The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Academy

  • Procurement Academy berths in Lagos

    An institution Procurement Academy Programme has opened in Ikeja, Lagos. It is being operated by Daca Consults Limited, a multi-disciplinary consulting firm.

    Its founder, Mr. Adebayo Ayoade, said the idea of the academy arose from his desire to hone the skills of experts and other stakeholders in the industry.

    He said because procurement professionals are important in an organisation, there was the need to retrain them, adding that the school will operate in three phases – as a monthly programmes, institute and research centre.

    Ayoade said the Federal Government enacted the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2007 to ensure transparency in its spending, noting that this was based on a recommendation by the World Bank in the Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR). So far, he said, states, such as Lagos, Ekiti, Niger, and Rivers have domesticated the Act while others, such as Oyo, and Nasarawa are about to do so.

    At institution’s maiden lecture, Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSMN) President, Alhaji Mohammed J. Aliyu, sought professionalism for the “rapid development” of the country. He said until his colleagues were entrusted with strategic government’s acquisitions, we would continue to have cases of corruption, abandoned and inflated projects. He berated professionals who dump ethics for the filthy lucre.

    The General Manager, Lagos State Procurement Agency, Akin Onimole, urged procurement officers in the civil service to handle complaints and put in place a review mechanism to handle problems that might arise from tenders.

  • Flying Eagles crush Jay 1 Academy 11-0

    Flying Eagles crush Jay 1 Academy 11-0

    Nigeria U-20 team, the Flying Eagles, beat Jay 1 Academy of Abuja 11-0 in a test game played at the Abuja National Stadium, Abuja on Friday.

    Bernard Bulbwa and Abubakar Lawal each grabbed a brace with skipper Musa Muhammed, Ifeanyi Matthew, Ahmed Umar and Sulaiman Abubakar also getting on the scoreboard in a one-sided match.

    The Flying Eagles are preparing for next month’s final African Youth Championship qualifier against Lesotho.

    The first leg will be played on August 16 in Nigeria, while the return match will be in Maseru a fortnight later.

    The overall winners will advance to the AYC to be hosted by Senegal in March next year.

  • Academy renews graduates’ hopes

    Academy renews graduates’ hopes

    Going back to a technical college years after making good grades in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) was not something Mrs Juliana Idowu wanted for her son, Adebowale Ayobami.

    But she had no choice as her husband’s mind was made up.  Adebowale was not going to sit around writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) any longer and fail to secure admission.  He had to go back to technical college to learn vocational skills.

    Today, Mrs Idowu is glad that he did.  Adebowale was one of the 72 students who graduated from the Samsung Engineering Academy last Tuesday after an intensive one-year programme learning to repair electronics.  This is in addition to his certificate after completing the three-year progarmme from the Government Technical College, Agidingbi.

    Adebowale was one of the prize winners at the graduation but was absent because he is already working in Uyo, thanks to the training.

    An elated Mrs Idowu who stood in for him, said: “The training is very good.  At first I did not want my son to go to a technical college because he had passed out of Specialist College, Ogba, with good results in WAEC. Even his brother was against it.  But his father had the final say.  After he finished from the technical college, he was sent to Samsung.  After that, he got employment at Uyo and we are happy.”

    The Samsung Engineering Academy was established in 2012 in collaboration with the Lagos State government through the World Bank-supported Lagos State Eko Project, which focuses on improving secondary and technical education.

    The students went through training in different areas of specialisation, including Audio visuals, Home Appliances (HA), Information Technology Mobiles, which imbued them with skills to repair smart TVs, smart phones, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and laptops among others.

    In her speech, Ms. Ronke Azeez, Special Adviser to the Governor on Eko Project, who was represented by Mr Kayode Adeleye, said the graduation showed the partnership is working.  He admonished the graduands to build on their training to improve even more.

    “What you have acquired here is a seed which if sown will germinate into a big tree.  The skills you have gained will differentiate you from the rest of your colleage if you decide to seek employment.  If you decide to further your education, your skills will still be useful; or if you decide to go into entrepreneurship, you will be different,” she said.

    In his keynote address, Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. Brovo Kim said, the firm hopes to train 2,000 electronics engineers at its facility at Government Technical College, Agidingbi, and 10,000 engineers across Africa through the academy by the end of 2015 to fill the gap for technical skills in the labour market.

    “More skilled engineers are needed to fill the supply and demand gap that has emerged in the mobile and digital consumer electronics industry for technical skills.

    I am so proud of you today and you should too. I want to emphasise that technical and vocational education are not inferior type of education,” he said.

     

  • ACADEMY DIVIDENDS: National teams’ main beneficiaries -Siasia

    ACADEMY DIVIDENDS: National teams’ main beneficiaries -Siasia

     •100 players hit Abuja for screening 

    Former Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia has expressed delight that national teams and clubs in the country are beginning to reap from the dividends of his Abuja based Siaone Academy.

    The former international who was handed the job of Super Eagles coach On 4 November 2010 and shown the door a year later for failing to take the Nigeria team to the 2012 African Nations Cup in Gabon & Equatorial Guinea, said he is not relenting in the search for fresh legs with ambition that can help win laurels for the nation on one hand and build a career for themselves on the other.

    The Academy according to the former U-20 and 23 Coach, takes the catch them young project seriously as that is the only way to identify the best.

    “We are proud to reveal that many of the players we screened last year made their ways into the U- 17 national team while others are playing in top clubs in the country now,” he posted on the social media Saturday.

    The former Nantes of France striker further revealed that over 100 players between the ages of Ages 13 and 23 have registered for the Academy’s next screening billed for the NYSC Orientation Camp, Kubwa Abuja July 27th.

    The screening exercise he added will be handled by experienced coaches who were also former internationals

  • Odu’a Farmers Academy admits 500 OYES cadets

    Over 500 members of the Osun State Youths Empowerment Scheme (‘O’ Yes) have been admitted into Odu’a Farmers’ Academy for a six-month practical training in modern farming.

    The cadets, who are mainly young men released from the scheme by the Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, for the training, will be exposed to modern techniques in the management of food crops, horticulture and rearing of commercial livestock.

    The courses include commercial crop production (maize, water melon, vegetable, pepper, tomatoes) livestock production and short courses on project management and aquaculture.

    The move by the state government to engage the youth in mechanised farming is aimed at helping to plug the shortage of food production in the state.

    Aregbesola said with the training, the agricultural potential of the state would be developed, adding that food would be made available and at low price to the people.

    The governor had disclosed that the focus of his administration would be on industrialising the state through farming and provision of essential facilities to better the living standard of the people of the state.

    The Group Managing Director (GMD) of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Mr Adebayo Jimoh, while receiving the students, said the academy was established to provide the highest level of qualitative and modern training for new and emerging commercial farmers in viable food commodities to sustain food security in Nigeria.

    He said the cadets would be exposed to theory and practice of farming and this would bring about an alternative to the old traditional way of farming.

    The Odu’a boss noted that the trainees would enjoy an after-training follow-up and support by the government through their local governments in making available lands and soft loans for their take-off at the end of the programme.

    The academy situated at the old farm centre, (AISU) Ede, near Abere in Osun State provides training for commercial farmers in food commodities.

    It will assist trainees in planning and laying out farms and farm estates, processing, farm business management and executing trainer’s feasibility and writing bankable proposal.

  • FLYING EAGLES THRASH KWARA ACADEMY 4-0

    FLYING EAGLES THRASH KWARA ACADEMY 4-0

    NIGERIA’S Flying Eagles trounced Kwara Football Academy 4-0 to round up their build-up for a 2013 African Youth Championship qualifier against South Africa next week.

    Rangers striker Alhaji Gero scored a brace after he lost a penalty in a goalless first half.

    The other scorers were Bright Ejike and Chidi Osuchukwu.

    The Flying Eagles drew 1-1 with Amajita of South Africa in the first leg final qualifier for the 2013 African Youth Championship to be hosted by Algeria.

    The return leg match will be played on Sunday, October 7 at the Kwara State Stadium in Ilorin.

  • POST-WESTERHOF LAMENTATION: Fears over standard of Kwara Football Academy

    There are fears among stakeholders, coaches and aspiring footballers alike that the standard of hitherto prestigious Kwara Football Academy has fallen.

    Problem of the institution which has strong backing of Kwara State government, according to those interviewed, started with the departure of former Super Eagles coach and pioneer Director of the academy Clemence Westerhof.

    Four years after leaving KFA, Westerhof still has much to celebrate about the initiative introduced by Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, as the current Technical Director, Paul Ashworth is still struggling to justify the huge investment on him to make the Academy produce quality players for both local and international use.

    Ashworth replaces Westerhof as the Technical Director of the institution, and is in charge of football and everything that concerns the players, but the Englishman has not added any outstanding and quality players to the one discovered by the Dutch coach after almost three years in charge.

    Ashworhth is on a huge pay of 9,000 dollars and N50,000 monthly allowance, with four return tickets per annum to Europe.

    Asides the fact that he has not got any concrete offer for any of the players, various screening exercises organized by the school was badly handled, culminating in the admission of over-aged and poor quality players.

    Finding revealed that no player in the Academy is fit to play outside the country, except those groomed by Westerhof, and some of them are gaining exposure with Kwara United and Abubakar Bukola Saraki FC, both of Ilorin.