The Nation Newspaper

Tag: books

  • Council chair challenges academics to publish books

    the Chairman, Governing Council of the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, Prof Shehu Jimoh, has challenged academics to publish books.

    The retired professor of Psychology spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at the launch of a book written by the Registrar of the polytechnic, Moses Salami.

    The book is entitled Developing a career in the registry of a tertiary institution.

    He also urged academics to inculcate in their students reading culture to make them all round students. In his remark, the Kwara State Governor, AbdulFatah Ahmed stressed the imperative of enriching public knowledge through educative books. The governor, who launched the book with N500, 000, tasked academics to write and publish more books to arrest shortage of materials in Nigeria.

    He added that the book would immensely assist those in the registry department of tertiary institutions.

    The Rector of the institution described the book as most appropriate, appreciating the efforts and sacrifice of the author.

    Mr. Salami said the 93-page book was part of his contribution towards building an effective registry in tertiary institutions.

     

  • Why I sell books, by Corps member

    Why I sell books, by Corps member

    Aware of the scarcity of white collar jobs, some graduates, especially members of the National Youth Service Corps, are taking to self-employment.

    One of such graduates is Saduden Moshood Abiola, who graduated from the Lagos State University (LASU).

    Moshood, who studied Biology Education, is currently serving in Ondo State. A Batch ‘A’ Corps member, he is on his primary assignment at Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo.

    Not satisfied with the paltry monthly allowance given to Corps members, he decided to pick up another job to complement the monthly allowance he receives.

    Apart from running private lessons for secondary school students, he also sells books.

    Moshood markets all kinds of books, especially inspirational ones. Such books as 48 Laws of Power; The Secret of Success; Talent is not Enough, among other collections are always on display at his book stand.

    Newsextra encountered him at the convocation ceremony of Adeyemi College of Education.

    Decked in his NYSC uniform, Moshood, a native of Ilorin in Kwara State, humbled himself at his book stand attending to customers who had come for the convocation ceremony unmindful of the discomfort from the scorching sun.

    For him, the event was an opportunity to make quick money as he claimed that he sold more than 200 books during the week-long occasion.

    According to him, he has always loved to be self-reliant; which informed his decision to further his education after graduating from Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education where he studied Integrated Science.

    He said: “After graduating from the college of education, I pondered over what the future holds in store for me. After a critical reflection on the economic situation in the country, I concluded that there was need to further my education. I must acquire more knowledge if I would be successful in life.

    “Although it was rough and tough, I had to go for more qualifications. This is so because in our present society, one must have good qualification in order to get good job.”

    With the current situation in the country, Moshood believes that getting white collar job may be difficult. The way graduates search for job has continued to give him sleepless nights.

    “It has always given me serious concern the way our graduates search for job. It is sad that we have found ourselves in this situation where you have to search for job endlessly.

    “I have seen a situation where about 20,000 people applied for just 20 job vacancies. How is it possible for a sizeable number of applicants to get job in such situation? Nigeria has become a country where merit does not count any more. It has become a situation where who you know counts in getting a job.

    “If you don’t know any highly placed individual in the society, you may not get a job no matter how good your grade is,” he lamented

    This uncomplimentary situation might have spurred Moshood to venture into book selling. As a married man, he knows it is his responsibility to fend for his immediate and extended families which the monthly allowance he receives will not be enough to take care of.

    “I realised that I can no longer survive on my allowance. So, I had to look for a way to survive. Apart from running a private home lesson with a friend, I also sell books to make ends meet.

    “As somebody who is conversant with Lagos, I go there to buy books at wholesale rate and comedown to Ondo to sell them on different occasions. The gain I make on the sales is more than what I earn as allowance from the Federal Government and the management of Adeyemi College of Education.

    “In Nigeria, you have to think fast and be ready to diversify. If I get job after the NYSC year, I will be happy. But if there is no job, I will continue to sell books to take care of my family. I am not ashamed that as a graduate I hawk books around,” he said.

    Moshood said he plans to own a large bookshop in no distant time. All he needs, he said, is N500, 000.

    Although he has been saving part of his allowances and the proceeds from the sale of books, he believes opening a book store will assist him in realising his dreams.

    He said: “I need good amount of money to expand this business. If I can get up to N500, 000 to invest in this business, I will become a millionaire within one year.”

    Moshood has words of advice for his colleagues who are still waiting to get white collar jobs. He opined that youths should endeavour to learn one trade or the other in addition to their educational qualifications.

    “It is true that most youths want to have lucrative jobs. They want to work in oil companies and banks. But in the face of the high rate of unemployment, they need to change their attitude and be self-reliant.

    “They need to make use of their brains and God-given talents to survive. There are other skills to acquire like tailoring and welding. If one is good in these trades in addition to one’s educational qualification, one will surely excel,” he said.

  • NNPC subsidiary donates books, equipment to school

    THE management of Integrated Data Services Limited, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has donated school furniture and science laboratory equipment to Oba Ewuare Grammar School, Oko in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State.

    Managing Director of the company, Dr. Joseph Dawha said the gesture was part of the organisation’s social corporate responsibility.

    Dawha, who was represented by Mr Yemi Dare, Manager Public Affairs, praised Governor Adams Oshiomhole for improving the standard of education in the state.

    He said the organisation would continue to complement efforts of the state government at providing infrastructure for schools within its operational base.

    Dawha noted that the company’s projects to its host communities cut across economic, social and educational empowerment.

    He urged the school authorities to ensure safety and security of the laboratory equipment as well as ensuring that students make judicious use of them.

    Principal of the school, Mrs. Dorothy Ikheloa, described the company’s donation as timely, urging it not to relent in its current efforts.

     

  • Fed Govt sanctions publishers for failing to deliver books

    Fed Govt sanctions publishers for failing to deliver books

    •Forms forum to boost girl-child education 

    The Federal Government has sanctioned publishers for failing to supply books to pupils for the 2012/2013 session.

    Minister of State for Education Ezenwo Nyesom Wike broke the news in Abuja yesterday at a meeting with the publishers.

    He said the publishing companies affected by the sanction are Evans Brothers, Universal Press Plc, Spectrum, Lantern, Macmillan, Learn Africa, and Africana First Publisher Plc.

    The publishers’ plea for clemency was rejected by the minsiter.

    A statement by the minister’s Special Assistant (Media), Simeon Nwakaudu, said the publisher failed to meet the six weeks time allotted in the contractual agreement between them and the Federal Government.

    He added that contractors did not believe that the Federal Government could impose any sanction on them; this would also serve as a lesson to others.

    Wike said letters had been written to revoke their contract “with a minimum clause”.

    “We have not cancelled their contracts, they would still supply the books to the schools. If you do not deliver on time, then that clause that says if you did not deliver on time, we will apply it. Because we have already written to Mr President to flag-off the distribution of the books on the November 30.

    “So if they cannot deliver the books, then we are handicapped. But let it be known that it is not on the part of government that these promises are not fulfilled,” he said.

    The minister said the sanction became necessary because the Federal Executive Council approved the contract on the premise that the contractors claimed to have the capacity to deliver within the specified time.

    The minister said: “The Federal Executive Council emphasised in its meeting that, if we cannot deliver these books to Nigerians at the appropriate time, then there is no need in awarding the contracts.

    “They all signed that they are going to deliver the books within six weeks, it is more than eight weeks and the books have not be delivered.

    “Why should the government suffer for the inability of these contractors?

    `If we have made promises to Nigerians, then it is within our responsibility to make sure that they can see it.”

    He said the action of the publishers has impacted negatively on the programme of the Federal Government to flag off the books distribution on Friday, November 30.

    He said: “We had to invoke the relevant clauses to apply sanctions on the publishers because the Federal Government and the ordinary Nigerians who are beneficiaries cannot be taken for granted.

    “Our reason for patronising indigenous publishers is to encourage employment. ”

    The minister said in future erring publishers would be blacklisted.

    Wike also met with contractors handling the construction of girl-child schools, almajiri special education projects and libraries for Unity Colleges.

    He commended the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) for stepping up monitoring of projects.

    In order to boost girl-child enrolment across the Ministry of Education and her development partners has commenced the constitution of Mothers’ Associations in school communities.

    Members of the Mothers Associations will comprise teachers (female), women leaders, female school based management committee members, religious female leaders, women groups, school head girls, female artisans, female professionals and interested volunteers.

    Declaring open the pre-meeting for the inauguration of Mothers Associations at Senatorial District Level in Mararaba, Nasarawa State at the weekend, Wike would act as agents of mobilisation and sensitisation to improve the enrolment of the girl-child in the country.

    Wike, who was represented at the meeting by the Director of Basic and Secondary Education of the Federal Ministry of Education, Chika Uwaezuoke, said the Millennium Development Goals Mothers’ Association Capacity Workshop for the seven states of the Northwestern Geo-political zone will open on Tuesday, November 27 in Sokoto. The Northeast and Northcentral versions of the training will hold in Lafia between December 3 and 6. The same workshop will hold in Ibadan between December 10 and 13.