The Nation Newspaper

Tag: bus

  • I started life as bus conductor, owned 45 buses before graduating from university – Peace Mass Transit CEO Maduka

    I started life as bus conductor, owned 45 buses before graduating from university – Peace Mass Transit CEO Maduka

    Chief Samuel Maduka Onyishi is the founder of Maduka University, a private citadel of learning based in Enugu State.  Chief  Madukaku, whose full name means it is more precious to invest in humanity than acquiring endless wealth and vanity, is also the Chairman of Peace Mass Transit (PMT) and many other businesses that cut across oil and gas, maritime and automobile among others. In this interview with select journalists, including INNOCENT DURU, he spoke about how he moved from being a bus conductor after dropping out of school because of his father’s death to founding a university. Excerpts:

    YOU have been in business for close to 40 years. What did it take you to be where you are today?

    To be honest with you, it has not been easy getting to this point in my business life. My road to success was very rough and challenging, coupled with the fact that I lost my father when I was 12 years old. My mother was just a housewife, and being the first of the seven children, I was left with the responsibility to cater for the rest of the family. So, we lacked everything in the house except air, and it was difficult finishing secondary school. The saving grace was that my mother took us to the church and, as children, we learnt about what God could do and we embraced Him since then.

    After my secondary education, I couldn’t continue because there was no money to further my education. That was how my hustling started. I did many odd jobs just to make ends meet. I worked at a construction company as a labourer and, at some point I was a bus conductor and bus driver. I sold second hand clothes and later went into auto spare parts business in Kano.

    Was that the end of your educational career?

    No. Because of my zeal for learning, I went back to school. I did a diploma at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka between 1994 and 1996, and a degree programme from 1996 to 1999 at the same institution. I graduated as the best student in my diploma programme and a second class upper in social works and community development. I later got a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) in Entrepreneurship from the Institute for Transformative Thought and Learning at the Doctoral Research Centre of the University of Arizona, Phoenix, United States and also from London School of Economics. How did you find yourself in transportation business?

    It was within the period of my university education that, in 1994, I started transportation business. I used my savings from spare parts business in Kano, about N260, 000, to buy two buses, and that was how I started Peace Mass Transit. I was driving one of the buses myself even as a student. And by the time I was leaving school as a graduate, I had 45 buses already.

    When I realised how lucrative transport business was, I concentrated fully on it after settling my apprentices with my two shops in Kano. In 2006, I increased the fleet of my vehicles from 500 to 1,500. This was possible because motor dealers like Inehmic Auto were giving me buses to operate and pay without any interest. I never defaulted, and that was why I never took any loan growing up. From there, we moved on and expanded our branches. Presently, we have about 65 terminals spread across Nigeria with over 3,000 vehicles.

    You have carved out a niche for yourself in the business world. Why did you decide to float a university?

    Well, in 1993, I entered into a covenant with God, and I told him that if he blessed me, I was going to use the blessings to serve him and his people. And that he should take my life a day before the day that I would leave him to serve another god, so that that day would never come. That was in 1993. Then I was coming back from Kano where I was a spare parts dealer to Nsukka to study. And I had N260,000 cash. I used that money to buy two buses, which I used to start Peace Mass Transit as a student at the University of Nigeria.

    So God really did wonders in my life. He kept to that covenant and I never imagined it. So when I turned 50, I looked at what I had achieved and I said how do I fulfill that promise? So I decided to use the money I’ve made to make an impact-making investment that would change lives and influence people. I was considering investing in either the health sector (hospital), education or agric business. After much consideration, I decided to invest in the education sector by founding a university, because a university could accommodate both the hospital and agribusiness effectively.

    Education is the place where I think that I could develop young people for God; show them that people can make money without being dubious and make money through the right ways, working hard, being prayerful, being law-abiding, God-fearing, obedient to the laws of the land and still be prosperous. If God did it for me, he can do it for many people. So I think that I can just be an example of such a person. So this is the only way that I think or one of the things I can give back to God and give back to society.

    It is no longer about how to make more money; it is about how to make God happy and not regret raising us to the little that we have.

    There were a good number of tertiary institutions in Enugu State already. What informed your choice of location?

    I told God that I was going to use His blessings to serve Him and serve His people. His people are the people where I come from. They are God’s people. So when I say His people, I mean my people where I come from. There’s a reason why God made me an Nsukka man. There’s a reason why He made me an Igbo man and a Nigerian. Charity, they say, begins at home. So if I’m going to serve God, let me start serving Him from my community, and from there I can get to other people.

    University is a global thing. You can use it to give services to people all over the globe. Besides, the location of the university is strategic. What do you need in a university? Apart from the infrastructure development, you need human resources. And the human resources are the lecturers. So my university is within an hour 30-minute radius of over 15 tertiary institutions ranging from Kogi and Benue to Ebonyi, Abia and Anambra states. You know in the university system, you collaborate with others to make things happen. So there are openings there for us to embrace and make a change.

    What will Maduka University be doing differently from the other universities in Enugu State and across the country?

    I have just told you a little about my history, that where I’m coming from, with hard work, you can do it. You don’t have to be dubious or fraudulent before you can make it out of life. Knowledge of God, hard work, dedication, honesty and transparency can give you everything you want in life.

    Again, you can start small and make it big. I did it, others can do it too. Entrepreneurial spirit, that’s what I want everyone in my school to have. I have it. That was what brought me from being a second-hand clothes dealer to a bus conductor, bus driver, spare parts dealer, bus operator and today, a chancellor of a university. So every graduate of the university is going to be an entrepreneur no matter the course you studied at my university, you are going to be able to stand on your own because at Maduka University, we teach you to be an employer of labour and not an employee of labour.

    Is there a compulsory course on entrepreneurship for every student of the university?

    Any person who is studying in our school will do courses on entrepreneurship from the first year to the final year. That’s our plan and that’s going to be our focus, because it’s an entrepreneurial university. A lot of people have had opportunities in life that they were not able to convert. People should be able to create wealth, and if people are fortunate enough to come into contact with opportunities, they should be able to harness them and turn them into wealth-creating opportunities. Even sometimes, when people make money, they lose it due to lack of good knowledge of how to manage and grow money. These things can be taught and we have the environment, we have the people that can pass that message to the younger generation.

    What state-of-the-art facilities or infrastructure can the school boast of?

    Well, in a university of our type, of course, apart from human resources, we have good laboratories in all our courses, because every modern course today, including social science courses, should have a laboratory. We have laboratories in health and medical sciences, engineering and computing. Currently, there are accounting, mathematics and economics laboratories.

    Read Also: Appeal Court affirms Sani, Idris’ elections as Kaduna, Kebbi govs

    Everything has a laboratory so you do theory and you do practice. This will balance you up as a graduate. You have internship opportunities to go out and have real-life experience apart from what you are being taught in school. So that is the difference between a university like ours that has interest in practice and others.

    Apart from that, we have sporting facilities. Today we are putting up an Olympic standard football pitch and a sports arena. In sports, hand ball, volley ball, lawn tennis, badminton, wrestling and boxing, everything is going to be Olympic standard, because we have the intention of hosting the NUGA game or co-hosting the NUGA game one day even though we are a private university. We think that a student who has not undergone these sporting activities is not complete. So apart from the mental development, they should also have physical development. It will make them a complete person. So we want an all-round trained student.

    In Igbo language, the university is called Marahadum. It means to know it all. So you cannot say you are a graduate when you don’t have any knowledge of sports, arts, music or anything except in the area of your course of study. For example, an engineer should have basic knowledge of finances, how to run a family, etc. These things make you a complete person. Yes, you don’t have to be an expert in all, but basic knowledge in all the areas of life will help you not just in employing yourself but in living a happy and fulfilled life, because knowledge they say is power.

    Your school’s tuition for courses like Law, Pharmacy and Nursing is said to be N588,000 while others like accounting are N378,000 per academic session. Don’t you think the fees are high considering the economic realities in the country?

    No, I don’t think so. Before you say it is on the high side, you will have to compare it to what other private universities are taking. You will find out that ours is among the least. It is the least and it is for a purpose.

    What is the purpose?

    The reason why it is low is one, the university is ours. We’re not running it for any person. So the interest is our interest. And what’s our interest? To give service to God and man. Secondly, it is owned by a foundation, Samuel Maduka Onyishi Foundation. So it’s a nonprofit-making university. It’s not meant to make profits and then share it with the shareholders. No, it’s service, a gift and our contribution to the world. The university is going to take off on 23rd November 2023.

    That day is also my 60th birthday anniversary. So that’s my gift to Nigeria and the world on my 60th birthday. We come empty and we go back empty. I don’t believe that you have to keep money, pack all the money for your children. Because your children don’t need all the money. What they need is good education, and I’ve done that for my children. So, my family and I decided to use what God has given us to give service to humanity

    Kidnapping of students seems to have become the order. What measures have you put in place to ensure the security of lives and property of both the students and the staff?

    The issue of security is a general one in Nigeria; it is not just in any one place. However, we are lucky that the Enugu State Government, both the previous and the present administrations, are supporting what we are doing. So, they are providing enough security in and around our school. The Nigerian police and the military are also supporting what we are doing. They are providing enough security in and around the campus. The community where we are is happy with what we are doing. So, they are providing local vigilante services in and around the university. The local government is also interested. Everyone likes what we are doing, so, I don’t think we have any problem with security.

    However, when you bring people together, you have to provide adequate security for them apart from what the government and the security agencies are doing. We also have our own internal security. We are mindful of the security situation in the country. Therefore, that has been adequately taken care of. We also deployed modern security technology like CCTV cameras in and around the campus for maximum security.

    What are some of the challenges you encountered in making this dream come true?

    A lot. The first challenge was the unfaithfulness of some Nigerian contractors. They are very, very unfaithful and can’t keep to their promises. They would collect money but would not do the job they are paid for. Unfortunately, in the past three or four years, the economy has not helped. When we started, our budget was at N2,000 for a bag of cement. But in six months, the price of everything changed. A bag of cement moved from N2,000 to N3,000, N4,000 and N5,000. We even bought up to N5,700. Because of that, the contractors were having a field day. We lost control of our budget because nobody even knew the price of anything in the market. So whatever they tell you is what it is. So we ended up spending far more than we budgeted. We lost control of our budgets just six months into the project. We were only lucky that God helped us to weather the storm.

    So what made you keep faith with the project?

    What made me to keep faith was that I knew that very soon I would be 60 years. And after the age of 60, if I’m not able to build an investment now that I’m around 60, is it when I’m 80 that I’m going to build one? So I need to build the university when I’m still strong, because I need to have time to nurse it. A university is like a baby. You have to nurse it for five years or 10 years. So I have to do it when I’m still young and I want to nurse it myself before I get very old. This is my life project. It’s something I want to give to Nigeria. It’s something I want to give to God. So for me, it is a fight to the finish. It is not a battle that I can afford to lose. It’s a battle that must be won because there is no other thing apart from that.

    Did you get any kind of support from your state government?

    In this kind of economy? Every state government has their own problems to resolve. My university is a private venture and does not have anything to do with any state government. It’s entirely a private investment. And it’s philanthropy. It’s a social investment. So no government will give you money to go and do philanthropy. You don’t use another person’s money to do Father Christmas. Nobody does that.

    Are you into any partnerships with either local or international organisations?

    Right now, we have some foreign and local universities that are indicating interest in working with us. We’re going to work with universities locally and otherwise, depending on their areas of strength. We’re going to partner with some technology universities to boost our technology – from Japan and Malaysia. We’re also going to partner with some universities in India to boost our school of health/medical sciences and some local universities to boost our human resources, exchange research, and so on.

    University education is global, so it’s not something you can do in one place. It depends on what you are looking for and who can offer it.

  • Protest in Ikorodu as bus crushes pupil

    There was pandemonium yesterday at Ogolonto in Ikorodu,  Lagos, when a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicle crushed a schoolboy.

    The late Ezekiel Daniel, a primary six pupil of Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) Primary School, was on his way to school.

    It was gathered that he wanted to cross the BRT lane when the bus ran him over.

    His death sparked a protest as  other road users vandalised two BRT buses but were dispersed by security operatives.

    Those who commented on the accident on social media , blamed the boy’s death on the absence of a pedestrian bridge around Idiroko/Ogolonto road.

    They said there were more than six primary schools in that neighbourhood, with pupils at risk of being knocked down while attempting to cross the road.

    According to a witness, pupils usually crossed the road with the assistance of a man, who stood there in the mornings to stop vehicles for them.

    “But the man was not there and the child tried to cross by himself. The BRT knocked him down and ran him over.

    “Authorities should swing into action as soon as possible.  Moreso, a lasting solution should be provided to curb incessant BRT killings in that area.

    “This can be done by erecting a bridge to save pupils who cross that road every morning to school,” said a witness, Asoro Olatunji.

    Another resident, Ifeanyi Edmund said: “The question is why would you have schools without pedestrian crossing? What would it cost to mark a zebra crossing there so that vehicles would always slow down for pedestrians? We are our own problems in this country.”

    Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal said peace had been restored in the area.

    He said: “We went there and although people gathered, they were dispersed. Nothing was destroyed or burnt there. Normalcy has since been restored to the area.”

  • Robbers kill bus driver

    Robbers kill bus driver

    One-chance robbers have killed a commercial bus operator at Rainbow Bus Stop on Oshodi-Apapa expressway near Mile 2, Lagos.

    The driver was shot on November 19 while trying to retrieve his bus from the robbers.

    He was rushed to the hospital by Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives, who chased the robbers and retrieved the bus.

    The driver died on Thursday at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.

    Another victim of the robbery incident, Liberty Whitney, 20, from Warri, Delta State, had her valuables recovered from the robbers by the RRS.

    Whitney, an International Relations graduate from Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State capital, was coming from the school around 9.30pm.

    She boarded the unpainted bus from Oshodi to Mile 2.

    According to her, more passengers joined the bus. On getting to Rainbow Bus Stop, two men boarded the bus and that was when pandemonium struck.

    She said: “The two men in white native attires pointed guns at us, telling us to remain calm and do as we were told. Other passengers were screaming and jumping down from the bus, I was held by a man  that  joined the bus at Cele Bus Stop unknowing to us that he was a member of the gang, he pulled me back.

    “As I made another attempt to jump down, one of three robbers brandished a gun in my face with threat of shooting if I didn’t comply. One of them asked me for my phone, bag and money and when I was reluctant, he hit me with the gun butt. I couldn’t breathe well for some minutes. I handed over all I had with me instantly, my travelling bag, polythene bag, laptop, phone, chargers and school certificates. Afterward, I was allowed to jump down from the vehicle. Some minutes later, I heard a gunshot; then man was thrown off the bus. He had been shot. He hung on the back of the bus. I don’t know why he did that; it was at this point that RRS men chased the vehicle with bikes. The robbers shot several times in the air but the policemen went after them.

    “The robbers on getting to Mile 2 abandoned the bus. I followed the bus and the police at a reasonable distance on a bike until the robbers stopped and ran away. I was able to get my valuables and documents back except for my phone that the robbers took with them.

    “I later realised that the man shot and clung to the back of the bus was the driver. He was fighting for his bus which, I learnt, was his only source of livelihood.”

    Police spokesman Chike Oti, a Superintendent (SP) advised that people should not drag valuables with robbers especially when they are armed.

    The case, Oti said, has been transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos Mainland.

  • Uniform: Bus conductors get Jan. 1 deadline

    The Bus Conductors Association of Nigeria (BCAN) said that its members in Lagos State will start wearing uniforms from January 1, 2018 for security and effective service delivery.

    Its National President, Mr Isreal Adeshola, disclosed this  in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Sunday.

    Adeshola said the operational uniform would bring sanity to the service in the state and the country as a whole.

    According to him, the association has started training its members in Lagos State and educating them on the job procedures and attitudinal change while on duty.

    “The association has been able to train a reasonable number of conductors on behavioural change.

    “We started the registrations and training at Lagos State Drivers Institute for attitudinal and change in orientation of the members toward passengers and traffic rules.

    “By January 1, 2018, all our registered members will be in their operational uniforms for proper identification and effective service delivery,” he said.

    The president explained that part of the reasons for training its members was to ensure adequate security of passengers and good customer relationship with the people they relate  with.

    Putting on uniforms with identification numbers, he said, would ensure accountability and brought sense of responsibility among the members.

    Adeshola said the association was working towards eradicating the menace of using under-age as bus conductors across the country.

    He announced that persons from 18 years and above were qualified to join the association.

    The president added that any minor found operating as a bus conductor should be arrested.

  • Suspect arraigned for alleged bus theft

    Suspect arraigned for alleged bus theft

    A 27-year-old man, Johnson Michael, has been arraigned at an Osogbo Magistrates’ Court in Osun State for alleged theft of a Toyota Sienna car, valued at N1.8 million.

    He is facing a one count charge of stealing.

    The prosecutor, Duro Adekunle, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on October 7 at Deborah Event Centre, Osogbo.

    He said the defendant stole the vehicle, registered as LND 974 AZ, worth N1.8 million, belonging to Lukman Olatunbosun.

    The prosecutor said the offence contravened Section 390(9) of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Vol.11 Laws of Osun State, 2003.

    The defendant denied committing the offence.

    His lawyer, Mr. Ranageous Ugwu, prayed the court to grant him bail.

    The Magistrate, Mr. Ashiru Ayeni, granted the defendant bail at N250, 000 with two sureties.

    He adjourned the case till December 22 for mention.

  • Students donate bus to department

    To enhance service delivery at the Department of Mass Communication of the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic (RUGIPO) in Ondo State, members of the National Association of Mass Communication Students (NAMACOS) have donated an 18-seater bus to the department.

    President of the association Kehinde Ogunkorede, who led other executive members to deliver the bus, said the bus was to support the department’s drive for improved service delivery. He said the bus was bought from students’ annual due.

    The Mass Communication Department is the first in the school to have a staff bus.

    The Rector, Mr. I.B. Ologunagba, led other members of the management to the event where the bus was presented. He hailed the students for the gesture, saying the bus would help reduce transport stress among the department’s employees.

    He said: “I am delighted this is happening in our time. This goes to show that students are partners in our drive to improve the welfare of the school members. We are proud of the legacy being left behind by Mass Communication students.”

    Ologunagba charged other students’ associations to emulate the gesture, advising them to complement management’s effort in making the institution better.

    The Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication Studies, Dr O.S. Ajumuda, promised that the management would maintain the cordial relationship between the school and various students’ bodies, saying the gesture was part friendly rapports with students.

    While unveiling the Toyota bus, the Head of Mass Communication Department (HOD), Mrs Iyadunni Adedowole, said the bus cost the students N3 million, saying the association’s intervention would ease the department’s transport challenges.

    She advised students to channel their energy and resources to activities that could promote peace and development.

    Former Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication Studies, Mr. Foluso Alabi, described the gesture as “a welcome development”, stressing that the country would be better if young people contributed their quota to progress of their immediate environment.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the students started contributing money to buy the bus four years ago, immediately after Adedowole emerged the HOD.

     

  • Drug bus

    •The NDLEA should dig into how a university bus obtained cannabis

    A school bus belongs in the provenance of propriety. So, we expect it to convey students seated in solemn rows on their way to a debating competition, quiz contest, sporting extravaganza, government institution or some other engagement of mental and physical enlightenment. No one expects to associate a university bus with drugs.

    That was the misnomer when one of the buses of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, was intercepted with wraps of cannabis, otherwise known as Indian hemp inside it. The Toyota Coaster bus with registration number FUNAAB 50 B-100 FG, was conveying 211 parcels of the illicit substance along the Imeko Afon area of the Idiroko border when it was stopped by personnel of the Ogun State Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, according to the command controller, Sani Maduga. He identified the driver as Abolade Bolaji, “caught in the Imeko border town while conveying the illegal drug into the country.”

    He added that the suspect “concealed parcels of Indian hemp under the bags of rice he was conveying with the vehicle to Abeokuta, when nemesis caught up with him. Our operatives on patrol stopped the vehicle and searched it, only to discover the illicit drug.”

    This runs counter to what we associate with higher education, but it also indicates how employees have imbibed the growing absurdity of impunity in our society. The university’s response was predictable. Its head, public relations, Emi Alawode, announced that “already, the university has put the necessary machinery in place to carry out proper investigations to ascertain what actually transpired on the said date on one hand, while law enforcement agents on the other hand would be allowed and supported to perform their statutory duties in the overall interest of all citizens.”

    The driver was relieved of his job, and that seems to have satisfied the university so far.

    “The letter of dismissal, referenced FUNAAB/R/JP.1804/1/43 and signed by the acting registrar of the university, Dr. (Mrs.) Linda Onwuka, reads in part, “I write to inform you that your services, as a driver/mechanic II in the Bureau of Transportation, are no longer required by the university and consequently, you are hereby dismissed from the services of the university with immediate effect.

    “The decision was taken in adherence to extant regulations, the rules of engagement of the said officer in the university, as well as avail the accused person the required time and attention to respond to the allegations levelled against him by law enforcement agents.”

    This is routine while we await the fruits of its investigation. We would like to know how a university could have descended to such an extent as to allow a driver abuse its vehicle and convey such illegality.

    Did the university not have a policy on ground on who, how and when to authorise a vehicle with the mechanism of how to monitor who drives, what the bus conveys and time it as to when to return to its park on campus?

    Laxity gave way to criminality. It is also sad that the parcels of Indian hemp were concealed under bags of rice. It is a marker of how Nigerians abuse propriety. As a university of agriculture, the sight of bags of rice should appear normal in its bus as evidence of its educational activity.

    Since the matter has been handed over to the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency, the country should know how the drug was sourced. It will help unravel the racket behind it. We commend the customs personnel for their diligence in this matter. This work will mean little if a mere arrest and even conviction does not lead to the root cause.

  • Five dead as container falls on bus in Lagos

    Five dead as container falls on bus in Lagos

    Five persons were feared dead on Saturday morning when a container fell on a commercial bus in Ojota area of Lagos.

    Three others were rescued from the wreckage.

  • Storm over a bus

    Storm over a bus

    How much did the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State buy a 14-seater Toyota Hiace bus? The SUG President, Ibukun Oyekan, said it cost N2.5million. But members of his executive council disagreed, putting the price at N2.9million. Where lies the truth? He invited the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe the matter.  TEMITOPE YAKUBU reports.

    It was a scheme conceived to ease the transportation problem of students of the  Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State. The Ibukun Oyekan-led Students’ Union Government (SUG) set up an independent transport scheme to solve the challenges.

    The union bought a Toyota Hiace 14-seater bus to convey students to school at subsidised rate. But a controversy has trailed the acquisition of bus. The union’s Financial Secretary, Kehinde Omisakin, claimed that the bus was bought from a Modakeke-based auto dealer, De Val Multi Concept, at N2,900,000, with additional expenses of about N100,000.

    But, other members of the executive council disagreed, saying the bus was bought for N2.5 million, with no additional expenses.

    Also, an independent students’ body, Ideological Group, accused Ibukun inflating the price by N400,000. The group wondered why Ibukun sidelined other members of the exco in the purchase of the bus, accusing him of “milking the union ”.

    The Students’ Representatives Council (SRC), the legislative arm of the union, alleged that it was not carried along in the purchase of the bus. Its Transport and Monitoring Committee denied knowledge of the deal, describing the executive action as “disheartening”.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the bus was bought from the funds approved for the union by the former Acting Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Anthony Elujoba. But the money was not released until the VC, Prof Eyitope Ogunbodede, assumed office.

    Kehinde said the money was approved during a meeting with Prof Elujoba and chairman of OAU Security Committee, Prof B.J. Olasode.

    He said: “It was like the union hit the jackpot. The then Acting VC, Prof Elujoba, approved the payment of the money, but we did not get it on time.”

    Kehinde said he relied on the figure quoted by the school’s Maintenance Department, from where the union enquired about the price. The Maintenance Department’s figure, it was learnt, was put at N3 million.

    In his reaction, Ibukun denied inflating the price, saying he would not succumb to the threat of mischief makers. He urged those interested in knowing the price to go to the auto dealer.

    He said he would not be deterred by opposition to the welfare scheme, adding that students’ wellbeing remained his priority.

    He said: “We were elected to prioritise the welfare of students. And were will use every medium and means to strengthen the bargaining power of the union to students’ advantage.”

    Giving details of the deal, Ibukun released an audio tape of his call to the dealer to validate his claim. He also released the screenshot of money transferred to the dealer in three tranches. He also released the original receipt of the transaction. He invited the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter.

    De Val Multi Concept General Manager  Omolade Adeolu confirmed that the bus was bought at N2.5million, saying that it was the best price the union could get it.

    Adeolu said: “The transaction was well-negotiated and we considered their status as students. That was why we sold the bus at that rate. We also believe a lot of students will benefit from the scheme. This was why we sold the bus cheap. You can ask other dealers around, the real market price of the bus is over N3 million. But, we sold to the OAU students at N2.5 million.”

    But in a statement last Wednesday, the SRC Transport and Monitoring Committee chairman, Babatunde Oluwalade, said the executive erred by not carrying the parliament along in the deal.

    The statement reads: “It is very important for students and the public to know that everything affiliated with transport affairs is our business. The union constitution gave us power to do so. It is, however, sad that we are not aware of the date, location of the purchase and the cost of the new union bus.

    “It is very disheartening also that the bus, which is supposed to be a palliative to students in this period of transportation crisis on campus, has now turned to be a point of concern. We would not take up the job of the budget committee, but we have all seen what transpired. Even, a lame man would ask questions regarding the price and condition of the bus.”

    Opposition groups, led by Pacesetters Movement, described the bus as “totally irrelevant”, saying the union should be a pressure group to agitate for students’ welfare and not one that should help management to provide services.

    The group in a statement signed by Prophet Jeremiah, said: “If the N2.5 million committed to the purchase of the bus is targeted towards coordinating protest nationally, students would have benefited from this tremendously. A huge sum of money was used to purchase a mere bus whose cost was inflated by the top union leaders.

    “We are going to fight this issue to the fullest as we have done in the past. The left organisations on campus, particularly the Pacesetters Movement, are staunchly opposed to this creeping idea of capitalism emerging from our campus.”

    Some students asked the union not to be discouraged by the controversy.

    Mutiu Adesegun, SRC member representing College of Health Sciences, said: “It has always been the idea of Ideological Group to criticise the union for initiating good projects, but it will fail this time around. They criticised previous administrations of Paul Alaje, Isaac Ibikunle and Omotayo Akande and now Oyekan Ibukun in 2017. They have always criticised blindly. How can you say the union should not initiate projects for the benefit of students, but for protest?”

    A student of Political Science, Emeka Mbah, said: “Ibukun should keep on doing his great work, rather than attending to distractions by faceless groups. But, he should avoid further controversy in procurement processes. The union can have a mini tenders board that would give students opportunity to be part of procurement. This would not lead to needless controversy and it would also enable the union to have good prices and quality service.”

    Meanwhile, Ibukun has invited the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the matter.

     

     

     

  • Prosecutors: Dortmund bus attack suspect acted out of greed

    A 28-year-old German-Russian citizen took out a five-figure loan to bet that Borussia Dortmund shares would drop, then bombed the soccer team’s bus in an attack he tried to disguise as Islamic terrorism in a scheme to net millions, German officials said yesterday.

    The suspect, identified only as Sergej W. in line with German privacy laws, was arrested by a police tactical team early yesterday near the southwestern city of Tuebingen, federal prosecutors said.

    “We are working on the assumption that the suspect is responsible for the attack against the team bus of Borussia Dortmund,” prosecutors’ spokeswoman Frauke Koehler told reporters.

    She said the man came to the attention of investigators because he had made “suspicious options purchases” for shares in Borussia Dortmund, the only top-league German club listed on the stock exchange, on the same day as the April 11 attack. We had taken out a loan of “several tens of thousands of euros” days before the attack and bought a large number of so-called put options, betting on a drop in Dortmund’s share price, she said.

    “A significant share price drop could have been expected, if a player had been seriously injured or even killed as a result of the attack,” according to prosecutors, though Koehler said the precise profit W. might have expected was still being calculated.

    Ralf Jaeger, the top security official in North Rhine-Westphalia state, said the suspect had hoped to earn millions.

    “The man appears to have wanted to commit murder out of greed,” Jaeger said.

    Investigators found notes at the scene claiming responsibility on behalf of Islamic extremists, which Germany’s top security official, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, said was a “particularly perfidious way to toy with people’s fears.”

    He said the suspect had been under close surveillance for about a week and that the evidence against him was significant.

    “The fact that someone wanted to enrich himself by killing people to influence the stock market is particularly reprehensible,” he said.

    The suspect faces charges of attempted murder, causing an explosion and serious bodily harm, and was due to appear before a judge yesterday  to determine if there was enough evidence against him to keep him in custody, Koehler said.