The Nation Newspaper

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  • Lantern Books launches piracy campaign

    Lantern Books launches piracy campaign

    Literamed Publications Nigeria Ltd, publishers of Lantern Books, has launched a “Do Not Buy Pirated Books” campaign to discourage parents, schools and bookshops from patronising pirated books.

    A statement issued by the organisation said the campaign will involve the distribution of posters, radio jingles and print adverts to persuade the target audience to boycott books pirated from its stable.

    According to the statement, the continuous patronage of pirated texts, comic and storybook titles published by the 43-year-old organisation, kills the economy.

    The statement reads: “We have observed that some parents, school administrators, bookshops and other relevant stakeholders in the book publishing market who should be our partners in progress have joined in the onslaught against our hard earned reputation and pedigree by unwittingly or deliberately buying and circulating pirated Lantern books.

    “This is why Lantern Books have embarked on “Do not Buy Pirated Books” Campaign” to discourage people from buying pirated books because such act does not only discourage creativity but also kills the economy, breed criminals and make people lose jobs.

    “It is common knowledge that when you knowingly or unintentionally purchase pirated books, you encourage pirates to stay in business and also deprive authors and publishers of genuine book of their benefits.”

  • Council visits Emir

    In its determination to strengthen the gown/town relationship, the Governing Council of IBBUL has visited the Emir of Lapai, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Umaru Bago III.

    Speaking during the visit, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council, Mallam Sulayman Abdul Ndanusa, stated that the world-class vision of the university would only be a mirage if a peaceful atmosphere is not provided by the host community.

    He disclosed that the authorities of the university would continue to collaborate with the host Emirate towards ensuring that the needed condusive environment for learning, teaching and research activities is guaranteed on the campus.

    Ndanusa expressed appreciation with the level of harmonious relationship that has been existing between the Emirate and university and called for its sustainability.

     

     

     

    The Pro-Chancellor, therefore, presented a Flexi-Roller Banner on the mandates, vision, mission and core values of the University to the Emir.

    Responding, the Emir of Lapai, Alhaji Umaru Bago III thanked the University Council members for the visit and applauded them for initiating policies and programmes that will enhance the development of the young institution.

    He pledged his full support to the growth and development of the University; assuring that the Emirate’s University/Host Community committee was ready for any effort that would promote the desired goal for lifting IBB University to greater heights.

     

  • ‘Covenant varsity’s mandate is divine’

    ‘Covenant varsity’s mandate is divine’

    In this interview, Chancellor of Covenant University, Ota, Dr David Oyedepo, shares his thoughts on the foundational philosophies and accomplishments of the university in the past one decade.

     

    Can you recall how the vision for Covenant University (CU) was delivered?

    We had in our hands 530 acres of property. And the first thing that occurred to me was to give the land out for farming, pending when we would need it. But God put out the master plan before my eyes. Within five days, I had a detailed master plan of those facilities which was divided into three main components: Moriah was to be our secondary school, the altar of sacrifice for the future we desire. Shiloh is the place for the church. And Hebron was the place for the making of kings and that is the university. And, interestingly, there was no professional engagement in the master plan for this place. It was absolutely divine, and this was in May 1998; and by August 29, same year, we had the ground-breaking service here where we pasted on the board the components that make up Canaan Land.

    So, it was clear that by His design, God had commissioned us to engage in birthing a university revolution. The word revolution came along with it, from the outset.

    After we dedicated the church in September 1999, we inaugurated a consortium in November for the setting up of Covenant University and we began planning, documenting, preparing to apply for licence until August 2002 when the NUC came for their verification visit. By December, it went to the National Executive Council and by February 2002, we got the licence. In March, construction started, and by October 21, our pioneer students resumed.

    What were the immediate steps taken to ensure the university’s vision was realised?

    The moment you have an established goal, it’s easier to design the process. If you must have a highly disciplined ambience, then there must be specific rules in areas of you concern, and that was what evolved the student handbook. The student handbook is the constitution of this university ‘nation’.

    When you are in this nation, you are guided by this constitution, and if you break the constitution, you should be ready for the sanctions, as dictated in the handbook. This is because until you change the man, he cannot change his world.

    What is our objective?

    Repackaging of the graduates universities turn out today. How do we repackage? Establishing lines of discipline, that will help them know how to behave in the society; how to relate by looking at issues that are of importance to us, for instance, moral decadence, and examination malpractice. So, from the outset, we said any act of examination malpractice equals to expulsion. We reasoned that anyone who indulges in it here today, if he finds him/herself anywhere tomorrow, would do the same, being used to it, already.

    And when we talk of personality traits, how do you get people to be acceptable, when they go seeking for employment? Here, the dress code comes in, and we agreed they have to be corporate. Why? You cannot tell when you would be called upon.

    The faculty and staff have rules that guide them. If you feel you cannot be governed, you can excuse us and go somewhere else. So, our core values are the mainstay of our production line and these core values include spirituality.

    What are the unique programmes in CU?

    We have three specialised programmes that are unique to us. The Total Man Concept (TMC), for example, is about going through things that make a man. Imagine if I go through a university system, up to the Ph.D level without knowing anything about marriage, and yet I am going to be married; or you know next to nothing about financial management, and yet you are going to be dealing with money all the days of your life. We try to address these things with the TMC programme.

    We introduced the Entrepreneurial Development Studies aimed at equipping them to recognise opportunities around and how to buy into them even when in school. As a result, we have students who are paying their fees.

    We also have what we call Towards a Total Graduate. What that does is to package them for the world of work. We think: As our student out there, what do you need to maximise your learning? That is why our core leadership programmes take place, so that they leave here knowing where they are going and not guessing.

  • EFCC arraigns four for N1.05 b subsidy fraud

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arraigned four suspects for alleged N1.05billion fuel subsidy fraud.

    Saminu Rabiu, Jubril Rowaye, Alminnur Resources Limited and Brila Energy Limited were arraigned before Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on a 17-criminal count charge of conspiracy, forgery and obtaining N1.05billion under false pretence.

    A statement by EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, said the accused were arraigned for allegedly defrauding the Federal Government.

    The statement said the suspects allegedly submitted some forged documents and obtained the sum from the Petroleum Support Fund as subsidy for the importation of 10,000 metric tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).

    “When the charges were read to the accused, they all pleaded not guilty. Barristers R.O. Unnah (Counsel for first and third accused) and Ajibola Oluyede (Counsel for second and fourth accused) prayed the court to grant them bail.

    “The prosecution counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, did not oppose the application but urged the court to impose stringent conditions ,which will ensure that the accused are available for trial.

    “Justice Banjoko granted bail of N10million and two sureties.

    “One of the sureties must be a director in the Civil Service. Both sureties, who must be resident in Abuja, are to swear an affidavit of means and produce evidence of tax payment in the past three years.

    “In addition, the accused must deposit their international passports and three passport photographs each with the court.

    “She adjourned the case till November 29 and 30 f and ordered that the accused be remanded in custody until they meet their bail conditions.”

  • PHCN official electrocuted in Ado-Ekiti

    An official of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Mr. Samuel Isaac, was yesterday electrocuted in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.

    Isaac was working on an electric cable at Satellite Junction on NTA Road when the incident occurred.

    Residents wept at the sight of the body, which was stuck on the high tension pole.

    It was learnt that the deceased, who appeared to be middle-aged, was a graduate of Electrical/Electronics Engineering from the Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke.

    An eyewitness said a cable got detached while Isaac was working on a 33KVA high tension cable and it fell on him, killing him instantly.

    His charred remains were deposited at the mortuary of the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti.

    Ekiti PHCN spokesman Mr. Kayode Brown said the victim and other PHCN staff were in the area to correct some faults that had caused power outage. Brown said he was shocked by the incident because the late Isaac was experienced in the job and had been working with the company since for years.

    He said: “We have to get to the root of this matter because back-feeding cases are very rare while working on high tension cables. Nobody uses generator that could warrant such situation, so we are at a loss about the cause of his death.”

    Ado-Ekiti Local Government Chairman Sunday Ibitoye, who was one of the early callers at the scene of the incident, described the situation as unfortunate.

  • Okupe, Gulak are fifth columnists, says Mark

    Okupe, Gulak are fifth columnists, says Mark

    Senate President David Mark yesterday described the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, and Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, as fifth columnists working at cross purposes with President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Mark was reacting to a motion on alleged inflammatory statements against the National Assembly by ministers and aides of the President.

    The motion was sponsored by Deputy Majority Leader Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central).

    Earlier this month, the Senate had descended on Minister of Information Labaran Maku for saying resolutions of the National Assembly were not binding on the President.

    Maku was invited by the Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe-led Senate Committee on Information to explain himself.

    Maku recognised that he might have misfired and apologised to the Senate.

    Ningi, in the motion, entitled: Inflammatory statements against the National Assembly by ministers and aides of the President, said he observed with dismay the regular attacks on the legislature by ministers and aides of the President.

    He said he was also “scandalised by the most recent one” in which the Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak “threw all caution to the wind when he remarked that members of the National Assembly were “talking like illiterates” by saying that the President had failed to give assent to Bills passed by the legislature.

    He said he was provoked that Gulak also stated that the National Assembly was “passing laws that were not implementable.”

    The lawmaker, however, said he was confident that those statements did not reflect the views of President Jonathan on the matter.

    In their contributions, Senators Ike Ekweremadu, Victor Ndoma-Egba, Ali Ndume, James Manager, Smart Adeyemi, Awaisu Kuta, Shola Adeyeye and others condemned the statements attributed to the Presidential aides saying they were a direct affront on the integrity of the National Assembly.

    Mark noted that it was sad that presidential aides are leading Jonathan on a collision course with the National Assembly.

    He said: “We all feel very hurt and very bad about it. And we say this against the backdrop that the President as a person is a gentleman. Nobody can fault him.

    “They are clearly not on the same wavelength with the President. I am surprised that neither Doyin nor Gulak has retracted the statements that are attributed to them by the media. Certainly, they are operating on their own.

    “I think Victor hit it squarely on the head by saying they are fifth columnists who don’t want the President to succeed.

    “But on the other hand we will not allow detractors to force us away from the course that we set our radar. We mean well for this country.”

    Special Adviser to President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emodi, yesterday dissociated President Goodluck Jonathan from disparaging statements credited to some Presidential aides against the National Assembly.

    Mrs Emodi in a statement noted that the alleged unguarded comments by the Presidential aides neither reflected the views of President Jonathan on the National Assembly nor the enormous respect he has for the institution.

    “Let me state categorically that the alleged statements neither reflect the views of the President, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on the National Assembly nor the enormous respect he has for the institution and the cordial relationship he has encouraged between the Executive and the Legislature.

    “In other words, those to whom the statements were credited were on their own and never spoke the mind of the President.

  • Veritas Varsity to graduate first set

    The Veritas University, Abuja with its take-off campus in Obehie, Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State, is set to graduate its first set of students this year.

    The 95 pioneer students, who have written their final examinations and completed all requirements for graduation, are waiting for their convocation.

    Speaking with journalists at the temporary campus, its Vice-Chancellor, Prof. David Ker said the university was established by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria in response to the need for a university that will provide high quality tertiary education, according to the noble tradition of the Catholic Church.

    The VC said the university, which was granted provisional licence by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in 2007, has 332 students with the intention to take more once it relocates to its permanent site in Bwari area council in Abuja next academic session.

    He said the first set of students who are due for graduation this year were admitted in 2008 at the take-off campus in Obehie, pointing out that the institution was proud of the graduating class regarded as the university’s torch bearers.

    Ker is also glad about the accreditation of the nine programmes offered by the university by the NUC, “The record is unprecedented as no university in Nigeria has ever gotten full accreditation in all its programmes at the first NUC visit,” he said.

    However, he observed that the feat will not make them relax but spur them to do more, as there are plans to include new courses which will allow the university admit more students.

    He reiterated the resolve of the university authorities and its owners to ensure that it becomes one of the top 10 universities in the country.

    The VC said the university’s strength is its ICT programmes, adding that laptops are compulsory for all students.

  • Workers celebrate Teachers Day

    As teachers across the globe celebrated their dedication to their profession on October 5, the teaching staff of the Adeyemi College of Education (ACE), Ondo, Adeyemi Demonstration Secondary School and Adeyemi Nursery and Primary School, marked the day in grand style last Friday.

    The management of the college, in conjunction with the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Ondo Chapter, marked the 2012 World Teachers Day with a lecture and conferment of Distinguished Leadership in Education Award.

    Delivering the lecture titled Education, Culture and Sustainable Development in Nigeria, Prof Tunde Babawale, said culture is transmitted through education for sustainable national development.

    “There is no doubt that a strong relationship exists between education, culture and development. Irrespective of the system we operate, education maintains a dynamic interrelationship with culture. In order for it to perform its role effectively and efficiently as an agent of development that prepare people for successful life in a culturally-diverse society, education needs freedom of expression… scientific knowledge and cultural creativity,” he said.

    The Provost, Prof Adeyemi Idowu, urged teachers not just to impart knowledge but to mould the students/pupils in character.

     

  • Our mandate for CU fulfilled, says Oyedepo

    Covenant University (CU) Chancellor Bishop David Oyedepo has presented the university’s 10-year scorecard.

    At a briefing on the campus in Ota, Ogun State, Bishop Oyedepo said the university now ranks among the first 100 in Africa and one of the best 10 in Nigeria.

    The cleric announced that the Faculty of Law would start in 2014, adding that plans are also on to set up the College of Medicine soon.

    Accompanied by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Aize Obayan and other principal officials, Dr. Oyedepo said the institution has continued to fulfil the purpose for which it was set up.

    “We are reacting to the deterioration in the educational system; we are reacting to the mental poverty and moral degeneration that the fallen standards has institutionalised.

    “We are reacting to many years of neglect that now enslaves the future of the next generation.

    “We are reacting to negative forces that have destabilised our quest for nationhood; we are reacting to failure of leadership in all government structures in Nigeria,” he said.

    In his view, what gives CU an edge is a commitment to its core values—sacrifice, spirituality, diligence; responsibility, integrity, capacity building and possibility mentality.

    Dr. Oyedepo lamented that nationhood is being threatened because Nigeria’s value system has disappeared while its citizens are unwilling to make sacrifices for the nation.

    “The value system of this nation is so full of virus that it will require a spiritual formatting across board. In the past, when a person was given a political appointment, his family would be the first to warn him to live an exemplary life so as not to disgrace them.

    “But today, if a person is appointed, his family would say ‘your time has come. God has answered our prayer. It is now our time to make money. Please, steal as much as you can because you might not be reappointed.’ That is the pitiable level to which our moral values has fallen”

    He said the CU’s vision is anchored on exemplary leadership for the African and global community, with its refined curriculum and introduction of courses such as the Total Man Concept (TTC), Towards a Total Graduate (TTG) and the establishment of the Entrepreneurship Development Studies (EDS) Centre toward attaining a total and self-reliant graduate.

    Over the years, Dr Oyedepo said CU has blazed the trail in quality teaching, research, conferences and workshops, innovations and community service with various awards for staff and students.

    Dr Oyedepo said the university has signed more MoUs than any institution in Nigeria.

    “As at the last count, the university has recorded 52 faculty awards/recognition and 36 students’ awards/recognition.

    “Covenant University also believes that a world-class university can only be possible by a world-class faculty.

    “So, it will continue to recruit aggressively from anywhere in the world where the best are found.

    “From six professors in 2002, the university can boast of 42 professors in different fields of learning today.

    “The university is also working to make the international faculty representation at its base towards various incentives given to them.

    “It is also attracting Nigerian academics in the diaspora to come back home to develop the base. “

  • Be patriotic Nigerians, pupils told

    Pupils from select secondary schools in Lagos State interested in Medicine and Pharmacy visited the JayKay Pharmacy owned by Jimi Agbaje, former Lagos governorship aspirant, to learn about careers in the sciences last Thursday.

    They belong to the We Are the Future of Nigeria (WATFON) Club, an initiative of Mrs Yinka Ogunde, CEO of Edumark Consult, which actively engages teenagers in nation building by stimulating them to discuss and proffer solutions to Nigeria’s problems through essay writing and other activities.

    Through WATFON, the pupils also get to meet with mentors, exemplary Nigerian professionals, who counsel them on values that aid development and guide their career choices.

    However, they got much more than career guidance during the mentoring session with Mr Agbaje, a pharmacist-cum politician.

    During the session, the pupils, some of who made oral presentations of winning essays they had written on “If I were to be the President of Nigeria”, shared their views about problems facing the country including insecurity, corruption, the murder UNIPORT students, and the like with Agbaje, who counseled them about leadership and responsible followership.

    However, perhaps the most poignant lesson for them was the need to be proud and patriotic Nigerians.

    Responding to the declaration by some of the pupils that they were not proud to be Nigerians, Agbaje told them they can only feel superior in their own country and counseled them to make Nigeria the country of their dreams.

    “I am proud to be a Nigerian. Would you rather be a Somalian? So you believe you are better than them? Would you rather be an American? Those who built America worked hard. You should work hard to make Nigeria better. You can decide to throw away your Nigerian passport to become an American but I have a friend who is a Neuro Surgeon in America who wants to come back to Nigeria but there is no work for him. He trains many doctors in Neuro Surgery but no matter how good he is, the white man will prefer the white student he trained to him,” he said.

    Commenting on the murder of the four UNIPORT students penultimate week, Agbaje counseled the pupils to keep good company and pursue the right channels when grieved.

    “I don’t know about the UNIPORT students but it is about the company you keep. For some of them, it was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Beware of those that you move with. If you move with questionable characters, you stand a risk,” he said.

    Assessing the session, Mrs Ogunde said she was impressed with the level of awareness of the pupils as well as their analysis of national issues. She urged them to proffer creative solutions to challenges the country is facing.

    “You must be a problem solving generation. You must be thinkers, not just people who are reacting to the problem. This programme is focused on the SS3 class because you are the ones leaving parental control for the larger society. You must choose to be responsible,” she said.

     

     

    Schools that participated in the event were: Redeemers International Secondary School, Idiroko, Basil International College, Ilupeju, Tom-Caleb College, Ilupeju and Command Day Secondary School, Ikeja.