The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Department

  • Clinical radiographers demand separate department in hospitals

    The struggle for recognition by the various professional groups in the health sector is not likely to end soon.

    Clinical radiographers, critical players in health service, has also joined the fray as they are demanding for a separate department in health facilities.

    They claimed that they  did not find the current arrangment of keeping them in the same department with medical doctors  comfortable.

    The practice, they said, has relegated them to the background with no voice in the scheme of things.

    The group, therefore, demanded a separate department for practitioners in public and private health facility, which should be headed by one of their own.

    According to Mr Okoye Neirus, a deputy director with the National Hospital, Abuja, radiographers should not be lumped together with medical doctors in the same department.

    He said there was a need to create an autonomous department for them as it is a different and unique discipline, urging all radiographers to challenge the ugly trend whether as a clinical or academic radiographer.

    Neirus, who spoke in Abuja during the 2017 World Radiography Day organised by the Medical Imagine Society of Nigeria (MISON), in conjunction with General Electronics (GE), with the theme: “Awakening the spirit of radiographers in Nigeria”, said: “While we celebrate our past glory an ugly present and future are starring us in the face in clinical sector. We need to achieve the same feat we achieved in the academic sector in our clinical sector. department of radiography needs to be autonomous just as department of radiography in the universities are autonomous. We should have our own separate department in the clinical sector, which must be headed by a radiographer.”

    He continued:“To me, it does not matter which  name we will call it. What will matter is that it is for radiographers and headed by radiographers. If we look at the present management structure in the clinical sector, department is the smallest official unit of communication, but very sadly as presently constituted, radiographers are joined with doctors in one department, which is headed by only doctors. Radiographers have no opportunity toward the department. It is exclusively made for doctors. We must take our future in on hands and rise up to this challenge. This ugly trend must be challenged by all radiographers, irrespective of whether you are in the academic or clinical sector.”

    MISON Federal Capital Teritory (FCT), Abuja Chairman Emma Ngwu said the 2017 celebration was to create awareness on radiography as the fastest-growing field/discipline in medicine, engender harmony among radiographers/medical imaging practitioners, and promote international best practices.

    He added: “As  shining beacon  of this profession, radiography, a fast evolving and dynamic discipline that have outlived its initial name-radiography, birthed in 1895, whatever name we chose to call ourselves in Nigeria. Whatever name is globally acceptable, one thing is certain, this profession is and remains the cynosure of all in the field of patient care.”

    He, therefore, urged members to  guard it jealousy and protect it from the prying eyes of quacks and “ensure that any patient encountered, will go home feeling fulfilled, encouraged, safe and finds both physical (medical) and physiological healing. “After all, we care about their safety,”he said.

     

  • Oil firm donates building to UNN Geology department

    Platform Petroleum Limited, an indigenous oil and gas exploration and production company yesterday handed over an ultra-modern building to the Geology Department of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The event had Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu as Special guest. He was joined by other distinguished guests, such as Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, Chairman of Platform Petroleum, Dr. ABC Orjiako, Chairman of SEPLAT, Professor O. Sylvester Adegoke, Dr. Bolaji Ogundare, Managing Director, Newcross and HRM King Dr. Edmund M. Daukoru amongst others.

    The edifice named Austin Avuru Building was built and donated to the department in honour of Mr. Austin Avuru, first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Platform Petroleum Limited and current CEO, SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company Plc who graduated from the department in 1980.

    A statement signed by Mr. Amaechi Moshe C. I., Ag. GMD Platform Petroleum Holdings Limited, said the facility “which is the first CSR initiative by Platform Petroleum Limited outside of its Umutu, Delta State, operation site came out of the desire of the company to support Mr. Avuru’s desire to reduce the huge infrastructural deficit at his alma mater.”

    He noted that things had gotten so bad at the Department of Geology to the extent that it was about to lose its academic accreditation.

    The new building, according to the statement, is larger and more conducive than the old departmental building and will provide office space for lecturers as well as laboratories and lecture halls for students.

    The gesture by the company is a reiteration of Platform Petroleum Limited’s commitment to creating value for the larger good of the society and the company is excited that the provision of this building will enhance quality of education for the staff and students of the Department of Geology.

    Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Benjamin Chukwuma Ozumba thanked the company for the support and congratulated Austin Avuru for being a worthy ambassador of the institution. He assured his guests that the university will justify the resources invested in the new building. He also enjoined other alumni to emulate Avuru and Platform Petroleum in helping to enhance the learning environment.

  • Surveyors celebrate department’s anniversary at UNN

    Surveyors celebrate department’s anniversary at UNN

    The Geoinformatics and Survey Department of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has celebrated its 55th anniversary amid great fanfare. The occasion brought together those who graduated from the department decades ago.

    Why were they in such joyous mood? Almost all the participants were returning to their alma mater several years after they graduated, some now addressed as professors, doctors and chiefs, many holding key positions in government. Some were also meeting for the first time since they graduated more than 50 years ago.

    Although, the award gala took place at the Institute of Surveyors’ Secretariat, Surveyors House, Enugu, the opening ceremony was held inside the main hall of the University of Nigeria, Enugu-campus.

    Declaring the event open, the new Deputy Vice chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Prof. Smart Uchegbu challenged surveyors and estate managers to help government find a solution to the frequent cases of building collapse in the country.

    He said that this collaboration and advice from experts had become necessary to save further loss of lives arising from collapsed buildings.

    Uchegbu, who took over from former DVC, Prof. Ifeoma Enemo, called on the alumni and corporate bodies in the country to support the institution, as government allocation was no longer sufficient to meet its needs and maintain its leading role in the nation’s education industry.

    He expressed with joy and sense of fulfilment that the surveying department that started in 1961 with only 12 students, now enjoys students’ enrolment of over 200.

    Uchegbu, who represented the VC UNN, Prof. Chukwuma Ozumba on the occasion, noted that since inception, the department had made great strides in teaching, learning and research, which he said were the bedrock of the existence of the University, even as he re-assured that the university must continue to ensure that the young receive the best training in this highly competitive world.

    He said, “This is a reflection of the importance of this profession in national development, your products are today occupying prominent positions in many areas of human endeavour, both scientific and environmental spheres, in fact, I am informed that one of your products, Emeritus Professor Francis Fajemirokun, former deputy vice chancellor, University of Lagos, would deliver the keynote lecture on this occasion.

    “While rejoicing with you on this great gathering, and celebration of 55th anniversary of your alma mater, I invite you to savour the cool scenery of this campus, which I am sure, will bring back old memories of the time you were here as students”.

    The head of department of Geoinformatics and surveying, University of Nigeria, Enugu-campus, Dr. Elochukwu Moka, restated the determination of the institution to continue to maintain its pride of place in the comity of modern surveying training in the country, adding that being the first among the first generation universities to offer surveying, they had strived to main that position.

    Moka explained that in order to keep abreast with the global changing trend in the profession; the name of the department had been changed from department of surveying to department of surveying, Geodesy and Photogrammetry and now to the department of Geoinformatics and Surveying.

    “For us to remain relevant as a force, “he said, “we have tried to embrace every emerging technology in the field of study within the available resources; the university authority has been supportive, notwithstanding the dwindling allocations from the federal government”.

    The HOD disclosed that the Education Trust Fund (ETF)had come to their assistance at a point when the federal government attempted to designate the University of Nigeria as a centre of excellence in the study of surveying in the country.

    Moka, who graduated from UNN in 1982, also praised the Surveyors Council of Nigeria (SURCON), the Nigerian Institution of Surveying, Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra state branches and some alumni for supporting the department at different times.

    He said that due to the capital intensive nature of the programme, all the supports had not been able to meet the financial demands of running the department, pointing out that the National University Commission, NUC and SURCON accreditation exercises last year, had complained of some of the areas of deficiencies, even as the programme was not threatened by being de-accredited in any way whatsoever.

    At the award gala nite, some eminent surveyors, who have contributed to the growth of the profession were honoured, prominent among them were – Professor Emeritus Francis Fajemirokun, Prof. Francis Okeke, the dean, faculty of environmental studies UNEC, Mr. John Okoye, Quarshie-Doku from Ghana, Prof. Okpala Okaka, Dr. Elochukwu Moka, the HOD Geoinformatics and Surveying UNEC, Dr. Ndukwe Emmanuel Chiemelu, Mrs. Mary Bassey Okofu and Dr. Vitus Uzodinma of the University of Nigeria. he Geoinformatics and Survey Department of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has celebrated its 55th anniversary amid great fanfare. The occasion brought together those who graduated from the department decades ago.

    Why were they in such joyous mood? Almost all the participants were returning to their alma mater several years after they graduated, some now addressed as professors, doctors and chiefs, many holding key positions in government. Some were also meeting for the first time since they graduated more than 50 years ago.

    Although, the award gala took place at the Institute of Surveyors’ Secretariat, Surveyors House, Enugu, the opening ceremony was held inside the main hall of the University of Nigeria, Enugu-campus.

    Declaring the event open, the new Deputy Vice chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Prof. Smart Uchegbu challenged surveyors and estate managers to help government find a solution to the frequent cases of building collapse in the country.

    He said that this collaboration and advice from experts had become necessary to save further loss of lives arising from collapsed buildings.

    Uchegbu, who took over from former DVC, Prof. Ifeoma Enemo, called on the alumni and corporate bodies in the country to support the institution, as government allocation was no longer sufficient to meet its needs and maintain its leading role in the nation’s education industry.

    He expressed with joy and sense of fulfilment that the surveying department that started in 1961 with only 12 students, now enjoys students’ enrolment of over 200.

    Uchegbu, who represented the VC UNN, Prof. Chukwuma Ozumba on the occasion, noted that since inception, the department had made great strides in teaching, learning and research, which he said were the bedrock of the existence of the University, even as he re-assured that the university must continue to ensure that the young receive the best training in this highly competitive world.

    He said, “This is a reflection of the importance of this profession in national development, your products are today occupying prominent positions in many areas of human endeavour, both scientific and environmental spheres, in fact, I am informed that one of your products, Emeritus Professor Francis Fajemirokun, former deputy vice chancellor, University of Lagos, would deliver the keynote lecture on this occasion.

    “While rejoicing with you on this great gathering, and celebration of 55th anniversary of your alma mater, I invite you to savour the cool scenery of this campus, which I am sure, will bring back old memories of the time you were here as students”.

    The head of department of Geoinformatics and surveying, University of Nigeria, Enugu-campus, Dr. Elochukwu Moka, restated the determination of the institution to continue to maintain its pride of place in the comity of modern surveying training in the country, adding that being the first among the first generation universities to offer surveying, they had strived to main that position.

    Moka explained that in order to keep abreast with the global changing trend in the profession; the name of the department had been changed from department of surveying to department of surveying, Geodesy and Photogrammetry and now to the department of Geoinformatics and Surveying.

    “For us to remain relevant as a force, “he said, “we have tried to embrace every emerging technology in the field of study within the available resources; the university authority has been supportive, notwithstanding the dwindling allocations from the federal government”.

    The HOD disclosed that the Education Trust Fund (ETF)had come to their assistance at a point when the federal government attempted to designate the University of Nigeria as a centre of excellence in the study of surveying in the country.

    Moka, who graduated from UNN in 1982, also praised the Surveyors Council of Nigeria (SURCON), the Nigerian Institution of Surveying, Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra state branches and some alumni for supporting the department at different times.

    He said that due to the capital intensive nature of the programme, all the supports had not been able to meet the financial demands of running the department, pointing out that the National University Commission, NUC and SURCON accreditation exercises last year, had complained of some of the areas of deficiencies, even as the programme was not threatened by being de-accredited in any way whatsoever.

    At the award gala nite, some eminent surveyors, who have contributed to the growth of the profession were honoured, prominent among them were – Professor Emeritus Francis Fajemirokun, Prof. Francis Okeke, the dean, faculty of environmental studies UNEC, Mr. John Okoye, Quarshie-Doku from Ghana, Prof. Okpala Okaka, Dr. Elochukwu Moka, the HOD Geoinformatics and Surveying UNEC, Dr. Ndukwe Emmanuel Chiemelu, Mrs. Mary Bassey Okofu and Dr. Vitus Uzodinma of the University of Nigeria.

  • ‘Research on environment’

    Former Dean in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ibadan (U.I.), Prof Akin Mabogunje, has urged geographers to research more into how to sustain the environment.

    He said researches in environmental sustainability were fraught with uncertainties and challenges.

    Mabogunje, who chairs the Foundation for Development and Environmental Initiatives (FDI) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, spoke yesterday at a national colloquium organised by U.I.’s Department of Geography. The theme was: Frontiers in Environmental Research and Sustainable Environment in the 21st Century.

    The event was held at the university’s conference centre in honour of two erudite scholars, Emeritus Prof Adetoye Faniran and Prof Olusegun Areola.

    Mabogunje said: “To be valuable in the context of sustainable environment, it has to go beyond simply understanding the physical processes involved to identifying and evaluating the role of various actors and drivers of the particular process. Clearly, the research frontier will need to be populated by scholars from other disciplines, hopefully in a multi-disciplinary or inter-disciplinary alliance, offering their special insight into the underlying causes impairing environmental sustainability in particular areas or regions of the country.”

    He said there were prospects of Nigeria becoming the host to several transnational and national corporations, whose activities are bound to impact significantly on the environment.

    He said: “The frontier must be such that it can capture and be explicit about the impact of various actors on environmental process.

    “It is, of course true that in recent years these corporations all claim to subscribe to a social movement known as Corporate Social Responsibility.

  • Department celebrates lecturer

    The department of Philosophy, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has honoured its lecturer, Dr Oladipo Fashina, which the students of the department described as “most outstanding scholar”.

    Fashina, a former national chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), who is called Jingo by his admirers, is known to have spearheaded the struggle for the liberation of the Nigerian university system.

    A lecture with the theme: Nationalism and economic justice in Nigeria was held in his honour at the conference centre, OAU.

    Fashina joined the University of Ife, now OAU in 1979. After his secondary school education at King’s College Lagos, he proceeded to earn a Masters Degree in Philosophy from the prestigious Leningrad State University in Russia and a PhD in Philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles.

    The Head of the department, Dr J. O. Famakinwa, described the honouree as a distinguished teacher, an excellent scholar, an intellectual colossus and unrepentant Marxist, who he said is highly principle and a selfless.

    Famakinwa noted that the history of the university system in Nigeria would be incomplete without mentioning Fashina’s name, saying the relative comfort being enjoyed in the universities today is an offshoot of his efforts alongside other members of the ASUU.

    Dr. Famakinwa said: “In the department of Philosophy, Fashina taught all the lecturers currently on the staff list. It is our collective belief that he deserves this honour. This conference is a token to a man who spent his entire life rendering a selfless service to his father. It is in view of these qualities that the theme of the lecture was favoured by the Local Organising committee.”

    The chairman of the conference, Dr. Segun Osoba, described Fashina as a teacher, an activist and a public thinker, who embarked on his public service career with a commitment to duty and public interest, without any iota of calierism, a term he defined as monomaniacal and morbid obsession with self-aggrandizement and self-enrichment which makes it possible for a public officer to misappropriate government fund and resources for selfish enrichment.

    The keynote speaker, Barrister Femi Falana, lamented the dearth of justice and true nationalism in Nigeria, noting that justice of any form was only being enjoyed by the rich in Nigeria.

    Falana said: “We must take our destiny into our own hands and we can start from here and I beg we must start with the university society. Today criminals have taken over public discourse in our country. We must stop the university from giving doctorate degrees to all manners of criminals particularly public officers.

    “We must tell the truth about this country, and academics are in the best position to do so. What the ruling class has done is to take themselves out of Nigeria as they are less concerned about the salient issues hunting the nation.”

    Falana concluded that challenge before the masses was to mobilise and organise themselves. The conference attracted notable personalities such as Festus Iyayi, Prof Friday Okonofua and the president of ASUU, Dr Nasir Isa Fagge.

     

  • US State Department to honour Odumakin, others

    United States Secretary of State John Kerry will, on Friday, honour 10 women with the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award.

    Michelle Obama will join Kerry and the awardees as a special guest at the ceremony in the Dean Acheson Auditorium of the U.S. Department of State.

    Nigeria’s Dr. Joei Okei-Odumakin, president of the Campaign for Democracy (CD) is one of the awardees.

    The Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award annually recognises women, who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in fighting for women’s rights and empowerment, often at great personal risk. Since the inception of the award in 2007, the Department of State has honoured 67 women from 45 countries.

    Besides Dr. Odumakin, the other 2013 awardees are: Malalai Bahaduri, First Sergeant, Afghan National Interdiction Unit (Afghanistan); Samira Ibrahim, Coordinator, Know Your Rights (Egypt); Julieta Castellanos, Rector, National Autonomous University of Honduras (Honduras); Elena Milashina, journalist, human rights activist (Russia); Fartuun Adan, Executive Director, Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre (Somalia); Tsering Woeser (Wei Se), Tibetan author, poet, blogger (China); Razan Zeitunah, human rights lawyer and founder, Local Coordination Committees (Syria); Ta Phong Tan, blogger (Vietnam); and Nirbhaya “Fearless,” champion for justice (India);

    The honourees began their visit to the United States in Pittsburgh, where they participated in an open-to-the-press forum at Chatham University on Monday. They will meet with organisations, such as the Women and Girls Foundation and Gwen’s Girls. They will arrive in Washington today for meetings with Department of State and White House officials, members of Congress, and NGO leaders.

    After the award ceremony, the honourees will travel separately to cities across the United States to interact with Americans through an International Visitor Ledership Programme. They will visit Indianapolis, Jackson Hole, Portland, San Francisco, and Tampa. The women will reconvene in San Diego to reflect on their visit and discuss ways to work together to improve the lives of women and girls around the world.