If what worth doing is worth doing well then Nigeria should either prepare adequately for an athletic competition or not enter for it at all.

     

    •Kingsley, 400-Level Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, UNN

     

  • How not to be remembered

    How not to be remembered

    I am sure most students have not met the person who bears Yinka Gbadebo, but the fellow claimed to be their president. While students teamed up and rallied round their lecturers to demand implementation of the 2009 agreement they reached with the government, it was the expectation of many that the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) would support the move. The Gbadebo defected to the side of the government to condemn Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) action.

    Later, students discovered that the fellow parading himself as NANS president was expelled about 10 years ago from the University of Ado Ekiti, now Ekiti State University (EKSU). With this, he does not have any right to participate in election, not to talk of parading himself as students’ leader.

    Shocking is the fact that he addressed a press conferences and rallies support for the government, claiming to be speaking the minds of students. He threatened ASUU officials and barked order as though, he employed the lecturers in the first instance.

    He made us to know that our lecturers are selfish by not considering students before embarking on strike, claiming that ASUU leadership is corrupt.

    It is amazing that a man who claims to be student is addressing university teachers in such an uncultured manner. In their extreme support for President Goodluck Jonathan, the NANS leaders made us known that the president could not have been party to the 2009 agreement. I wonder if NANS is an arm of the government or is still a students’ body.

    Maybe the NANS leaders need to take an excursion to all tertiary institutions and see the situation of things for themselves. If students studying science courses could not be provided with good facilities in terms of laboratories, why do we need to offer such courses in our universities?

    Despite the fact that we have wayward lecturers, we should also know that there are great lecturers who are interested in imparting quality knowledge on students. It is not a crime for ASUU to demand for better pay package, the federal government should not give us excuses for failing in its responsibility.

    Gbadebo should remember this: the strike will end one day and students will return to campus. But will he be able to visit campuses without being stoned? Will Gbadebo’s name remain in the hearts of the students forever? Surely the answer is yes, but each time we remember him, it either we offer prayers or heap curses on him.

     

    Segun, 100-Level Political Science, AAUA

  • Under the president’s carpet

    Under the president’s carpet

    Adolf Hitler was known for his oratory but he went down in history as a murderous leader and bloodthirsty expansionist. Unlike Hitler, however, Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan lacks charisma. His October 1 speech was no less drab. He rather read the speech to confuse the bewildered people of Nigeria.

    The inauguration of Senator Femi Okorounmu-led National Advisory Committee on National Dialogue, a clause carefully crafted in the speech, seemed to be the only item that appealed to the senses of our countrymen. The rationale behind this is not far-fetched. But more telling is the fact that the proposed conference looks more like a Trojan horse than a Greek gift. It is a decoy; the type Robert Greene did not mention in his 48 Laws of Power.

    Even before I was born, eminent Nigerians have been calling for a sovereign national conference where issues of national interest would be tabled and ironed out considering the fragile state of the nation. I grew up, with more political consciousness, to also be an advocate of a national conference.

    Initially, the president was ill-disposed towards the idea of the conference and the Senate President David Mark also dismissed the idea, saying sovereignty only lies with the National Assembly. For the duo to have made a u-turn suddenly is enough evidence for us to be suspicious. And for the president to have yanked out “sovereign” from the proposed national confab, it also signals a plague that would ravage the whole process.

    Things, however, became crystal clear when the president revealed that the national conference‘s report would be sent to the national assembly for ratification. Therefore, it is pertinent to say that the proposed national conference is merely an instrument of distraction. Above all, the power of an instrument is virtually the power of him who wields it.

    Douglas Coupland, the Canadian novelist, probably had this in mind when he wrote: “One of the cruelest things you can do to another person (Nigeria, in this instance) is pretend you care about them more than you really do.”

    As it is, it is predictable that the F Okorounmu-led Advisory Committee would, undoubtedly, suffer the fate of previous committee set up by the government. It is just one of those committees to be swept under the Aso Rock’s carpet.

    With the fall out of the outcome of the October 2010 Presidential Stakeholders Education Summit convened by President Goodluck Jonathan, the president consequently inaugurated a task force on education, on January 5, 2011, to re-focus and restructure the education system in the country. At the summit, the president harped on fallen standard of education at all levels. As a result, the 30-man team, led by Prof Peter Obayan, was given the mandate to proffer solution. Since then, the recommendations of the task force to save the nation’s education system have not been produced.

    On August 18, 2011, the Stephen Oronsaye-led Presidential Committee on Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies was inaugurated. The committee did a painstaking task and came out with recommendations that the 541 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) including 263 statutory agencies be reduced to 163 in order to reduce waste and prune cost of governance. As I write, the letters of the recommendations have not been implemented.

    Lest we forget, following the outing of Prof Barth Nnaji from the Ministry of Power last year, the president inaugurated two presidential committees on the power sector to enhance stable power supply in the country. The first, Presidential Action Committee on Power, was chaired by the president himself with the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, as deputy chairman. The second, Presidential Task Force on Power, which was chaired by Becks Dagogo-Jack.

    Thereafter, the president made his infamous speech: “…as we progress from now till December, if Nigerians can go home in December and do their parties without generators, and can drive to their states without gutters on our roads stopping them; I think the rating of government will improve. So, we must work hard to get to this level.”

    With the current epileptic state of our electricity and hazardous condition of roads, how do we rate this government? Moreover, where is the recommendation of the president’s action committee? How do we expect oil revenue not to dwindle when the recommendation of the Mallam Nuhu Ribadu committee on Petroleum Revenue Task Force intended to clean the oil sector has been politicised and abandoned?

    The Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, disclosed to State House reporters last November that the president had set March 2013 as deadline for the completion of the Turn Around Maintenance of three refineries located in Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri. March 2013 has passed but the refineries are still not functioning properly. What happened to the committee on refineries headed by Dr Kalu Idika Kalu?

    Besides, another December is fast approaching and I wonder how the president intends to fill our roads and stabilise electricity in the face of the on-going revamping of the power sector?

    President Jonathan’s penchant for setting up needless committees is becoming unbearable. Hence, one can easily predict the fate of the national conference report being pushed from the committee to the national assembly and the president. It will finally end up under carpet.

    In as much the debate on the national conference occupies our minds more than Jonathan vs Amaechi, Baraje vs Tukur and G7 vs G15, I believe that real agenda for the proposed national conference cannot be achieved without political will to implement the recommendations of the past committees.

    If we fail to borrow a leaf from George Santayana’s words and learn from the past, the result would be nothing better than the event in the poetic work of late Prof Kofi Awoonor’s Song of Sorrow. The poet wrote: “Dzoghesa Lisa has treated me thus/ It has led me among the sharps of the forest/ Returning is not possible/ And going forward is a great difficulty/ The affairs of this world are the chameleon faeces/ Into which I have stepped/ When I clean it cannot go.”

     

    •Taiwo, recently finished National Youth Service, NYSC Ibadan

     

     

  • Muslim students get new leaders

    Muslim students get new leaders

    The leadership of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit has changeD. Alhaji Kameel Kalejaiye has been elected as the Amir (President) to steer the affair of the society for the next two years.

    The Amir along with other members of the executives emerged at an election conference at the main Auditorium of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka on Sunday.

    Mallam Saheed Ashafa Naibul Amir (Vice-President); Mr Tajudeen Balogun – Secretary and Hafsah Badru as Amirah (Female President).

    Others are Public Relations Officer (PRO), Idris Qaseem; Assistant Secretary, Abdul Rahman Miftaudeen; Assistant PRO, Mustafa Kilani; Director of Studies, Qaseem Awwal; his Assistant Kamaldeen Abiona; Internal Auditor, Hakeem Salman; Welfare Officer, Musbaudeen Ismail; his Assistant Qasim Salisu; Sisters’ Circle Secretary, Halimah Tijani; PRO Sisters Fauziyya AbdulQadr; Welfare Officer II, Shakirah Abdurrazak and Council of Higher Institution (COHI) Coordinator, Fatimah Olokodana.

    Earlier in his remark, the outgoing Amir (President), Alhaji Qaseem Badrudeen decried the worsen economy situation of the country.

    “You will all agree with me that Nigeria has never had it so rough like this in terms of decay in virtually every aspect of our national existence. While our government claims the economy is robust and growing, the evidence on the streets leaves much to be desired,” he said.

    Badrudeen lamented the growing rate of insecurity.

    According to him, despite hundreds of billions of naira earmarked yearly for security, human lives have become cheaper to take even more than that of animals. Crime rate, he said, has continued to soar with governments at all levels having little or no clue on how to arrest the situation.

    The MSSN leader blamed government for fighting corruption with kid glove.

    “Official corruption is being treated with kid gloves. Our educational system is grounded and the future continues to remain bleak for the teaming youths of the country,” he said.

    Badrudeen called for overhauling of the education system, saying only the educated populace can bring meaningful development to the nation.

    “In the face of all these, there can be no meaningful development, let alone, sustainable one! It must be emphasised here that education plays an important role in the overall development of any nation. Without an educated populace, there can be no peaceful co-existence. It is only educated individuals that will understand the socio-cultural and religious differences of fellow citizens and will respect such,” he said.

    Also speaking, Chairman, Yaba Local Council Development Area, Hon Jide Jimoh, praised the leadership of the organisation for the positive role in the society.

    Nobody, Hon Jimoh said, among the crop of Muslim leaders in the country that did not pass through MSSN training but “we hardly mention MSSN as part of institutions that trained us to be morally and academically upright.”

    Jimoh, who chaired the occasion, described as unfortunate the denial of Muslim female students to wear hijab in school, saying it is a constitutionally-given right, which should not be denied them.

    “I am for hijab and whoever is against the use of hijab will be punished by Allah,” he said.

    There were goodwill messages from Hon Muhibat Rufai-Adeyemi of the Lagos State House of Assembly and Alhaji Musibau Oyefeso, a former electoral commissioner with the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC).

    In his acceptance speech, the new Amir, Alhaji Kalejaiye who was represented by his Vice, Ashafa, promised to work in tandem with the bye laws of the society and keep up the works his predecessor.

    He appealed for the support and cooperation of all members to enable him carry out the work effectively and efficiently.

  • UNIBEN turns ghost town

    The strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which started on July 1, has left several schools in the shadow of themselves. It is not only academic activities that are paralysed, commercial activities have been affected by the industrial action, which is approaching its fifth month.

    During a visit by our correspondent to the University of Benin (UNIBEN) last weekend, it was discovered that lecturers’ offices were covered by dust. A few of them seen on campus were attending to personal chores. The Faculty of Arts, which was always bubbling with activities, turned a ghost of itself with a a few cars parked in its lot. Bubbling spots such as classrooms, school library, main gate, basement, Hall 1 and 2 were deserted.

    Drivers of campus shuttle and cabs wore forlorn faces, as some of them called for passengers. It was bad moment for them; their buses and cars were empty because there was no passenger.

    Commerce on the campus also suffered. Traders closed their businesses because their customers (students) were not around. There is a grave-yard silence at the ever-busy June12 Square that hosts several business centres.

    Our correspondent saw some of the traders playing table tennis on the extended area of their shops, perhaps to console themselves.

    A student, Sunny Ibeh, said that if the government failed to return students back to campus, they may be forced to keep themselves busy with crimes. He urged President Goodluck Jonathan to employ workable strategies to end the strike.

    Traders, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, registered their dissatisfaction on the strike. Jude Otigbu, who owns a computer business centre, said it had been difficult for him to work since the strike started. He begged the government and ASUU to dialogue and allow students return to school, saying this would make his business to take its normal shape again.

    A bus driver, who did not mention his name, said all had not been well with them since the strike started. He said: “We are tired of this strike; it is affecting us badly. The government and ASUU should seek way to end their differences so that things will begin to move as usual.”

  • Nigeria’s lost and jobless generation (II)

    It was President Barack Obama of the United States who said: “The most important investment any country can make is educating its youths and providing the skills to compete in a highly technological world economy”. He went on to add that countries that fail to do this are bound to fail. He was saying this against the backdrop of his country’s youths shying away from the sciences and innovations which has comfortably been taken over by Asian countries such as China, Japan, South Korea and India. America’s Silicon Valley is brimming with egghead innovators from these countries.

    The world economy, I must emphasise, has become so technologically advanced that we may begin to wonder if we even have a place in it at all. I say this with all sense of humility because of the way we are treating education. How in the world do we expect the products of our institutions to compete with products from Chinese, Japanese, South Korean or South African universities? I can still recollect vividly – while in secondary school – when my teachers use to say Indian degrees were not worth the paper they are printed on! But today India is the preferred choice of medical tourism for hundreds of thousands of Nigerians. Some people got their hands dirty to make that possible.

    Now back to the issue at stake. Unemployment is an issue that should give any right thinking government sleepless nights because of its negative impact on both the unemployed and society at large. Just like I concluded last week, it is even more challenging now given the fact that the landscape has changed radically and there’s the need for creative thinking by policy formulators.

    I’m of the opinion that our youths should be motivated and taught that even though they, like their elders live under the wings of a state that cares little about them, there are escape windows even in Nigeria, but these windows are only for the discerning which unfortunately our epileptic education system does not showcase. If available statistics are anything to go by, the future may not look too good.

    I came across OECD figures which suggest that 26million 15- to 24-year-olds in developed countries are not in employment, education or training; the number of young people without a job has risen by 30 per cent since 2007. The International Labour Organisation reports that 75million young people globally are looking for a job. World Bank surveys suggest that 262million young people in emerging markets are economically inactive. Depending on how you measure them, the number of young people without a job is nearly as large as the population of America (311million).

    I mentioned last week CNN’s feature on “the lost generation of Europe” and how EU leaders have been brainstorming on creating jobs for its citizens. So it would be apt to state here that this is not an entirely Nigerian problem, but what the Economist termed a “global epidemic”. The statistics are scary globally. Fifty-five per cent of young black South Africans is jobless. This notwithstanding, there is something fundamentally wrong with an economy like Nigeria’s which has witnessed steady “growth” in the last three years yet cannot boast of creating jobs. It doesn’t take an economist to realise that you cannot create jobs where there are no industries; our real sector is simply non-existent.

    However, one way to start tackling this issue is through technology which is capable of providing solutions, but at the same time it is also capable of exacerbating the problem. Let me explain with examples. Even though based in the United States, our youths can benefit from virtual programmes such as the “Serious games initiative” which can provide young people with a chance to gain “virtual” experience at minimum cost.

    An initiative of the Woodrow Wilson Centre for International Scholars in Washington D.C., it is primarily concerned with ushering in a new series of policy education, exploration, and management tools utilising state-of-the-art computer game designs, technologies, and development skills.One of America’s top companies, McDonalds already uses competitive video games to teach people how to use the till and interact with customers. Another, Mozilla, the creator of the Firefox web browser, has created an “open badges” initiative that allows people to gain recognition for programming skills.

    Technology is also making it easier to take work to people who live in work-deprived areas or who are shut out of the market. Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, an internet marketplace, enables companies to hire workers to perform simple tasks such as identifying people in photographs. They can take part from anywhere in the world. That is why the age we are living in is referred to as the information age.

    I can hear someone whispering: what about the majority that has never had access to the internet because of our peculiar situation? To them, I’d only advice they take the bull by the horn and not wait for a government that does not have plans for them, both now and in the future. It is quite unfortunate that we have graduates who have not come into contact with the most important tool in this age; the computer. What matters to me is not just the number of years of education people get, but it’s content. This means expanding the study of science and technology and closing the gap between the world of education and the world of work—for example by upgrading vocational and technical education and by forging closer relations between companies and schools.

    There are examples for us to learn and borrow from. Germany’s long-established system of vocational schooling and apprenticeships does just that. Under it apprentices spend three to four days a week at a company providing vocational training where they acquire the practical skills required for their field of work. The remaining one or two days is spent at a vocational school, where they receive a theoretical grounding in their future job. The success of this programme has led other countries to follow suit: South Korea has introduced “meister” schools, Singapore has boosted technical colleges, and Britain is expanding apprenticeships and trying to improve technical education. Though we have our own SIWES programme, but the fact remains that since it has not made impact over the years meant it isn’t working.

    The problem of youth unemployment has been getting worse for several years. But in some climes there reasons for hope as governments are trying to address the mismatch between education and the labour market. Companies are also beginning to take more responsibility for investing in the young. And technology is helping democratise education and training and we have to put our house in order so as not to be left behind.

    However, there appears to be a general consensus, both at a global and national level that a “mismatch” has developed between the needs of many employers and the skills of both old and recent graduates. Indeed, some countries have recently experienced simultaneous unemployment increases and labour shortages, and particularly in sectors or workplaces that rely on new technologies. In light of this, there is an emerging recognition that emphasis should be placed on creating and promoting apprenticeship and similar “practical training” opportunities for youth, and that employers and workers’ representatives must be involved in formulating and implementing these programmes at the local level.

    Among the potential solutions tabled by EU leaders in addressing their unemployment challenges, which we can equally learn from, was using the European Investment Bank as a mechanism for providing small businesses with loans, so they can hire. Job and training guarantee schemes were also agreed by member states as well as a plan to roll out six billion euro ($7.8 billion) to the hardest hit countries like Greece and Spain where more than half of the young workforce is standing idle.

    The emphasis on small businesses here is fundamental because they need small capital to start and can be very effective in tackling the issue of unemployment. But unfortunately, this has been in the front burner for years in Nigeria without tangible results. Our banks are rather interested in ‘financing’ oil importation deals or the likes of the controversial bulletproof BMW cars that is causing a ruckus in the country. How sad.

  • Rotaract takes hygiene campaign to schools

    Rotaract takes hygiene campaign to schools

    The Rotaract Club members in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, have celebrated the World’s Hand washing Day.

    The event was held at Edgerley Girls’ Memorial School with the theme ‘’The power is in your hand.’’

    The President of the club, Miss Enobong Eyibo, said the association decided to sensitise pupils on hand washing because some diseases are contacted through dirty hands.

    She noted that for Nigeria to achieve its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), regular washing of the hand must be encouraged to reduce infant mortality.

    Eyibo urged the participants to always wash their hands with soap, noting that washing with water alone does not remove germs.

    A medical practitioner at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Dr Edidiong Essien, said: ‘’People usually wash their hands with water. But only a few individuals wash with soap, especially after using the toilets, cleaning a child’s faeces or before handling food.’’

    He said the event was inspired to promote the health of children, noting that children are a critical segment of a nation’s population.

    Secretary of the club, Godswill Udoh, said washing hands with soap was recommended because of its ability to reduce infections and promote public health. She noted that the theme of the event was apt, saying that the responsibility of ensuring proper hand hygiene lies in the hands of everybody.

    A member of the club, Mr Bassey Samuel, praised the youth of the organisation for its efforts at promoting the objectives of the club. He noted that the washing hands regularly with soap could reduce the incidence of diarrhea infection among children by 50 percent and respiratory diseases by 25 percent.

    Highlights of the awareness campaign included the donation of sanitary materials such as hand-towels, waste baskets, toilet soaps and parkers to the management of the school. This was followed by a practical session on hand washing by members of the club.

    The Principal of the school, Elder Iquo Oboko, who was represented by the Vice-Principal, Pastor Victory Ebong thanked the club for organising the event for the students. She added that the awareness campaign was timely, especially at a time when the culture of hand washing is seldom practiced, saying that the knowledge impacted on the students would help to improve their health.

    A JSS2 pupil Mercy Edet, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, thanked members of the club for the gesture.

    ‘’We deeply appreciate members of the club for bringing the message of healthy hand washing to our school. We will endeavour to be true agents of change by taking the lessons of hygiene to our communities,’’ she added.