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Tag: Ajayi Crowther University

  • Varsity don raises alert on mass exodus of Nigerian doctors

    The Vice Chancellor of Ajayi Crowther University, Professor Dapo Folorunsho Asaju has alerted of an impending calamity in the Nigeria health sector following exodus of Nigeria-trained doctors into the United Kingdom.

    He noted that his recent visit to the United Kingdom indicated that ninety percent of those writing examinations to practice medicine in the United Kingdom are doctors from Nigeria.

    Professor Asaju who raised the alarm while presenting the 74th Interdisciplinary discourse of the University of Ibadan, Postgraduate school entitled “Religious undercurrents in the evolution of education in Global context” stated that it is sad that the federal government of Nigeria seemed unperturbed by the massive brain drain which will make many Nigerians die in the absence of qualified medical doctors.

    The professor of Christian theology who noted that while religion has been deployed by the elites as a divisive tool in Nigeria, education without religion moral teachings is responsible for increasing social vices and terrorism.

    He noted that is sad that institutions are producing graduates only in paper qualification and not on sound morals which will impact the society.

    He noted that while universities are happy producing first class holders, the production of first class brain without character will amount to the production of ‘clever devils’.

    He said “People have been crying of brain drain and it appears that Nigeria is not even mindful of the implications of what is happening. My son-in-law who went to write examination to be able to practice medicine in the UK and engineer told me that of all those who came for this examination, 90 percent were doctors from Nigeria. This is crisis.

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    When you have put in your very best , you train so many people, you have invested in them only for them to get their certificates  and we abandon the sick people who are dying in this country to treat those who are already well. It is a calamity. Woe unto a nation whose best would desert her shores to go abroad for the sake of pound sterling or dollar to live life of affluence abandoning people who are so much in need of their expertise, those who invested everything to make them who they are. There is another crisis of morals. We have first class brain who are empty in terms of morals. If our universities continue to produce first class student’s brains without character, they would have succeeded in producing a bunch of clever devils. That is why we have very brilliant people but they have no character. They carry first class degrees from universities but put them in places of work they don’t have the minute of discipline of punctuality, probity, accountability, or have integrity. It is now very difficult to find good workers in Nigeria.”

    In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor University of Ibadan, Professor Idowu Olayinka said Nigeria must determine the place of religion in its educational system given the confusion and controversies surrounding the role religion play in our communal life.

    The UI chief executive  said “it is true that Nigeria educational policy makers in their wisdom, believe that students can learn everything they need to learn without learning anything about religion. Nevertheless, this has continually fueled the culture wars that now divide many of our communities and undermine educational mission of our schools”.

  • Help stabilize our democracy, don appeals to Nigeria media

    As preparations for the 2019 general elections gather stem, a professor of journalism, communication and media studies, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Oyo State, Muyiwa Popoola,  charged the Nigerian media owners and practitioners to help foster and deepen the country’s democratic and political experience through their reportage.

    He said the media has a huge role to play if the nation’s democracy must continue uninterruptedly and if more progress must be made.

    The don gave the charge in his inaugural lecture entitled: “Media, Politics and Conflict in Nigeria: The Fourth or the ruinous Estate of the Realm”, delivered on the campus of the institution.

    The lecture held under the chairmanship of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Dapo Asaju.

    The inaugural lecturer, noted that his research efforts into the media reportage of political conflicts from the first, second, third to the present fourth republic in Nigeria showed that the Nigerian press, as the fourth estate of the realm, is presumably ruinous of Nigeria as a realm, in reporting personality-induced political conflicts and the violence that accompanied them, saying there is recklessness in the political reportorial process when partisan political considerations are given priority over the social responsibility roles of the press.

    Good media, often described as the fourth estate of the realm, according to the lecturer, is expectedly a socially responsible and development-oriented media that adopt the conflict sensitive reporting approach to reportage of political conflicts.

    Popoola said, “A good fourth estate of the realm is expectedly a socially responsible and development-oriented media that adopt the Conflict Sensitive Reporting approach to reportage of political conflicts.

    “In their gatekeeping and agenda-setting role in political conflicts, Nigeria media should assume the status of a good fourth estate of the realm that is driven by professionalism and ethical standards. There are political machinations already in respect of the 2019 general elections.”

    Popoola, who graduated with first-class honours and distinction in Mass Communication from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and University of Lagos respectively for his first and second degrees, bagged his doctorate degree from the University of Ibadan.

    He urged the Nigerian press to perform its traditional function of surveillance of the environment by reporting early warning signals when it’s obvious that political conflict is brewing.

    “Conflict resolution should be the paramount things on the minds of editors, reporters, correspondents and columnists on the political beat. This will ultimately lead to peacebuilding. Conflict inciting advertorials and commercial messages should be avoided, as publishing such because of economic reasons, militates against peace and mediation, which should be paramount in fostering development.

    “In reporting political conflict, the Nigerian press must maintain a balance between adherence to professional ethics and standard on the one hand, and economic pressure and ownership influence on the other hand.

    “Ultimately, the consciousness that the Nigerian press is expected to be socially responsible and development-oriented at all times must override political economic driven interest while reporting political conflicts”, Popoola stated.

    He also made a case for journalists to undergo training and attend workshops on how to report political conflict issues responsibly by embracing the canons of conflict sensitive reporting, adding that the curricular of all universities, polytechnics, and other institutions that offer journalism and mass communication should include “Conflict Reporting and Conflict-Sensitive Journalism” , as a course to furnish students with the required corporate social responsibility skills.

  • Students’ crisis: management says Ajayi Crowther varsity not shut down

    Students’ crisis: management says Ajayi Crowther varsity not shut down

    Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, a faith-based institution owned by the Anglican Church, has not been shut down following students’ protest contrary to some media reports.

    The institution’s Registrar, Mrs Adenike Fatogun, described the incident as “common incident” of unruly behaviour by some students.

    “Although, the university recently experienced a very common incident of unruly behaviour by some students.

    “The students have appeared before the institution’s Students’ Disciplinary Committee and those found guilty were expelled and some suspended.

    “This is given to the university’s highly cherished character of faith-based Christian institution governed by rules and regulations in conformity with Christian ethics and commitment to raising Godly intellectuals,”  she said in a statement.

    “The university insists that its students must be disciplined, well dressed, punctual at lectures and worship service among other requirements as contained in our handbook on rules and regulations.

    “We will not allow any act of cultism, taking of drugs and alcohol, sexual immorality on campus and other indecent behaviours.”

     

    Fatogun  said students were expected to resume on April 23 after the Easter break which began on April 12.

  • Students’ crisis: Ajayi Crowther varsity not shut down, says management

    Students’ crisis: Ajayi Crowther varsity not shut down, says management

    Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, a faith-based institution owned by the Anglican Church, has not been shut down following students’ protest contrary to some media reports.

    The institution’s Registrar, Mrs. Adenike Fatogun, described the incident as ‘common incident’ of unruly behaviour by some students.

    “Although, the university recently experienced a very common incident of unruly behaviour by some students.

    “The students have appeared before the institution’s Students’ Disciplinary Committee and those found guilty were expelled and some suspended.

    “This is given to the university’s highly cherished character of faith-based Christian institution governed by rules and regulations in conformity with Christian ethics and commitment to raising Godly intellectuals,” she said in a statement.

    “The university insists that its students must be disciplined, well dressed, punctual at lectures and worship service among other requirements as contained in our handbook on rules and regulations.

    “We will not allow any act of cultism, taking of drugs and alcohol, sexual immorality on campus and other indecent behaviours.”

    Fatogun said students were expected to resume on April 23 after the Easter break which began on April 12.

     

  • Expert decry dangers of lead contamination on school playgrounds

    Expert decry dangers of lead contamination on school playgrounds

    A Professor of nuclear analytical geochemistry at the Ajayi Crowther University, Oyeyemi Oshin, has warned that high concentration of lead contamination on schools’ playgrounds can affect children’s blood, which can cause learning disabilities, behavioural problems, anaemia and even deaths.

    Speaking today as a guest lecturer at the 6th inaugural lecture of the university, Professor Oshin said it is a known fact that children are daily exposed to metal concentrations from playground equipment and playground dust ingested via the hand-to-mouth pathway.

    ‘’Lead is one of the naturally occurring elements in our environment, usually found in combination with other elements to form different minerals. Lead is also toxic to all humans, and when exposed to high
    concentration, an individual may get lead poisoning and eventually die.’’

    Oshin explained that one pathway by which individuals can be exposed to an abnormally high concentration of lead is through Lead Acid Battery Recycling.

    ‘’This is the act of processing used or scrap lead-acid batteries for the recovery of lead. The recycling process starts by removing the combustible materials, such as plastics, and insulators by manual sorting or burning. The metal alloy containing lead and other elements like antimony can then be smelted. Alternatively, the lead in the battery can be processed as a whole through heating in a special furnace with the metals recovered at the end of the process.”

    The expert hinted that whatever the method used, gases from the burning of the battery contains particles of lead and other pollutants.

    “When done in a controlled and organised manner, the combustion gases are sent to a scrubber where the pollutants are neutralised and removed. However, when the recycling is done in a crude manner, the combustion gases are spewed into the environment through a chimney thereby creating a potential threat to the humans around the processing plant.

    Oshin, who is also Head of the Department of  Earth Sciences, Ajayi Crowther University,  further cautioned that  Oyo town may be prone to many of the problems that impact on human lives and health.
    This, according to him, may be due to the impacts of indiscriminate discharge of cassava juice on soil and groundwater.

    Cassava is perennial root crop that is consumed in Nigeria in various forms, including cassava flour [garri]. Oshin explained that in Oyo township alone, there are over thirty garri processing centres, adding that cassava is known to contain small quantities of cyanogenic glycosides, especially hydroxy cyanic acid.

    “Cyanide compounds are toxic to humans. Up to ninety-percent of the total cyanogens in cassava may however be removed in the fermentation fluid [cassava juice] produced during  the processing of cassava to garri . The  cassava juice is potentially toxic to the environment, if carelessly discharged during the dewatering stage of the cassava processing.’’He submitted that research results of the systematic  geochemical

    He submitted that research results of the systematic  geochemical mapping conducted in Oyo town and its environs revealed that soil in the immediate vicinity of the cassava processing sites have relatively
    high concentrations of total cyanide.

    “This suggests that cyanide is rapidly attenuated  by the soil, and unless the discharged cassava juice is allowed to navigate into a receptacle, the cyanide in it is quickly absorbed by the soil.

    “However, the presence of significant amount of cyanide in well water around the processing sites shows that some cyanide is also leached into the groundwater that feeds the well water,” findings showed.