The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • Help… student needs N10m to fight cancer

    Students of the Department of Pharmacy, University of Benin (UNIBEN), have held a concert at the Hall 2 Car Park to raise money to save a colleague, who is suffering from cancer of the blood.

    It was tagged: “Let’s save Vincent.”

    The campaign is a fund-raiser by students and friends of Vincent Nwokedi, a 600-Level Pharmacy student, who was diagnosed of acute lymphocytic leukaemia, cancer of the blood.

    A medical practitioner at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), who pleaded anonymity, because he was not authorised to speak to the press, told our correspondent that the treatment cannot be handled in Nigeria.

    “As a matter of fact, Vincent needs N10 million for bone marrow transplant in India. But, for now, he undergoes chemotherapy here in UBTH. We are confident he would go through the process successfully,” he said.

    During the concert, a popular comedian, Efosa Iyamu, joined other entertainers and students in raising funds. He said all hands must be on deck to save the Vincent’s life.

    “I don’t know Vincent personally. But I am inspired to join other entertainers in saving the boy because he deserves the love and respect. Perhaps, this is my way of giving back to a society that raised me. I believe if my success cannot put a smile on others’ faces, it means I have failed,” he said.

    Joshua Chibo, a classmate of the ailing student, described Vincent as one of the brilliant students in the faculty.

    “Vincent is a great leader and a role model to many of us. That informed the large number of persons participating in this campaign. His impact on the faculty is overwhelming and that is the more reason we don’t want to lose him to cancer.

    CAMPUSLIFE learnt that Vincent led a group of Pharmacy students last year to wage war against drug abuse on the streets of Benin.

    “As Chairman of Anti-Drug Misuse and Abuse Programme (ADMAP) Vincent made a great impact by turning around the lives of abusers of drugs, especially in Edo State. That is why we want well-meaning Nigerians to save this boy from untimely death,” a student of the department said.

  • Building a nation we want

    The idea of this country was conceived before 1960 that we gained independence. On October 1, 1960, we were given freedom to govern ourselves and grow as a nation. However, things did not go as planned.

    Before oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1958, agriculture was the main source of our income. Through this, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the then Premier of the defunct Western Region, built the first television station and a functional university among other things he did. When the geologists came to Oloibiri in today’s Bayelsa State, the story changed for the country.

    For years, Nigeria and its people wandered in the wilderness. The oil boom of 1960’s has now turned to oil doom in 2013. Instead of using the profit accrued to the nation from the sales of oil to develop and provide infrastructure such as electricity and good roads, the country witnessed unbridled official profligacy and fraud, which perhaps have not been witnessed in history.

    In 1999 when the military handed power to civilian regime, we had the opportunity to change our misfortune for good. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, a former head of state, came in as the civilian president. Hopes and expectations were high. But at the end of Obasanjo’s eight years of misrule, Nigeria remained where it was during the Gen. Sani Abacha’s regime.

    Fourteen years after the return of democracy, nobody can answer if the nation’s fortune has changed for good. I have come to understand that Nigerians are great but desperate people, because we are ready to do anything just to get rich. We are best known in the Western part of the world as Internet fraudsters and money launderers.

    As I write this, many Nigerians are rotting away in foreign prisons for one crime or the other. But when one comes to think of it, most of our countrymen in jail abroad left the shore of this nation as a result of poverty in the land; without being allowed to work, some Nigerians believe that the only way they can survive is to engage in illegal business.

    The so-called elected democratic leaders, who got to office through our mandate – or should I say stolen mandate – pay little or no attention to the cries of the masses.

    The present administration of a man with no shoes is making now difference. Rather, through his policies, the president has made many Nigerians to suffer his fate while growing up by making a lot of us shoeless. The last time I checked, majority of Nigerians are still wallowing in poverty, a situation that has aggravated the security problem in the country.

    In all parts of Nigeria, criminally-minded people go on killing spree without anybody stopping or preventing them from committing the crime. A lot of lives have been lost to ethnic clashes. Recently in Sokoto State, 20 people were killed in a remote village because a cow of a Fulani man was slaughtered. Other parts of the country have not been left out in the bloodbath.

    The Federal government has not been sincere in tackling the root cause of crimes being committed on our land. Our destiny is in our hands. Up in the North, Boko Haram members hold sway. After declaring state of emergency, the criminal using religion to kill came back through the back door to attack secondary school, killing pupils and teachers in the process.

    When will this country of 52 years that prides itself as Giant of Africa starts intelligence gathering? Most of the killings in the North are sometimes targeted at selected individuals to settle personal or political scores. I once heard of a story of a man, who killed his boss by paying the assassins just N2,000 (equivalent of $20). This is the price of a life in Nigeria.

    It must be noted that poverty is the cause of these crimes being committed daily on our land. Presently, employment has reached unprecedented level; no job is being created despite huge funds that go into employment generating parastatal and agencies. It is only in Nigeria that we fight corruption using corruption.

    The truth is that the federal and the state government are not sincere about the plight of the people. In a level unimaginable, flood wrecked its havoc last year and two years ago, submerging some states and rendering people homeless and impoverished. This year’s raining season has begun but how many states governments and federal agencies are preparing for the consequence?

    When there is another flooding incident, perhaps the president might be on a tour of Asian countries, scouting for investors for a country where safety of human and businesses is not guaranteed.

    Nigeria is on the brink of collapsing; we must all stand up and fight for this great nation by tackling injustice, insecurity, corruption and vices, which have constituted cogs in the wheel of our nation’s progress. If Nigeria is to break today, it is the common men that would be worst hit, which is why we must act to save the country.

    Nigeria, as a nation, has a lot to offer its peer in leadership and economy. Ours is a country of great people but the onus lies on us to develop our country in order to provide the needed leadership for the rest of the African countries to follow. We must let go our religious and ethnic differences and work together as a united people to make this country better.

    The 2015 general elections is approaching; it is the time every Nigerian will get the chance to refresh his mandate and vote for progressive leaders that will have the interest of the country at heart. It is about time that we do away with selfish interest and do vote wisely to deserved leadership.

    Nigeria is a great country only if the people work in unity. That is when the world will know we are building a country and not a mere geographical entity where nothing works.

    If we don’t change who we are now, 2015 will come but there won’t be any difference in our politics, leadership and wellbeing. The change we have been waiting for won’t come if we don’t change our individual belief in thinking that we cannot get the government we deserve.

    Oluwatobi, 200-Level FUTA student

     

  • Honour for UNN librarian

    Members of the League of Democratic Students (LEADS), a students’ body in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), have honoured the university Librarian, Prof Charles Omekwu, with an award of excellence.

    The award was tagged: “Icon of Nation Building Through Library and Information Science”. The Librarian was honoured as a result of his dedication to students’ empowerment, as well as his commitment to the realisation of the world-class aspiration of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Library, UNN.

    LEADS Nigeria, an umbrella body for democratic students’unions in Africa, was established in 1985 at the Bayero University, Kano (BUK) with the objectives of sensitising its members on democratic practices and enthroning the ideal culture of democracy in campuses.

    Presenting the award, President of the group, Morgan Ochekwu, said that Prof Omekwu was selected for the award based on his outstanding contribution to education in Nigeria by promoting the growth of the library and using his position to guide students to achieve their academic aspirations.

    “Prof Omekwu has made his marks; he has driven UNN library to a high standard that Nigerians can be proud of,” Morgan said.

    Morgan, a student of the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUT MINNA), called on government at all levels to pay attention to the development of libraries in the country, saying the facility remained central to the realisation of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda in the education sector.

    Reacting, Prof Omekwu expressed gratitude to the group for the honour, commending the efforts of the association in pursuing democratic ideals. The librarian remarked that he brought passion and dedication to his work, knowing that his effort would make lasting impression on the people he serves.

     

  • Traits of godfatherism on campuses

    To say that godfatherism has eaten deep into Nigerian politics is to restate the fact. Our politics has always been defined by who a candidate knows. Before anybody can occupy public office, he must have a godfather. Such candidates, who ride on the back of godfathers to clinch political offices, will only be loyal to the person(s) that help them win elections.

    Such is the ugly side of godfatherism. In higher institutions, the trait is rearing its ugly especially in students’ politics.

    Historically, godfatherism can be traced to the old Catholic Church when youths and children looked up to elderly persons and emulated them to be responsible. This practice is still in operation till today in some Anglican Churches and Pentecostal churches.

    In Nigerian politics, the likes of Nnamdi Azikwe, Obafemi Awolowo and Tafawa Balewa, were seen as as political godfathers in the First Republic; politicians, who wanted to be elected invoke their names and banked on their influence to be elected.

    Operationally, a political godfather is a term used to describe a merchant who acquires the state as a client to further his personal economic and political empire, which will be maintained by a godson, through an unbroken pact of remitting the state resources before ascending the throne of power.

    Godfatherism is firmly establishing itself as a phenomenon in contemporary Nigerian politics. These godfathers are rich and have so much influence within their individual domain. They decide who becomes the governor, legislator, and local government chairman in their consistencies.

    These political godfathers ensure they get into politics through whatever means, whether legitimate or illegitimate and employ unconventional methods to achieve their aim of political relevance. Their formidable political structures, if positively used, can strengthen democracy and improve the political process.

    But what we have is contrary; political godfathers have continued to make life unbearable for the citizens because they stand between elected officials and the people, who should be served. Their activities have made politics in Nigeria a difficult process and this has hampered development both at the local and national level.

    However, the inability of political godsons to continuously grease the financial wheel of their godfather has resulted to the removal of some of them from office because godfathers will not hesitate to bring down their disloyal godsons to prove their political supremacy.

    Like other forms of political corruption, godfatherism is a major threat to Nigeria’s democracy and it has eaten deep into the political structure of higher institutions in Nigeria, including private institutions. Some students plead with their colleagues to get their favourite aspirants elected into the students’ union body. They would support their aspirants with cash to print campaign posters and buy other materials needed for the election.

    Candidate elected this way will eventually embezzle the funds of the union to enrich the people, who assisted them to get to the position. This unfortunately tells us that young people of this generation are also into this despicable practice of getting into power and positions on the back of godfathers.

    The cliché ‘youths are leaders of tomorrow’ has been ringing into the ears of many for a long time but the question now is: if these young people, who engage themselves in this despicable act of godfatherism, later become the leaders in reality, what hope do we have in becoming one of the greatest countries in the world?

    •Damilola, recently graduated from Mass Comm., REDEEMER’S

  • 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

    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.

     

  • Rewarding excellence

    The setting did not look like the usual lecture theatre, library or computer laboratory. It was not a gathering for group discussion or seminar presentation. But the atmosphere was full of glamour and glitz. It was the dinner and award night of research students of the Africa Regional Centre for Information Science, University of Ibadan (UI).

    The centre, which was conceived by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1973 and revived by the Canadian International Development Research Centre in 1980, provides expertise in the establishment, update and application of standards for the construction, maintenance and effective utilisation of computerised databanks in Africa.

    It began operations in Nigeria in 1990 and undertakes research, trains high-level manpower and provides consultancy services in information science.

    The yearly event was held at the Sultan Bello Dome on campus. From the red carpet that covered the entrance of the venue, through the sparkle of the lightings to the exquisitely decorated walls and seats, students filed into the hall with joy.

    As guests made their entry, they were welcomed by loud music blaring from powerful speakers stationed at four sides of the hall. The students, who were still writing their second semester exam, looked resplendent in their attires.

    It was also a forum where students and staff related and spoke their minds on academic issues. Students and lecturers, who distinguished themselves in some activities, were honoured.

    In his address, the immediate past president of the Africa Regional Centre for Information Science Students’ Association (ARCISSTA), Abimbola Ademola, said it was a stock taking event of the past year and also to reward outstanding personalities. Recalling the beginning of his tenure, Abimbola thanked God for the successes recorded during his time.

    During the award session, the Director of the Centre, Prof Muta Tiamiyu, was awarded a fellow of the students’ body. He was described as a father and frontline academic whose contributions in the training of information professionals and growth of the discipline could not be quantified.

    Prof Tiamiyu appreciated the students for the award and pledged to do more for the centre. He also hailed the students for upholding the institute’s ideals .

    The sub-Dean of the Centre, Dr Wole Olatokun, was recognised as the Most Outstanding Lecturer. According to the organisers, Olatokun’s mastery of the course, delivery styles and relationships with students stood him out among other lecturers.

    As he stepped out to receive the plaque, all the students rose to welcome Olatokun to the podium. Responding, the recipient appreciated the students for the award and pledged to do more. He urged the students to be committed to their research activities to ensure the nation’s growth.

    Other awardees are Abimbola, who received both the Most Outstanding Executive and the Most Friendly Student (male category), Ibikunle Opeyemi, Most Friendly Student (female category), Ademola Olayiwola, Best Dressed (male) and Temitope Babatunde, Best Dressed (female).

    The new executive members of the association were inaugurated on the occasion. Olatokun administered the oath on the officers, who included Towo Adeyemi, President, Similoluwa Olugbebi, Vice President, Biodun Olasebikan, General Secretary and Rashida Aligiwa, Assistant General Secretary.

    Others are Stanley Ibeku, Public Relations Officer, Dotun Aremu, Speaker, Adeola Olatunji, Financial Secretary and Treasurer, Chioma Sebastian, Director of Socials and Dapo Babalola, Director of Sports.

    Towo promised to uplift the association. He pledged that his executive would build on the legacy of the outgoing executive.

     

  • ‘I never attempted to kill my baby’

    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.

  • NDLEA club recruits members

    embers of the Drug Free Club at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, have inducted new members into its fold at Marquis Lecture Theatre, Faculty of Pharmacy, OAU.

    The event was graced by the Deputy Ife Area Commander of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mr Abdulai Musa; Head of Drug Demand Reduction, NDLEA, Dr Ibrahim Baba, and Assistant NDLEA State Commander in Osun State, Tunde John, who conducted the swearing-in rite at the event.

    The club is a non-political and non-profit students’ organisation, which partners with NDLEA in its campaign against drug abuse, misuse, addiction, trafficking, sales and production of fake drugs.

    The induction ended the recruitment embarked on by the club in the academic session.

    The event was also marked with a lecture titled:Drug Abuse and the Rule of Law in Nigeria delivered by John, a lawyer.

     

  • Student donates notice board

    tudents are known mostly for demanding one thing or the other but Rejoice Eziedo, a final year student of Education Administrative and Planning and the former coordinator of Female Leadership Forum (FLF), University of Calabar (UNICAL), demonstrated uncommon courage when she donated an ultra-modern notice board to the Students’ Affairs Division.

    While unveiling the board, Rejoice echoed the words of Abraham Lincoln, saying: “Don’t leave any environment the way you meet it, always bring a positive change to make it better.”

    She said the quoted sentence inspired her to embark on the project.

    The Dean of Students’ of Affairs, Prof Eyong Eyong, who was very excited by the project, commended Rejoice for the gesture. He said: “It is a thing of joy that a student could have the wisdom to think of having what to add to the system, we commend you for the presentation and we promise to make good use of the board.”

    The Students’ Union President, Bassey Eka, eulogised the donor for her benevolence, saying with the gesture, Rejoice had demonstrated attribute of a good leader.