The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • Student donates to orphans

    As part of activities to mark his birthday, Joel Adeniyi, 400-Level part time student of Criminology and Social Work, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), has donated materials to Grace Orphanage home in Akure, Ondo State.

    The donation was made in collaboration with Minds and Moments Initiative, a students’ group, which comprised undergraduates spread across Ondo and Ekiti states.

    Food items and tissue papers were donated to orphans in the home, while the celebrant cut his birthday with the motherless children.

    Speaking on the rationale behind the gesture, Joel cited biblical reference in James 1:27, which obligated people to look after orphans and widows.

    He said; “The orphans are special set of people not to be forgotten in our world today. They are also created by God but fell victim to circumstances beyond their control. They have future and they are also leaders of tomorrow. Many of them have grown up to be great personalities in life. They also have right to live. Therefore, they deserve to be remembered and catered for. They deserve to be given sense of belonging and not to be neglected.”

    Official of the orphanage home, who simply identified herself as Miss Ruth, who received Joel and his colleagues, said words alone would not be enough to appreciate the celebrant’s gesture towards the children. She challenged youths and well-meaning Nigerians to emulate the gesture.

     

  • To Aunty NG, my Amazon

    Though you left without saying goodbye,

    I counted the days I spent with you as your ‘handbag’ a blessing.

    You had confidence, you inspired it in others.

    You had verve and vitality,

    You made things happen!

    You had intelligence,

    You deployed it to the benefit of young impressionable minds,

    Your very own “stars out of a depraved generation”.

    You were raised in a country of doom,

    You made it your mandate to correct it.

    You rose through humble strides to become a pride of the family,

    You made mistakes, you acknowledged and apologised easily.

    Your words adorn the dedication page of my final year long essay entitled

    The Nigerian spirit should celebrate the essence of the human spirit:

    Conquering over whatever odds and sailing forth in glory.

    Even in death, you remain my heroine,

    My Amazon who fought with the strength of her convictions.

    A woman should not be a femme fatale to rise,

    You did not deify beauty,

    You did not glorify charm,

    You knew: “As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout,

    So is a fair woman that is without discretion”,

    Your substance; you got through God, guts and grace.

    Your virtue of cleanliness and finesse,

    The need to “lay the bed without crisps”

    Your belief: “cooking is about creativity”

    I pine for the moment of admonition,

    That I now cherish more in this moment of your demise,

    I yearn for your words of wisdom,

    Now that I am coming to terms with the reality of adult life.

    ‘Hope maketh not ashamed”: I hold on to the rock that fails not.

    At this point, tears drip, word fails!

    Committed I am to the dream,

    I run with the vision to epitomise the values.

    Sincerely yours, Hannah Ojo

     

    Hannah, recently graduated in English from OAU, Ile-Ife

  • Working in God’s vineyard

    Members of the Redeemed Christian Fellowship (RCF), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State chapter, went for a three-day retreat with the theme: “On eagles’ wings’ at Ifewara in Ife East Local Government Area of the state. One of them, OLUWAFEMI OGUNJOBI (400-Level Language Arts) reports.

     

    When they converged on the Students’ Union building car park, their colleagues, who were rushing to lectures, thought they were going on a protest. The crowd built up to about 700 students. Then, buses arrived to convey them to the Ifewara camp ground, where they were going to “work and labour” for God.

    It was this year’s edition of The Redeemed Christian Fellowship Workers’ Retreat. The three-day event is held yearly by a joint assembly of subgroups and bodies in the fellowship to serve God and to improve their spiritual weaknesses.

    The students were received at the Bethlehem Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Ifewara, Osun State. The President of the fellowship, Elijah Oyewole, said the theme for the retreat, On eagles’ wings, was commissioned by God through a revelation he received at the beginning of his tenure. “It is revelation that got to do with vision and focus. Soaring on eagles’ wings is not in our power but to operate in the utmost grace,” Elijah explained.

    Members of the fellowship gathered at the camp to consecrate their souls; they held prayers for hours.

    Zacchaeus Adedokun, former president of the fellowship, spoke to the participants. He stressed the need for believers to be sensitive and move in consonant with the word of God. He noted that soaring on eagle’s wings was not for angels but men.

    Afterwards, the students rose in prayers for the country. They prayed for peace in all troubled spots in Nigeria and beyond. “Lord, let your peace reign,” they chorused.

    To refresh the atmosphere of spiritual warfare, the fellowship’s choir group led the congregation into the presence of God with gospel music. Ministers were moving round to listen to members on issues affecting their wellbeing as Christians and students.

    The participants relaxed for four hours, after which another round of prayer was held.

    The fellowship’s Bible Study Secretary, Ayodele Olusola, took the participants on lesson of stewardship.

    Reading from Luke 16:1-13 and 2Timothy 2:3, Ayodele charged the students to be alive to their responsibilities and be stewards in the vineyard of God.

    “Some of us might be standing but still idle. The heartbeat of God at this time is for us to stretch ourselves for Him while holding the fort. We should work for Him with the understanding that we are working for our Father,” he charged.

    A participant, Oluwasegun Allen, 300-Level Architecture, said: “I am so glad to be a worker in God’s vineyard. I felt God’s presence and love during the retreat.”

    Adetola Adeeko described the retreat as refreshing moment in the presence of God. “I encountered the power of God in a new dimension, most importantly, the expository messages on the theme,” he said.

     

     

  • NANS honours Vice Chancellor

    NANS honours Vice Chancellor

    The Vice Chancellor of Anambra State University (ANSU), Prof Fidelis Okafor has faulted claims that the standard of education in the country has fallen.

    Okafor who spoke yesterday after he was conferred with a honourary live membership award by the National Association of Nigerian Student (NANS) said the country’s educational system is not as bad as being portrayed in most quarters.

    The Senate President of NANS, Mr Donald Onukaogu led the 67th senate of the association comprising of 225 Students Union Government presidents of federal and state institutions in Nigeria to bestow the award on Prof Okafor.

    Speaking at the Uli campus of the University, Okafor said, “I don’t accept that education standard in Nigeria is falling, is not as bad as people try to make it seem. If it is true that educational standard is that bad, how come students of ANSU from the Engineering Department went to London to compete with other universities of the world and came out tops?”

    He agreed however that there is need to make the standard of education in the country better, and that in doing so, the trio of the government, the schools managements and the students must be ready to do their part.

    “The government must first be ready to provide an atmosphere that is conducive for learning in Universities and also provide all the necessary infrastructure, the lecturers and schools managements must also be up and doing in discharging their functions and the students must be ready to sit down and learn.”

    Speaking earlier, Senate President Comrade Onukaogu said that other functionaries sat and deliberated on the award and concluded that none other than Prof Okafor was fit enough for the award.

    He said ,“Six years ago when we used to come here, the institution was more or less a glorified secondary school, but today Prof Okafor has been able to change the institution, erecting structures in both campuses of the university and also maintaining a friendly disposition with students.

    “We knew a time when this institution went for four or more years without Students Union election because of interference from management who seek to impose one person or the other, but today elections are held regularly. You have also provided qualitative health care services for students.”

    Onukaogu said that these and other achievement of the Vice Chancellor qualifies him to enter into the league of NANS live membership award, which already has only six members including Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha and Prof Wole Soyinka as recipients.

    Reacting on behalf of the institution, acting Registrar, Evangelist Okwudilichukwu Okechukwu said that the honour is not only to the VC, but to all staff and students of ANSU. He said that coming from NANS; a body which continually stands against schools management, the award is heart-warming. He stated that he is not surprised because to students of the institution, the VC has remained ‘daddy’.

  • Senate committee assures Unijos on take-off grant

    Senate committee assures Unijos on take-off grant

    The Senate Committee on Education said it will liaise with the Federal Government for the release of the take-off grant for the University of Jos.

    The Chairman of the committee, Sen. Uche Chukwuemerije, said this when he led his colleagues on an oversight visit to the institution.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the university, one of the second generation universities established in 1975, has yet to receive its take-off grant.

    According to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Hayward Mafuyai, the non-provision of the seed money is responsible for the slow development of the institution.

    Chukwumerije said that senate would assist the school in “pushing for the release of the grant.”

    He also promised that the senate would assist towards resolving the security challenges faced by the institution.

    “ We understand your peculiar security challenges and we are engaging the Federal Government to attract some funds that will assist you in handling the challenges.’’

    He promised that the committee would also assist the school to break more grounds in the area of research, noting that much had already been done in that area.

    Earlier, Mafuyai had highlighted the university’s challenges and identified major areas to include insecurity, inadequate accommodation and transportation.

    “We have a student population that is close to 30,000 but we only have accommodation for 7,000. Staff accommodation is equally inadequate,” he said.

    Mafuyai said the university’s infrastructure was also in bad shape.

     

  • Lagos Polytechnic students express relief over suspended strike

    Lagos Polytechnic students express relief over suspended strike

    Some students of the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, on Tuesday expressed relief that the institution’s chapter of the Academic State Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) had suspended its strike which started a month ago.

    They spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos as they began to trickle into classes after the local ASUP chapter decided to return to classes.

    The local chapter had taken the action in spite of the continuation of the strike by the national body which started on April 29.

    Miss Omowunmi Oladipupo, a Mass Communication student in HND II, told NAN that she was happy to be back in school after being kept at home because of the strike.

    “I am happy the strike has been suspended because our time was being wasted when the strike was going on,’’ she said.

    Oladipupo said that the strike had disrupted her academic calendar.

    “The academic calendar has been disrupted and this has drawn us back.

    “The school was supposed to have resumed in April and students were slated to begin their second semester examinations in July.

    “This cannot happen again because of the strike,’’ she said.

    Mr Friday Ojo, a student of Electrical Electronics Engineering in HND1, told NAN that he was happy with the resumption of lectures.

    He urged the government to always honour its agreements to unions to avert industrial actions which were taking toll on the academic calendar.

    Ojo said many students had not returned to school since the strike was suspended, but he could not explain the reasons.

    Mr Obanla Adeyemi, another  student of  Mass Communication in HND II, said that the strike had affected the time frame of students writing their projects.

    “The strike has affected students writing their projects, because they do not have access to their supervisors.

    “The time frame for the project might not be enough now because some of the students will have to rush the projects due to pressure from their supervisors,’’ he said.

    Mr Arowolo Olatunji, ASUP chairman in LASPOTECH, told NAN on Monday that the chapter decided to return to classes immediately because some of their demands had been met by the Lagos State Government.

    Olatunji said they had an agreement with the state government over some local issues and these had been resolved so they had decided to return to classes.

    The ASUP chairman, however, did not shed light on the agreements which had been met.

    On the possible sanction which the local chapter could face from its parent body, Olatunji said that ASUP National Executive Council would still have to meet and deliberate on the reason behind their action.

    He said it was the council that could decide on what would happen because of their action.

    NAN reports that as the ASUP in the school returned to classes, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (NASUP) in the institution  began a seven-day warning strike called by the national body.

    The NASUP chairman in Yaba College of Technology,  Mr Ilesanmi Olatunbosun, told NAN that the warning strike was called to draw attention of Federal Government to some demands in relation to CONTISS 15.

    NAN reports that the NASUP strike at the college came on the heels of another called by the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP).

  • Gunmen abduct ASUU chair

    Gunmen abduct ASUU chair

    The Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUT MINNA), Dr Abdulfatai Jimoh was on Friday abducted by gunmen in Ibadan while he was going to an international conference being held in honour of Dr Oladipo Fashina, a lecturer in the department of Philosophy, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).

    He was kidnapped alongside the union’s Financial Secretary, Mr Ganiyu Olanrewaju, at Macmillian bus-stop in Ibadan at about 6:45pm. The duo was dumped in a forest near Ogun State, where the police later found them.

    The gunmen made away with Jimoh’s official car, a Sienna 2005 model, which contained several documents including his laptop. The items were yet to be recovered at press time.

    Jimoh explained that he left Minna on Friday morning for the conference en route Ibadan as it was a shorter way to get to Ile-Ife.

    “I don’t believe I won’t be dead by now because we were attacked by four hefty armed men. If it is not the assigned time for a man to die, he would not die,” a bemused Jimoh submitted.

     

  • Niger Delta students threaten agency

    Niger Delta students threaten agency

    The Niger Delta Students Union Government (NIDSUG) has threatened to disrupt activities of the Nigeria Local Content and Monitoring Development Board (NCDMB), should the agency fail to live up to expectation within a short period of time.

    The union spoke through its president, Tonbara Yalah, during a press briefing in Yenagoa. Tonbara said the union was using the medium as a wakeup call to the agency, whose board he said has been inefficient over the years.

    He equally noted that the board, which was established to improve the capacity of youths in the Niger Delta, had performed below expectation.

    In a the recent national conference held by the union in Yenagoa, students vent their anger on the board members when they visited the agency’s office at Revenue House, Lambert Eradiri Road, Yenogua. Activities at the firm were grounded as the students barricaded the entrance gate, took over the reception room and chanted solidarity songs.

    Mr Eugene Ozolua, Director in the firm, who spoke on behalf of the board’s Executive Secretary, Mr Ernest Nwapa, pleaded with the students to remain calm, promising that the agency would strengthen relationship with the students.

    Obedience Akama, one of the students, said: “The board is better liquidated if it will be inefficient. Each time their workers see any student around the office, they don’t him. They feel too big to even talk to us.”

    The president of the National Union of Izon Ebe Students (NUIS), Godwin Ogele, a student of Delta State University, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to purge the leadership of the board of “bad eggs”.

    Tonbara threatened: “Should the board refused to live up to expectation this time around, we will make sure we disrupt its activities to drive home our point.”

  • Can there be a society without lawbreakers?

    Can there be a society without lawbreakers?

    A society without law, can you?” is the much-touted slogan of students studying Law at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS). Based on the experience I have gathered since my stay on the campus, I begin to wonder if members of the Law Students Association of Nigeria (LAWSAN) are truly loyal to the motto of the association.

    Over the years, lawlessness has been the order of the day, not only amongst the executive members of the association but the students in the university. Talking about numerous careless and intentional breach of simple school rules and regulations, there have been commotion at the school park where the students defy the orderliness as enshrined in students’ handbook given to us because they want to be transported at all cost.

    Of course, we can duly apportion some blame to the management for not properly carrying out its function to checkmate the activities of the school cleaners but the students have shown that they lack proper home training in cleanliness. All the toilet facilities built with lecture rooms have been so unkempt because students use them leaving them clean after use.

    As the lectures go on, pungent odour of urine always wafts from the toilets to the lecture halls. Majority of the cleaners are don’t resume early to clean the toilets; they always come late, thereby asking students and lecturers to allow them to do their job while the lecture is on.

    However, not to lose focus of this discourse, it is very embarrassing seeing Law students violating school rules, when, in fact, they should have been the ones keeping faith with the law. Even the university dress codes, which were formulated to ensure law and order on the campus, some Law students violate it. If the military, police, fire fighters and so on can rightly observe the dress code of their profession, why not Law students?

    Law students of other universities across Nigeria observe the dress code for law profession, but in UDUS, students violate it flagrantly. I still wonder why the management can’t enforce the codes. To say the truth, the prestige of law students can only be made known not by speaking big grammars and legal maxims to impress, but by obeying the law which we have chosen to study.

    The dress code law is a directive of the Nigerian Council of Legal Education, which mandates students of Law both in the universities and law schools to dress in white and black materials, being the colours of justice that signifies the truth in its absolute sense and nullifies anything in between.

    Following an awareness campaign on the dress code by the UDUS Dean of Faculty of Law, Prof M.L. Ahmadu, last February, the LAWSAN president placed a notice for all students of the faculty mandating them to observe the dress code from Mondays to Thursdays. Some students are complying while others are not. Nevertheless, most lectures have mandated it on students to either obey the law or be absent from lectures.

    Meanwhile, some students and lecturers are of the opinion that the dress codes give room for female students to violate their religion’s dress codes, which may lead to chaos. Disproving this view, Prof Ahmadu, in an interview with campus journalists, urged people to be careful in causing religious arguments, which were baseless, saying the faculty was only trying to entrench decency and discourage indecent dressing. He also stated the faculty’s intention was to use persuasion rather than issuing sanctions in enforcing the codes.

    The foregoing shows that for every good intention anyone is trying to make in the society, some people will still dismiss and act to disparage the good Idea. If a law is to promote decency and orderliness, why should we go against such law? Well, I am still dreaming of a Nigeria without lawless citizens.

     

    Halimah, 200-Level Law, UDU Sokoto

  • ‘Take a bow and go’

    ‘Take a bow and go’

    Members of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) have visited the National Assembly to learn more about parliamentary process and governance. TOLULOPE OGUNLEYE (HND II Computer Science) reports.

     

     

    Members of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) have visited the National Assembly to acquaint themselves with the legislative process.

    Led by the president, Olanrewaju Balogun, and Speaker Kehinde Olofintuyi, the students witnessed the plenary of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

    A few months ago, the students had embarked on a similar visit to the Lagos State House of Assembly and the legislative chamber of Kosofe Local Government Area.

    For the journey, the students converged on Aluta Mansion, the union building on the Ikorodu campus, about 5am, where a bus was waiting for them. For more than 10 hours, the students were on the road, chanting various solidarity songs as they approached the seat of power. At 8pm, they checked into their hotel rooms in Abuja to prepare for the next day’s activities.

    At 9:45 am on Wednesday, the students were received in the assembly complex by Mr Adedeji Alabi, the security officer in charge of educational excursion, who welcomed them on behalf of the Clerk of the National Assembly.

    Alabi told the students to conduct themselves well as they moved into the Senate chamber. At exactly 10:48 a.m., the procession of the Senate President David Mark moved into the chamber.

    The Chief Whip of the chamber cautioned the floor members against engaging in discussions that were not part of the day’s proceedings. Afterwards, a senator moved a motion to begin the proceeding; Senator Gbenga Ashafa, Lagos East, seconded the motion.

    The legislative business started when Mark read letters from President Goodluck Jonathan on different issues to members. He recognised the presence of the students, who were dressed in their ceremonial regalia. The union members stood up and took a bow.

    As debates were going on in the Red Chamber, the union members were led to the Green Chamber to witness the proceeding in the lower house. They were recognised by the Speaker, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

    After the plenary Senator Ashafa in company of Senator Olusola Adeyeye, Osun Central, met with the students in Room 1 of the assembly complex. Ashafa praised the students’ advising them not to lose focus on their goals. He also warned them against companies that could jeopardise their academic pursuit.

    Senator Adeyeye, deputy chairman of Senate Committee on Education, said he abandoned his engagement to attend to the students because he felt obligated given his position in the senate. He said the future of the country would be determined by the actions of today’s generation of students, saying education remained the compass to chart Nigeria’s course to a prosperous future.

    The Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr Olumuyiwa Adejokun, who received the students in his conference room, described their visit as central of their development.

    Member representing Lagos Mainland Federal Constituency, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, appreciated the courage of the students saying he was assured the future of Nigeria is safe “with the set of people I am looking at here”.

    Other federal lawmakers from the Southwest that received the students included Hon. Hakeem Muniru, Hon. Dayo Bush-Alebiosu, and Hon. Lasun Yusuf.

    On what informed the visit Kehinde, told CAMPUSLIFE: “Increasing students’ knowledge in governance matter has been my dream since I was sworn in as the Speaker. And this is what we have witnessed here today.”

    Kamoru Saka, the mace bearer of the union, said he acquired knowledge on how to properly discharge his function to the Students’ Representative Council (SRC). He said he believed the short story told by Senator Adeyeye would make an impact on his life.