The Nation Newspaper

Tag: CampusLife

  • Forever in their hearts

    Forever in their hearts

    It was two years ago yesterday that Ngozi Agbo, popularly known as Aunty Ngozi by her admirers, especially campus journalists she took under her wings, died. These journalists that cut across higher institutions nationwide, who she fondly referred to as “my children”, pay tribute to her. OLUWAFEMI OGUNJOBI (Language Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University) writes. 

    Sweet is the remembrance of the righteous.” This biblical verse aptly describes the feelings of students, who passed through the tutelage of the late Mrs Ngozi Agbo (Nee Nwozor).

    Yesterday made it two years that their mentor and pioneer Editor of CAMPUSLIFE died. To them, the time they shared with Aunty Ngozi, as she was fondly called, remains fresh. To the students, she lives on.

    The late Mrs Agbo, according to them, left a platform for youths to pursue their dreams. Through her weekly Pushing Out, she reached out to them, counselling them to be responsible citizens.

    Two years have gone, but the tributes have not ceased coming.

    NANS

    Aunty Ngozi left us two years ago, but her memory cannot be erased from our mind. Her absence cannot make us to forget her values and legacies. We believe she is not dead because the platform through which she reached out to us is still intact. We are also proud of CAMPUSLIFE because it promoted and is still promoting good governance, transparency, and accountability on campuses. We acknowledge the role the platform played during the last Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike; indeed, there is no way we can talk about CAMPUSLFE without mentioning Aunty Ngozi.

     

    Taiwo Isola, 300-Level Anatomy, University of Maiduguri

    Indeed, great men die but death can never kill their names or erase their impact. Really, Aunty Ngozi’s brief stay on earth was a blessing to us. She touched and impacted the lives of youths within the short period. She promoted good virtues and detested vices. She was a motivator par excellence. Through the CAMPUSLIFE, I developed passion for writing, and each time I put pen on paper, I remember the person who encouraged me to do so. That was Aunty Ngozi.”

     

    Hammed Hamzat, 300-Level Educational Administration, University of Ibadan

    For me, CAMPUSLIFE represents hope because of the quality of young people it is breeding for the nation’s future. Personally, it gave me the opportunity to contribute my quota through writing to develop my university.

     

    Hannah Ojo, NYSC, Delta State.

    Aunty Ngozi remains that gallant heroine who bridged the generational gap by advocating a forward-thinking Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) through the annual workshop being sponsored by Coca Cola System for students in higher institutions. She saw a need and she gave her all to ensure that young people are moulded in character and good values. For me, writing for CAMPUSLIFE was not just an experience in campus journalism; it taught me journalism with social responsibility, value, character and the quest for excellence.

     

    Msonter Anzaa, 300-Level Medicine, Benue State University

    Since I joined CAMPUSLIFE, I have never had cause to regret because it is a network of young leaders, who are writing to make Nigeria a better place. While I really wished Aunty Ngozi lived longer, we must not lose sight of her immense contributions to this country. I firmly believe that in the years to come, when the story of this nation is told, people will remember that Aunty Ngozi was a significant part of it.

     

    Dhikrullah Akinola, Political Science Graduate, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife

    My biography cannot be complete without the mention of the late Aunty Ngozi. This is because she influenced me to write. Apart from the fame my writing skill gave me on the campus, Aunty Ngozi taught me morality and selflessness through her weekly column. She mentored many of us to the extent that some of us are being celebrated within and beyond.  However, we must take solace in the fact that someone has been able to maintain the platform. We are happy that one of us continued from where Aunty Ngozi left it. This means that Aunty is not dead; she’s alive and with us.

     

  • Honour for CAMPUSLIFE man

    Honour for CAMPUSLIFE man

    The Nigerian Association of Radiograph Students of the University of Calabar chapter, (NARS-UCC), has honoured Stanley Uchegbu, a correspondent for The Nation CAMPUSLIFE pull-out.

    Stanley Uchegbu, who is also the Online Editor of Nigeria Union of Campus Journalists at the institution, received the award during the association’s gala night held at the conference room of Marian Hotel, Calabar, penultimate Friday.

    Presenting the award to stanley, the association’s president, Michael Ambang, said the recipient was found worthy of the award because of his valuable contributions to the association’s growth through his write-ups.

    “Stanley has remained a quintessential campus pressman ensuring that all our association’s programmes, events and inductions are captured on national dailies. This gesture, in a way, has helped to bring the profession of radiography to the public knowledge,” he stated.

    In a chat with CAMPUSLIFE, Stanley thanked the association for the honour, urging other campus journalists not to lose faith in their job of keeping the public abreast of happenings.

  • Mixed reactions trail exam postponement

    Students of the University of Agriculture in Makurdi, Benue State, have decried the postponement of their examinations, which was slated for April 7.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the development was caused by the recent rainstorm in the state capital, which affected the roof of the Electronic Testing Centre where the examinations are to be conducted.

    Samuel Edoh, a 200-Level Home Science and Management student, said: “ I don’t have anything to do than to work with the new exam timetable, but the university authority should know that that this change can lead to mass failure because students can lose their morale.”

    He said the rainstorm should not be used as excuse for postponing the examination.

    Graduating students are the worst hit. Many of them lamented their prolonged stay in school due to the shift in timetable.

    Timothy Akogwu, a 400-Level Statistics and Computer Science Education student said: “I am tired of being a final year student for too long. I need to go out there to show the world what I have got.”

    But for Obinna Onwuka, a 300-Level Physics student, the extension was a blessing in disguise. “I would rather say I am happy because this adjustment will make me prepare better for the exams. As for my upkeep, I have sufficient resources to sustain myself during the period.”

    To calm the angry students, Dean of Students’ Affairs, Prof M. O. Adeyemo, visited hostels to sensitise students on the development. The Dean was in Dalhatu Tafida Hostel on South Core Campus.

    He said: “I got the complaints of the students on phone last night and I thought it wise to discuss the issue with you. The management postponed the examination because of the destruction of the electronic testing centre by rainstorm. I assure student that by next week, I will meet with all those involved in timetable planning and possibly resolve this issue for the good of everyone.”

     

  • Honour for CAMPUSLIFE man

    Honour for CAMPUSLIFE man

    Cross River State government has honoured an outgoing corps member, Reuben Agu, who served at the University of Calabar (UNICAL) for his meritorious service to the state.

    Agu, a graduate of the Federal University of Technology in (FUTO), Owerri and a CAMPUSLIFE reporter, bagged the state award of Excellence during the Passing Out Parade (POP) held by 2013 Batch ‘A’ corps member last Thursday.

    Presenting the award, Governor Liyel Imoke, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Effiok Cobham, hailed Agu and other honorees for the projects they executed.

    Agu, while receiving the award, thanked God for making him one of the outstanding corps members whose activities were recognised by the government.

    He said: “I was driven by the passion to have a positive impact in my host community and the state at large. It would not have been possible if not for the support I got from National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Cross River State, UNICAL and the community people.”

    He noted that there were challenges encountered during the planning and execution of the projects, but added that God gave him the grace to surmount the problem.

    Highlighting some of his personal Community Development Service (CDS) projects that fetched him the honour, Agu said he organised free malaria treatment in several communities, including screening, diagnostic tests, distribution and administration of malaria drugs. He also distributed treated mosquito nets to members of his host community.

    A few weeks before the POP, Agu renovated the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) center in UNICAL, and held a quiz competition for pupils of UNICAL Staff School.

    He urged corps members to be agents of change in their places of primary assignment and host communities and work for the development of the country.

     

  • ‘We’ll play our role in nation building’

    ‘We’ll play our role in nation building’

    Fifty undergraduates have promised to assist in achieving effective university administration to boost national development. They spoke at the 12th Correspondents’ Workshop organised by The Nation in conjunction with Coca-Cola System in Nigeria. AYODEJI ADESINA and OPEOLUWA SONUGA (400-Level Law Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife) report.

    “Yes,” say the speakers at the 12th CAMPUSLIFE Workshop held at Citilodge Hotel in Lekki, Lagos last weekend.

    The three-day capacity-building seminar sponsored by Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited also featured the fifth award ceremony where student-contributors to Campus Life were rewarded.

    Student-writers from different campuses invited for the event converged on the Matori, Lagos headquarters of Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation on Friday.

    The event kicked-off with a tour of The Nation’s facility. The students were conducted round by CAMPUSLIFE Coordinator Wale Ajetunmobi. The first port of call was the Newsroom where the students learnt about newspaper production.

    They also visited the Production room, Pre-press section and Press Hall, where they learnt about newspaper printing and circulation.

    Because of the late arrival of some of their colleagues, the students could not proceed to the NBC plant in Ikeja, the Lagos State capital, on excursion. The event was cancelled to meet up with award dinner.

    For the students, it was an opportunity to catch up again after a long time of communicating with one another due to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike. On their way to the hotel, the students were treated to a sumptuous meal of rice and chicken at Sweet Sensation eatry.

    On Saturday after breakfast, the workshop began with the rendition of the National Anthem. Ajetunmobi took the participants through writing rules to refresh their memory on campus journalism.

    Mr Agbo Agbo, husband of the late pioneer Editor of CAMPUSLIFE, told the students to always read their published reports for improvement.

    The duo of Caleb Adebayo, 400-Level Law, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, and Uche Anichebe, a student of the Nigerian Law School, Lagos campus, made presentations on a four-day Peace Conference they attended in their capacity as CAMPUSLIFE reporters two months ago in Port Harcourt.

    The seminar was facilitated by Chevron in conjunction with Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited. The students said the event enable them to learn how to promote peace in the society, adding that they had become change agents. They urged their colleagues to promote peace in any community they found themselves.

    Adesuwa Ifedi, the country coordinator of Enactus Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation promoting entrepreneurship among students, said because of Nigeria’s population, its youths were strategic to the world market. She told the participants, who she described as “Caleb generation”, to keep hope alive, saying those who did not believe in the coming good days in Nigeria may not witness the period when it comes. Stressing that Nigeria’s future is bright, Ifedi said foreign firms that left the country in the 1980s and early 90s were returning because “Nigeria is too big to ignore”.

    She said youths should acquire necessary skills and knowledge to be relevant in the emerging business world and end poverty on the continent.

    Ifedi played a video about the life of an average Nigerian, going through human evolution phases and ended up with these posers: “Did he live his life as a footprint on the sands of time? Or as a legacy in the minds of men or as if he never were born on earth?”

    Mr Fred Chiazor, Coca Cola’s Scientific Regulatory Affairs Manager, spoke on Sparkling facts to dispel certain beliefs about Coca-Cola products. He said continuous intake of the beverages could not cause diabetes.

    Tolu Ogunlesi’s entry into the Elizabeth Hall of the hotel drew applause from the students. The unassuming Ogunlesi began his presentation in an unusual manner.

    He asked: “How many of you would love to practise journalism after graduation?”

    Dazed by the poser, a few of the students answered in the affirmative. Ogunlesi asked again: “Isn’t it that everybody here is a writer?”

    Ogunlesi, a trained pharmacist turned journalist and CNN/Multichoice African Journalist Award winner, said he never set out to become a journalist during his undergraduate days. Noticing the bewilderment on the participants’ faces, he said he had a different plan after graduating from the University of Ibadan in 2004. He wanted to be a management consultant, he said.

    “I cut my professional tooth in Accenture, a consulting company, and I just wanted to practise as a management consultant. But the opportunities that opened for me changed all the plans,” he said.

    Ogunlesi, who spoke for 20 minutes, said his penchant for “stringing words together” changed his life and discipline. He told the students to prepare to face life’s challenges, saying what they set out to become may be different from what life would bring to them after graduation.

    He urged the student-writers to adapt to the new media, saying journalism is changing from the conventional print and electronic media to digital platform. He advised the students to keep an open mind on all matters and take advantage of social media.

    Getting a job in media houses, he said, would soon require candidates sending links of their original works on their blog. “The quality of your work and who you know would greatly influence how far you can go in journalism,” he said.

    Ogunlesi noted that that there is no end to self-development, saying: “There is no excuse any more. There is no excuse to not know or find out new things. Find experts to learn from and do things that will make experts want to listen to you. People will always give serious people attention. Writing can be learnt. We learn a lot by imitation. When you read a particular writer for so long there are tendencies you begin to reason and write from perspective similar to the writer of such works.”

    After the workshop, the students went on community outreach campaign to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Idi-Araba. They visited children being treated for cancer through Child Survival and Development Organisation of Nigeria (CSDON), a non-governmental organisation established by wife of former Cross River State governor Mrs Onari Duke.

    After the outreach, the participants visited CSDON office in Ikoyi, Lagos, where they spoke with Mrs Duke on how to end infant death in Nigeria.

    According to Uche, it was a life-time experience for her to be part of the youths being mentored through CAMPUSLIFE. UNIMAID’s Taiwo Isola said his flair for selfless service was renewed after the workshop. He hailed The Nation and Coca Cola System for creating a “progressive” platform for youths to channel their thoughts on issues affecting them and the nation.

     

  • Reward for excellence

    Reward for excellence

    Student-contributors to CAMPUSLIFE were honoured at the Fifth CAMPUSLIFE Award held in Lagos last weekend. FEMI OGUNJOBI (400-Level Language Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife) PHILIP OKORODUDU (500-Level Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering, Delta State University), EDDY UWOGHIREN (100-Level Medicine, University of Benin) and KINGSLEY AMATANWEZE (400-Level Material and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka) report.

    There was silence in the hall decorated in red and white to reflect the brand colours of the sponsors – Coca Cola Nigeria Limited and Nigerian Bottling Company Limited. The students, who are writers from different higher institutions, smartly dressed – some in suits and others flowing gowns – moved quietly into the hall.

    They were all anxious, because they could not tell who among them would win the coveted prize – Reporter of the Year. The welcome speech by the compere, Ayo Owodunmi, a presenter with Radio Continental, invigorated the atmosphere.

    Welcome to the Fifth CAMPUSLIFE award, a yearly event organised by The Nation in conjunction with Coca Cola System in Nigeria to reward student-contributors to CAMPUSLIFE.

    The event with the theme: Challenges and prospect of university administration in Nigeria was held at the Lamboghini Event Centre in Lekki, Lagos.

    Prof Pat Utomi, the guest lecturer’s entry excited the students. Charging them to provoke debates on how the nation could move forward despite its limitations, he said he was thrilled to know there were students who still possessed progressive thoughts about the declining education system.

    Utomi looked at the university administration system in the past, saying admission regulation in universities, such as University of Ibadan, was strict compared to schools in the United Kingdom.

    He said: “In our days as students, the educational system of Nigeria was so strong that it was easier to be admitted into Harvard University than to be admitted into the then University College, Ibadan. The future of this country depends on the knowledge of the youth and the values they uphold. Our colleagues who went to London to study were seen as average students who could not meet requirement to study at home.

    “But today, there is no such thing again. The drop in quality of education has watered down the process of administration in our universities. Gaining admission into a Nigerian university is as easy as you can ever imagine. All those strict admission regulations have disappeared; a student cannot just apply to any school in London, he must fulfil the admission requirement.”

    Recalling how as an undergraduate he challenged the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, the late Colonel Joe Garba, on Nigeria’s foreign policy, which, he said, prompted the minister to visit his school to address students, he wondered why the youths of today are reluctant to read.

    Utomi said: “As students, you have as much part in determining the future of the country as anybody in positions of authority.”

    He charged the students to use their articles to expose the ills in the society, saying everybody cannot be leader at the same time. Utomi, who left after the lecture, presented prizes to two winners. He congratulated the students on their achievements, urging them to use the award positively.

    At the end of the lecture, Utomi asked: “What is the mission of your generation?”

    Mr. Clem Ugorji, the Director of Public Affairs and Communication, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, challenged the students to follow Utomi’s path. He stressed that the strength of any society depended on the values its youths uphold, adding that Coca-Cola would not relent in investing in programmes that would add value to the youths.

    He said: “You are planting a seed in your life that only you will harvest in no time. We believe we are investing in people who are going to fix the wrongs in the society.”

    Things changed when it got to the award stage. As the categories were being introduced by the compere, the students became nervous.

    The award was divided into seven categories of Culture Report, Campus Sport, Personality Profile, Opinion, Investigative Report, Entertainment Report and CAMPUSLIFE Reporter of the Year.

    In the Culture Report category, there were three entries with four nominees. The nominees were Gilbert Alasa and Tolulope Ogunleye with entry report For their culture, they rise, which they co-authored; Taiwo Isola, a student of University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), with the entry Cultural display at its best and Johnpaul Nnamdi, a Corps member, with the entry Projecting African culture in French language. Johnpaul picked the prize.

    In the Investigative Report category, Kamaludeen Abubakar, a 200-Level Geography student of Nasarawa State University in Keffi (NSUK), won with his entry, Who killed them?

    Kemi Busari, 400-Level Political Science student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, won the Entertainment category with his entry, A comedy taken too far.

    Gilbert Alasa, 400-Level Foreign Languages, University of Benin (UNIBEN), won the Opinion prize, with his article titled: “We need a new amnesty”; Tolulope Ogunleye, a graduating student of Mass Communication of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) won in the Sport category with “A race of life”, while Uche Anichebe, a student in Nigeria Law School, Lagos campus, won the Personality Profile prize.

    Gilbert won the coveted CAMPUSLIFE Reporter of the Year with his report titled: “Wild world of campus pimps”, which was rated best by the judges.

    The gathering rose as the compere announced the overall winner. With measured steps, an elated Gilbert, walked to the podium to receive the prize. As he made his way through, others stood up to honour him. Gilbert made history; he is the first student-writer to win the prize twice.

    Editor of The Nation, Mr Gbenga Omostoso, praised the students for keeping faith with the newspaper, which, he said, has provided a platform for youths to contribute their quota to educational and national development. He also thanked the sponsors for keeping faith with the project.

    In attendance were the Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka (UNIZIK), Prof Boniface Egboka, represented by former Head of Mass Communication, Prof Kate Omenugha; Vice-chancellor of Bells University of Technology in Ota Ogun State, Prof Adebadoyo Adeyemi, represented by Dr Adebowale; Head of Mass Communication Department of the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Dr Charles Oni; country coordinator of Enactus Nigeria Mrs Adesuwa Ifedi; Online Editor, Mr Lekan Otufodunrin, Editorial Page Editor Mr Sanya Oni and Managing Editor, Mr Waheed Odusile, all of The Nation.

  • Igbo students visit monarch

    Igbo students visit monarch

    Iembers of the Federation of Igbo Students (FIS) of the University of Calabar, (UNICAL) have visited the Eze Igbo of Kano, Odu Ndi Igbo VI, Nnaji Aguna Eche Ibe 1 of Nkeke.

    The students were led by President, Ekene Odumegwu. Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, Odumegwu said the visit was informed by the need to gain from the Eze’s leadership experience.

    He said: “We believe that the elders are the custodians of knowledge acquired through diverse experiences. We decided to embark on this mission so as to get gain knowledge of our culture.”

    The monarch commended the students for their knowledge of the Igbo culture.

    He noted that great leaders are those with strong human relationship skills. “People basically can be best governed when there is a good relationship between the leaders and the led,” he said. He urged the students to be mindful of the company they keep, adding that bad company ruins good reputation.

    He decried the gradual extinction of the Igbo culture and urged the students to preserve the rich cultural heritage of the race.

    Odumegwu thanked the monarch for giving the students audience.

     

  • Fear of expulsion grips poly students

    There is palpable fear among students of the Federal Polytechnic in Oko (OKO POLY), Anambra State, as semester examination begins, following the suspension of the recent strike embarked on by Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP).

    The last semester examination was not a nice experience for some of the students as management pasted the names of students, who engaged in examination malpractice. They affected students were expelled by the management.

    Also, some students, who did not meet minimum pass mark required in various departments to be promoted to the next level of study, were advised to withdraw while others were transferred to less competitive departments.

    More than 40 students were asked to withdraw or repeat in the Mass Communication department after result of last semester was released. Without knowing the fate that may befall them, some below-average students have been gripped with fear.

    The administration of Prof Godwin Onu, the Rector, has reiterated its commitment to put the institution on the path of excellence as it frowns at conducts that may adversely affect the academic values of the polytechnic.

    Speaking to students, the Head of Mass Communication department, Mr G.O Ibe, stressed the need for students to take their studies seriously. He noted that rather than devote their time for books, students wasted time chatting on social media networks such as Facebook, 2go and Whatsapp.

    Reacting to the development, Nelson Nwamara, HND 1 Mass Communication, said final year students were not spared from expulsion or withdrawal. He urged the management to reconsider its stance on the withdrawal policy.

    He said: “The management should take its time to listen to the affected students and know the reason why they could not improve on their academic performance. Some of them may have good reasons. For It could be financial challenges or illness. Asking them to leave the institution would make their lives miserable.”

    Another student, who craved for anonymity, said: “Personally, it does not go down well with me. I would prefer that the school should suspend the affected students for one or two years or at best repeat the class than expelling them outright. Some of the students may not grab the subjects being taught in the class, which may have been the reason they failed. I take myself as an example. When I was in secondary school days, I was a bad student in Biology because the teacher teaching the subject was not doing it well. The subject’s teacher used to call me a fool. This was why I did not go for science-oriented discipline.

    “Sometimes, students are blessed with intelligence and capacity to excel in any chosen career but if there is no good teacher, they are bound to be weak in the discipline. I believe if a teacher teaches a student very well, nothing will prevent the student from passing the exam.”

    Other students, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, commended Prof Onu for putting a stop to the sales of handouts and textbook in the institution, a development that made some lecturers to be extorting students.

     

  • Man nabbed for transformer disruption

    Amiddle-age man, whose name could not be ascertained, has been arrested by team of policemen attached to Divisional Police Command, Owerri, Imo State for allegedly tampering with the transformer of Bishop’s Court residence.

    Bishop’s Court is an area populated by students of the Imo State University (IMSU). Recently, power supply to the neighbourhood had been irregular, a development that made residents to be worried.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the suspect sprinkled a powdery substance on the transformer and tried to disrupt its function because the residents allegedly refused to allow him to take charge of the service and maintenance of the transform.

    Our correspondent gathered that the suspect had been exploiting the residents through the service of the transformer. A student, who is a resident in the area, said: “He collected money from the landlords and students for the maintenance. But when he could not do it properly, we terminated the relationship, which made him to threaten to switch off the transformer. But policemen came in and he was arrested for tampering with our transformer.”

    One of the off-campus hostels’ presidents, Chima Amadi, told CAMPUSLIFE: “This will serve as a lesson to others, who want to be exploiting students living off-campus. Thank God that the police has wade into the matter.

    Efforts made by our correspondent to reach the police for comment were futile.

     

  • Student’s death sparks protest at LASPOTECH

    The death of a student, Oladimeji Olu, ND 1 Computer Engineering, led to a demonstration on the Ikorodu campus of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH). TOLULOPE OGUNLEYE (HND II Computer Science) reports that the aggrieved students disrupted a meeting of principal officers.

    ‘Oladimeji was in serious pain before the doctors started attending to him. When they discovered that it was not a case they could handle anymore, they came back with a referral for the deceased to be transferred to the General Hospital, Ikorodu, where he gave up the ghost on Saturday in the midnight’

    BRANDISHING tree branches and green leaves and with tears flowing down their cheeks, students of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) last Monday protested the death of their colleague, Oladimeji Olu.

    Academic activities were grounded at the school’s Ikorodu campus as the students took to the streets over the “poor medical services” in their clinic.

    They claimed Oladimeji, an ND1 Computer Engineering student, died because of the lackadaisical attitude of the clinic’s personnel.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the late Oladimeji was taken to the medical centre, last Friday, at 9:30am after he took ill, but was transferred to the Ikorodu General Hospital, where he died. The nature of his illness could not be ascertained, but his aggrieved colleagues said the cause of death may have been malaria.

    A student said the deceased was left unattended to hours after his admission at the school’s medical centre. Worried by the development, his colleagues complained to the medical personnel on duty, who gave them a referral for him to the General Hospital.

    Sodiq Bello, Faculty of Engineering students’ president, who spoke to our correspondent, said he got an urgent call from the Computer Engineering Department’s president, Taiwo Ogundero, that the late Oladimeji was “seriously sick” and had been taken to the medical centre.

    “Oladimeji was in serious pain before the doctors started attending to him. When they discovered that it was not a case they could handle anymore, they came back with a referral for the deceased to be transferred to the General Hospital, Ikorodu, where he gave up the ghost on Saturday in the midnight,” Sodiq said.

    When the news of Oladimeji’s death reached the campus, his colleagues sent messages to students through the social media to converge on the convocation ground in the morning.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that scores of students, in a Marcopolo and six 18-seater buses, joined Olanike Olu, the late Oladimeji’s sister, to retrieve his remains from the hospital.

    At the hospital, they were told the Oladimeji’s body would not be released to them. The hospital’s reason, CAMPUSLIFE gathered, was hinged on its policy not to issue death certificate to patients brought in less than 48 hours before death.

    The students were advised to go to the Ikorodu Local Government to get an affidavit. After obtaining the document, signed by Olanike, the students moved to Igbogbo Police Station in Ikorodu to get a police report, which was attached to the affidavit so as to get the death certificate after paying N5,000 to the council. They later presented the document at the hospital.

    Tears flowed freely as the late Oladimeji’s body was brought out of the morgue. His colleagues wailed, with many cursing the institution’s medical personnel. The body was taken to a cemetery at Sabo part of Ikorodu for burial.

    After the internment, the students returned to the campus, storming the clinic in protest. In tears, the students chanted: “Oro nla l’eda, eyin t’epa Oladimeji ti e je k’odagba, oro nla l’eda”, which means: “You have brought sorrow to our hearts, you that caused Oladimeji’s death at his prime; it is great sorrow.”

    The students requested to see the Medical Director, Dr Ibrahim Abdulraheem, but the workers said he was at a management meeting. The Dean, Students’ Affairs, Mr Nurudeen Sonayan, and his deputy, Mr Adebayo Fapohunda, excused themselves from the meeting to attend to the students. Their presence, however, could not calm the inconsolable crowd, which insisted on seeing the medical director.

    When the students got to know that the medical director was in the boardroom, where the meeting was being held, they stormed the place, chanting war songs.

    The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), Iroko When, cautioned the demonstrators not to destroy the school property.

    The Rector, Dr Abdulazeez Abioye Lawal, summoned the Speaker of Students’ Representative Council, Sadiq Taiwo and Yomi Usman, a member of the SUG parliament to the boardroom to ascertain what the problem was.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the Speaker narrated what transpired at the medical centre. The rector reportedly responded that the issue was part of the discussion at the disrupted meeting.

    To calm frayed nerves, Dr Lawal left the meeting to address the aggrieved students. He was joined by other principal officers.

    He urged the students to remain calm, saying the state of the medical centre was part of the discussion in the management meeting. He promised that changes would be effected as soon as possible, urging the protesters to return to their hostels.

    In an interview, Dr Abdulraheem said the late Oladimeji was attended to by two doctors immediately he was brought in.

    “We were able to stabilise him before the arrival of his family. When his sister arrived later, there was need to refer him to Ikorodu General Hospital since the centre is not running on 24-hour basis. We ensured that all facilities were in place to transfer the deceased, who was taken in the school’s ambulance accompanied by his sister and a nurse,” he said.

    Abdulraheem said the medical centre did all it could to save the deceased, saying the late Oladimeji may have been seriously affected by the ailment. He advised students to always visit the centre for regular medical check-up, saying: “Don’t wait until you are seriously sick before you remember that there is a place called medical centre on campus.”

    Dr Abdulraheem gave his mobile phone number for students to reach him in case of urgent medical attention and poor service at the centre.

    Efforts to speak to the management of the Ikorodu General Hospital were futile.

    Oladimeji, 21, was a member of the SUG parliament. He is survived by his mother and siblings.