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Tag: American University of Nigeria

  • NIM to workers: Treat difficult bosses as clients

    Nigerian workers have been advised to treat difficult bosses as clients that have to manage as this is a way to ensure safety in their jobs.

    This was the submission of Dawn Delke, President, American University of Nigeria, at the 2018 Management Day Lecture of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) in Victoria Island, Lagos, on Monday.

    According to Delke, who was guest lecturer with the theme “Imagining 2019: The New World of Work and Personal Effectiveness’’, there is need for establishment of good relationships and understanding between bosses and their subordinates to achieve management excellence in any organisation.

    Delke noted that “56% of workers claim their boss is mildly or highly toxic. 75% of workers say their boss is the most stressful part of their workday, 50% of workers have left a job to get away from the boss at some point in their career.

    She stated that teamwork is the bedrock for success in an organization.

    Read Also: Labour insists on N30,000 new minimum wage

    “We are hired for our hard skills, but then fired for lack of our soft skills. It, therefore, behoves on all to identify and develop soft skills that would boost our personal effectiveness.

    “We see ourselves based on our potential, but others see us based on our performance,’’ Delke pointed out.

    On his part, President and Chairman of NIM, Professor Olukunle Iyanda, said that the  Management day is set aside to appreciate service, integrity, and efficiency, projecting into the future

    In his words “Management Day provides us a platform to propagate the ideals of service, integrity, accountability, and efficiency as tenets of the Management profession.

    It is also a day to appreciate the Nigerian Manager and their contributions to the development of the profession and the nation.

    Speaking on the aim of the 2018 celebration, Iyanda said “This year’s Management Day Lecture looks ahead to the future of the world of work, analysing the impacts of advanced technologies like automation, robotics and artificial intelligence on how we work, where we work and the skills we need to work.

  • FG approves N164.7m school fees for Chibok girls at AUN

    FG approves N164.7m school fees for Chibok girls at AUN

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved N164.7 million for the payment of second semester school fess of the freed 106 Chibok girls at the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, Adamawa.

    The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, made this known in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday.

    The presidential aide said that the President had expressed satisfaction over the progress so far made in the rehabilitation of the freed Chibok schoolgirls.

    According to him, Buhari expressed his feelings while reviewing progress report on the affected girls.

    He said that the report was submitted to the President in line with his commitment to personally monitor the rehabilitation and reintegration into society of the freed Chibok girls.

    Shehu said the President also assured that the Federal Government would continue to provide full support for their education.

    “The President has approved payment of the sum of N164,763,759 million (one hundred and sixty four million, seven hundred and sixty-three naira) for the second semester school fees of the 106 Chibok girls at the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola.

    “According to the progress report received by the President, the decision to pursue avenues in addition to military action to free the abducted girls is in the resolve to protect the lives of all Nigerians.

    “To end the insurgency in the northeast of the country, and to fulfill one of the campaign promises of the President.

    “In line with this, the Federal Government entered into negotiations with the Boko Haram terrorist group for the release of the Chibok girls who were kidnapped from their school dormitory on the night of April 14, 2014.

    “So far, two batches of 21 and 82 girls have been freed as a result of those negotiations.
    “Three additional girls were rescued by the gallant efforts of our armed forces, bringing the total number of freed Chibok girls so far to 106.’’

    Shehu noted that as a result of their experiences while in captivity, the freed girls were severely traumatised and afflicted by various ailments and injuries.

    He stated that the girls were taken to secured medical centres for attention.

    “They also went through debriefing and de-radicalisation by security operatives, after which the girls were handed over to the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

    “The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development was assigned the main role in supervising the rehabilitation and reintegration of the girls back into society.

    “Long before the girls were released, the Federal Government had established the ‘Chibok Girls Desk’ in the ministry, responsible for acting on matters relating to the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, and serving as a channel of communication between relevant agencies and the parents and relatives of the abducted girls.’’

    The media aide said that the ministry of women affairs, in collaboration with the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), UN Women, and other donour agencies, embarked on programmes earmarked to facilitate the rehabilitation and reintegration of the Chibok girls with a nine-month time frame.

    According to Shehu, a hostel in the National Centre for Women Development was converted into a suitable shelter, where the girls were kept for the nine-month period.

    “The programme, which began in Jan., ended in Sept. 2017. During the period, the 106 girls were given lessons in English, Mathematics, Biology, Agriculture, and Civic Education. In addition, they were trained on ICT and vocational skills.

    “Professionals were engaged to provide them with psychosocial therapy and one-on-one counseling to help them overcome post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).’’

    Shehu revealed that the girls were also provided with religious instruction and comprehensive care by two in-house doctors and two nurses.

    He said that periodic visits from the girls’ parents to stimulate family support and reunion were sponsored and organised by the ministry.

    “Having successfully achieved the desired goals of the rehabilitation and reintegration programme, with recorded significant improvement in the academic performance of the girls, in September, a final send-off party was organised for the 106 Chibok girls.

    “They were subsequently moved to the American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola for their foundation studies and continuation of their education.’’

    He disclosed that the AUN had successfully established a foundation school for 14 out of the 57 Chibok girls who earlier escaped when the rest of their classmates were taken to the Sambisa forest by Boko Haram in 2014.

    The presidential aide observed that the absorption of the 106 girls into the AUN marked the beginning of their integration into the larger Nigerian society, thus fulfilling Buhari’s promise of providing the best education for them.

    “Although they have been officially handed over to their parents, the Federal Government will continue to be responsible for the payment of the Chibok girls’ school fees right up to their graduation from school,’’ Shehu said.

  • Unemployment is Nigeria’s biggest challenge – AUN President

    Unemployment is Nigeria’s biggest challenge – AUN President

    High rate of unemployment among the youth is Nigeria’s biggest challenge, the President, American University of Nigeria (AUN), Dr. Margee Ensign, said at the weekend.

    She noted that with the increase in the size of the country’s population, Nigeria would find it difficult to provide jobs for over 200 million young people who will live in it by 2045.

    Dr. Ensign, who said this in Abuja at the ninth Annual Alumni Career Fair for students of the institution, advised the Federal Government to train its citizens on how to create jobs in order to overcome unemployment challenges.

    She said: “You are growing so rapidly. You are doubling every 26 years. Your biggest challenge in Nigeria is to create employment for the 200 million young people who will live in your country by 2045.

    “You have 100 million right now. How many are out of work? Our job is not only to train them to find jobs but to create companies that are creating employment. That is what they do in the school of business and entrepreneurship.

    “We have got a bunch of kids who are only a year ago out of school are here hiring our students. That is what has to happen in Nigeria. It is a big national challenge to have over 70 million out of jobs in Nigeria.”

    Ensign said that the focus of AUN is to give students education that enables them to find and create jobs.

    “It is really important at AUN we give them the education that gives them the knowledge, skills and even the attitude that they need find jobs and then create employment.

    “AUN is a development university and it is probably pretty abstract to you guys. Every students at AUN is in a class that exposes them to the hardest problem your country is facing, whether it is poor health, illiteracy, they have to go out to the community.

    “Our students live in a different world than we live in, many of the jobs that they are going to have we don’t even know the name yet. To me it is not just important to look for employment; it is starting your own,” Dr. Ensign said.

    Earlier, the Dean, School of Law of the university, Professor Oladejo Olowu, told journalists that the institution had concluded plans to establish a gender law programme that would educate students as well as Nigerians on gender-based legal issues.

    The University, which is the first to introduce the course, plans to produce lawyers that study gender law.

    Olowu said that the new course would help to educate Nigerians on the need to confront the orthodoxies and conservative ideas that had held the society for long.

    “The Programme is coming as a means of correcting the abnormalities of the past in the gender differences and the scandal towards the gender bill by Nigerian lawmakers,” he said.

    “In this country, you only hear lawyers speaking about gender equality, but no lawyer in Nigeria went through a law programme that has gender law as component. That is why we have to start the programme in August, with 100 students.

    “I want to say that there is something else we are doing that is extraordinary. You know that developments in this country are left for economists, development theorists and policy analysts.  It has never been a subject for law schools in Nigeria. For the first time in this country, a law programme is having law society and development as a module. That is something worthy of celebrating.

    “What we are doing at AUN, Yola is to correct the abnormalities of the past and fill the missing gap. The good thing about the leadership we have is that we were all taught and groomed in the Nigerian legal system. We went abroad and acquired comparative benefits in the study and applications of law, which is what we have brought together in a form of multicultural ideas.

    “And that is why we have been able to do things that have never been heard of in Nigeria. Even National Universities Commission agrees that we are doing something that is groundbreaking,” he added

     

  • American University of Nigeria gives relief to Boko Haram victims

    American University of Nigeria gives relief to Boko Haram victims

    The American University of Nigeria (AUN) and the Adamawa Peace Initiative (API) have donated food supplies to the people of Michika in Adamawa and offered community counselling.

    The community is one of the  towns formerly occupied by Boko Haram.

    After fleeing their homes  in the wake of Boko Haram’s insurgency, many Michika’s residents returned home to problems, including rising tension among residents.

    ”Today was our first trip as a peace initiative in Michika,” President of AUN, Margaret Ensign, said.

    “We have a reconciliation sub-committee going back and forth for the last two months, and their work has been important in determining whether the people wanted us there. And we got a report last week that said two sets of important things were important. One is that hate language is increasing among youths, tensions were high, and there was a part that jumped out at me which said: the AUN/API is who we request to come and help us. We had never thought that when we started four years ago that as the widespread conflict begins to end.”

    The peace team, as a form of goodwill, distributed food items to the 25 most vulnerable families in each of the 16 wards in Michika, before organising dialogue sessions among different groups, in a bid to ending rising tensions.

    Ensign said:  ”People need to figure out how to live together again. And if that does not happen, the social fabric would not come back again. I worked in Rwanda for a long time and I know what can happen if people don’t figure out how to live together again. They are making amazing progress in Rwanda, but that was because they took time to understand what happened after that genocide.

    “As we started to drive into the town, we saw women walking on the road, and I didn’t think much of it, until then it wasn’t 10 women or a 100 women, but thousands; all walking towards where we were going to meet them. And we had decided to feed just about 6,000. So, it was a reminder that the world and the national government needs to understand that there are hungry people up in these cities. The crisis is not over for them. They are hungry because they were not able to plant their crops. And that means they would be hungry till June or July; so, somehow we have to find a way to keep them fed.”

     

  • ‘Education key to overcoming Nigeria’s challenges’

    ‘Education key to overcoming Nigeria’s challenges’

    The President, American University of Nigeria (AUN), Prof. Margee Ensign, has said that Nigeria must ensure education for all in other to overcome its challenges.

    Prof. Ensign noted that Nigeria was facing a new and complex challenge following the fall in the global price of oil.

    The AUN president said this on Monday at the 2016 pledge ceremony (matriculation) of 78 students held in Yola, capital of Adamawa State.

    She said: “I think education is the basis of everything. If you can educate young people – you Nigerians are so creative, so innovative, and so hungry for education.

    “Nigeria has many more resources. They have smart people. They just have to be dedicated to improving the society and think a little less about becoming rich.

    “Nigeria’s new president is determined to crush Boko Haram militarily. Meanwhile, other organizations such as the American University of Nigeria are trying to prevent young people from turning to violence.”

    She said that the institution would assist the new intake to confront new challenges.

    According to her, the institution is focused on the real world and its problems and how to find solutions to them.

    Prof. Ensign added that the institution was focused on creating a new and better future for the students.

    “Class of 2019, we are all here to guide you through your learning.  We are all here to make sure you have all of the educational resources you need in order to succeed, to be making sure you are exposed to new and sometimes uncomfortable ideas and environments, to introduce you to a new and complex and sometimes troubled world.

    “Beginnings are challenging, but of course this is what it means to grow, to learn, to change. To keep learning, one must try new things, confront new and sometimes disturbing ideas, assume new responsibilities,” she said.

    Prof. Ensign said that the institution through its Technology for All program had educated 4,000 children who have no access to education in Yola.

    “TELA, which we call Technology for All, is using a thousand tablet computers to reach 4,000 thousand kids with apps written by our students and another 18, 000 via radio. It is an experiment. The US government is funding this.

    “We are reaching 22, 000 kids. We have like seven months to improve their reading, literacy and numeracy by 50%. It is not a big win though but we think we can do it.  22, 000 kids, 700 sites here in Yola and about 600 students, faculty staff teaching. If we can show that in six months we can improve reading by 50% with 22,000 kids, why can’t you do it all over the country?

    “We have been doing some extraordinary- service at AUN-feeding hungry Nigerians—hundreds of thousands of them, giving women employable skills and income, giving thousands of boys and girls the opportunity to play and learn together in peace through sports, giving street children a meal a day and chance to learn to read, and some hope in Feed and Read. So pleased to tell you that the Irish government recently funded a project called Feed and Read for Girls,” she added.

     

  • AUN graduates 289 students

    AUN graduates 289 students

    The American University of Nigeria (AUN) has graduated 289 students at its fifth convocation ceremony held on Saturday in Yola.

    Speaking at the convocation, the President of the university, Prof. Margee Ensign, said that the university since its inception nine years ago had centred on community-based services and development.

    According to him, the university is committed to helping the community and society achieve equitable and sustainable prosperity.

    “The central mission of the university is to respect, integrate and promote colourful traditional, religious and cultural  heritage of its students and community in this process of change.

    “The goal is to spur local economic development by providing hands-on training for local people and at the same time, protecting and enhancing  the natural environment.”

    The president said that the university’s sustainability initiative was one of its many developmental projects.

    She pointed out that one of such projects was the training of groups of women from the host community on recycle plastic and other waste-into-useful items.

    On the insecurity in the country, Ensign said that the university had attained  a meaningful development where it had become a major sponsor of peace initiative groups, including the popular Adamawa Peace Council.

    She explained that the group was assisted with a view to fostering peace and harmony in the state and in the region.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that two prominent scholars: Charlayne Hunter-Gault, an American and the late Alhaji Abubakar Imam of Nigeria were conferred with honorary degrees of Doctor of Letters.

    Among dignitaries at the occasion were the the former Vice President and founder of the university, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, foreign diplomats, traditional rulers and academics from various institutions within and outside Nigeria.