The Nation Newspaper

Category: Lekan Otufodunrin

  • Two- for-kobo state universities

    The Nigerian University Commission (NUC) recently approved the establishment of the MoshoodAbiola University of Technology, Abeokuta . The new institution will take over the campus of the MoshoodAbiola Polytechnic, which has now been relocated to another part of the state.

    Ordinarily, the approval for the new university should be applauded, especially because of the late politician who it is named after. Following the failed bid to have the University of Lagos renamed after Abiola, it is fitting that the Ogun State Government has given the late philanthropist the well-deserved honour in view of his numerous contributions to the development of education and many other sectors.

    However, for a state that already has two other universities that are underfunded and lacking many required personnel and facilities, there is cause to worry about the future of the new institution.

    What is the guarantee that it will not eventually suffer the same fate that has befallen the tertiary institutions in the state? Both Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye and Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu Ode, have had their own share of strikes and closure due to non-payment of salaries and allowances of academic and non-academic staff.

    The infrastructures in the two universities are grossly inadequate for the students and lecturers. The quality of education they offer leaves much to be desired. Even the polytechnic to be relocated has many unresolved issues of payments for its staff.

    What is the point establishing universities that cannot be adequately funded? Much as there is need for more institutions to accommodate students who are qualified for tertiary education and cannot get admission into existing ones, state governments have to exercise more restraints in making a mockery of higher education by establishing universities and polytechnic just for the sake of making political points that cannot be sustained.

    The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) and Kogi State University that have remained shut for months are good examples of state governments biting more than they can chew when they establish universities for other reasons than providing excellent learning institutions for students.

    How can Oyo and Osun states that are joint owners of LAUTECH justify the continuous closure of the university over non-payment of staff?  Why is it difficult for the two state governments headed by governors from the same ruling party find it difficult to resolve whatever differences they may have over the institution, for the sake of the students?

    If they can’t fund LAUTECH, why did Osun State establish its state university which medical students were sent to Ukraine to complete their study due to lack of accreditation? Why should Oyo State establish a University of Technology in the midst of the unresolved shameful closure of LAUTECH?

    Bayelsa State with ten local governments has three, not up to one standard university. What else but selfish political interests must have informed the decision of those who took the decision?

    Universities lacking necessary resources and producing half-baked graduates are disservice to the development of the country. State governments should stop giving us two-for-kobo institutions.

    We deserve better institutions.

  • Journalism in the 21st Century: Opportunities and challenges

    In a very dynamic profession like journalism, where new media has disrupted the traditional practice which most were trained in and have been practicing for years, the need to be alert to new developments in the profession is necessary to avoid becoming a relic.

    There is the challenge of catching up with new technology and skills needed to do our job now as required.

    Not only has new technology demystified traditional media’s long age claim to being Gate Keepers and turned us into purveyors of stale information, the economic recession is gradually strangulating our operations with massive layoffs and poor or non-payment of salaries.

    Sales of newspapers and advertising are at an all-time low level with what most media houses generate not being enough to meet many other obligations apart from salaries. Production cost is skyrocketing with many components needed to be imported with scarce foreign exchange.

    There is also the recurring question of the Internet can kill newspapers. I don’t think the print media will disappear totally, but what I am sure of is that many more newspapers and magazines in Nigeria and in other parts of the world will fold up as they are already doing, but we will still have a few which will not need as many journalists as we presently have in employment.

    So what do we do about the above challenges which are threatening the future of journalism?

    Instead of living in denial about our precarious circumstance or dismissing the threat of the new media, there is an urgent need by all to take our destiny in our hands, especially for those of us who don’t know any other thing to do than journalism.

    It is no longer enough to know how to write content, not stories alone, which is very important, the journalist of the 21st century and beyond must know other means of presenting than text.  He or she must be capable of multi-media presentation and use of other story telling tools.  The audience has become more sophisticated and needs to be reached and engaged through social media accounts with sizable followership.

    Sourcing and dissemination of information have gone beyond press releases, press conferences, print and broadcast channels, with numerous online platforms to get latest information and share them far beyond the reach of traditional media.

    There are enough free opportunities to learn the use of the tools enumerated above. Local and international organisations are offering to train interested journalists but unfortunately many of those available to be trained are freelance journalists, bloggers and others we call impostors.

    There are also many local and international awards and fellowships which journalists should be interested in applying for. Participating in the various programmes can make a lot of difference in our career. It’s not enough to try and give up; you have to keep trying against all odds.

    More than ever before, the global village we live and work in is a reality with the Internet and we must make the best use of the opportunities. We must spend quality time online showcasing our skills, engaging with our audiences, networking with individuals and organisations and searching for opportunities.

    Offline, we must continue to perfect our journalism skills and also develop other related or unrelated media skills we may have. We must develop other legitimate multiple streams of income if journalism alone cannot pay our bills.

    • Excerpts from speech at seminar by National Association of Judicial Correspondents, Lagos

  • Heartless policemen

    For whatever it is worth, the recent arrest of kidnap kingpin, Evans, by the Nigeria Police Force deserves commendation. For too long, kidnappers like Evans appeared invincible with no hope that they would ever be arrested and stopped from holding the whole country hostage.

    Even though many more kingpins are still having a field day nationwide kidnapping and collecting ransom from families of their victims, Evans’ arrest is an indication that with more diligence and given necessary facilities to work with, the police and other security personnel can fish out the faceless criminals in our midst.

    Evans’ arrest is just one of the many achievements that can be credited to the police. Notwithstanding the general criticism of the police force, one cannot deny that many of its men and women are sacrificing a lot to ensure security of lives and properties in the country.

    At great personal cost and with limited facilities, many policemen are working round the clock to keep criminals at bay and maintain law and order.  A lady who parked along a roadside in Lagos while speaking with three other men recently wrote how she was pleasantly surprised by some policemen who, after driving by them, returned some minutes later to ask her if she was safe and not being held against her wish.

    I also have personal testimonies of how policemen have come to my rescue and therefore have every reason to appreciate them for what they do.

    However, stories like the kind in The Punch of last Thursday titled ‘Kaduna policemen torture undergraduate, dump corps in bush,’ confirms how heartless some of the security agents in this country can be.

    The victim, a 27-year-old student of the Kaduna Polytechnic, Benjamin Wankaa, was said to be returning in his car from a party, where he had performed as the master of ceremony and was reportedly stopped by the policemen at a checkpoint.  Wankaa who defended a cousin who allegedly insulted the cops was detained at the checkpoint while others in his car were whisked away in a patrol van. His mutilated body was later found in a bush.

    After claiming that Wankaa’s body was found dead along the highway with some parts of the body broken, especially his legs and hands, his uncle was forced to sign a case closure form at the station. The victim’s family were also forced to sign a statement that the corpse would not be examined.

    But for being heartless fellows, what did the young man say that could have angered them to kill and dump his body in the bush? The chilling account of the incident left me numb as I tried hard to fathom how mean some of our security men can be.

    Many others like Wankaa have been killed by mindless policemen who instead of arresting criminals at checkpoints take the laws into their hands by harassing innocent persons.

    Unless the police authorities ensure that those who killed Wankaa are arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law, unfortunate incidents like this will continue to happen.  It will be hard for the majority of Nigerians to accept the police claim of being the people’s friends when some of them take the lives of defenceless persons at will.

  • Lack: Action, not excuses needed

    In response to my last article titled Lack in my country, a reader who did not give his name wrote to accuse me of unjustly highlighting the economic crisis in the country based on the obvious lack and want which not only the ordinary Nigerian is experiencing, but many others who used to be able to meet their basic needs.

    His grouse was that because of my alleged bent and preference for the Jonathan’s administration, I did not explain how the situation in the country degenerated to the present situation. He had expected that I should have repeated the tired excuse that the Jonathan and not the Buhari is to blame for the recession the country is experiencing.

    “Every damn thing you wrote was just complaints. What debarred you from explaining how we got to this pass, haba?  Then you would have taught us one lesson or the other. Remember, when the country goes the way of Rwanda or Burundi, some of you pen pushers contributed in no small measures,” the reader wrote.

    Since the faceless reader probably knows more than I do why after two years in office, the current government should not be told about the reality of what the average Nigerian is going through so that the problems can be better addressed, I jokingly offered to send his phone number to the endless list of people I know who desperately need financial rescue.

    Probably if they hear from a more patriotic supporter of the federal government than I am, the Nigerians finding it hard to cope with the dire economic situation will accept his explanation that the Jonathan government is the cause of the challenges they are facing and will learn to accept their fate and not expect a miracle from the Buhari’s government that promised them change.

    “Can you imagine? Are you a journalist or an agent-provocateur? So you like to criticise but you don’t’ want to be criticised? What a sad day for journalism?” my complainant-reader fired back, obviously alarmed by my threat to set him up to incur the wrath of the Nigerians who want solutions to their problems and not explanation.

    The category of people I highlighted their plight know too well of the damage done to the nation’s economy by the Jonathan’s government and don’t need any lecture about it. They voted for the Buhari government based on the promise that there will be a change. Long before Jonathan was justifiably voted out of office, it was clear that the country was being mismanaged and a more capable leader like President Muhammadu Buhari was needed to salvage the situation.

    The Buhari government obviously means well and it has repeatedly declared its plans to fulfill its electoral promises. I acknowledge some policies of the federal government on reversing the worrisome slide in the country, but notwithstanding, we should not shy away from painting the true picture of what the situation is still and why more urgent actions should be taken.

    I am a journalist and don’t have any preference for any government. What I demand is good government as my job requires that I hold the government accountable. It is wrong to read political motive to every contrary view. Blind support for any administration is not in the interest of the country.

  • Lack in my country 

    Many of the messages and calls I get these days are very scary. Sometimes I hesitate to pick my calls and read some messages as I can guess what they are about.

    When I eventually do, my fears are usually confirmed. It’s usually one desperate request or the other for financial support which you cannot ignore even when I don’t have enough on me to help.

    What do you do when someone who looks up to you as a “Daddy”, senior colleague or even contemporary sends you a message that he or she has not eaten since the previous days and desperately needs anything you can send to find something to bite?

    When children of your neighbours, friends and others risk being prevented from writing exam because their parents don’t have money to pay again as they used to?

    These kinds of requests come in torrents these days that one gets overwhelmed.  I usually wish I can help with every case but it’s not possible as I may barely sometimes have enough to meet my own obligations to not only my nuclear family but extended ones.

    My wife got very agitated about such requests sometime ago as they usually come when she had just been paid some money she planned to spend for some personal pressing needs. “Is it that they know when I get some money?” she wondered.

    No, I responded, explaining that the requests are not only directed to her but many others who are perceived to be privileged to have enough at this time of economic recession in the country.

    If those making the requests are able to meet their obligations, they would definitely not be bothering others as they are forced to do now. Most are responsible persons who unfortunately have been rendered helpless by the economy of the country.

    I hear reports of landlords who don’t know what to do about tenants who used to pay their rents promptly but now owe for years. There are parents who have to continue to plead with school owners because they can no longer afford to pay their children’s fees.

    Not only are fresh graduates, some of whom their parents paid expensive fees to get tertiary education, unable to get jobs or get offered pittance, retrenchment is on the rise as many companies are faced with dwindling sales and high cost of production.

    Non-regular payment of salaries is not peculiar with private organisations; many government workers across the country are owed salaries for months with no hope of when they will be paid. Unfortunately, elected officials at all levels and others are living large at the expense of the citizens. Promises of providing employment and necessary infrastructure have not been fulfilled.

    Even those who try to make a living by engaging in some small scale businesses are not finding it easy due to lack of issues like light and patronage from those who need their services but can’t pay for them.

    Nigeria is not short of brilliant people who are ready to think out of the box as they are often urged to, but we live in a country where even the best idea can easily be frustrated by many factors.

    There is an urgent need to do something about the plight of many Nigerians who have been pauperised by the global recession and government policies.

    There is a Yoruba proverb that says one rich man in the midst of poor people is a poor man.

    We need more practical steps to revive the economy and provide a level playing field as many Nigerians want to make a decent living and meet their obligations instead of being forced to be burden to others.

  • Worrying state of the media

    The restructuring at the Continental Broadcasting Services Limited, owners of Television Continental (TVC) and Radio Continental, which led to the sacking of 145 staff should not have come as a surprise to workers of the company and anyone conversant with the state of the media, locally and globally.

    With the alarming dwindling income from advertising and sales, mass sack in media organisations, like any other industry struggling to cope with the dire economic situation of the country, shouldn’t have caught anyone unawares.

    Any organisation that is unable to earn enough to meet its obligations, including salaries and allowances, not to talk of profits for its owners, cannot survive for long.

    The true state of the Nigerian media is that most have been performing miracles by circulating and remaining on air.

    Before the downsizing at CBS, there have been many unreported job losses and delay and non- payment of salaries across media houses. Only very few media organisations pay commensurate salaries as at when due.

    While not attempting to rationalise the continuous sack of media workers, the truth of the matter is that it is indeed a case of sooner or later the decision to sack or close down operation will be taken.

    Apart from the economic situation in the country and the impact of new media, I share the view that some of the affected media houses would probably not have been badly hit as they are presently if they had not been overambitious in expanding their operations, recruited more staff than they needed and paid less attention to the threat of the digital media.

    I also agree to an extent that some of the media organisations are unnecessarily top heavy with disproportionate salary scale for management staff and other layers.

    Whatever the case may be, the media is presently at a crossroads with the certainty that more journalists may have to be laid off due to lack of adequate resources to sustain funding of media operations.

    More than ever before, this is the time for media houses to review their operations and reinvent their services. Media organisations have to become more multi-media and business like in their production. They need to try new business models.

    They cannot afford to continue to be limited to being print or broadcast houses, but must now operate as media companies that have the capacity to do what we are used to doing in a better and more dynamic way and explore other possible related businesses.

    Hard decisions have to be taken about their continued existence, including retaining, sacking and employing requisite staff that can take them to the next level in the media industry.

    At individual levels, journalists should come to terms with the reality that the media is a business that cannot survive on continuous injection of extra funds by owners who are not guaranteed any profit. Benefits in kind (influence) are not enough.

    Some journalists have either outlived their usefulness to their media houses based on lack of adequate new media knowledge for sourcing and disseminating information or become part of the excess staff considering reduced production level and they need to know that their time will soon be up.

    Even for some of those still needed and who are competent for their assignments, economic reasons may necessitate laying them off if they cannot be accommodated with the limited resources available to their organisations.

    Every journalist who wants to continue to be relevant in and out of their present media employment or private media business should acquire necessary skills for taking advantage of new opportunities on various traditional and new media platforms.

  • Five lessons from 25 years of marriage

    Last Tuesday, I marked the 25th anniversary of my marriage to my sweet heart, Aderonke Toluwanimi Otufodunrin (nee Bashiru). I can confirm that 25 years of being married takes a lot of efforts but more importantly the grace of God who knows the end from the beginning.

    Below are five of the major lessons I have learnt over the years.

    FAVOUR

    He who finds a wife, the Bible says, finds a good thing and has obtained favour from The Lord. Very true.

    But for favour, how do I explain meeting a young lady on a ‘blind date’ arranged by a friend, agree to be friends, married her few years later and have remained soul mates for the last 25 years? Our marriage has also been blessed with four wonderful children; two have already graduated from the University of Lagos, one about to graduate from the same institution and the one we call extra, seven years after the third born, Korede, has completed the Junior Secondary School.

    It’s indeed the Lord’s doing and it’s marvelous in our eyes.

    GRACE

    Someone once said marriage is like buying from a night market. Most times you are not sure how good what you bought is until you get home or the next day. I always joked with my Ronkusbaby that I had my eyes wide open while ‘buying’.

    The Grace of God has been sufficient to see me and my darling wife through the years.

    Two imperfect people, from different backgrounds, with varied positions on issues, remaining married for 25 years, Grace is it!

    Indeed, it is not of him that willeth or he that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy and grace.

    UNDERSTANDING

    A Church leader usually says he has not had the first quarrel with his wife. I can’t claim not to have had misunderstandings with my wife, but what has kept us going is what the Church leader says is the secret of his quarrel-free marriage.

    According to him, and I agree based on my experience, the kind of love and understanding you need with your wife, is the one that forgives before the offence is committed.

    There will be disagreements over, sometimes, very minor issues like pasting posters on the wall of the living room. But understanding each other by disagreeing to agree is crucial in resolving disputes.

    At some points in marriages, couples have to accept themselves for what and who they are.

    You can always have your say, but you can’t always have your way.

    COMMUNICATION

    Complete Communication is defined as sending of information from the sender to the receiver and getting the expected feedback. The communication channel must be noise-free for the message to be rightly communicated.

    In marriage, communication is key. Know how and when to communicate what you want. There is time to speak, there is time to shut up. Crack jokes when you have to and have laughter sessions.

    Don’t clutter your communication channel by your actions and inactions.

    RESOURCES

    What makes a man the head and not the headache of his family is, in addition to love, understanding and other factors, like the ability to meet his obligations.

    Even the Bible says he who is unable to provide for his household is worse than an infidel. Of course the wife is the helpmate, but the husband has a greater role to play financially and otherwise to justify being the head.

  • Waiting for Ogun Ministry of Health

    Last Monday, The Punch reported a very shameful case of a part-time lecturer at the Ogun State College of Health Technology, Ilese Ijebu, Dr Oluseyi Adu accused of impregnating a Dental Nursing student, Mosunmola.

    Mosunmola who is now nine months pregnant alleged that Adu was responsible for her pregnancy after they had sex in an hotel in August 2016, but the medical doctor who admitted sleeping with the lady after being seduced claimed he used contraceptive.

    Consequently, the  Ministry of Health where Adu works has set up a panel to probe the matter within seven days, while the school has washed off its hands of the case on the excuse that the lady had already graduated from the institution when the adjunct lecturer slept with her.

    Cases of sex for marks escapades by lecturers is not strange. Many of them usually get away with the condemnable act because the ‘victims’ usually don’t speak up due to fear of victimization and the stigma.

    The above case is however a good example of how many lecturers have no moral scruples and don’t see anything wrong in taking advantage of students they are supposed to teach and graduate for both academic and good character.

    How can a married lecturer claim he was seduced by a student he admitted sleeping with in an hotel. ?

    Hear the shameless lecturer : “ The question I ask is, did I rape her? Did I hypnotise her? You came to meet me where I was and we had fun, and now you are pregnant, and you are telling me I’am responsible for a pregnancy. I am denying ?”

    While the student has herself to blame for allegedly succumbing to sleep with the lecturer to pass the course she was said to have failed, Dr Adu has to be appropriately sanctioned to hopefully serve as a deterrent to other part-time or full time lecturers in the institution or others who are still indulging in sexual abuse of their students.

    The probe by the panel must be comprehensive and thorough. As the Commissioner for Health, Tunde Ipaye rightly stated, professionalism is professionalism and no staff or student should be allowed to bring down any institution of government.

    The narration by the student which was largely corroborated by the accused lecturer, except for use of condom or not provides enough grounds for Adu and others staff of the school to be quizzed.

    The panel will need to know who was the lecturer said to be interested in the student in the first year of study who allegedly failed her in his course which she eventually passed in the third year.

    The Head of department mentioned also need to confirm how many courses Mosunmola failed, including that of Adu and the justification for waivers granted her.

    It will also be necessary to know who was the other lecturer in the other room who slept with another student when Adu slept with Mosunmola.

    The school authorities cannot be exonerated from the matter as it cannot claim not to be totally unaware of cases like this in the institution. Instead of disowning the lecturer and student, the school should see this unfortunate incident as an opportunity to   take necessary steps to call students and lecturers to order.

    There should be avenues for reporting randy lecturers and cases investigated to protect the students. Romantic relationship between lecturers and students should be discouraged under any guise. Succumbing to seduction by students is not a tenable excuse like in the above instance.

    For the students, they should know that they are the ultimate losers when they opt for sleeping with lecturers instead of facing their studies or reporting harassment to everyone who should know about it.

  • Prayer for Lagos at 50

    In response to the call for prayer for the 50th anniversary of the creation of Lagos State by Governor AkinwunmiAmbode, I wish to offer to following prayer for a greater Lagos.

    Heavenly Father, we want to thank you for the 50th anniversary of Lagos State.  We thank you for giving us more than enough reasons to celebrate the various achievements recorded in the state by the government, communities, organisations and individuals.

    We return all the glory, honour and adoration to you and do not take them for granted.

    We are conscious of the fact that except you Lord built a house, they Labour in vain that built it. And except you watch over the city, the watchmen watch in vain.

    We want to thank you for all our past and present governors and leaders at all levels.  Thank you for using them mighty to develop the state. Thank you for the present Governor, AkinwunmiAmbode who has surpassed expectations and has turned the state into a construction and renovation site. We pray that you will continue to grant him and members of his executive the wisdom and knowledge they need to meet the expectations of the people.

    We pray that in your abundant riches and glory, you will supply all that is required to take us to greater heights.  We pray that the civil servants and all other workers in the state will diligently do their work to enhance productivity in all sectors.

    Notwithstanding the economic situation in the country, you will prosper the companies and other organizations in the state in whatever they do and they will be able to meet their obligations to their staff. Workers who are being owed will be paid.  Those who are believing you for jobs will supernaturally get employed or start businesses of their own.

    We come against lack and want for anyone in the state. Lagos has always being the economic capital of the country; it will not lose that position. Its economy shall continue to grow. It will continue to provide succour to all those who come from all other parts of the country and the world in search of one breakthrough or the other.

    Lagos has been the success story of many Nigerians; it will continue to be by your grace.

    We remember the Ebola infection incident and want to sincerely thank you for saving us from what would have been a major epidemic. Thank you for sending us help and taking absolute control of the situation. Even as there is a fresh a case of infection in Congo DRC, we pray that affliction will not arise again in Lagos and other states of the federation.

    We remember the heroic deeds of Dr Stella Adadevoh and other health workers who sacrificed their lives and pray their soul will continue to rest in peace.

    We pray that peace will continue to reign in all parts of the state and come against the activities of the evil ones who give the state a bad name. We pray againstethic clashes in the state and pray that all will continue to live in harmony. We pray that you will empower the security agencies to combat all criminal activities, especially arm robbery and kidnapping. For those who have been victims, send them help. Minister your grace to them.

    As we prepare for the local government election we commit all arrangements into your hands.  Grant the electoral Commission members and officials the wisdom conduct a peaceful, free and fair elections. We pray that the best candidates for all positions to be contested for will win and they will be able to fulfill their electoral promises.

    Thank you for the last 50 years since creation. Thank you for how far you have brought the state.  Thank you for what you will yet do in the next 50 years in Jesus mighty name we pray.

     

  • Students or gangsters?

    When I first read the report of some male students of Ireti Grammar School in Falomo, Lagos molesting some female students in the public glare, I was not totally surprised.

    I have always heard and read of escapades of male secondary school students in the state who take advantage of their female colleagues under various guises.

    Some of the male students are not different from gangsters in the way they operate around school premises. They usually lay ambush for female and even male classmates and juniors and usually do whatever pleases them in disregard to school regulations.

    Some of them have become law to themselves that even Principals and teachers dare not attempt to challenge them. There have been cases when teachers are beaten up.

    As some of the female students of the school confirmed, being molested by male students and non-students in the neighbourhood of the school is not new. It just happened that the recent incident was witnessed by the woman who took up the matter by rescuing the girls and writing about the incident.

    If she had not written about the incident on Facebook, resulting in the outrage that followed, the matter would not have caught the attention of the state government and the police. It would have been one of the several other incidents residents of the area have witnessed in the past without anything being done to stop the male students from misbehaving.

    I commend the courage of the woman who took the risk of confronting the male students and writing about it. She could have looked away like others in the area or be afraid of being attacked by the boys.

    This is the kind of attitude we need to stop all kinds of vices our youths engage in these days. We need to speak up and take necessary actions instead of lamenting the worrisome situation.

    The arraignment of five of the students involved in sexually assaulting the female students last Thursday should send a strong signal to other male students that such criminal acts will no longer be condoned.

    Students are expected to be of good behaviour in and out of school. There can be no justification for any unruly behaviour and those found guilty should be penalised to serve as deterrent to others.

    Celebration of end of examination and graduation from school is not new, but the extent to which students, up to higher institutions go these days is uncalled for.

    Why should students tear their uniforms to mark the completion of their studies? The uniforms could be passed on to junior students instead of indulging in undue exuberant celebration. What has a secondary school student accomplished that calls for any uncontrolled celebration? What point were the male students trying to make by attempting to rape the female students?

    More than ever before, there is need for deliberate and sustained counselling for students on what to and what not to engage in. Parents have a major role to play in ensuring that their children are of good behaviour and not expose them to bad influences and peer pressure.