Category: Campus Life

The Federal Polytechnic, Offa (OFFA POLY), Kwara State, has been reopened, two weeks after it was shut, following renewed clash between Offa and Erin-Ile, its host communities. Though normalcy has returned to the communities, the students are jittery that things may get out of hand again. AKINOLA OLUYI (ND II Mass Communication) writes.

FOR two weeks, the Federal Polytechnic, Offa (OFFA POLY), Kwara State was shut. Its closure followed renewed fighting between Offa and Erin-Ile, the institution’s host communities. The crisis has thawed; the school has been reopened; but there is an uneasy calm because staff and students are still jittery. Nobody can say for sure that the crisis will not resurge.

The age-long animosity between Offa and Erin-Ile resurged last month when commercial bus drivers from both communities disagreed on the terminus for vehicles plying the route. An accident involving vehicles belonging to an Offa and an Erin-Ile indigenes led to the clash in which properties worth millions of naira were destroyed.

Guns, daggers and cutlasses were used by the rioters. There were reports of casualties on both sides. During the clash, off-campus hostels near the borderline were destroyed. Before the government drafted riot policemen to the scene, a popular mosque in Offa, Masjid Noor, and the newly-built Offa Descendant Union building had been vandalised. Erin-Ile too came under attack.

The management evacuated the campus to prevent any untoward situation. Some students were killed in past crises between the communities. Some students, who live among the indigenes, fled their hostels, leaving their properties.

An Erin-Ile indigene, Mr Ayo Majekodunmi, told our correspondent that the situation was terrible as students living in the community escaped through the bush before they could get vehicles to take them home. “I heard cries of a student calling her mother in her room. She later escaped through the window and ran for her life when the fight was very serious,” Majekodunmi added.

Though no student came to harm, many who lived off-campus abandoned their hostels and moved into the school. Those living close to the troubled boundary packed their personal effects and moved to populated areas in Offa.

An Offa indigene, Mr Kazeem Babajide, said the management and security personnel did their best to protect students. He said: “When the crisis started, there was panic everywhere. Students living in my house ran helter-skelter. I pitied them because some of them left their properties and ran away. They left their doors opened without thinking that their electronic gadgets could be looted. I helped them to pack their properties to a safe place. I thank God none of them was killed in the crisis.”

When the campus was reopened, students relived their ordeals.

Samson Olusegun, ND II Food Technology, said: “The clash caught us unawares. I thought it was a joke but before I knew what was going on, I saw people running in different directions. When I came out of the campus, my hostel, Kes Villa, had been destroyed. I saw vehicles and houses on fire. I have never witnessed such terror before.”

Samson urged the management and government to help students affected by the crisis. “They must reassure students that such incident will not happen again because it was a scene of terror,” he added.

Omolade Oyebode, HND 1 Quantity Surveying, lamented the swindling of escaping students by commercial bus drivers in Offa. “When we were travelling out of Offa during the mayhem, the transport fares were unexpectedly increased. Fares rose from N500 to N2,500. I left Offa to Ajase where I stay. The fare was increased from N100 to N400 that day. I left some money in my room which I was unable to take. When I came back, I did not see anything again.

“It is very sad that some of the students who were affected by the incident are now facing accommodation problem because they cannot stay in their off-campus hostels due to fear.”

Omoniyi Olagoroye, ND II Business Administration, complained that the security personnel deployed to maintain peace in the community have abandoned their responsibilities to exhort students.

“The soldiers and policemen came to the viewing centre where we watch football matches last week. They scattered everywhere and beat up students. They asked us to pay N50 each if we wanted to escape their punishment. This is very bad. Is that what they were sent to do here?” Omoniyi said.

A student, Abisola Alonge, ND 1 Office Technology and Management, who lost her property, said: “All I can say is ‘thank God’. I could only escape with my credentials that day. Everything my parents bought for me was burnt. When I got to know that governments wanted to help us, I came back to school immediately and I did everything they asked me to do. When I went to submit the document detailing everything I lost, they said it was late. As I talk to you now my brother, I don’t have more than two clothes. I am staying with my friends; I don’t have a hostel again.”

The Students’ Union Government (SUG) has told students not to panic, promising to do its best to ensure that the crisis did not recur. The statement was signed by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the union, Johnson Eleko.

The Dean of Students’ Affairs, Mr Adeyemi Adeyinka, assured the students of their security. He praised them for cooperating with the management during the crisis. Adeyinka said the polytechnic had written to push the case of students, who lost properties in the crisis before a panel was set up by Kwara State government to probe the clash.

Taiwo Ajireloja is studying Crop Production and Protection at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, but his writing skill stands him out.
The 500-Level student won the 2012 edition of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Essay Competition. He spoke with HANNAH OJO (English).

What motivated your participation in the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) essay contest?

Well, apart from the fact that I am a student, which made me eligible for competition, I was inspired by the topic of the essay which is: Corporate Governance and the Nigerian Capital Market Development. It is in line with my area of interest. So, I took my pen and wrote the essay.

Can you describe your feelings when you were announced as the winner of the competition?

Of course, I was overwhelmed with joy. But, it was actually on the award day that the winners were called. The regulation of the essay was strict because the test was in two phases. A the first 20 contenders were called to write another essay, which was strictly supervised by the organisers. The topic was given to us on the day we wrote the essay and the results determined the winners. The cash prize which I won, was N300,000. This was in the form of shares in quoted companies, then a certificate and plaque.

What were the points that made your essay outstanding?

I started my essay with explanation of the two key terms in the topic. I explained corporate governance and what it means. I wrote about its principles and importance to the development of the capital market. I also explained some things about the capital market; how it operates and I established a relationship between how corporate governance can bring about the development of the capital market. That was how the essay was organised.

Your discipline borders on agriculture, how did come about writing?

One thing about writing is that, it helps to develop the human mind and make people knowledgeable in all fields. If somebody plans to write on a particular thing, he has to conduct a research on that topic. It is in the process that one acquires knowledge. The knowledge can then be applied even to one’s discipline or organisation, regardless of field. So, writing is a process of knowledge acquisition. It can make somebody to add values to his course of study through the application of what has been learnt through writing essays.

How long have you been writing and how did you hone your writing skills?

I cannot really say how long but I will say throughout my secondary school days, essay writing was a thing I enjoyed. Also, I developed my writing skill by reading materials, especially those that have to do with economics, entrepreneurship and other areas of interest that I can benefit from. It is the knowledge that I gained from reading these materials that I put into writing when needed.

What should young people learn from you?

Anybody that wants to be knowledgeable must be ready to learn in different areas. Widening one’s scope by reading materials from different fields of human endeavour is also important. I encourage the youth to be determined because determination helps in overcoming challenges. Young people should also know that they can achieve anything through the power of God.

What plans do you have for the future?

I see myself as an entrepreneur. I want to put into practice all the skills I have learnt over the years with a view to impacting positively on people and the society.

I had an encounter with a group of National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) members who passed out recently that left me really depressed. These ex-corps members were disillusioned because they see a very bleak future where the government is “advising” them to be job creators when they know next to nothing in that aspect. “Sir, how can I create jobs, am I the government?” one inquired. Another said: “My father kept telling me there was a time when jobs will be waiting for you once you’re through with your studies, they even had choices back then I was told”! Another blurted out “the government must declare a day of national mourning for the youths of this great country; we cannot continue like this, things must change”. What an appropriate title for a write up!

Without watering down the gravity of the issue at stake, I’d like to recount an Associated Press (AP) story about a southern Philippine town that declared a day of mourning and held funeral rites –wait for this, not for jobs or other issues but – for the world’s largest saltwater crocodile and then preserve its remains in a museum to keep tourists coming and prevent their community from slipping back into obscurity. The one-tonne crocodile was declared dead two weeks ago a few hours after flipping over with a bloated stomach in a pond in an eco-tourism park in Bunawan town, which had started to draw tourists, revenue and development because of the immense reptile.

The Mayor of the town, Edwin Cox Elorde was reported to have said: “The whole town, in fact the whole province, is mourning. My phones kept ringing because people wanted to say how affected they are.” During a news conference, Elorde fought back tears as he recalled how the town took care of the crocodile not as a beast but like an “adopted son.” Guinness World Records had proclaimed it the largest saltwater crocodile in captivity last year, measuring it at 6.17 meters (20.24 feet). The reptile took the top spot from an Australian crocodile that measured more than five meters (17 feet) and weighed nearly a tonne.

The crocodile was named Lolong, after a government environmental officer who died from a heart attack after travelling to Bunawan to help capture the beast. Estimated to be more than 50 years old, it was blamed for a few brutal deaths of villagers before they came to love it. The villagers later performed a tribal ritual, which involves butchering chicken and pigs as funeral offerings to thank forest spirits for the fame and other blessings the crocodile has brought. A group of Christians separately offered prayers before the autopsy. All this for a Crocodile!

It is against this backdrop that I want to situate the call for “a day of national mourning” for the youths of Nigeria. If a town can devote so much for a beast then my ex-corps’ member friends definitely have a point, it is indeed time we take an introspective look at ourselves as a nation to see where we derailed on issues bothering on these future leaders and how to retrace our steps so that we can get back on track again.

My friends almost resorted to fisticuffs when one of them said the issue of unemployment is a worldwide phenomenon. He pointed out that Greece and Spain has a youth unemployment rate of close to 50 per cent. A colleague countered his assertion by saying “the governments in these countries are doing all in their power to address the situation. What is ours doing?”

At the point I had to come in to ask if they’ve heard about the much touted Federal Government initiated Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria, otherwise known as YouWin. One of them gave a cynical laugh and said it is kalokalo (lottery) and does not have the capacity to create employment; he challenged me to name one of such businesses that has successfully taken off and employed the myriad of unemployed graduates. Since I did not have such information, I filed the challenge away for future research.

I took out time to reflect on what our youths are facing after the encounter and came to the conclusion that it is tough growing up in present day Nigeria; most of our youths still get pocket money from their parents, and from relatives who helped sponsor them in school. Few are willing or ready to get married today talk less of having children. It is not uncommon to see some putting up with friends, while others still live with their parents and relatives. Some even have to falsify their age in order to participate in the NYSC if only to “buy time”.

Twenty or 30 years ago, scenarios like these are rare or did not exist at all. Before then, the average age for a Nigerian woman to get married was 20, and for men 25. In the past, people went from childhood to adolescence and from adolescence to adulthood with relative ease as if it was preprogrammed. But today the society is being redefined by a whole new set of rules that is currently forcing our youths to remain perpetual adolescence postponing their graduation to the much desired adulthood with responsibility, most times for no fault of theirs.

While our deliberation went on, two groups of youths emerged. One group said their parents don’t seem to be complaining and are doing everything possible to cushion the effect of unemployment on them. When I probed further I found out that most of them come from relatively comfortable homes where the parents are well to do. The second group are those that virtually crawled through the finishing line of their education. Members of this group will recount how tough it was to pass through the university eating once or twice daily, they can actually count the number of times they had three square meals throughout the duration of their studies!

This group is in the majority and they’ve devised another strategy; the acquisition of more certificates. This quest has also thrown up another challenge which I’ve termed “certificate glut.” Upon graduation, since there is no job waiting and to improve on their chances of gaining employment, they go back to school to acquire higher degrees. Even with that, there is no guarantee that the candidate will get a job.

Now, because many Nigerian graduates are acquiring higher certificates, there has been a relative reduction in the value of these degrees. The value of wages has also depreciated. It is now a common feature that the take home for jobs available to a graduate can be as low N20,000, that is if you can even find one.

How far can that go when you factor in the fact that the worker must have a roof over his head, food to eat and transportation to work. A two-bedroom flat on average, depending on location in cities like Lagos, Port Harcourt or Abuja ranges from N250,000 to N450,000. And most Lagos landlords will still want you to pay at least a year and half rent, if not two or three years, with agency and agreement fees, never minding the new Lagos tenancy law. What about PHCN and their “crazy bills?” and oh yes, money to fuel I beta pass my neighbour generator. Who’s talking about a car here, we are talking raw survival. You have to feed, you have to wear clothes.

So, when you discuss adulthood and the responsibility of marriage and family life with such a person you could as well be speaking Greek. Even if we don’t want to accept it this group is now in their mid to late 30s or even early 40s. Are we surprised that kidnapping has taken on a whole new dimension? There is nothing as dangerous as leaving intelligent and educated people with virtually nothing to do. If this becomes the norm, sophisticated crime will also become the norm.

Our government pays lip service to issues concerning its youths, and will not let them have a voice. Programmes that government says is for the youth is usually hypocritical, paternalistic and anachronistic and often avenues to enrich those in the corridors of power. For them, youths are statistics for primitive accumulation rather than resources. If they are not used as political thugs, they are killed serving their fatherland. Why will they not call for a day of national mourning?