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Tag: Benson Idahosa University

  • Canadian-based author hails Idahosa over varsity legacy

    Canadian-based author hails Idahosa over varsity legacy

    By Sisianu Melawakou

    A Canadian-based leadership coach and author, Nosakhare Alex Ihama, has paid tribute to the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa, describing him as an extraordinary visionary whose faith and courage continue to inspire generations across the world.

    Ihama, during his visit to Benson Idahosa University (BIU), where he addressed students on leadership, transformation, and self-discovery, described the trip as both personal and spiritual.

    He said the trip was “a return to the source.”

    He expressed admiration for the late Archbishop, whom he described as “the craziest man of faith I’ve ever known.”

    “Archbishop Idahosa’s dreams were untouchable, his courage knew no borders, and his belief was extraordinary. He was not just a man; he was a divine force wearing human clothes so we could see him,” he added.

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    He noted that Archbishop Idahosa’s life continues to inspire his own mission of motivating people globally to “think greater and lead better.”

    Ihama urged students to prepare for leadership roles despite the country’s challenges, stressing that resilience and capacity-building are vital for national transformation.

    “The future of Nigeria belongs to the young generation. Whether they give you the opportunity or not, time will create the space. Build capacity and stay unfathomable,” he said.

    He urged students to continue evolving and never underestimate their potential.

    “Don’t let anyone or anything tamper with the greatness inside you. Greatness is a choice, not a coincidence,” he said.

  • BIU gets new programmes

    National Universities Commission (NUC), has approved two additional courses for the Benson Idahosa University (BIU).

    The courses are Nursing Science and Medical Laboratory Science.

    The approval was contained in a letter from the NUC dated July 22, 2019, and addressed to the Vice Chancellor of BIU, Prof Sam Guobadia.

    With the two additions, BIU now runs 32 courses, of which 31 have full accreditation.

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    Reacting to the approval, Guobodia said he hoped it would expand the academic space and further encourage the university to produce leaders who will contribute to the quality manpower for the nation and the world in general.

    According to him, admission into the aforementioned programmes would commence immediately.

    Guobadia thanked workers for their efforts and contributions, especially during NUC resource verification exercise in June.

  • BIU gets new Vice Chancellor

    Governing Council of the Benson Idahosa University, (BIU) Edo State, has approved the appointment of Prof. Sam Guobadia as the institution’s Vice-Chancellor.

    Prof. Guobadia’s appointment was approved at the council’s 92nd Regular meeting. He would be the sixth Vice-Chancellor.

    Until his appointment, the don was the Acting Vice-Chancellor. He previously served as the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor under the Vice-Chancellorship of Prof. Ernest Izevbigie.

    Read Also: BIU students hold Business Fair

    He is a Professor of Economics and a fellow of the Institute of Policy Management Development (FIPMD) and Institute of Corporate Administration (FICA).

  • Over 200 SMEs seek space in Edo Production Centre

    The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that not less than 200 Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in fabrication, furniture making, printing and polythene production have applied to work from the Edo Production Centre, which will soon open for business.

    Addressing journalists after inspecting the renovation work at the facility, the governor said “We have over 200 applications from SMEs who want to come and locate here. We have had many SMEs coming together as cluster or cooperatives, who applied and have been given space for fabrication, production of polythene-based products and furniture making.”

    Obaseki explained that arrangements have been completed to get uninterrupted power supply to the facility while the Magistrate Court within the premises would be relocated.

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    “The power contractor has assured that within the next fortnight, they will provide electricity for the Production Centre.  We should be relocating the court houses to the various local government councils,” he said.

    On the plan to ensure free flow of traffic along Sapele Road, which is the major road connecting the Production Centre, Obaseki said that the state government was working with the federal government to fix pot holes on the road and install street lights.

    Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Jobs Creation and Skills Development, Mrs. Ukinebo Dare, said the Edo Production Centre is set-up to assist SMEs scale up production, reduce costs and grow their businesses.

    The governor’s aide said the Production Centre is owned by the state government in collaboration with the Bank of Industry, MEND and Benson Idahosa University.

     

     

  • Shun misconduct, VC tells 569 freshers

    Vice-Chancellor of Benson Idahosa University Prof Sam Guobadia, has enjoined newly admitted students of the institution to desist from all forms of misconduct and embrace the virtues of Godliness and excellence.

    Speaking during the institution’s  matriculation, Prof Guobodia urged the new students to be law-abiding and respect their lecturers.

    His words: “I charge you all to make the most of the opportunity afforded you by your parents and guardians. Kindly ensure that you attend classes, shun all forms of deviant behaviours and other vices, and focus on why you are here. At Benson Idahosa University, we have zero tolerance for any form of misconduct, and we do not hesitate to sanction them.”

    Guobadia also admonished the matriculating students to be security-conscious and be wary of the friends they keep.

    “I wish to assure you of adequate security on both campuses of ours. We, however, plead with you not to hesitate to report any suspicious activities to the Dean of Student Affairs, security officers or indeed, any staff of the university for immediate response.”

    He explained that the institution has lived up to expectation since it was established, adding that discipline and academic excellence with Godliness, have been their watch words.

    Guobadia said the university would continue to focus on its core purpose, which is to change Nigeria. This, he said, would be achieved by instilling the vision and mission of the institution in the students.

    He commended the new students and their parents for choosing Benson Idahosa University for their wards to pursue their chosen courses. Nonetheless, he assued that the management of the university would give them the best.

  • BIU students hold Business Fair

    Benson Idahosa University Leadership 300 (L300) with Life Success Centre (LSC), has held its business fair for students.

    The event aimed to give potential student entrepreneurs the opportunity to showcase and sell their products to the public. It was also an avenue for the young entrepreneurs to network, generate maximum exposure and embrace entrepreneurship.

    Benson Idahosa University Life Success Centre coordinator,  Alex Osagie, who spoke at the fair, said the initiative was designed to steer students’ minds towards entrepreneurship and good leadership. He enumerated that entrepreneurship would help unlock potentials, so that students would become self-employed upon graduation.

    Excited about the prospect, Benson Idahosa University President, Bishop F.E.B Idahosa, who graced the fair, said the exercise aimed at providing a handshake between students and the business world. According to him, the entrepreneurship fair would also teach students how to do business in all sectors in the society.

    He said: “We want to let each of them know that as they start a business from here, they can grow to become CEO’S and organisational heads.”

    He urged the potential student entrepreneurs to differentiate themselves in whatever business they have ventured into.

    On her part, the Director of CAMPUSLIFE Division, Rev. Laurie Idahosa, said the aim is for the students to learn entrepreneurship while they are in school, so that they can experience the joy of making their own money as well as learn from their shortcomings.

    “They will also learn from their lectures on how to run their businesses because in today’s economy, it is important we have multiple streams of income,” she said.

    The Life Success Centre (LSC) is a career training centre that helps to train, equip and challenge young, final year students the institution tagged:“Benson Idahosa University executives”. The primary responsibility of LSC is to prepare the students with requisite skill for success in life after school.

  • Idahosa varsity gets JUPEB’s full affiliation status

    Benson Idahosa University (BIU) has been granted full affiliation to the Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB). The development is contained in a letter sent to the Acting Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Sam Guobadia, by the Registrar of the board, Prof Duro Ajeyalemi.

    The letter reads: “I am pleased to convey to you that on behalf of the JUPEB Governing Board, the chairman, Prof Oluwatoyin Temitayo Ogundipe, has approved the recommendation of the Pre-Affiliation Visit (PAV) team, which visited your university, that your school be granted Full Affiliation to JUPEB. This approval will be ratified at the next governing board meeting. That is, your university is now approved as a centre for JUPEB examinations.”

    It should be recalled that the board conducted a pre-affiliation visit to BIU on October 8, 2018.

    During the visit, Prof Guobadia stressed the continuous commitment of the university towards running JUPEB programmes to create more opportunities for Nigerian youths to access quality education.

    As a result of this full affiliation, BIU can now accept candidates for the JUPEB Foundation programme, as well as start training of the foundation candidates with the JUPEB’s syllabus for each subject. Successful students of the JUPEB programmes are eligible for admission into degree programmes at the university.

  • Graduates of private varsities are pacesetters

    In contemporary times, privately-owned universities, especially the popular ones, carry more prestige in their names than most public-owned schools. This is as a result of their stable academic calendar, student-lecturer relationship, committed teaching staff, conducive learning environment and the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to impart knowledge on students.

    Also, the reccurring lecturers’ strikes that have crippled government-owned schools and poor standard in public universities are major contributors to this prestige that private universities have today.

    Little wonder why, in spite of the high fees, parents still send their children to private universities because they want quality and uninterrupted education for them.

    Presently, some private universities, such as the Benson Idahosa University (BIU), Covenant University (CU), Afe Babablola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD) and Babcock University (BABCOCK), are among the leading ivory towers, dishing out quality education to students, thereby churning out world-class graduates.

    BIU, for instance, has produced scholars that are performing exceedingly well in their respective fields of endeavours. The institution happens to be one of the many private universities that are leading the change by producing world-class graduates. The university aspires to be model for academic excellence, professional development and entrepreneurship promoter; its graduates are trained to be effective as disciples for Christ by excelling in their professional fields.

    No doubt, the institution can boast of the fact that it has produced graduates that are competing globally. Some of them are employees, who are living their dreams in corporate environment, while some are full time entrepreneurs, who have decided to give their passion a voice while creating a niche for themselves in the market.

    This is made possible because, in private universities, every student is exposed to training by some of the world most renowned leadership experts and knowledgeable people with great achievements. By this, they are inspired and their perspective broadened on spiritual growth, leadership, wealth creation, politics, entertainment and many more.

    A popular aphorism says: “The quality of education determines the development of any nation.” How can a nation develop when the public-owned institutions have performed below expectations in teaching and broadening students’ perspectives on leadership, wealth creation, and self-development?

    Universities should play frontal roles in shaping people’s self-development and nation building.

    It is also noteworthy that while the graduates of private universities have high employment turnover, universities, such as Covenant University, also take a broader step by equipping their students with entrepreneurial skills that make them self-reliant. Covenant University is, unarguably, one of the world-class universities that prepare students for all-round success post-graduation.

    Benson Idahosa University believes in the power of entrepreneurship to drive national economic growth and prosperity through innovation. That is why the school, from the outset, equips its students with skills that open their eyes to free enterprise.

    During the 2017 convocation ceremony, the BIU president affirmed that graduates of the institution were doing well professionally and academically after leaving the school.

    His words: “We have graduates that have done so well that they are now at the tops of their various fields, thus making the vision of our university a reality. They are showing up in fields like Nollywood, where Blossom Chukwujekwu carries the title of renowned actor. In the ICT sector, John Obidi carries the title of social media expert.”

    A BIU alumnus, Alex Osagie, usually described graduates of the school as galaxy of stars shining forth for the entire world to see. Recently, four of the BIU alumni, Mrs Osayuki Aiyanyo, Mrs. Osarunwese Irabor, Ms. Imoedemhe Tessy and Ms. Ivie Akhere were appointed into the Edo State Judiciary as judges.

    Every student is given equal opportunity to gain invaluable practical experience through special programmes organised by the Life Success Centre Department of the university.

    Adekunle Ajasin University is part of the public-owned school training students to stand shoulder to shoulder with graduates from any university around the world. Students gain practical field exposure through entrepreneurship attachments and internships with top-notch companies in their fields of interest to get them equipped for life after school.

    In private universities, students, irrespective of course of study, receive hands-on training in entrepreneurship, administration, management, personal branding, proposal development, resume writing and communication, negotiation, and project management. This is one of the reasons why graduates of private schools are having an edge over their peers, who finished from the public-owned school.

  • ‘Accountability, teamwork key to realising our goals’

    The Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Benson Idahosa University (BIU), Prof Sam Guobadia, has urged the school’s employees to improve students’ academic experience by making integrity, accountability, teamwork and honesty their watchwords in the discharge of their duties.

    The VC gave the admonition during the 2018 Staff Orientation Programme, organised by the school in preparation for the new academic session.

    Prof Guobadia enjoined the staff not to engage in acts that would tarnish their professional reputation and put them in trouble with the school. According to the VC, the value proposition, which the university is selling to the world, is academic excellence with godliness.

    He thanked the management and staff for their commitment and hard work towards the achievements recorded in the last academic year.

    Speaking on University’s culture, vision and mission, President of the school, Bishop F.E.B. Idahosa, urged members of staff to be disciplined and keep their focus on how to excel in their individual tasks.

    He said: “For you to raise a leader, you must also be a leader. A follower cannot raise a leader, only a leader can raise a leader. We are raising people, who will have positive influence in our communities and the nation.”

    He praised the employees for their “steadfastness and commitment” to the raising leaders, who are complete in spirit, mind and body, thus contributing to the production of high-level leadership and quality manpower for the nation and the world.

    The registrar, Reverend Mike Okagbare, who spoke on Disciplined professional administrator, advised new staff to avail themselves of the school rules, adding that their activities must be result-driven in order to achieve the goals set for the academic session.

     

  • ‘Academic culture supports plagiarism’

    English Language Department Head, Benson Idahosa University (BIU), Dr A. Esimaje, has said the current academic culture in the country supports plagiarism because of the importance placed on paper qualification, and not on knowledge.

    Esimaje, who spoke against the backdrop of the rising tide of plagiarism, said scholars who plagiarised were encouraged to do so because there was no strict guideline and measures in place to discourage the action. Those that engage in plagiarism, she said, are impatient to seek knowledge, noting that they found it easy to copy other people’s work than expending their energy on research.

    She said: “If you know something you will be happy to write about it, with the aim to educate people. So, it is the absence of knowledge that encourages people to engage in plagiarism. If the so-called scholars have requisite knowledge and are not lazy to engage in research, they will not plagiarise.

    “Most times, it is not always the fault of the students or scholars who do that, it is the fault of the system. That is the academic culture we have in this country. I believe that we are inching towards a systematic failure. This is a period when students are not being equipped with what it takes to conduct brilliant research and write the project reports.

    “The culture we have is, write project papers that fall in line with the template of project writing. Students are forced to write project reports anyhow. This way, the academic culture has been encouraging plagiarism. There are people called academic vendors, who put together projects for students.”

    Dr Esimaje noted that students, nowadays, usually engaged academic vendors to help them source materials from different places, after which they do patch-writing without linking the materials together. The student, she said, would submit the poorly written materials for defense and get marks for ideas not original theirs.

    She said the fault should not be fully seen in students who plagiarised, but in the system that failed to prepare and equip them with knowledge on how to conduct proper research.

    She said: “It is also the failure of our society, which places value on paper qualification. A lecturer in the United Kingdom (UK) is assessed based on the research he has written in reputable journals within the UK. In Nigeria, different system produces a lecturer and a different system is used to assess the lecturer.”