The Nation Newspaper

Category: Campus Life

  • Celebrating Nigeria’s true heroes

    Celebrating Nigeria’s true heroes

    If people should remember and celebrate Nigeria’s independence at 52, it should be ordinary Nigerians. Yes, those Nigerians we see on the streets, who toil hard to get daily bread and who bear the brunt of the reckless policies of the government.

    It is this group of Nigerians whose unkempt houses have been washed away by the flood ravaging the nation. Their means of livelihood have been liquidated by the rage of this natural disaster. The lives of their family members, relatives, friends, brothers and sisters are cut short daily on Nigerian roads, which have all become slaughtering slabs for promising Nigerians. Yet, they still hope for a better tomorrow.

    It is this group of Nigerians who queue under the scorching sun to vote their choice candidates and who, at times, die in the process with the same hope and prayer that there will be change, only to be visited with the same story of lie and deceit while politicians smile to the bank at their expense.

    It is this group of Nigerians who rots away in jail without trial. They die in detention while awaiting trial. Some of them may not even have committed punishable offences, but because they were unfortunate to fall into the hands of our ruthless policemen with no money to secure their way out. They rot in jail without trial.

    These are the Nigerians who have heard, seen and experienced the brutality of the political class, whose main aim includes stealing the country blind while millions of their compatriots wallow in penury and abject poverty. They are the Nigerians who have had to endure the high-powered sleaze on the corridor of power – Ettehgate, Hembegate, Otehgate, Faroukgate – and who will still live through many other gates that are yet to unravel.

    They are the Nigerians whose family members were roasted to charred barbecue when the third-hand airplane that plied the Nigerian skies went up in flames. Their woes are compounded when airline officials play politics with the manifest. The grief notwithstanding, government will still hold on to the charred bodies as though they are its properties.

    I can go on and on; suffice it to say that Nigerians are extremely resilient. For, it is only in this country that suffering people still remain cheerful with the hope of a better tomorrow. This is why this set of Nigerians must celebrate the country’s independence, at least, for surviving the harsh policies of government, if not for anything.

    And we have survived the hardship for 52 years; it is quite a feat. It is no mean feat that a country with a population of over 150 million people could generate a paltry 4,500 megawatts to power the houses and industries on its landscape. Billions of money in local and foreign currencies have been invested in the sector, yet Nigerians sleep in darkness.

    What is more, we still import resources we have in abundance in the country. Is it any surprise that government pays huge cash to oil importers even when we have refineries? A country as small and as poor as Niger Republic has a functional refinery. Yet Nigeria is the largest producer of oil in Africa and the sixth largest producer in the world.

    For all the noise about job creation, record shows that unemployment is not only on the increase; in fact, Nigeria has the worst youth unemployment rate in sub-Saharan Africa – 21.1 per cent in 2010 to 23.9 per cent in the current year, according to the 2012 release by the United Nations body, African Economic Outlook.

    With all these problems and more, Nigerians have remained steadfast, cheerful and hopeful of a better country. Even when their relatives and friends who escape the bullets of armed robbers on the highway are mercilessly cut down in their numbers in churches and mosques with bombs and IEDs, their faith in the entity called Nigeria has not wavered.

    These Nigerians are the true heroes of Nigeria at 52. Not those celebrated Nigerians who have fed fat and are still feeding on the country; who steal from the country to maintain ostentatious life styles. Not those Nigerians who cash in on the collective sufferings of Nigerians to make themselves richer. Ordinary people are certainly not the Nigerians the government will confer with national honours or invite for the independence celebrations in Abuja. But we know who our true heroes are.

     

    Philips, 400-Level Information Technology, MAUTECH YOLA

  • Acct Dept gets head

    Acct Dept gets head

    The management of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) has appointed a new head for the Department for Accounting in the Faculty of Management Sciences. He is Dr Bassey Bassey. He took over from Dr Akabom Asuquo, whose tenure expired last month.

    Before his appointment, Bassey was the examination officer of the department and at the faculty.

    Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, he said his administration would focus on developing students through seminars and conferences, adding that exposing students to such programmes would make them compete with their counterparts across the world.

    “I will equally reduce the time being spent on processing and compiling of students’ results and other administrative processes,” he said, adding that he would use his office to provide an enabling environment in addition to sourcing books and equipping the resource room to increase the access to Internet materials.

    He admonished students of the department to be good ambassadors by sustaining its high academic and moral standards. He advised them to be serious with their academic work.

    The President of Nigeria Universities of Accounting Students’ Association, UNICAL chapter, Isaiah Ugwueke, described the appointment of Bassey as putting a round peg in a round hole. He said the don would bring his academic experience to lift the department.

  • Tackling hitches of RUGIPO’s online registration

    INFORMATION Communication Technology (ICT) has brought unprecedented development to every sector of the economy – agriculture, mining, health, security, education and others.

    The effect is felt more in the education sector and the role of ICT to engendering a robust education system cannot be overemphasised. Aside helping to facilitate effective teaching and learning, it also helps in students’ registration, payment of school fees and other exercises, thereby bringing an end to the manual registration which was ladened with a lot of stress, giving room for everything to be done online.

    These advantages of ICT may have prompted the management of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO) to introduce online registration last year. According to the Rector, Prof Igbekele Ajibefun, ICT was introduced to make its activities comply with 21st century realities.

    There have been commendations from many quarters for introducing online registration, at least, for the first time in the 31years of existence of the institution. This made students to nickname the Rector “21st Century Don.”

    Prior to the introduction of online registration, students had always been subjected to rigorous manual method as they would have to travel to Owo before they could make any payment. Besides, students would have to submit themselves to the rules of banks as they queued under the scorching sun to obtain bank drafts, sign their course forms and perform other activities.

    However, their hope was dashed as the exercise could not bring the expected hope, but aggravated their suffering. Students encountered some difficulties in getting themselves registered. For instance, returning students of Ondo State origin who were supposed to pay N19,000 as their tuition had to pay N22,000 or more for late registration.

    Some could not even register their courses online because of the unfriendly nature of the portal. These and other difficulties made the management to direct students to go back to the manual registration because examination was approaching. Throughout the 2010/2011 academic session, the exercise was a mirage as it could not yield the expected result.

    Reports had it that as academic activities commenced for the 2011/2012 academic session last March, some students could still not register and make payments online one month after resumption. This was as a result of the persistent problematic nature of the online registration exercise.

    The Acting Director of ICT, Mr Alex Akinola, said the problems faced by students when the online registration was first introduced had been surmounted and that the institution was set for full online registration this session. He also said the era of manual registration was gone.

    It is a well known fact that when a new invention is first introduced, the expected result may not be accomplished within a short period. Therefore, there is the need for the management to improve on the exercise. Experts should be consulted on how to make the portal friendlier to do away with over-invoicing and the likes.

    The institution is fortunate to have a world-class academic at the helm of affairs. The rector should deploy all resources needed to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the portal and make it student-friendly. This will surely bring an end to the recurrent problem of over-invoicing and make registration easy for the students. RUGIPO O ni baje o!

     

    Richard, ND II Mass Comm., RUGIPO

     

  • Students flee as bomb rocks Maiduguri

    After a long lull, the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) has been gripped by fears, with explosions in a community populated by students. There was no report of any casualty when CAMPUSLIFE visited the scene, but four days later, a student was found dead on the campus.

    Gwange is one of the host communities of the campus of the university. All was calm in the community last Wednesday evening as students returned from their daily routine.

    Some were relaxing in their hostels after strenuous academic engagements; others were trekking to their abodes.

    Suddenly, deafening reverberating explosions hit the community. The blasts were followed by sporadic shooting by men of the Joint Task Force (JTF). There was stampede as students and indigenes fled the scene for safety. The bombs were said to have been planted in a building occupied by indigenes of the community.

    When the news got to Mairi, another host community of UNIMAID, which borders Gwange and where majority of students living off-campus reside, there was confusion. Students quickly left their hostels and moved, in their numbers, into the school for fear of being attacked. As they were moving to the campus, they called their colleagues to leave their rooms for safety on campus.

    Last Sunday, occupants of Muritala Hall on the campus woke up to discover the body of a female student at a dumpsite behind the hostel. The deceased, whose name was given as Yeleruby Birgamus, was a 500-Level student of the Fisheries Department.

    The incident heightened the fear of students, who were still dazed by the explosion that rocked the university’s host community.

    The student was said to have left her hostel to read at night on Saturday but was found dead Sunday morning. A 200-Level female student, who pleaded for anonymity, said: “We woke up this morning to discover the wrapped body of the student dumped on this site. We saw beside her a Bible, a mobile phone and books, which made us understand that she was coming from night class. We had to notify the management, who in turn invited soldiers and medical personnel to evacuate the body.”

    There were speculations that she might have been raped on her way back to the hostel but the Director of Information, Mr Mohammed Ahmad, said the rape story was false, confirming that Yelerubi’s death was suicide.

    Speaking to our correspondent on telephone, Ahmad said: “The substances found with Yelerubi’s body showed that she committed suicide and the corpse had been handed over to the police.

    “We discovered that she wrote some phone numbers with a message on a paper, which she placed in the Bible found with her lifeless body. The message read: ‘Call these people when I die and tell them that we shall meet there’. So, I can confirm to you that Yelerubi committed suicide.”

    Ahmad declined to comment on Gwange bomb blast, saying it was outside the university’s jurisdiction.

    When our correspondent visited the hostel of the deceased, one of her roommates, who pleaded anonymity, said the late Ruby may have died as a result of frustration.

    “Ruby had complained to me several times that she was getting frustrated having spent seven years in school because of carry-overs that have prevented her graduation over the years,” the student said.

    A student, who fled his Gwange residence, told CAMPUSLIFE: “I just returned from school and was contemplating on what to prepare for dinner when we heard multiple blasts. I rushed out of my room to know what was happening because it was unusual in the area. The sound of the explosion was reverberating and very close. Immediately, I sensed danger. I was still reflecting on what to do when I saw students running from all directions and heading towards Gate 5. At that point, I didn’t need to be told that there is fire on the mountain. I ran to my room, picked my bag and joined in the race to the school.”

    The student, who is now seeking refuge in Ado Bayero Hall, added: “Due to the size of the Gate 5, there was a stampede as we all struggled to enter the small opening of the gate at the same time.”

    At the sight of their fleeing colleagues, students living on campus were worried and confused because of fear of infiltration by Boko Haram members. CAMPUSLIFE gathered that those who went to read in lecture halls and classrooms returned to their rooms while various associations’ meetings scheduled for the night were cancelled.

    At the time of this report, the commercial area on campus was still being occupied by the fleeing students.

    A 300-Level student, who identified himself as Marvis, said he was writing his assignment in a classroom when he heard the explosions. “I heard 11 explosions within minutes; I rushed out of the class to know what was happening. Students in the adjoining classroom also ran out. I packed my books immediately and left for the hostel,” Marvis said.

    Emeka Simon, a medical student, who was reading in a class when the incident happened, said he left the class with other students.

    Narrating his experience to CAMPUSLIFE, a 100-Level student, James Chidozie, who lives off-campus, said he was riding in a taxi to his hostel when the bombs went off.

    He said: “I was about to alight in front of the University Teaching Hospital when one of the soldiers attached to the hospital spotted our taxi and shot in our direction. He probably thought we were on a negative mission. The taxi sped off but the driver dropped me at a safe location and told me to trek back to the hospital.

    “But for fear of stray bullets and the crisis in that area, I was confused because I didn’t know who or where to run to. Luckily for me, I met a lady, who spoke kindly to me. After listening to my predicament, she spoke to her parents and they allowed me to pass the night with them. Since I had no option, I passed the night with an unknown family.“

     

  • CDS gets executive

    CDS gets executive

    As the 2011 Batch “C” Corps members completed their mandatory service last week, there were handing over ceremonies in various Community Development Service (CDS) groups. The outgoing president of the Press CDS in Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State handed over to a president for the group.

    Speaking at the ceremony held at Radio Gotel, Yola, the Local Government Inspector, Mr Garba Shendam, admonished the serving youths to rededicate themselves to community service. He stressed the need for continuity in CDS groups, assuring that he would continuously give support to move it forward.

    He said: “CDS is the most interesting part of your service because that is the only place you can interact with the society, interact with the community. So, the group is important. I hope you will continue with the good work of your predecessors because continuity is the keyword.”

    Earlier in his remark, the outgoing president, Abdullateef Aliyu, noted that his executive was able to discharge the mandate of the group. He said: “You will recall that we promised to use our leverage with the sister CDS group in Yola to come up with a more professional publication and to God be the glory, we can say that we have been able to achieve this.”

    Abdullateef urged the incoming executive led by Ajibola Wande-Kayode to keep the flag flying, saying, “we have no doubt in the ability of the present executive to carry on with the noble ideals of the CDS.”

    He praised the management of Gotel Communications for its support and encouragement to Corps members. Responding, Ajibola promised to move the group to the next level.

  • Students give campus facelift

    A group of students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) under the banner of Generation Next (G-Next) have embarked on cleaning exercise on the campus to give the school a new look. The students also painted the stretch leading to the campus.

    Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, Moses Eromonsele , who is the Assistant Publicity Secretary of the group, said: “We are set of students who make up our minds to be agents of progress. We have come out to let the management know that students can also contribute to the development of the university. We bought 20 drums of pain to do this exercise without sponsorship from any quarter.

    Monehin Adelu, who is former Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Students ’ Union, commended the initiative, saying: “I believe this is one of the ways students can contribute their quotas to the development of the school.”

    He, however, said that the management should see the initiative beyond the beautification and know that the students also can be a developmental partner to the university.

    While commending the students for the exercise, Tony Olumide, 400-Level Psychology, the exercise would serve as example for students that want to do meaningful projects on campus.

  • New dawn at UNILORIN

    Excitement and happiness pervaded the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) when the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, transferred the baton to the incoming helmsman, Prof Abdulganiyu Ambali. WALE BAKARE (300-Level Zoology) writes.

    Last Monday, the five-year term of Prof Ishaq Oloyede as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) ended. On the same day, Prof Abdulganiyu Ambali was sworn in as the eighth Vice-Chancellor.

    During the handing over, which took place in the auditorium, students, who were joined by eminent personalities across the state, academics and journalists were excited to witness the hitch-free change of guard.

    The emergence of the new VC was greeted with controversies, with some of the contenders claiming that the selection process was not free and fair. This elicited a series of comments in the media and also resulted in a litigation by one of the contestants.

    Against this backdrop, students expressed fear over the development, which they said may affect the steady academic calendar the university has maintained for close to 10 years. But the management allayed the fears of the stakeholders, saying the programmes of the school would not be affected by the litigation.

    In his address at the handing over, Prof Oloyede said he believed the incoming VC would use his academic acumen to consolidate the gains of his administration.

    “He applied the first time but he was not appointed. Prof Ambali was appointed the second time because he was the best among those who contested for the post. I appeal to the university community to give him the necessary support to continue the good work,” Oloyede said.

    Speaking on his tenure, the outgoing VC said: “Since inception, the past Vice-Chancellors have tried their best in making UNILORIN a good citadel of learning. During my tenure, I did my best. The university witnessed a lot development which included projects such as introduction of Computer Base Test (CBT), which has been adopted by 80 per cent of Nigerian universities.”

    “On the academic front, we established Technical and Entrepreneurial Centre (TEC), Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies (CPSS), National Centre for Hydropower Research and Development (NACHRED), Counselling and Human Development Centre, Centre for International Education, Stem Cell Research Centre, Ilorin Centre for Alternative Technology (ICATECH) , UNILORIN FM, and School for Preliminary Studies, Fufu.”

    “The university successfully hosted the 13th West Africa Universities Game (WAUG), created a portal for staff and students, was ranked among the best in the country. It secured some property in Lagos and Abuja to generate income, created more programmes in addition to constructing a walkway in the zoological garden.”

    After the change of leadership, Prof Ambali waved extended an olive branch to his opponents, urging them to embrace peace and support his administration’s resolve to take the school to another level.

    “I thank Almighty Allah for His mercy. I appreciate my predecessor and I thank everyone present to witness this ceremony. I also implore my opponents in the race to support me to move the university to the next level.”

    After the handing over, staff and students, who were present at the occasion, congratulated the new helmsman. CAMPUSLIFE spoke to some of them.

    Titilope Akogun , 400-Level Law, who is also the Public Relations Officers (PRO) of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), said: “This is a new dawn for UNILORIN and we hope the tenure of the new VC will bring more development to the school. Prof Ambali has a very credible credential and I believe he is up to the task to make the university a model among its peers. I wish him success as he assumes office.”

    Sodiq Aroyaya, 300-Level Zoology, said: “Oloyede’s leadership ability and passion made him to succeed. I will advise Prof Ambali to display such passion to succeed.”

    A student who spoke on the condition of anonymity said: “All I believe is that Oloyede has ended his journey as our VC. I will like the new VC to learn from Oloyede’s mistakes.”

     

  • Group, activist make case for girl-child

    To ensure a girl-child does not lag behind in the changing world, the United Nations declared October 11, every year, the International Day for the girl-child.

    In commemoration of the day, a programme was held in the main auditorium of the University of Lagos (UNILAG). Its theme was Health empowerment right.

    The Chief Executive Officer of Live Well Initiative (LWI), Bisi Bright, spoke on how proper health care should be made available to the girl-child. She said a girl-child must have the right to qualitative health care just as she must have the right to education.

    The representative of the Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, Mrs A.K. Musa, charged the participants to plan for their future.

    “In Lagos, the opportunity given to a girl-child is different from that given to a boy-child, even it has been known in schools that when it comes to cleaning exercise, they always call on the girl-child,” she said, urging them not to be afraid to share anything with their parents.

    In her lecture, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, a civil right activist, harped on how to stop violence and discrimination against girl-child. She defined a girl-child to be any female human, from birth through childhood, including unmarried women.

    “A girl-child is essential and vital in a family as they go through a lot of encounter. In a recent research in sub-Sahara Africa, women faces a strong condition of death at childbirth. It is also known that in 76 countries, less than half eligible girls enroll in school,” Dr Odumakin said.

    She concluded that the only way out was education, good health care and empowerment.

    At the event were Oluwabukola Awoyemi of Arugba fame; Touchi Eze, a social entrepreneur; Morounfoluwa Atilola, a writer; Grace Okon,and a film producer, among others.

  • ‘There is ability in our disabilities’

    Your recent public lecture tagged Behold My Ability was touching; what was the motive behind it?

    My passion for the welfare of the disabled remains the driving force. I observed that they face a lot of challenges to compete with their able colleagues. They are challenged in terms of meeting deadlines for the submission of assignments, carrying out researches on the Internet and also looking for helpers to take them around in wheel chairs. We, therefore, needed facilities like computers, printers and other gadgets that will help them. This was the reason we thought of organising a public lecture to source for funds.

    Were you born blind?

    No! I was born as a complete human being. My sight problem started when I was in Primary 4 and all efforts to restore it proved abortive. This halted my education for four years. Then, I summoned the courage to go to the school of the blind at Owo. I had to start all over again. It was there I was taught how to use Braille. Through the use of this, I learnt how to read and write with fingers and also how to work on computers with Job Access With Speech (JAWS).

    What other things can you do aside that?

    I can also sing. Students fellowships within and outside the campus always invite me to sing for them.

    Do you see your condition as a limitation for you?

    Absolutely not! However, it is a challenge. I only see it as a chance for me to prove my worth to complete men, of what I am capable of doing without eyes.

    How do you cope with academic challenges?

    God has been helping me. With my previous knowledge on how to use Braille, type-writer and computers, I have been coping.

    Why did you contest for the post of the physically-challenged student representative?

    Ever since I gained admission into this school, I have been nursing the ambition to have a platform to represent my fellow disabled students and give them voice to table their yearnings.

    What do you think the authorities can do to help the disabled?

    They should take matters pertaining to the disabled very serious by giving attention. We need them to create a special unit in the hostel service that will cater solely for the needs of the disabled. In the hostel, we need potable water supply and they should provide more computers for us to complement the ones that have been donated. We will be glad if the government increases the scholarship opportunities for us.

    What is your advice for disabled youths in the society?

    We have seen disabled men and women who have added values to their world. I will advise my fellow disabled that their predicament is not the end of the world. Life must continue. Our predicament is not in any way a limitation against our dreams. We must see it as a challenge to prove to the world of able men that we are capable of achieving greatness despite our disabilities. Being physically challenged does not make us to be mentally weak.

  • Bank donates generator to faculty

    To make learning easier for students on campus, FirstBank Nigeria Plc has donated a generator to the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

    The donation was made possible through the efforts of Prof Omololu Soyombo, the Dean of the faculty.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the don had a partnership with the bank before he became the head of the faculty.

    While receiving the generating set, Shoyombo thanked the bank’s Managing Director, Mr Bisi Onasanya, for fast-tracking the faculty’s request.

    He said: “The generator will enhance academic excellence and bring better output from the students of the institution.”

    The generator was dedicated to the use of the faculty by representatives of the bank. At the presentation were the sub-Dean, Dr Kemi Lawanson, head of Psychology department, Dr Agiobu Ibinabo, Faculty Officer, Mrs Ebun Godfrey, and Dr Seye Ajuwon, a lecturer.