The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • Corps member prepares kids for adolescence

    Corps member prepares kids for adolescence

    As part of his contribution to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Anambra State, a Corps member, Michael Bara, serving in Awka South Local Government, has held an awareness programme for pupils of Golden Bells Nursery and Primary School, Awka.

    The orientation programme was targeted towards preparing the pupils for adolescence period, and how to welcome and handle some physical and developmental challenges associated with those periods.

    Michael, who told the pupils that adolescence period was characterised by a number of changes in individual concerned, said there was need for the pupils to know what to do and who to talk to.

    “Adolescent stage comes with some changes. These changes are accompanied by series of developmental problems, some of which are normal and are expected to occur,” he said. He advised the kids to discuss the observed changes with their parents or teachers but not with their peers.

    The University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) graduate of Counselling Psychology emphasised the essence of early sensitisation, saying: “it is important school pupils learn about adolescent stage early and in a formal way.”

    “For years, school system has abdicated the responsibility of orientating pupils on the changes that come with puberty. It is good they learn it formally from the school system. They will know the truth and it will be difficult for anybody to take advantage of them,” he added.

    Michael said the wake up call to these responsibilities must be done in schools because most parents were either too busy to talk about puberty with their wards or they view it as unnecessary. At the end of the session, Bara told CAMPUSLIFE that well-informed pupils will grow to be well-informed adults and ultimately responsible citizens.

    He said plans were in place to create a platform where parents and guardians would be counselled on sex education and how to handle puberty. He said: “Guidance and counselling services are for all levels of education and is aimed at human development. We have counselled the pupils. We need to counselled the parents too, as knowledge is power.”

     

  • Union honours council boss

    Union honours council boss

    Officials of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the University of Calabar (UNICAL), have honoured the chairman of Udukpani Local Government Area in Cross River State, Mr Steven Asuquo, with an award of excellence.

    The award was presented to the council boss during a visit by the students’ leaders to the council headquarters at Odukpani, recently.

    During the presentation, the SUG president, Imah Ayi-Ekpenyong, noted that any award given by his administration was based on the recipient’s excellent achievements in position of authority. He said: “We have seen the achievements of the chairman and his contribution in the state and most especially in terms of education. We have come to honour you because not every leader has the heart to serve even if he has the opportunity to do so.”

    In his reaction, Asuquo said education was his major interest in everything he did. He named his education programmes to include introduction of Skill Acquisition Centre, provision of water for 37 primary schools and provision of lavatories for six primary schools in his domain.

    Asuquo said: “Education is one thing that cannot be taken away from anyone. It is one’s personal property. It is something that grows all through life.”

    He encouraged the students to face their studies with seriousness and promised to extend his hand of support to the students. “I will always support education. I will support the students as much as I can. I will embark on the payment of bursary to students in higher institutions before the end of first quarter of the year,” he promised.

    Ayi Ayi-Ekpeyong, president of Southern Cross River State Students (SOCRISS), who was part of the delegation, thanked the council boss for his support of students’ activities, urging Asuquo to put more effort in making education available to all willing youth in the local government.

  • Saki students hold their day

    Saki students hold their day

    The concept of sustainable cities is closely interconnected with the environment, economy and natural resources, which in turn can lead to minimum acceptable quality of life. Prof Tajudeen Aluko, who was the guest lecturer at sixth Oba Abimbola Annual Memorial Lecture, has said.

    The event, which took place at Saki Town Hall, was organised by Saki Students’ Union, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, chapter. The theme of the programme was The making of a sustainable city–concept, characteristics, stakeholders, issues and challenges.

    The professor of Estate Management and senior lecturer at OAU, said clean environment and economic growth were interwoven, adding that they resulted to a vibrant community. Emphasizing that the core areas inhabited by the indigines are characterised by problems associated with haphazard development, poor access and drainage system, improper refue tipping or dumps and a critical dearth of community and allied recreational facilities, the don asserted that more frightening and discernible were the general human and environmental poverty and the declining quality of life in the city.

    He said the map and master plans needed to be updated for a city to be renewed or rejuvenated. He said frustration of professional planners in a city could be imagined in the absence of a standardised arrangement and framework through which a city plan would have been drawn.

    Maintaining that African countries are too small to generate economies of scale found in larger markets, he said the roles of the public sector in the developmental process had substantially changed in many countries.

    He added that the government had put in place an enabling environment to drive private sector participation in infrastructure provision in recognition of the huge investment required. On the solution to urban problems, Prof Aluko suggested that urban renewal strategies should be developed to enable cities to build foundations, which would ensure their ecological security that would bring economic and social development.

    Justice Mutalubi Abimbola of the Oyo State High Court of Justice, who represented the family of the honouree, said he was delighted with the memorial lecture in memory of his late father, saying the late monarch would be happy with the students. He encouraged the students to be serious in their studies and be good ambassadors of Saki land.

    Other guests at the event included Chief Isaac Koleosho, who chaired the occasion, and Deacon ‘Niyi Ojo, a respected indigene of the land. The president of the union, Sarafadeen Adetayo, 400-Level Microbiology, thanked the students of the union for their support.

     

  • Accommodation gets tough in DELSU

    Accommodation gets tough in DELSU

    Fresh and returning students of Delta State University Abraka are having a tough time securing accommodation in the university’s hostels available on campus.

    As at the time of compiling this report, many of the students who resumed for a new academic session last week are yet to secure spaces in Abraka, Ethiope and Council Halls, the three main hostels on campus.

    Our correspondent gathered that the delay was caused by decision of the hostel management to use a balloting system in place of the first come, first serve system that was used before.

    The balloting exercise which started on Monday has been disappointing for many students, especially those who picked NO.

    Frustrated by delay and disappointment of the balloting system, some of the students are now looking for spaces in privately owned hostels within and outside the campus.

    A student who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity said the balloting process has effectively reduced the number of students who will stay in the hostel for the session. She added that the first come first serve arrangement was better because it gave those who resumed early an advantage.

    She said: “This balloting system has reduced the number of people who will stay in the hostel. Once you pick NO, there is nothing you can do other than making alternative arrangements. I prefer the first come; first serve system because it gave those of us who resume early an advantage in securing hostel accommodation.

    Our correspondent also gathered that some students who were lucky in the balloting exercise are making brisk business by selling their slots to desperate students at exorbitant prices.

     

     

     

     

     

  • A torturous train ride

    A torturous train ride

    They were eager to travel home by rail. They did, but the journey was harrowing for students, who travelled from Ilorin to the Southwest during the Yuletide. HAMEED MURITALA (300-Level Mass Communication, University of Ilorin) writes.

    Lagos by train”, “Abeokuta by train”, “Ibadan by train”, “train lo sure ju” (train is the surest method of transportation). These are some of the phrases one hears from students of higher institutions the Southwest and parts of North Central, particularly Kwara State anytime they are travelling home on holidays.

    The last Yuletide break was not different. Students of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) and Kwara State Polytechnic (KWARA POLY) and other institutions from neighbouring states such as the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUT MINNA) and the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) besieged the Ilorin terminal of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

    They were travelling home to celebrate Christmas with their families. Students joined the swarm of travellers at terminals in Offa, Osogbo and Ibadan.

    They thronged the railway stations with their luggage amid excitement. “For the first time in my life, I will travel from Ilorin to Lagos by rail,” said Olamide Azeez, an Abeokuta-bound passenger and 200-Level Sociology student of UNILORIN. “Elderly people always mock younger ones like me that our generation is not lucky to enjoy inter-state railway trip such as this,” Olamide added.

    As early as 5am on December 23, the student-travellers got to the train station in Ilorin to purchase tickets for convenient seats in the coaches. Olamide said: “I came here with my friends from FUT MINNA and FUTA very early so that we could all get comfortable places to sit inside the train. On getting there, we even met some people who slept overnight at the station. “Apart from its affordability, I choose to go to Abeokuta by rail particularly because it is safer than road transportation,” the student added.

    A few minutes before 7am, NRC officials started selling the tickets to travellers at the Ilorin terminal. There were first class and second class tickets. Their prices varied according to distance. For instance, a first class ticket for Ilorin-Lagos by rail cost N1,020; second class, N720.

    Intermittently, the queues were disrupted by shunts and other eager passengers. In the chaotic exercise, some of the students sustained injuries, others lost personal effects such as wristwatches, wallets and mobile phones.

    The overcrowded train left the Ilorin station by 9am amid greetings from food and recharge card vendors. The coaches were overcrowded, a situation which made passengers to sit in the trains toilets. Some hanged by the entrances; others sat on the roof of the coaches.

    The journey turned out to be a disappointment for some. Akeem Adebayo, ND II Business Administration, KWARA POLY, rued the moment he decided to travel to Lagos by rail.

    “I got to the train station around 6:30am, after which I bought a ticket and yet, I could not get a place to sit inside the train. I don’t think I have made a good decision by travelling by train because as I stand here, I am suffering myself for nothing,” he said

    Abiodun Olatunji, 300-Level Mass Communication, UNILORIN, said: “If it is not that I want to see my family members this Christmas, I would not have travelled today, because the stress is too much. You can see that I will have to stand here (coach entrance) till we get to Abeokuta. This is outright discomfort.”

    The affordability of the fare was the reason many of the students jumped aboard the train to their various home. According to Abdulwasiu Esuola, 200-Level Law, UNILORIN, the fare from Ilorin to Lagos is cheaper by rail compared to fare of road transport. “The journey to Lagos by bus would have cost me N2,500 but I paid only N720 by train,” he said.

    The train had a stopover at Offa, Osogbo, Ede, Iwo, Ibadan and Abeokuta stations, before it finally berthed Lagos around 8pm. As they alighted from the train at each terminal, they exercised their body parts to stretch the stiff organs. Some of them urged the NRC to improve on the service by bringing comfortable coaches.

    Abiola Laoye, 200-Level Engineering student of FUT MINNA, urged the government to fast-track the rehabilitation project of the rail transport, saying “this project will make travel by rail interesting for the passengers and create jobs for the people.”

  • Pulling back from the brink (2)

    In my wish to see us pull back from the brink and reposition our tertiary institutions to face the challenges of a rapidly changing world, there is the need for us to change our perception and outlook on the way things were and how they are now globally. Our university education is based on a centuries old system of knowledge organisation, largely influenced by 19th century rigid academic tradition that does not give room for flexibility in certain instances. The Nigerian university education system no doubt needs rejig for it to meet the societal needs. In doing this, we must bear in mind that academic reform cannot work unless relations among university authorities, faculty, students, and government are redefined on the basis of mutual respect and collaboration.

    We should focus on a model whose main inspiration is the social environment from which the educational change is to occur because educational changes essentially reflect changes in the society or polity. For the most part, our varsities still have not grappled with the extraordinary implications of an age of knowledge; a society of learning that is gradually becoming our future. It is important to understand that the most critical challenge facing most universities will be to develop the capacity for change. Our universities must seek to remove the constraints that prevent them from responding to the needs of a rapidly changing society. This can only be achieved by introducing democratic university structures and management styles.

    This may not be easy considering where we are coming from. Nigerian universities are founded to seek the truth through the development of knowledge, and manpower personnel. They were founded also for the scientific and technological advancement of society, as well as to its material and cultural development. Our systems were challenged to produce the skilled manpower and the new knowledge requisite for technological advancement and economic growth. Working with this paradigm, I believe that our universities must reorganise its fundamental role in shaping the human resources necessary for societal development and its responsibility to help solve social and cultural problems. But the system of knowledge and manpower development has changed globally while ours has remained stagnant.

    Curriculum is one fundamental area we have to look out in this repositioning. If we take a critical look at our society today, we would find men and women with vast experiences that cuts across various strata. These men and women may have left the academic environment after their first degrees; between those periods they may have established successful businesses or may have served in the public sector for years thereby garnering practical experiences that could better the society. But the fact that they are not full-fledged academicians, they may not be allowed to teach because of the structure of our system.

    This, as far as I’m concerned, is to our disadvantage. In the United States for instance, public and private figures have made it to the campuses to lecture after their service to the nation. General Stanley McChrystal, former commander of US Forces in Afghanistan now lectures at Stanford University; some of his colleagues who also retired from the military have been snapped by one university or the other to lecture students in courses such as History, International Relations and Politics, Business and Leadership development etc. Civilian counterparts like former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice now lectures the next generation of leaders. Why can we not emulate them? It is only Pan African University in Lagos that is attempting to follow this model.

    In the last Campuslife Award held last December, Mr. Martins Oloja, Editor of The Guardian and our guest speaker at the workshop raised the issue of seasoned journalists being allowed to teach Mass Communications students. Apart from him, colleagues like Mr Mike Awoyinfa and others also raised the issue. The argument behind these call is simple, seasoned journalists by virtue of their being in the field regularly are better placed to lecture students on the rudiment of the profession from a practical point of view than an academic staff without practical experience. Why would say a General Ike Nwachukwu with vast military and International Relations and Diplomacy experience not be passing on his experiences to the next generation of leaders? We have thousands of them around today.

    The infrastructure inadequacies in our universities are another area that poses hindrance to learning and research work. A good number of Nigerian universities are offering technological education programmes. The question is how many of these universities have the basic infrastructure to run such programmes. For example, in some universities offering computer course, students graduate without touching a computer! The dearth of infrastructure in the public universities is appalling and runs short of an ideal academic environment.

    Another area I would like the searchlight beamed upon as we pull back from the brink is to make research the center of institutional activity, taking into account the social, cultural, and political problems that Nigeria now faces. Financial and administrative limitations, lack of resources and intellectual stimulation demand that we find new strategies to advance this ambition. I’ve observed that there is a diminishing scope of mentoring junior researchers by seasoned and senior researchers due to the brain drain syndrome. Despite the increasing value of research in the world economy based on the supremacy of knowledge, and constant technological change, budgetary constraints and the belief that research is costly have resulted in the virtual disappearance of research centers in Nigerian universities.

    So what is the way out? There is need to seek alternative source of financing research through private and public sectors. In doing so, the universities need to talk about the benefits to students of linking teaching and learning with scientific research. Nigerian educational system should be tailored to match international standards, viz. curriculum, computer proficiency, and student / staff ratio. Students need to become familiar with the freedom of choice and expression, the free flow of ideas, and access to systems of information and means of communication based on new technologies.

    Over the past decades, as a result of a gradual exodus of many of our most talented faculty, our universities have seized to be a place for exciting search for innovation. Some faculty abandoned academia for other sectors of the economy, where professionals and scientists receive higher salaries and greater social recognition. Some emigrate for economic reasons, while some fled because of political reasons. There was mass exodus of many brilliant lecturers that could not compete on political campus arenas from the university campus. Some left to join the rat race in the business world and others left Nigeria for better services.

    The bedrock of tertiary education is research and any nation not strong in the area of research and innovation will be in the bottom rung in a globalised world. Presently, we are a dumping ground for all sort of goods from every corner of the world, we lost our competitive edge years ago when our guys left our shores and are now positively contributing to the development of other nations. Nigeria needs a new generation of universities that can serve as engines of both community development and social renewal. They need to help solve the economic, social and environmental challenges that the authorities in their location face. They should play a role in promoting infrastructure development. It is not too late to pull back from the brink.

  • Fashola visits LASU

    Fashola visits LASU

    •Students beg governor on fee

    Last Tuesday, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) made a surprise visit to the Ojo campus of the Lagos State University (LASU). He was received by the institution’s principal officers led by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof John Obafunwa.

    Others were the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof Omolara Bamgboye, Dean of Students’ Affairs (DSA), Prof Kabiru Akinyemi and the Registrar, Barr. Lateef Animashaun.

    Fashola visited to inspect the on-going construction of facilities in the school. As he came down from his vehicle, the governor’s first port of call was the Central Library, which is still under construction.

    Other buildings visited by the governor included the Senate Building, Science Complex, and Students’ Union building, all of which are still under construction.

    The construction work is being carried out by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

    Students were however caught unawares by the governor’s visit. Femi Olashore, 200-Level Mass Communication, said: “I was surprised to see Governor Fashola’s convoy on the campus. I think no student was aware that the governor was coming for inspection. But it all went well. I hope a befitting structure for my faculty will be built some day by the governor.”

    Seyi Makinde, 300-Level Public Administration, said: “We must all thank God that Fashola is justifying his position as the Visitor to LASU by initiating relevant facilities to aid learning and project the school among its peers, but the government must also look into pressing issues such as school fees, which will benefit the generality of the students.”

    Other students, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, urged the governor to reduce the tuition fees and deliver more democracy dividends to Lagosians.

  • Oyo students elect leaders

    •Ajimobi praised on good governance

    The National Association of Oyo Students (NAOS) has elected leaders at the national level of the association. The elected officials will steer the affairs of the association for an academic session.

    The election took place amid tight security at the Old Atiba Local Government Secretariat, which now houses the NAOS secretariat.

    Daud Temitope, a student of the University of Ibadan (UI), became the president while Hassan Adebayo, a student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) was elected Speaker.

    At the inaugural sitting presided by Hassan, the 400-Level Political Science student charged the members of the executive to rise up to the challenges facing the association. He observed that the time when elected officials would shy away from responsibilities had gone, adding that the association must be repositioned to attain an enviable height.

    Daud thanked God for his election, noting that his administration was faced with a great task. He said every member of the association would be carried along in the implementation of his programmes. He assured members that the association’s secretariat in new Atiba Local Government, Ofa Meta, which is still under construction, would be completed soon.

    Meanwhile, the Federation of Oyo State Students Union, (FOSSU) has praised Governor Abiola Ajimobi for “giving governance a new meaning in the state”. This commendation was made at the FOSSU senate meeting, which took place at the headquarters of Ibarapa Central Local Government, Igbo-Ora, last week.

    The National President of the union, Olansile Muili, while briefing senators of the union in a meeting presided by Ezekiel Ayansola, said he met the governor on the need to initiate a youth-oriented programme which, he said, the governor agreed on.

    He said the governor had agreed to sponsor the maiden Abiola Ajimobi Inter-tertiary Institutions Debate Competition in which all students of Oyo origin in tertiary institutions will participate. He added that plans were underway on the payment of bursary and scholarship, adding that it would be paid immediately after the biometric exercise.

    Ezekiel expressed happiness with the development, advising the president and the other executive members to work towards the realisation of the contest.

     

  • Student nabbed for girlfriend’s murder

    Police in Niger State have begun investigation to unravel the circumstance behind the death of a young lady, whose head was allegedly chopped off by a student of the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUT MINNA).

    The suspect, Godwin Idoko, a 500-Level student, was arrested for the murder of the lady, who was said to be his girlfriend.

    The deceased name was simply given as Hannatu. The incident happened in Godwin’s Rafin Nyashi residence, located at Bosso area in Minna.

    Some of the neighbours, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, said Godwin hosted the deceased for three days without allowing the girl to go outside the building. They, however, became suspicious when they heard the scream of the girl, after which the suspect dashed out of his room.

    They further said that after some minutes when they did not see the girl coming out, the door to Godwin’s room was forcefully opened only to find the headless body of Hannatu in a pool of blood. Sources said the manner the head was severed showed the suspect may have wanted to use the victim for ritual purpose.

    Godwin was immediately arrested by the police. When contacted, the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, Pius Edobor, confirmed the incident. He said, although the suspect had confessed to the crime, but the command was yet to establish the motive behind the crime.

    Edobor said: “I don’t want to preempt the ongoing investigations; we are looking into many angles to the crime. Investigations will reveal if the suspect killed the girl for ritual purpose or whatever circumstances that led to the act.” He said the head and the body had been moved to the general hospital mortuary.

     

  • Fresher wins Miss Coal City pageant

    A 100-Level Accountancy student of Enugu State University of Technology (ESUTECH), Miss Cynthia Oduah, has won the 2012 edition of Miss Coal City beauty pageant. Cynthia beat 14 other contestants, who came from 24 universities across Nigeria.

    She received the star prize of a 2011 Nissan Primera. The prize was presented in Enugu last Saturday at Villa Toskana Hotels.

    An elated Cynthia told CAMPUSLIFE that the event was her first participation in a beauty contest, adding that she did not know would win the pageant despite the experience of other contestants. She encouraged youth to hone their talents, saying “there is a princess in every African woman.”

    She said: “Although, I had wanted to be a model from my childhood days I did not want to participate in the Miss Coal City pageant. However, my sister, who was sick when the audition began, encouraged me to participate.”

    Cynthia pledged to make good use of her office with the assistance of the Enugu State government to establish an agency that will encourage social entrepreneurship among the youth. “I will try toNigerian university system; I will promote modesty and hard work that will make students to have confidence in their ability,” Oduah said.

    Presenting a cash prize of N100,000 to the first runner-up, Miss Imomon Augustine, the Senior Special Adviser to the Enugu State Governor on Media and Communications, Mr Afam Okereke, called on private firms to invest in show business to promote African culture and tourism, which he said would result to direct foreign investment.

    Afam reiterated the efforts of the government to make Enugu State the destination for culture and tourism by developing, harnessing and promoting the nine tourist sites in the state through corporate partnership.

    The Chief Executive Officer of Miss Coal City Limited, Darlington Aijero, said the pageant was a platform that promoted the heritage of the state as well as entrepreneurship among undergraduates.