Category: Campus Life

To fulfil from its promise to students from Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State, the council’s leadership has disbursed millions of naira as scholarship to them.

Indigenes of the council in the University of Calabar (UNICAL) under the aegis of National Association of Yala Local Government Students (NAYLOGS) gathered at the security unit of the council last week to get their scholarship.

CAMPUSLIFE learnt that the last time students got scholarship from the local government was 19 years ago when Greg Ngaji was the president of the association.

The secretary of the council, Mr Boniface Okache, said: “For many years, the council has not been able to give the students bursary due to its financial challenge. But now, things have turned around for good; the present chairman has brought out blueprint and cardinal priority, which is education.”

Okache said the council held meeting with all NAYLOGS members and came to a resolution that it would assist all Yala students in tertiary institution in Nigeria and abroad. “We engage the association so that we can get an accurate statistics of Yala students. It is on the basis of that we will know how much to pay and how much that will go round,” he said.

NAYLOGS president, Patrick Wonah, said the restoration of the bursary scheme by the chairman of the council was commendable.

One of the beneficiaries, Anthony Afufu, a graduating student of Pure and Applied Chemistry, appreciated the council for the gesture. “Though we expected handsome amount because for many years, we were not paid. However, we appreciate the local government for this gesture. I urge the council not to stop the scheme as it was done in the past. They should also increase the amount to a reasonable sum,” Anthony said.

The Rector of the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO), Prof Igbekele Ajibefun, has called for more investment in youth education to enable government achieve its developmental programmes.

He spoke at the Excellence and Leadership Award Night organised by Sunshine State Youth Movement. The event was held at the conference hall of Solton International Hotel, Ijapo Estate, Akure, Ondo State.

In his paper titled Leadership and youth development: The critical nexus, Ajibefun stated that investment in education was investment in future, stressing that education was crucial to socio-economic transformation and nation building. He noted that some developing nations were not releasing money to fund their tertiary education system, stating: “achievment of a functional education system requires heavy investment.”

Ajibefun, however, praised the resolve of the Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, to provide fund for education at all levels, pointing to emergence of mega schools across the state and the massive infrastructural development going on in RUGIPO and state-owned institutions.

He noted that youth development was a policy perspective that emphasised provision of services and opportunities to support young people in developing a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and empowerment, which education must play a key role.

The Rector said availability of opportunities for youth would help them navigate through the social, political and economic realities of the 21st century. He also recognised honour, honesty, courage, integrity and loyalty as values required for youth development. According to him, the values remain the platform to pilot youth vision for their future.

The award night was attended by dignitaries among who were the wife of the Ondo State Governor, Mrs Olukemi Mimiko, representative of the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Prof Tolu Akinbogun, Chief Rotimi Olusanya, Asamo of Akure Land, who represented the Deji of Akure, Vice-Chancellor, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Prof Femi Mimiko, and Ondo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Dayo Adeyanju.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has pledged N500,000 in aid to PhD students, who are its members and Accounting students of the University of Calabar (UNICAL).

Its National President, Mr Owolabi Adedoyin, made the pledge when he led an ICAN delegation to visit Vice-Chancellor, Prof James Epoke.

Adedoyin said the body observed that some students were hindered in their academic pursuit by financial challenges, a situation that made ICAN to decide to encourage the indigent students, especially those in their final years of study and postgraduate.

The 48th president of ICAN used the occasion to disclose that there would be a scholarship scheme for students who make First Class in the discipline and other related courses, who registered as bonafide members of ICAN. He explained the rule that all Accountancy and Accounting students must have credit pass in Mathematics and English in either WAEC or NECO was to ensure proper regulation of the profession.

He praised the management of the university for the excellent performance shown by its graduates of Accounting, while equally thanking the VC for the warm reception accorded the ICAN team.

Responding, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Prof James Utsalo, who spoke on behalf of Prof Epoke, expressed appreciation to the body for its choice of UNICAL as one of the universities to benefit from ICAN’s scholarship scheme.

Utsalo said the Accounting programme of the university was vibrant because of the demands placed before the students, which included orderliness from staff and students.

The chairman of Calabar District of ICAN, Mr Tony Ayie, said it was the body’s pleasure to choose the university among institutions to be accorded the honour of courtesy visits by the ICAN national leaders.

The highlights of the visit were the presentation of copies of academic journals to the Vice-Chancellor.

Students have been advised to be dynamic and practical in their approach to knowledge and learning. Provost of Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education (AIFCE), Owerri, Imo State, Dr Blessing Ojioma, gave the advice during the matriculation of students admitted for degree, National Certificate in Education (NCE) programmes.

The event, which was held at the college pavilion, was attended by lecturers, parents and students.

In her address, Mrs Ojioma described the freshmen as “blessed” because they were admitted when the institution is celebrating its 50th anniversary. She explained that the jubilee anniversary was formally kicked-off with the induction of the freshers.

She told the students to consider themselves privileged, warning them to report to any lecturer, anyone may want to extort or intimidate them. She said: “Privilege comes with sacrifice. You must endeavour to work hard in your studies; eschew exam malpractice, cultism, indecent dressing and conducts that are inimical to your academic pursuit. You must be well behaved and follow right procedures to make your complaints.”

The Vice-Chancellor, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Prof Barth Okolo, who was a guest at the occasion, urged the freshers to regard the ceremony as a solemn one that called for sober reflection. “Aim high, be the best in extracurricular activities and recognise challenges in order to overcome them,” Okolo said.

One of the freshers, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, said: “I am very happy because this is one of the experiences I have looked forward to. Being a bonafide student has inspired me to start building my career.

A 200-Level Biology Education student, Vincent Okereke, said: “Though I did my matriculation two years ago, I will advise the incoming students to be focused, work hard and abstain from vices that will jeopardise their future. One thing they should have in mind is that they must be punctual at lectures if they want to succeed in this school.”

A student of the Kogi State University (KSU), Ayingba, identified as Samuel Bamidele Oludoyi, disappeared from his parents’ house in Enugu when a friend he met on Facebook lured him to Warri, Delta State.

Samuel was, however, lucky as he is alive to tell the story of how his supposed friend, identified as Michael (surname unknown) arranged for his abduction.

A kidnap gang seized Samuel for three days before police from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) stormed the hideout of the suspected kidnappers at Uzor Street, Agbarho, and arrested three of the suspects.

The kidnappers demanded N5 million as ransom from Samuel’s parents to effect his release. They were moving the victim to another location when the police accosted them.

The Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr Ikechukwu Aduba, gave the names of the arrested suspects as Anibor Oghenekparabo, Onoriode Omamowho and Kelvin Orotoma. Others are still at large.

The police said the intention of the kidnapper was to extort money from Samuel’s parents. Aduba, who said Samuel had reunited with his Enugu-based parents, explained: “Samuel was invited by a friend identified as Michael, who he met on Facebook for a birthday party in Warri. They have not met face to face before this incident, but have been chatting on the internet. He must have found out his background through his interaction with him on the social media.

“So, they plotted how to abduct him and make money. Samuel, the only son of his parents, whose abductors believe are well-to-do, left his parents in Enugu without telling them where he was going to and travelled to Warri.

“Samuel was discussing with Michael on phone and called him on when he got to Warri, but his so-called friend had ulterior motive. He had arranged with others to kidnap him. Samuel was whisked to a house along Uzor Street, Agbarho, where he was held hostage for three days.”

Aduba wondered why people could leave their homes to visit strangers they met on Facebook without proper security check. “I do not understand this; I am warning young men and women to stop this behaviour. How can you leave your home to go a birthday party by somebody you do not know, all because both of you met on social media? This is ridiculous. People should help the police by being security conscious,” he warned.

The Plateau State axis of the Joint Campus Committee (JCC), an arm of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), has called on the striking lecturers in state-owned tertiary institutions to accept the offer made by the government and return to work. The call came as the state awaits the court judgment on “no work, no pay” labour law.

The JCC made the call during a press briefing in Jos, following the decision of the state lecturers to resume strike action due to non implementation of the demands already granted the union by the state government.

In a press statement jointly signed by the NANS Zone C co-ordinator, Henry Pam, and president, National Association of Plateau State Students (NAPSS), Promise Yatu, the student body called on the government to speed up the implementation process while appealing to the lecturers to reconsider their position and return to their campuses.

The JCC said having cautiously assessed the issues at stake and the demands placed before government by the lecturers, it urged both parties to consider students, whose future was being affected by the strike.

The statement reads: “We are aware that the three months salary and other underpaid arrears are the first two demands by the tertiary staff. These demands are now affected by the legal framework of ‘no work, no pay’. The court’s decision should be the final for both parties. Furthermore, the centralisation of salaries of all workers in the state is to correct anomalies caused by ghost workers. Opposition of lecturers to this cannot be a ground for protest. We urge them to support the government’s effort in sanitising public sector and protect public funds.”

Since some of the demands of the lecturers union have been consented to by the government, the student body urged the teachers to get back to work.

“This is a nation governed by the rule of law. We believe that National Industrial Court’s decision shall be binding on both government and striking workers. Neither government nor workers will overrule the decision of the court.”

The Committee also called on the students to remain calm and resist attempts by anyone or group to use their plight for evil motive. “We caution all those that want to incite students into acts of violence to desist from such evil machinations; they should deploy their energies for the good of our state,” the NANS said.