The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ABUAD

  • What shall we tell the President?

    What shall we tell the President?

    President Goodluck Jonathan is no doubt a listening President. Many curious observers and the legion of objective and rabid critics of his administration would readily score him high on his listening skills, especially when compared with some occupants of the exalted position of President and Commander-in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces in recent times. Whether President Jonathan’s ability to listen could match his ability to deliver on promises is however open to debate.

    Many times the President has demonstrated his ability to listen as well as his openness to discussion and consultations to the consternation of many. Some critics even argue that his penchant for wide consultations on knotty national issues account majorly for his seeming and sometimes apparent inaction when it matter most. This, they point out, is responsible for his slow pace of delivery- a development which has made many Nigerians become impatient with the President.

    The President, I fear may likely be treated to this avalanche of criticism when he arrives Ekiti State this week. Whereas the President would be coming to Ado-Ekiti, the state capital to flag off the electioneering campaign of his party-the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate,  Ekiti people surely have a dozen questions for the President which they would demand answers. Already the planned visit of the President, and the concomitant promises and deliverables have dominated major group discussions at vendors stands, drinking joints, market place and even on campuses, where both the well informed and barely-informed citizens take time to review what the “GEJ years” portends for Ekiti and Ekitis and what questions to ask or cause others to ask the President.

    President Jonathan’s Thursday visit will be his second to Ekiti State since he was inaugurated President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces on May 29, 2011. The state has yet to witness a state (working) visit by the President. His first visit in October 2013 was a private one- to witness activities marking the first convocation ceremony of the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti. Even though there were plans for him to visit the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, which is a walking distance from ABUAD, the President departed Ekiti shortly after the ABUAD event.

    As short as the ABUAD visit was, it was remarkable for Ekiti and Ekitis because it afforded the citizens the opportunity to raise some posers for the President. This they did through the speech delivered by the Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi at the event. The speech which was greeted by a thunderous applause by those present at the event which was broadcast live on NTA, bordered on the apparent neglect of Ekiti State by the federal government.

    Fayemi, cashing in on the President’s presence in the state capital, had carefully pointed out instances of glaring neglect and short-change of the state by the federal government for the President’s consideration. The Governor’s speech which many saw as an abridged score card of the Jonathan’s administration on Ekiti matter was re-echoed in different fora by well meaning Ekiti elders, youth, artisans, workers as well as its cream of professionals and academic.

    Some important take away from Governor Fayemi’s list to the President include the need for the President’s urgent intervention in fixing some federal roads in the state and the need to reimburse the state government for the billion naira it has expended on rehabilitation and reconstruction of some federal roads. The Governor pointed out that of the N14.752 billion expended so far on fixing of federal roads in the state, only N2 billion paid to the immediate past administration in the state had been received as reimbursement, thereby complicating the state’s financial situation.

    The ecological challenge in some parts of the state was another major point raised by the state government, which had spent over N3 billion to tackle ecological challenges in Ado-Ekiti, Moba, Ikere, Ekiti West and Ijero local government areas and require about N5 billion more to effectively tackle the menace.

    The failure of the federal government to build a federal secretariat in the state, thereby making Ekiti state the only state in the federation without a federal secretariat was also a major poser by the governor, just as the inability of the planned Ekiti airport to take off because the federal government has yet to make available the budgeted N400 million to match the state’s N300 million counterpart funding for the establishment of the airport project for  which a budgetary provision has been made since 2011.

    Whereas some have argued that airport is not a major priority of the people of Ekiti, yet no one needs the power of clairvoyance to know that the children and “children’ children” of these sceptics would one day land on the Ekiti Airport. Suffice it to say however that if other states have airports built for them by the federal government or through collaborative efforts between the states and the federal authorities, Ekiti should not be an exemption. And the President remains the only one that can give the Ekiti people a convincing answer on when the airport would become a reality.

    As reported in the media however, the President had in his response to Governor Fayemi’s posers at the ABUAD event,  directed relevant authorities involved in the various areas of neglect to provide answers (I had thought corresponding action) to the posers raised by the governor, while promising to look into the matter. Prior to the President’s comments however, the then Minister of Police Affairs and PDP Chieftain from Ekiti, Navy Capt Caleb Olubolade (rtd) had , in an apparent breach of protocol, grabbed the microphone and announced that the Presidency was already attending to most of the posers raised by the governor.

    But seven months down the line, there has not been a single corresponding action from the federal authorities or so it appears, judging by what is on ground. And while efforts by the state to get some reprieve from the ecological fund had met with deliberate stone- walling, the Presidency, had during the same period doled out whopping N2billion each to some “friendly” state governments to fix real and imagined ecological challenges, while Ekiti and a few others are left to continue to writhe in the pains of profound ecological challenges.

    These and a few new posers are some of the issues the President would contend with when he arrives Ekiti this week. The people surely have a lot to tell and ask from the President and would require that he takes some time off the partisan podium of his party to address these pertinent issues so that correspondent actions could be taken and urgently too to redress the situation and redeem his image.

    Ekiti people by nature are irrepressible- They would talk and would continue to agitate for a better deal from the Presidency and the coming of the President is yet another opportunity for such an engagement which would go a long way in building confidence or distrust. But would the President  answer the people and match his words with corresponding action this time…..or would that be deferred till the President deem it fit to pay an official (working) visit to Ekiti State…..Only the President can say.

    • Oluyomi, a journalist and public affairs commentator writes from Ayegbaju Ekiti
  • ABUAD to open talent centre

    ABUAD to open talent centre

    When completed, the Talent Discovery Centre of the Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti, (ABUAD), will be one of the most imposing structures on campus.

    The nearly-completed structure dwarfs both the university’s football pitch and basketball court.

    The beauty of the structure crystalises as one moves nearer. The clatter and pounding by engineers and other technicians working within speak volumes of a final phase of installations that needed to be wrapped up in no time. They all work in frenzied excitement. As some healthy young males and females pour water in a large basin, the masons were preoccupied fixing the plastic chairs on the gallery; ditto for the technician channeling the wires that will regulate lighting in the control tower somewhere on the roof of the now completed stage.

    “I expect the installation to be finished in the next one month”, said ABUAD founder, Aare Afe Babalola to this reporter in his office on Thursday last week. “You can see the building itself is already finished. It’s the installation that is ongoing and I expect it to be completed soon.”

    When it is eventually finished, it will be called ‘ABUAD Talent Discovery Centre’ which I believe will be the first of its kind among universities in Nigeria.”

    According to Babalola, the idea of the centre stemmed from a culture of dexterity which formed a part of his childhood experiences with his parents, something the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) feels is fast ebbing away today.

    He said:”Growing up, I remember that my mother made most of the clothes we used to wear then. She bought different threads with which she sew with her bare hands. My father too was a great farmer. We used to trek several kilometres away from the village to the father’s farm. We usually left at dawn and arrived the farm early enough to work throughout the day. There were no modern farm implement in those days; so we worked with our bare hands. And we were a lot happier for it because my parents believed therein lies the dignity in labour.

    “But many youths today don’t want to learn to develop the skills in them. They just want to graduate. It is true some of them will graduate as lawyers, engineers, pharmacists and whatever, but they may do well in life as musicians, artistes, dancers, swimmers, tailors, which they never studied while in school, but along the line, discovered as their inborn talents. That is why this centre is conceptualised to discover those innate talents in our students and help them explore it to what can benefit them in future,” Babalola added.

    Aare Babalola said over 28 sporting activities can be held in the centre, in addition to boasting of facilities for various vocations, including music studios, and stage for drama and others.

    “Don’t forget that the university has its Department of Sports. This centre has no link with the department. The sports department has its own facilities and students from there can equally come here and use the facilities if they so wish. But this centre cuts across students regardless of their disciplines. It is like a confluence where our students can meet, play together and in the process discover talents which this university can help nurture.

    “If a student graduates from ABUAD and does not make it, then he can never make it in life. My concept of a university is to breed graduates that are mature intellectually, psychologically, socially, economically and otherwise. Many of our first set that graduated in October are already doing their one year service (National Youth Service Corps). The good reports I get from wherever they are posted make me a lot happier. Some of their bosses in places where they are deployed call me to say: ‘Your children are respectful, well behaved and are outstanding among their contemporaries here’. We are encouraged to consolidate on that through this centre,” Babalola concluded.

  • Ojudu holds seminars for students

    Ojudu holds seminars for students

    Senator Babafemi Ojudu (Ekiti Central District) has organised seminars for graduating students of tertiary institutions, where they will be taught the basic skills needed to secure and retain employment.

    The seminars begin today and will hold in three higher institutions in Ekiti State. They will be facilitated by the Fola Ogunsola Foundation.

    The first seminar holds today at the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, at noon. Two hours later, the second one will hold at the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD).

    The third will hold tomorrow at the Crown Polytechnic in Odo, Ado-Ekiti, at 9am.

    In a statement, Ojudu said one of the mandates of the Initiative of Babafemi Ojudu for Leadership Development (iBOLD) is to mentor youths and groom them to be self-reliant, responsible and competent wherever they find themselves.

    He urged students of the three institutions to attend the seminars.

  • Afe Babalola advocates life for illegal varsities’ proprietors

    Afe Babalola advocates life for illegal varsities’ proprietors

    The founder, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), has advocated life imprisonment for proprietors of illegal universities.

    He said such individuals must also be made to forfeit their property.

    Noting the urgency of need to overhaul/amend the law, which established the National Universities Commission (NUC), to enable it deal with the current experience in tertiary education, Babalola said: “There is need to amend Section 22 of the Law on Powers of NUC to close downa illegal universities.”

    He spoke yesterday at the institution while addressing the accreditation team of the NUC led by Mr. Muhammed Ndanusa, a deputy director at the NUC, who led the team.

    Said he: “As at today, besides the United States of America, Nigeria has the largest number of illegal universities or institutions. I am worried about the irreparable damage these illegal institutions and their operators are doing to millions of students and their parents.”

    According to Babalola, the NUC act was passed in 1985, while the law, which regulated the establishment of private universities, came only in 1990.

    He added: “There is therefore need to put in place new laws, which can address the current challenges.”

    Babalola said the law should also be amended to give NUC the power to verify the certificates of university lecturers and professors, adding: “Many of them have been discovered to parade fake certificates.

    “We have discovered that many lecturers and professors parade fake certificates. There is need to make a law, which will impose severe punishment on those parading such certificates.”

    Ndanusa hailed the ABUAD founder for the progress made so far in ensuring quality in the university.

     

  • Academy for ABUAD

    Academy for ABUAD

    In what would appear yet another first for the Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), the National Instruments (NI) Inc., a Texas, United States firm with a tentacle in South Africa, will soon establish a LabVIEW Academy in ABUAD.

    On take-off, the academy will be the first and only Centre of Excellence where ABUAD Engineering undergraduates and their peers from other universities in Nigeria would be trained, tested and awarded the industry-recognised Certified LabVIEW Associate Developer (CLAD) certificate, a world-wide recognised industry certification.

    Speaking at the closing of a two-week train-the-trainers workshop for 50 workers in the College of Engineering, the Provost of the college, Prof. Israel Owolabi, said the establishment of the academy is an integral part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the university and NI.

    He said: “The training is unique in a number of ways. One significant aspect is the acquisition of value-added programmes to enhance the students’ Bachelor’s degree (B. Eng) certificates after graduation, thus making them employable in the global marketplace.”

    Besides, he said the training is in tandem with the vision and mission of the Founder, Aare Afe Babalola, (SAN), to produce highly skilled, socially and globally relevant graduates capable of applying scientific and engineering knowledge to solve societal problems.

    “The training has just been undertaken by our engineering staff to make them effective instructors on the equipment purchased by the university from the NI’s train-the-trainers scheme,” he added.

    National Instruments Inc. is a world renowned manufacturer of educational lab virtual instrumentation suite (NI ELVIS),. It integrates a dozen most commonly used test and measurement lab instruments, such as oscilloscope, function generators, spectrum analysers, variable power supplies, and digital multi meters, among others for design and implementation of laboratory experiments in automation, mechatronics, instrumentation and control systems, using the highly intuitive LabVIEW programming environment.

    According to Owolabi, with NI ELVIS package and a laptop, a student can easily design and perform various projects and experiments in all areas of engineering, at any place and time without having to be within the physical laboratory environment.

    ABUAD had earlier signed an MoU with the company for the supply of modern electronic equipment with the purchase agreement involving after-sales training of staff on the effective use of the equipment. The trained staff would in turn train the students on the effective and efficient use of the sophisticated modern electronic equipment.

    In his remarks, Aare Babalola said the university, which parades an army of highly talented professionals, is moving at a rate than he had contemplated.

    His words: “We have started well, we have arrived and we are going up and up and up.”

     

  • Pan Ocean Oil offers ABUAD students scholarship

    Ten students of the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) have been offered scholarship worth N6 million under the Pan Ocean University Internship Programme.

    Under the programme, which will take place between June and December, this year, each of the 10 beneficiaries drawn from ABUAD’s Colleges of Law, Engineering, Sciences, and Social and Management Sciences, will receive a one-off N300,000 scholarship grant and N50,000 monthly allowance for the six months of the internship.

    The beneficiaries are: Sarah Itamunoala of the College of Law, Samson Nwabuonwo, Damilare Ogunmola, Clinton Akinseye and Oghene Odjighoro as well as Daniella Orovwiroro, all of the College of Engineering.

    Others are: Oluwafunmilayo Adegbola and Kesiena Eboh of the College of Sciences, and Eghosa Arigbe and Catherine Adeyemi of the College of Social and Management Science.

    In a letter, Chief Executive Officer, Pan Ocean Oil Corporation (Nigeria) Limited, Dr. F.A. Fadeyi, said the beneficiaries’selection followed their success in the company’s qualifying assessment and interviews conducted as part of the selection.

    According to Fadeyi, the interns will be based in Lagos with periodic trips to the company’s operational locations when necessary after going through a ‘detailed orientation’ to acquaint them with the company’s businesses.

    Besides, Fadeyi said each of the interns will undertake a project relevant to its business under the joint supervision of a Pan Ocean manager and an appointee of the university.

     

  • Why ABUAD designs Social Justice programme, by Afe Babalola

    Why ABUAD designs Social Justice programme, by Afe Babalola

    The Founder, Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) has said the need for the university to influence its host community, the society and the country is why ABUAD initiated Social Justice programme.

    He said though many universities in Nigeria have failed in this regard, the four-year-old varsity with her rising profile, is ready to rise to the occasion.

    Said Babalola: “You may ask why Social Justice? Universities have a sacred duty to provide quality education but that is not all. It also has a duty to contribute to bring change to their host communities, immediate geographical locality and even the country as a whole. The world over, governments depend on universities and other specialised research institutions for economic, political and legal advice and crucial research data in the process of formulation of policies which will affect the citizenry. Regrettably, Nigeria universities have scored low in this area.”

    Addressing a police team, who attended the Social Justice certificate programme on Tuesday, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria said the programme hopes to improve the efficiency among members of the nation’s security apparatus, including the Police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), embassies, the government and its agencies.

    According to the legal luminary, the programme has two main components – BSc. ( Social Justice), a four-year course and a certificate programme, targeted at working class groups both in the public and private sectors.

    Babalola said in line with global best practices, the university has also designed modern and highly relevant curriculum on Social Justice, with qualified resources personnel to man it.

    He said there is a need for programme in universities because universities have a duty to contribute to bring change to their host communities, immediate geographical locality and even the country as a whole.

    “World over, governments depend on universities and other specialised research institutions for economic, political and legal advice and crucial research data in the process of formulation of policies which will affect the citizenry. Regrettably, Nigeria universities have scored low in this area. This is the reason we conceived programme.” he said.

    Condemning Nigerians’ attitude towards work, he said many who work in the public service believe that there is no need to put in their best in the discharge of their duties as they are guaranteed a steady income, allowances and benefits, adding that others simply go to work to mark time and return home without contributing anything to the advancement of the country.

    Speaking on how the programme started, Babalola said in 2011, the university assembled a team of distinguished international and local experts to develop a multi-disciplinary curriculum that can effectively solve the prevailing local and global economic, social, political and other challenges facing the world today.

    He added that the outcome, which is the Curriculum on Social, received 100 per cent approval from the Federal Government through the Nationa Universities Commission (NUC).

    “This innovative curriculum will equip both graduates and the certificate holders with multi-disciplinary and multi-skilled knowledge suitable for employment locally and internationally. It combines carefully selected courses in law, social sciences, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and international languages and culture. The degree and the certificate are highly relevant for students and workers who would want to work or are currently working in different areas of life including paralegal services, police, intelligence and security outfits, customs, immigration, international and local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), ministries of justice, foreign affairs, among others.

    “It is also very relevant to politicians, culture and tourism experts, international diplomacy consultants, national and multi-national corporations, etc. The course is highly intensive, rigorous, practical and very interesting. It creates opportunities for international exchange programmes, local and international internships and externships, work-study programmes and other field experiences for the undergraduates. It also provides an excellent foundation for students who could not gain admission to study law as first degree to pursue it at masters level or as a second degree.

    The police team was led by the Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade, and the Inspector-General of Police.

     

  • ABUAD hosts Police High Command in maiden programme

    Some Tuesday next week, the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, (ABUAD) will host the Police High Command in its maiden certificate programme in Social Justice.

    The objective of the programme, which is an off-shoot of the university’s degree in Social Justice designed, is to highlight the inevitability of attaining justice as a tool for achieving an all-inclusive and prosperous society built upon freedom, equality and fairness, said the university head of Information Tunde Olofintula. “The novel initiative aims at developing human capacity of mid-career adults that desire more knowledge to upgrade and sharpen their professional skills with latest tools, techniques and methodology in both the public and private sectors of the economy,” Olofintula added.

    He continued: “The Police High Command will benefit from the pool of resources and faculty that have made the four year-old institution a Centre with a tripod on teaching, research as well as community service.

    “Essentially, the programme will be interactive, and participant-centred, involving a combination of discussions and presentations, individual assignments, case studies, role playing and problem-solving sessions, among others.

    The Police team which will be led by the Police Affairs Minister, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd), will be treated to such topics as: The Concept of human rights, justice, security, freedom, equality and social justice, and An overview of the legal framework for combating terrorism in Nigeria.

    Others are: Highlights of selected legislations on terrorism and related offences like the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011, Act No. 11, and The role of the police force and civilians in attaining a crime and -free society, among others.

     

  • ABUAD appoints Ag. VC

    The Board of Trustees (BOT) and Council of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) has appointed Prof. Michael Ajisafe as the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the four-year old university.

    A statement by the university PRO, Tunde Olofintula, noted that Ajisafe’s appointment took effect from January 5 following the expiration of the four-year tenure of the pioneer Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Sidi Osho, on January 4.

    Ajisafe, the first professor of Sports Science in Africa, has worked in many universities in the country. Until his appointment, he was ABUAD’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and the Provost, College of Sciences.

    After his PhD in Sports Science from Temple University in Philadelphia, United States, Ajisafe returned to Nigeria and joined the then University of IIe-Ife where he pioneered the establishment of the Department of Sports Science (1973-1975). With two others, he also pioneered the department at the University of Ibadan (1975-1977) and later, the University of Benin.

    For five years, he was Director for the National Institute of Sports Lagos.

    Ajisafe was inducted a member of Donald D. Anthony Achievement Hall of fame (1993) by his alma mater, Central State University, Ohio, U.S. He was elected Regional Director of Africa, International Council of Sports Science and Physical Education, (ICSSPE).

    He was for 12 years a Consultant in Youth and Sports Affairs in the State of Qatar.

    Ajisafe is a member of very distinguished academic and professional associations in Sports Science across the globe.

    He will remain in office until a substantive vice-chancellor is appointed.

     

  • ABUAD to mentor Ghana varsity

    ABUAD to mentor Ghana varsity

    The University of Industrial Development (UID) Accra Ghana, has appointed the Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), as its mentor-institution.

    The appointment was conveyed to ABUAD Founder, Aare Afe Babalola, in a letter signed by UID proprietor/founder Dr Shelley Amos.

    Amos said the partnership was anchored on Babalola’s faith in the continent as well as his massive investment in the nearly four-year-old ABUAD.

    The journey to the collaboration started when Shelley led the UID team to ABUAD during its first convocation in October.

    The letter reads in part: “It is our pleasure to formally convey to you the decision of the board of directors of the new University College Industrial Development (UID) Accra, Ghana, the appointment of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) Nigeria, as the mentor tertiary institution for our new university.

    “We in UID believe you are one of the foremost believers in the need for us to save Africa from becoming a perpetual dumping ground for goods and products made in India, Korea, China, Brazil and other countries which were once ranked with Nigeria as Third World countries. From those profitable ventures we witnessed in your commercial farms during your first convocation in October, it is our fervent believe that Africans should start to develop her indigenous products, especially from agriculture, and our abundant natural resources. This is why you are more than qualified to be our mentor for this ambitious, intercontinental objective.

    “This appointment is in accordance with the rules and regulations set up by the National Accreditation Board (NAB), of Ghana to guide the setting up of new tertiary institutions in the Republic of Ghana. One of the initial conditions for accreditation of establishment of a new university college in Ghana is for the institution to seek for affiliation with a reputable, accredited university within or outside Ghana, to serve as mentor to the said institution.

    “The objective of such affiliation ‘is to ensure the attainment and maintenance of high standard for the promotion of academic quality’. The relationship is ‘for the mentoring institution to provide academic support and supervision to the university being mentored’. The mentored university in Ghana shall receive the certificates of the mentoring university (in this case ABUAD) until the accreditation board grants it the presidential charter.

    “You are aware that our proprietor visited ABUAD as guests. We were quite amazed by the overwhelming state of facilities and the relaxed conducive environment of learning which you provided for the students. We were particularly impressed by the high standard of the graduating students and the initiative to reward excellence both in academic and behaviours.

    “We have also taken our time to make adequate enquiries into the performance and delivery of quality education by ABUAD since its establishment, and we have noted, beyond reasonable doubt, that your university has met all the required qualification set up by NAB of Ghana for you to mentor our institution. Enclosed are the documents on the rules and guidelines of the National Accreditation Board of the Republic of Ghana to explain the details of the affiliation.”

    “Our proprietors will soon pay a visit to your university to discuss the details of the affiliation and mentorship with you and your management. Please accept our regards in the highest esteem for the anticipated acceptance and mentorship.