The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • Lifeline for varsity from abroad

    A United States-based researcher, Dr Stephen Babalola, led other scholars to the McPherson University, Ajebo, Ogun State, to rally support for the privately-owned institution. It was at the Nigerian-American Universities STEM Alliance Seminar and Presentation held in the institution.

    The event, held in the university’s multipurpose hall, was attended by lecturers and students.

    Babalola, a research fellow in the College of Engineering, Technology and Physical Science of A and M University, Huntsville, Alabama, said his mission was to facilitate an alliance between the university and other Nigerian institutions and a select America universities for progress. He also advocated good student-lecturer relations to ensure better alliance.

    He said the alliance would provide joint initiative, faculty exchange and course infusion aimed at keeping the students and staff in touch with developments in science and technology.

    Under the alliance, McPherson University and other selected institutions would benefit from equipment donations, training and exchange programmes.

    According to Babalola, the success of Nigerian students abroad could be hinged on good student-lecturer relationship, which, he said, was the hallmark of American education system. The don tasked lecturers to keep tabs on developments in advanced countries to make the institution’s graduates the best in Africa and beyond.

    Babalola’s Assistant Researcher, Mr Babatunde Obembe, who is a doctoral student in an American university, urged the students to think beyond theory and strive to make impact in their community.

    “As you are here, the world is interested in the impact you want to make in your immediate community here in Ogun. You must find out the dominant profession in the community and research into how you can help improve on whatever the locals are into. You must use your mind and change right your world from here,” he said.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adeniyi Agunbiade, promised that the university management would work hard to attract more of such endorsement. He added that university would collaborate with more universities locally and abroad to improve the quality of learning and exposure of students to latest techniques.

    The Registrar, Mrs Adebola Abegunde, said the management would put plans in motion to fully maximise the alliance.

     

  • Fighting global health challenges

    The Centre for Women, Gender and Development Studies (CWGDS) in collaboration with the Institute of Environmental Health Technology (IEHT), Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), has held a conference on the management of global health. SANI MOHAMMED (500-Level Environmental Health Technology) reports.

    Global health is said to be the well-being of a people in a global context and it transcends the perspectives of individual nations. It is the worldwide improvement of health, reduction of disparities and protection against global diseases that disregard nations’ borders.

    Exposure to transnational threat such as climate change, poverty, violence and others and a feeling of shared responsibility among affected nations has, today, necessitated a more global approach to improving the health of the world.

    Based on this reality, the Centre for Women, Gender and Development Studies (CWGDS), a unit in the office of the Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), in collaboration with the Institute of Environmental Health Technology (IEHT), organised a conference on the management of global health.

    Its theme was Global health: Issues, challenges and management.

    In his address, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Chigozie Asiabaka, said the university had a mandate to research into health-related issues and health technology to produce professionals and specialists in the area. He said IEHT would also provide relevant information and awareness on health and environmental issues and proffer implementable solutions for the benefit of mankind.

    The Acting Director of the centre, Dr Ihuoma Asiabaka, who is the wife of the VC, noted: “Global health problems are as a result of economic, social, environmental, political and health care inequalities and thus require solution from interdisciplinary teams in such areas as health, education, social sciences, science and technology.”

    She listed global health challenges to include HIV/AIDS, malaria, emergency and refugee health, non-communicable diseases and fatal injuries among other.

    She observed that there was need for collaborative national and trans-national efforts using evidence-based policy research to improve health equity without relenting in promotion of strategies to develop parameters of good health.

    Presenting a paper on theme, Prof Linus Amobi of Community Medicine Department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, noted that global health had become a developing field in the last two decades.

    Recognition of the global HIV/AIDS crisis and rapid spread of epidemics such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), anthrax, Ebola virus and swine flu, he said, have reinforced the challenges collectively facing nations of the world.

    He said: “For instance, health care systems are still neither available nor accessible in Nigeria; infrastructural decay has threatened the available health care systems, while non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung diseases still threaten to Nigerians at the ages of 30 and above. Hundreds of children under the age of five die yearly of malnutrition, diarrhoea, measles and respiratory diseases, which are mostly preventable.”

    The biggest challenge in global health, said Prof Amobi, is the lack of financial resources to combat the multiple health issues ravaging the poor and sick. He said more funds were needed to prevent and cure diseases than ever before.

    “For the world to begin to address health issues, three principles of action should be considered. Conditions of daily life have to be improved; inequitable distribution of power, money and other resources has to be tackled and a workforce that is trained in social determinants of health has to be developed, and a public awareness has to be raised about the social determinants of health,” Prof Amobi said.

    Other lecturers delivered papers including Dr I. E. Anigbogu of the Faculty of Law, Madonna University, Okija, who spoke on Sex, sexuality and gender imbalance.

    The conference was well-attended by lecturers and students across the nation.

    Aisha Aminu, a participant from the Umaru Musa Yar’adua University (UMYU), Katsina said: “The papers presented, especially on gender inequality, are products of good research. Though I was pessimistic on coming, but my attendance is not a waste of time.”

    For Emmanuel Ugobo, 400-Level Public Health, University of Calabar (UNICAL), the conference had equipped him with knowledge on safe motherhood and gender imbalance.

    Abdullahi Mustapha, a lecturer from Sa’adatu Rimi College of Education in Kumbotso, Kano State, who presented two papers, said: “The beauty of the conference is that, many participants came from other parts of the nation to interact, educate and proffer solution to various challenges facing the health care delivery.”

    At the end of the conference, a communiqué was issued, which emphasised among others the importance of safe motherhood, the challenges of drugs and alcohol abuse, relationship between poverty and ill health and improper waste disposal practice. Recommendations were also given to combat the challenges.

  • Faculty disrupts exam for registration

    Faculty disrupts exam for registration

    Final year students of the Faculty of Education, University of Calabar (UNICAL), were shocked when officials of the faculty kicked them out of examination halls for failing to complete their registration. The incident led to confusion in Pavilions 1, 2 and 3, where the students were writing their exam.

    The officials, led by the Dean of the faculty, Prof Florence Obi, stormed the exam venues and ordered students to vacate the halls for incomplete registration.

    Distressed Honest Mfon, 400-Level Educational Administration and Planning, told CAMPUSLIFE that the faculty officials were doing the right thing at the wrong time.

    “There was no official information prior to the ejection of students from exam halls. Why didn’t they tell us before we entered the halls to write our exam?” she queried.

    Some of the affected students said the disrupted paper was the reason they were still on campus, saying postponing the exam to a later date would subject them to hardship.

    “Our foodstuff have finished and we don’t have any money with us again. How do they want us to survive?” one of them lamented.

    According to Prof Obi, the action was to make students to know that departmental and faculty registrations are compulsory, adding that many of the students had not paid their dues.

    The course lecturers urged the students to be calm, promising that the exam would be rescheduled to a later date.

  • Muslim law students hold confab

    Muslim law students across universities have held a conference to sharpen their skills in advocacy and to discuss national issues affecting youths.

    The event, held at the University of Benin (UNIBEN), was organised by the National Association of Muslim Law student (NAMLASS).

    The event was tagged: “Shariah: A tool for youth resourcefulness and social economic development in Nigeria.”

    Prof Z.I. Oseni, a Senior Lecturer from the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), who was the guest speaker, said lack of good leadership contributed to the backwardness the country is witnessing. He emphasised that good leaders needed not to command or direct but to lead by example.

    Urging students to work hard to be successful, Oseni quoted the Hadith of Prophet Mohammed, saying: “Use your youth age to work in order to use your old age to enjoy.”

    During an interactive session on the Shariah: Repulsive to insecurity, injustice and socio-economy stasis, Hon. Luqman Muhammad and Colonel Mohammed Otokiti, said the students were told not to embrace extreme views on religious issues. The resource persons noted that members of the Boko Haram sect were not Muslims due to their philosophy, which they said was not in tandem with Islamic teachings.

    The event also featured Quranic contest between participating institutions and a special Jumat service. A student of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria won the contest.

    The last day of the event witnessed the display of students’ advocacy skills in a moot court trial. The participating schools were divided into plaintiffs and defendants to argue on the point of Islamic family law. Medical paternity of child under Islamic law was the bone of contention.

    After the argument from both parties, the presiding judge took his time to explain the position of the law in an Islamic perspective to the both parties.

    At the end of the trial, the President of the association, Abubaka Iyabargi, a student of ABU, praised the delegates, saying the four-day event was a success.

    ABU, UNILORIN, UNIBEN, Lagos State University (LASU), University of Lagos (UNILAG), Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) and Kwara State College of

    Arabic and Islamic Law Studies (CAILS) took part in the event.

  • UNIOSUN, three others get N500m Canadian grants

    UNIOSUN, three others get N500m Canadian grants

    Four institutions, including Osun State University (UNIOSUN) have benefited from about N500 million ($2.9 million) grants awarded by Canadian agencies on production of vegetables.

    The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) under the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF) are jointly funding the research project on promoting and growing under-utilized indigenous vegetables in Nigeria.

    A team comprising the four institutions in Nigeria and Canada will carry out research on “sustainable production and utilization of under-utilized Nigerian vegetables to enhance rural food security.”

    According to UNIOSUN Vice Chancellor, Prof. Adekunle Bashiru Okesina, at the signing of Memoradum of Understanding (MoU) with two Canadian universities, in Osogbo, the team is made up of scientists from two Nigerian universities (Osun State University, Osogbo and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife); and two Canadian Universities (University of Manitoba and Cape Breton University).

    According to him, the principal investigators of the four scientific teams are – Professors Clement Adebooye, Wole Akinremi, Duro Oyedele, and Thomas Bouman.

    The Vice Chancellor said: “The project is being implemented in four states of southwest Nigeria (Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti). Some of the salient results obtained so far on the project include some 4,600 vegetables producers, marketers and consumers were interviewed across 72 communities in the four selected states (Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti).

    “Results showed that 70 percent of the producers are women, and 80 percent of the processors and marketers are women. The baseline survey identified 18 indigenous leaf vegetables that were eaten across the different ecologies in southwest Nigeria.”

     

  • Mapoly students block road over lecturers strike

    Mapoly students block road over lecturers strike

    Thousands of students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta on Thursday morning blocked
the four lanes Abeokuta - Siun - Sagamu road, trapping hundreds of vehicles wanting
to leave or enter the state capital.

The students who obstructed the traffic flow on both sides of the road at the point
of entrance to the Oke Mosan Governor's Office, Abeokuta with their buses, were
protesting the nationwide strike embarked upon polytechnic lecturers across the
country.

The protest was led by the Students Union Government President, Anbdul- Gafar
Adeleye and other executives. They had embarked upon the peaceful protest to the
Governor's Office, to plead with Senator Ibikunle Amosun to prevail on the lecturers
of MAPOLY to back out of the strike like their counterparts in some institutions.

Lecturers of the state - owned institution had joined the month old strike in
compliance with the directive from their national body,  to compel the State and
Federal Governments among other issues, to enlongate the retirement age of
polytechnic teachers as well as halt the disparity in treatment by employers of
labour between graduates of polytechnics and that of the universities.
  • ‘I never attempted to kill my baby’

    ‘I never attempted to kill my baby’

    The news spread like wildfire. The sight of a new baby and placenta shocked the crowd of staff and students that rushed to Moremi Hall of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, where a student reportedly gave birth in the toilet. Did the mother attempt to flush her baby down the toilet? No, she says. DHIKRU AKINOLA (400-Level Political Science), OLUWAFEMI OGUNJOBI (400-Level Language Arts) and KEMI BUSARI (400-Level Political Science) write.

    A SHRILL cry shattered the peace of the night at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

    It was Wednesday and some students, who had exams the following day, were returning from studying to their hostels. Others, who had no papers, were relaxing in their hostels.

    At 6:55am, the peace in Moremi Hall, a female hostel, was shattered. Mrs Cecilia Ologbenla, a cleaner, who had come to wash the toilet, found a newborn baby in the water closet. With the body still covered in blood, the cleaner was sure the baby was born a few minutes before her arrival. She raised the alarm, calling the attention of the hostel’s occupants and security personnel.

    The baby was delivered by Oyinlola Rotimi Diana, a student, who was going to write her exam; students rushed to the scene, using their camera phones to take shots of the baby and the placenta. In no time, the news went viral on the social media. Students accused Oyinlola of attempting to “flush” the baby into the sewer because “she did not want people to know she was pregnant”.

    Oyinlola, 22, it was gathered, is in 300-Level Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, and a squatter in Room 103 of Block B in Moremi Hall. She was allegedly impregnated by a 400-Level Engineering student.

    Oyinlola’s friend, Dayo Satope, who was with her at the sudden delivery, wrote in a statement made at the university security unit that she came to the campus on Tuesday evening to prepare for an exam fixed for 8am.

    “Getting to the campus late on Tuesday night, Oyinlola could not immediately get something to eat but she later resolved to buy moin-moin (bean cake) at the hall’s buttery. After she ate the food, Oyinlola complained of running stomach throughout the night, urinating and stooling at regular intervals. She felt she was having stomach turbulence because of the moin-moin she took the previous night,” Shatope wrote in the statement.

    The following morning, it was learnt, Oyinlola’s friends told her to visit the school’s health centre for medical attention. She consented. The story, however, changed when Oyinlola told her friends that she wanted to visit the toilet again. She was ushered into the toilet and told to inform her friends when she was done.

    After waiting for her for several minutes, Shatope wondered what could have kept Oyinlola in the toilet for so long. She then decided to check on her ‘ailing’ friend. On getting to the toilet, Shatope found that Oyinlola had locked herself inside, but saw blood on the toilet floor.

    Scared, Shatope called on Oyinlola to know if everything was alright and she begged her friend to “come inside to assist me”. Shatope could not gain access into the toilet because Oyinlola was “too weak” to open the door, which was locked from behind. At this point, Shatope said she heard the cry of a baby.

    Oyinlola was said to have fainted after delivering the baby whose cry attracted Ologbenla. The baby and the mother were immediately rushed to the university’s health centre.

    When CAMPUSLIFE visited the OAU Health Services Centre, the Director, Dr Adebayo Irinoye, told our correspondents: “The girl and the baby are feeling very fine and the parents of the girl are around to also take care of their daughter and the baby.”

    Irinoye explained that self-labour cases were not new in medical field, saying there were instances of patients delivering babies in the toilet.

    “I guessed it was inexperience because she obviously was not aware of her due date which, medically, would have been July,” Dr Irinoye said, assuring that the baby was not delivered prematurely.

    The university’s Chief Security Officer, Mr Paul Ogidi, debunked the notion that Oyinlola wanted to flush the baby based on Shatope’s explanation.

    He said: “She was not attempting to flush the baby but looking at the circumstances surrounding the birth of the child, one might likely think so. When I visited the Health Centre on Thursday, she was breastfeeding her baby. If she had the intention to kill or flush the baby, she would have aborted the pregnancy a long time ago.”

    Oyinlola denied she wanted to kill the baby. She told our correspondents that her pregnancy was not unknown to her, but she confided only in some of her friends and the father of the baby, a Mechanical Engineering student.

    She said: “Why would I flush or kill my baby after going through pains of carrying it for nine months. I am not heartless and I thank God for my life and for the safe delivery. I know God has the best for me and my baby. I appreciate the cleaner for her help because it was here (health centre) that I understood everything that happened to me when I was in labour.

    “It is overwhelming and unexplainable. I don’t know how I feel, but it is really wonderful. Seeing the baby was terrifying because I was not expecting the baby to come out yet I didn’t know the pain I was feeling was a labour pain because I went into the toilet to defecate. There was a force from within me and I discovered that the baby came out and entered into the closet. I was just there standing and bleeding. That was the last thing I remembered. I am happy that I am alive and my baby is alive too.”

    The Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr Abiodun Olanrewaju, in a statement, also dismissed the rumour that Oyinlola wanted to flush the baby. The statement reads in part: “There was a delivery of a baby boy by an inexperienced mother who, in her naivety, thought she was pressed by the call of nature while she was actually in labour pains. Prior to the child’s delivery, the young, inexperienced mother had experienced the urge, which she thought was to defecate. When she got to the toilet, she gave birth to the baby.”

    A close friend of Oyinlola, who attends the same fellowship with her, said she was surprised on hearing the news. She said: “Oyin is a cool and courteous student. I have been observing changes in her for quite a while. I didn’t want to confront her yet I found it hard to accept she was normal.”

    The Health Centre matron, Mrs Mary Oyeleke, said Oyinlola and her baby were discharged last Friday.

    Efforts to reach Samuel, the baby’s father, were futile as at press time. He was said to be busy with his examination.

  • The supermarket dialogue (3)

    The supermarket dialogue (3)

    I concluded last week with the crisis of leadership, which has permeated almost all facets of our system. If we are serious about retracing our steps it has to start from here. My fellow supermarket discussant agreed that throughout human history, the centrality of leadership in charting positive direction has been established; the ancient and modern history of leaders is replete with stories of vision, courage, enterprise, capacity, tenacity and originality. While several factors – physical, non-physical and human – are almost always at play in determining the fate and fortune of societies, the role of leadership is fundamental. Leadership, particularly political leadership, whether good or bad, can determine the destiny of a nation.

    Without dwelling on the elaborate and multi-dimensional aspect of leadership, I am interested here in identifying the role leadership plays in human capital development and how this can be used to address the challenges of tertiary education in Nigeria. With vision, integrity, dedication or commitment, competence, discernment, creativity, assertiveness, fairness, openness and humility, a good leader can create a vision of a good society, recognising what needs to be done to build one, mobilising human and material resources to build such a society and confronting every challenge that is encountered in the process.

    Bernard Montgomery, the British Field Marshal who accepted the German surrender in northern Germany at the end of World War II, stated: “Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence.”

    The capacity to rally men and women to a common purpose and inspire them with confidence cannot be achieved by anyone who does not – fundamentally speaking – believe in humans as the bedrock of society. A leadership that recognises this and have the vision to transform society would make the development of human capital the centre-piece of its development paradigm. This is because strategic leadership involves the ability to anticipate, envision, maintain flexibility, think strategically, and work with others to initiate changes that will create a viable and lasting future.

    As I got home from the supermarket that day, I reflected on one key issue: what if we never had visionary leaders at independence who invested massively in education, where would we be today? Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, University of Nigeria Nsukka, University of Lagos and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, were all conceived and set up by these leaders, I deliberately left University of Ibadan (UI), Ibadan out because it existed before independence. Until decay started setting in from the late 1980s, these were institutions of repute that attracted visiting professors from across the world.

    For example, by 1980, Nigeria had established one of the best higher education systems in the developing world which offered direction at an international standard in diverse disciplines. For instance, the UI and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) earned global recognition for research in tropical health and agriculture, respectively. But since then, under successive military administrations, these achievements, through lack of funding and policy inconsistencies, were not allowed to be improved upon.

    Driving through these campuses anytime and looking at the infrastructure back then, a visitor will be left without an iota of doubt that visionaries planned these. The sad aspect is that many of the products of the finest decades of these varsities – up until the early-1990s – who were expected to become an essential part of a new middle class and the engine rooms of social, political and economic change and progress were forced out of the country. Today, many of these people who were trained in these institutions – like my discussants – are now not able to send their own children to these same institutions that produced them. They now send their kids to Ghana, South Africa, Europe or America.

    What went wrong then? Let’s make no mistake about this: the original crisis of higher education in Nigeria is entangled with the political crisis in Nigeria which brought the military to power. The military in power constituted the greatest threat, not just to the advancement of human freedom and justice, but also to knowledge building, knowledge sharing and human capacity development. The military destroyed higher education in Nigeria, as they destroyed many other institutions of society. Starting from 1966 when they first seized power and ending with the Babangida-Abacha era, where the military simply buried an ailing university system, Nigeria has witnessed leaders who are the very anti-thesis of human capital development and progress.

    With higher education destroyed by the military, aided and abetted by their civilian cronies, it was no surprise that virtually every other institution of society, including the moral fabric, which hitherto held us together was virtually wiped out, in essence we lost our soul and have continued in a downward spiral ever since.

    Fourteen years into our democratic dispensation, we still face many of the old challenges in area of higher education in Nigeria – as illustrated in the capital flight and brain drain which attend the outflow of students from Nigeria to foreign universities, without the expected inflow of trained manpower or “brain gain” and financial resources. This is the depressing reality we face today. It is evident from developed societies that substantial investment in human capital is needed for economic progress, social transformation and political stability. This we lack as the system is so hostile that those that left are not willing to come back.

    A large percentage of Nigerians now attend Ghanaian universities. Why Ghana? we may ask. Because they put their house in order and returned to the glory of the past and are now marching on to a more glorious future; they embraced their challenges and learnt from them. But it seems that in Nigeria, our leaders are yet to identify a problem, let alone think about the solutions. The establishment of nine new federal universities last year is a classic example of the absence of strategic thinking at the national level. A Federal Government that is yet to develop the understanding of the need, let alone the capacity, to sufficiently fund the existing federal universities should not have embarked on another round of creating new universities. They could have used the resources to expand the facilities and recruit more lecturers and staff in the existing universities so that they could accommodate more students.

    Now that we love foreign lands so much for education, leisure and other frivolities, we are not realising that we are becoming a nuisance to some countries. Only on Monday, reports had it that the British Government is planning to ask visitors from Nigeria and five other countries whose nationals are deemed to pose a “high risk” of immigration abuse to provide a 3,000 pounds (about N750,000) bond before they can enter the country.

    Home Secretary Theresa May said the David Cameron administration is serious about cutting immigration and abuses of the system. The Sunday Times said from November, a pilot scheme would target visitors from Nigeria, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Pakistan and India. Visitors aged 18 and over would be forced to hand over £3,000 ($4,600, 3,500 euro) from November for a six-month visit visa. They will forfeit the money if they overstay in Britain after their visa has expired.

    The Federal Government said although it had not received any communication to that effect, such a policy, if implemented, would be discriminatory. Perhaps we need such policies to enable us to really sit and think of creative and productive ways of tackling the numerous challenges confronting us . Britain has a right to put forward whatever policy it deemed fit to protect its interests. This is where I agreed with one of the discussants who said we always have an “escapist mentality” about issues in Nigeria.

    A cartoon in one of the national dailies captured what we should expect if the policy is implemented by the British. It depicted a politician congratulating the High Commissioner for coming up with such a policy because London should not be an all comers affair; in fact, he promised to pay double the fee as a status symbol because “Britain is not for every riff raff”. We know that this cartoonist hit the nail on the head, forget about the wolf cry from the National Assembly. Isn’t it time our leaders got down, their hands and dirty make Nigeria work?

  • A Corps member’s lending hand

    A Corps member’s lending hand

    Augustine Okorodudu left a mark in the community where he did his National Youth Service and won the people’s hearts. He undertook  47 projects, ODOGWU EMEKA ODOGWU reports.

    Staff and pupils of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Secondary School, Abagana (NASSA) in Njikoka Local Government Area were moody as a Corps member, Augustine Okorodudu, bid them farewell. The school was Augustine’s place of primary assignment.

    Some of the pupils fought back tears as Augustine packed his personal effects to leave the school after the completion of his Youth Service.

    The pupils trooped to Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, where the passing-out ceremony was being held for Batch “B”2012 Corps members. Augustine was among the outgoing Corps members honoured by the Anambra State government for outstanding service to the state during their service year.

    The Igwe of Abagana, Obi Mbamalu Okeke (JP), with his council of chiefs, NASSA Principal Mr Clems Ofoedu, and men and women wings of Abagana Welfare Union led the crowd of people, who joined Augustine to receive the state award.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that Augustine did not only leave behind a good legacy and projects, he impacted his host community positively. He was the toast of the day when it was announced that he executed no fewer than 47 projects during his service year.

    Augustine, with state code number AN/12B/0575, hails from Ebu in Oshimili North Local Government Area of Delta State. He is the first on the list of 12 outstanding Corps members of 3,200 Batch “B” 2012 set, who rendered meritorious service to the state. The 27-year-old studied Mass Communication at the Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka.

    Governor Peter Obi lauded the “excellent performance” of Augustine, stood him out from the crowd, assuring him that the state would continue to appreciate his service.

    Urging the youths to learn from Augustine’s achievements, Obi said dedication and commitment of the Corps member to sacrifice his time and resources for the benefit of his community must be recognised.

    The governor, represented by his Deputy, Emeka Sibeudu, lamented the attitude of some Corps members, who he said, were not committed to the primary goal of the Service. Such youths, he said, always left their host community the way they met it.

    Co-ordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the state, Mrs Bassey Inyang Ekpe, praised the awardees, describing them as good ambassadors of the scheme. She singled out Augustine for rendering unparallel service, urging him not to relent in his future endeavour.

    Igwe Okeke and Ofoedu appealed to the Federal Government to grant Augustine an automatic job, saying his innovative skills would be a waste if he was not immediately engaged after the service year.

    Augustine left a lasting legacy in his host community by developing a vast cassava farmland to cater for indigent widows and organising Students Productive Life Initiative (SPLIN) in 11 schools across the council. He donated copies of the Bible, food items, brooms, waste baskets, toiletries to the prison inmates at Amawbia in Awka South Local Government Area.

    He renovated the NYSC signboard at the state secretariat in Amawbia, which was pulled down when the road was being rehabilitated. He participated in the rural rugged evangelism organised by the Nigeria Christian Corpers Fellowship (NCCF) Anambra chapter at Awba Ofemili Community, a disaster-prone zone where relief materials and free medicare for men and children were rendered free.

    Other projects he executed included immunisation against polio for children in Abagana, and skill empowerment training for women in cosmetics production in the three local government areas.

    His initiatives and projects attracted over 17 recommendations and commendations from prominent community members, corporate organisations, government agencies, the academia, churches, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and NYSC officials.

    CAMPUSLIFE learnt that the inauguration of each project attracted dignitaries in the state.

    Speaking on his motivation, Augustine said his drive stemmed from the purpose of the scheme, which is to imbibe the spirit of selfless service to the nation in the youths.

    He said: “Widows are weighed down by myriad challenges, which bring them sorrow, pain, suffering, confusion and put them in distress. Widowhood comes with trauma and I believe hunger is the main problem they grapple with. Farm for Widows project is part of my personal contributions to the realisation of the scheme’s objectives and the attainment of food sufficiency in the country.

    “I wish to convey my heartfelt gratitude to the transition chairman of Njikoka Local Government Area, Chief Dazza Udeozo, his deputy, Hon. George Okaro, and all staff of the council for their support and encouragement.”

    He also appreciated Mr Chris Okonkwo, principal partners, Save the Youth Empowerment Foundation (SAYEF) and his wife, for supporting his projects.

  • Candlelight for NANS Five

    Candlelight for NANS Five

    Students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, have held a candlelight procession for officials of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), who died in an accident in a village in Abia State. OLUWAFEMI OGUNJOBI (400-Level Language Arts) reports.

    It was an emotion-laden scene last Wednesday when students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State gathered to mourn five officials of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), who died in an auto crash on their way to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, to mediate the crisis at the University of Uyo (UNIUYO).

    Donald Onukaogu, a student of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) and Senate President of NANS, on June 14, died alongside Abdulazeez Kabir Oladimeji, University of Ibadan (UI); Jerry Sorkaa, Benue State University (BSU); Japhet Duru, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede (NEKEDE POLY) and Asa Ejiate, Delta State University (DELSU).

    Joined by NANS officials from other campuses, the students held a candlelight procession for their fallen leaders. The procession started at the OAU gate with a minute silence. Afterwards, the mourners moved round the campus, singing dirges.

    Student-leaders and NANS officials from OAU led the tributes’ session, which made the procession emotional.

    NANS President Yinka Gbadebo of OAU was absent, but he was represented by the Secretary General of the association, Daniel Momodu, 300-Level Political Science OAU.

    In his tribute, ‘Daniel said: “Their death is our collective loss and it is on this note that we call on all Nigerian students and our colleagues at the University of Uyo to always remember these martyrs, who lost their lives in efforts to protect the interest of the students.”

    The mourners urged the Federal Government to compensate the families of the late students’ leaders, because “their death is irreparable”. The deceased were described as heroes, who fought for the oppressed.

    The National Co-ordinator of Education Rights Campaign (ERC), Taiwo Hassan, said the students’ death should be seen as a nudge for NANS to unite and convene a national congress to tackle what they called police brutality against students.

    Present at the event were Samuel Adegbola, former president of Association of Campus Journalists (ACJ), his successor, Aderemi Ojekunle, chairman of OAU Students’ Union Transition Committee, Ayo Shedrach, and Steven Olajide, General Secretary of the committee. Others were Sheyi Babaeko, Tunde Badmus, Jamal Oladapo and Oluwatobi Omisakin, among others.