The Nation Newspaper

Tag: DON

  • Don advocates viable policy on healthcare delivery

    The Provost of College of Health Sciences, the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Prof. Ayotunde Omotoso, has advocated strong policies that will enhance healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

    He also urged government at all levels to give priority attention to the health of the people.

    Prof. Omotoso, who spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, during the induction ceremony of 114 fresh doctors of the college, said many viable health programmes have been designed by government. These should be well documented with a practicable implementation strategy in order to benefit the society.

    He said: “Social factors may directly or indirectly impact negatively on the health of individuals and the populace. For example, poverty and ignorance affect access to and maximisation of available healthcare services. Also, bad roads prevent quick access to the hospitals and lack of power may cause avoidable delays in surgical procedures.

    “The recent security challenges, namely kidnappings and terrorism, discourage doctors in the Diaspora from contributing their quota to national development.

    “The 21st Century doctor has to tackle health problems that are both individual and universal. A quick glance at the Nigerian healthcare system immediately reveals some of its strengths and weaknesses. The challenges with the health sector may well be a vista into a population-sized systemic defect.

    “While the medical training indeed is adequate and comparable with global standard, nothing quite insulates the doctor in Nigeria from the Herculean task brought about by extraneous factors. It is a social situation to which we must all rise against, putting all sufficiently trained hands on decks.

    “In Africa’s most populous nation, about 100 million people live on less than a dollar per day. The relationship between the economy and the health system is bi-directional. Many factors culminate into the health of citizens, underscoring the need for inter-sectoral collaboration.”

  • How nations develop, by don

    HOw can the creative sector to achieve sustainable development? It is by cultural awareness and creative thinking in the education system, says Prof Aderemi Raji-Oyelade. He spoke at the 3rd public lecture of the Faculty of Arts, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba (AAUA), which held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Hall of the institution last week.

    Delivering a lecture titled: “Creativity and the dimensions of literacy for nation building”, Prof Oyelade said the problem of dysfunctional system witnessed in the country was caused by mis-education of the mind, saying no society can develop in intellect and industry with poor literacy policies.

    “The knowledge of abstract sciences, the interventionist grind of the clinical sciences, the enterprise of technology, the developmental engagement of the social sciences and the inventive creativism of the arts and other disciplines, must be fully harnessed for the achievement of national development,” he said.

    He decried the poor knowledge of information technology prevalent in the academia, calling on members of the academic community to embrace the power of new technologies.

     

  • Don seeks end to harmful widowhood practices

    Don seeks end to harmful widowhood practices

    Like the voice in the wilderness, Prof. Catherine Ikodiya Oreh has raised her voice in support of the crusade against dehumanising practices on widows in Nigeria and most Third World countries. She urged men to desist from giving support to those harmful practices that dehumanise widows.

    Oreh, a professor of Adult Education/Community Development at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, spoke at the 80th Inaugural Lecture of the university at Princess Alexandra Auditorium, Nsukka Campus.

    In her paper entitled“Igbo Cultural Widowhood Practices: Reflections on Inadvertent Weapons of Retrogression in Community Development”, Prof. Oreh said the loss of a spouse (particularly the husband) is associated with extreme painful and distressful experience in addition to other risks and challenges to the wife.

    She condemned the practices which subjugate widows, leaving them with no hope and no security. She listed other challenges widows encounter to include disruptions of relationships, deteriorating health and physical capacity as well as declining financial resources.

    The practices, she maintained, have far-reaching consequences on the widow, her children and the community. All these, she said, are factors affecting development in various communities.

    She described community development as a process that “brings about improvements in the life of people through changes in the conditions of their community”, and that “women generally have greater potential for community development.”

    The 80th Inaugural Lecture emphasised the position of the United Nations General Assembly on widows which, she said, called on member-states and other international organisations to end all negative practices associated with widowhood.

    Prof. Oreh noted that no matter the challenges associated with widowhood, the practices would soon be brought to an end. To achieve this, she recommended education as the only tool to cope effectively and the bedrock of community development.

    She, therefore, called for sensitisation and empowerment of widows to improve their knowledge on how to avoid being victims or perpetrators as well as knowing when their rights are trampled upon and to fight against it. The enlightenment, she said, would improve widows’ standard in education, health and finance. It would help them play active roles in the society.

    Moreover, she recommended the joint ownership of properties by husband and wife as it would not require letters of administration for either of the partners to claim the estates when a partner dies.

    She also stated that it would be acceptable and pleasing if fathers and/or husbands would write wills, stating clearly how their properties should be shared in the event of death.

    She urged them to update their wills with data of their wives rather than that of their siblings or parents. This, she said, would go a long way in helping their wives not to experience such dehumanising practices when they die.

    Prof. Oreh called on Christian organisations, such as Christian Council of Nigerian (CCN) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), to speak with one voice against the malpractices and come up with consistent policies against infringement on widows’ rights.

    She also said the government should enact laws that will protect widows, even as she advised that such laws should have clear structures of implementation at the grassroots. She said community-based organisations should be involved as a task force to monitor and enforce sanctions on defaulters.

    Prof. Oreh also asked the Ministry of Women Affairs in various states to scale up activities which will integrate and involve women groups at the grassroots to provide information for widows on who they can take their complaints to when harassed.

    Urging the audience to join in the fight against harmful widowhood practices, she spoke of the intention of the Department of Adult Education, in collaboration with the Agencies for Mass Literacy, Adult and non-formal Education to develop programmes on Probate Education which would aim at sensitising the entire polity on the rights of widows.

    She opined that enforcement of harmful widowhood practices is violence against women, adding that it would make widowhood exhaustive and traumatic.  Noting that it would require a radical approach to change the plight of widows, the don said community development movement should function as a radical movement for social change.

    Prof. Oreh noted that if development in Nigeria and in every community must be enhanced, it would be appropriate if all traditional or cultural practices that inhibit full participation of women in development process are removed.

    “All legal, political and cultural constraints that tend to impede women’s access to higher productivity must be checked and removed to ensure adequate and proper exploitation of their potential for national and community development.

  • Quality medicine govt’s concern, says don

    THE government has been urged to step up efforts in providing quality medicine to their citizens.

    This, according to a professor of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Nelson Ochekpe, will assist health officials in delivering quality services to patients.

    Ochekpe, who lectures at the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Jos, said provisions of quality medicine should be a concern of governments, health officials as well as patients.

    Delivering an inaugural lecture tagged: “Quality of medicine: Everyone a stakeholders?”, Ochekpe advised the Federal Government to come up with rules and regulations that will control the production and distribution of drugs.

    He also called for proper administration of the drugs to patients by health officials as well as good use of the drugs by patients.

    Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang, said his government would continue to support the University to excel in its academic performance.

    He said: “Despite the fact that I am not a professional in the field, but by listening to the lecture it means we have qualified lecturers in University of Jos.”

    The university, he said, has produced qualified graduates that are doing well,  producing qualified leaders that would not fail the state and the country.

  • Don preaches skills acquisition

    For Nigeria to overcome the challenges of sustainable development and growth, there is need for review of curriculum of tertiary institutions, which must emphasise skills acquisition. This was the submission of Prof Ayodeji Olukoju, Vice-Chancellor of Caleb University in Imota, Lagos.

    The VC made the suggestion at a conference of School of Business and Management Studies, Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH). He was the lead speaker at the conference with the theme: Sustainability of political, economic and educational systems in developing countries.

    Olukoju said: “The curriculum of formal institutions needs a strong element of skills acquisition and vocational training. For those of us in tertiary institutions, the relevant questions to answer at this juncture are: should tertiary institutions provide general knowledge or specialist training? What should universities, polytechnics and colleges of education be doing? To what extent do we maintain academic standards and remain globally competitive?  I wish to suggest that a holistic curriculum is required to at this stage of our national development.

    “We need to produce graduates of tertiary institutions who can work with their hands and think on their feet. Ultimately, we should make our education sector more directly relevant to the needs of the economy and society. Entrepreneurial education and vocational training should form the backbone of the curricula.”

    Olukoju urged students to avoid demanding grades from lecturers, saying they should instead submit themselves to quality peer review.

    He added: “Students should engage in skilled jobs and as well face their studies because skill acquisition and academics qualification produce better output as a graduate.”

  • Children should learn emotional IQ, says don

    A teacher of Psychology, Dr Olu Omojugba, has underscored the gains of teaching emotional intelligence (IQ) to children.

    Speaking on the topic:  ‘Social and emotional intelligence: A tool for managing excessive behaviours among children and adolescents’, at the second teachers’ forum by Reonus Resources Educational Consult at Anthony Village, Lagos, Omojugba said emotional intelligence helps children to effectively negotiate complex social relationship and environment.

    “Emotional intelligence is the ability to monitor one and other people’s emotion; discriminate between two emotions, and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behaviors,” he said.

    He added that social and emotional intelligence could be taught by setting good examples for children, setting clear and reasonably high expectations, discussing about what is right or wrong with them, and teaching them how to handle their problems.

    He said aggressiveness, lack of confidence, loneliness, lack of respect for property of others, lack of team spirit, and the like are warning signs that children lack such skills.

    The event also featured the launch of the Edumonitor Magazine, which the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Reonus Resources Educational Consult and Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, Mrs Igbiaye Esther, said would celebrate education and cover school owners, civil service and the Ministry of Education.

    Other lectures delivered included:’ Professionalisation of the teaching ‘by Lagos State coordinator of Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Mr Gbolahan Enilolobo; ‘Teachers career planning and entrepreneurial education, and teachers work-life-balance,”.

  • Don to govt: Invest in agric to reduce unemployment

    The Provost, Oyo State College of Agriculture, Igboora, Prof. Gbemiga Adewale,  has called on the government to invest in agriculture to reduce unemployment in the country.

    Adewale said more investment and concentration on agricultural development would reduce unemployment to a minimal level.

    According to him, unemployment can only be eradicated in Nigeria if the federal and state governments invest in agriculture.

    “They should provide conducive environment that will entice jobless youths to the sector,” he said.

    He urged the government to enhance the capacity of the youths through support for vocational studies to make them self-reliant, adding that the government should also provide soft loans for young farmers.

    “God has been so kind to this country because we are blessed with fertile land on which we can plant any crop across the nation and you can be sure of good harvest at the end.

    “But I sincerely believe that millions of our unemployed youth will go back to farm if the governments, I mean the federal, state and local governments, can make it a point of duty to provide enabling environment.

    “They should do that by making tractors and other equipment available, provide storage facilities, soft loans and buy the goods from them, possibly for export when necessary,” the provost said.

    He said the institution was ready to provide technical assistance, including consultancy to farmers.

  • Don advises dental surgeons at graduation

    Don advises dental surgeons at graduation

    When former Nigerian President, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe founded the University of Nigeria Nsukka in 1960, his dream was to establish a citadel of learning and research in a bid to halt the exodus of Nigerians to foreign countries in search of the Golden Fleece.

    To achieve that desire of excellence, he recruited the best of academic and non- academic staff from parts of Europe to lay a solid foundation for a university that could compare favourably with any around the globe.

    It was in pursuance of this noble objective that the Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry of the institution, Dr. Linda Oge Okoye, restated her determination to make the faculty the best dental training centre in the world.

    Speaking during the third induction ceremony of dental surgeons of the University of Nigeria Nsukka at the faculty’s main hall of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu State, Dr. Linda Okoye said in order to keep the dreams of the founding fathers alive, management had not only increased their training capacity but has also provided an atmosphere conducive enough to teaching and learning.

    She noted that since the accreditation of the faculty programme in 2004, efforts had been made to equip it with the state-of-the-art facilities, while experienced academic and non-academic staff had been recruited to elevate the status of the school to international standard.

    She also added that their collaborative linkage educational programme with the University of British Columbia had yielded great dividends, with more than five dental surgeons from UNN benefiting from the scheme.

    Despite the feat achieved by the faculty, the Dean, fondly addressed as the doyen of Dentistry in Africa by professional colleagues of hers, stated that more was still needed to truly place UNN as a centre of excellence for dental training on the continent.

    “Since dentistry is an expensive profession, we therefore enjoin all stakeholders, government and corporate bodies in Nigeria to support the dream of the only Faculty of Dentistry in the entire Eastern Nigeria with more funding. Just as an adage says if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together. To the alumni, there is strength in unity.

    We have capacity to make this school the best in the world, if we can come together,” she said.

    To the graduating young dental surgeons, the Dean challenged them to exhibit those rare qualities that distinguish them from other surgeons, adding that “it takes a lot of hard work, discipline and patience to earn a Bachelor of Dental Surgery Degree of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. These are the same virtues you need to succeed in life”.

    She said:  “I have no doubt therefore, that you have what it takes to excel and succeed in life. You are today licensed to practice your profession with dignity to the service of God and humanity. My personal expectation and wish for you all is that the licenses you receive today should enable you to stand out in the dental profession, both in Nigeria and elsewhere.”

    Administering the oath of allegiance on behalf of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, the outgoing Provost of the College of Medicine of the University of Nigeria, Prof. Basden Onwubere, under whose tenure the Faculty of Dentistry blossomed, urged the graduates to shun the get-rich-quick syndrome of society and aim for excellence and discharge their duties creditably, even as he reminded them of the need to be of great assistance to their alma mater at all times.

    Onwubere, who won the Africa’s best provost award by African Medical Students last year, observed that following the impressive performance of graduates of dentistry from UNN in the field at the local and international scenes since 2004, the Faculty of Dentistry of the university had come to stay.

    He said the university Senate had recently praised the College of Medicine team for the performance of dental surgeons from UNN and also praised the efforts of the Dean, the academic and non-academic staff of the faculty for this feat. He expressed his hope that the effort would be sustained.

    The Provost, who also represented the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Chukwuma Ozumba, on the occasion, announced that the college had concluded arrangement to build a shopping mall, bank and a centre of excellence for staff and students within the college premises, while the ultra-modern medical library under construction would be completed within the next one year to boost learning and research.

    In a valedictory speech, the best graduating student of the class of 2013, Faculty of Dentistry, Dr. Obinna Franklin Eboh, called for the establishment of the Department of Dentistry at health centres in all rural communities of the country. He regretted that despite the importance of oral healthcare, government was not doing enough, as most Nigerians know little or nothing about oral health.

    Dr. Eboh expressed joy that a journey that started seven years ago, had been blessed with success, even as he thanked the lecturers and their parents for their support.

    Earlier in a lecture to mark the occasion, chairman of the Nigerian Dental Association, Enugu State branch, Dr. Felix Chukwuneke, emphasised the need for the graduating students to maintain ethics in the discharge of their medical practice, stressing that the duty of care should be paramount in the relationship between the clinician and patients.

    Dr. Chukwuneke, a union leader and one of the pioneers of the faculty, enjoined the graduates to make a difference in a positive way in the medical profession, as that is what they owe the present and future generations of Nigerians.

    He admonished them: “As you go into the world of dental practice, you should always remember the “Hippocratic oath” which you took before all the dignitaries, your senior colleagues and your parents here today.”

    Two of the eight graduates, Dr. Obinna Eboh and Dr. Martins Chibuike received all the four prizes available in child dental health, preventive dentistry, restorative dentistry and oral and maxillofacial surgery.

    Two former Deputy Vice-Chancellors of the Enugu Campus of the university, Prof. Bede Ibe and Prof. Sam Ohaegbulam as well as the former Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Etisiobi Ndiokwelu, were among top academics that attended the event.

  • Don stresses need for soil preservation

    A lecturer in the Dept of Crop and Soil Sciences, College of Agriculture, Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Prof . Olusola Omosofe Agbede, has  said  Nigeria could face food crisis if urgent action is not taken to preserve the soil that has been overstretched.

    Speaking during a public lecture titled: Assessment, development and conservation of soil fertility key to national food security, at the university, he said man was created from the soil and from that creation depended on soil for prosperity and survival, that any departure from this divine arrangement usually incurs unpleasant consequences.

    According to him, through man’s carelessness and misuse of soil resources over time, soil productivity has declined. He warned that if soil is not adequately managed, many countries, including Nigeria could face food crisis.

    While acknowledging that the government is making efforts at upgrading soil fertility assessment development and conservation to increase food production, Agbede advised that in order not to be caught up in this crisis, the government should arrest the problem early.

  • Oyedepo is an asset to the world, says don

    Oyedepo is an asset to the world, says don

    With the successful completion of the ninth convocation of Covenant University(CU), Ota, Ogun State,  last Friday, the Vice-Chancellor(VC), Littoral University (Institute Littoral Des Etudes Professionnelles Superieures (ILEPS), Porto-Novo, Republic of Benin, Prof. Reuben Oyebode Ayeni,  has described the Chancellor and Chairman, Board of Regents (CU) Bishop David Oyedepo as an asset to mankind.

    “Bishop Oyedepo is a gift to the world and everyone needs to tap into it. I visit the university often to see what God is doing and everyday miracle in the university gives me joy and inspiration. It simply shows God is really working in Covenant University. I also try to learn, so that I can replicate what I see there in Littoral University. On behalf of my family and ILEPS, I want to congratulate Bishop Oyedepo for the success. This is also why I am here today with some of our students to celebrate this great achiever,” he said.

    Ayeni urged other institutions to take a cue from CU’s giant strides. “No wonder products from this great university are never stranded in the labour market or found looking for placements. This is a pointer that these new graduands, like their mates in the past, will surely make it in life. ILEPS will get there too,” he said.

    Speaking to The Nation shortly after delivering ILEPS’ goodwill message to CU, Ayeni, who came in company of some the university’s students and top management, expressed his happiness on the planned signing of an MoU between the two universities scheduled for July 9 at the CU premises.

    “It’s (MoU) a rare privilege given to us. Papa (Oyedepo) has been like a father to us, and has always encouraged us. We are happy about the collaboration. When a young university like ours has the privilege of standing on the shoulder of a world- class university like Covenant University,  it gives us a wider window to see further into academic horizons, while opening us up to wider opportunities beyond Africa.

    “Above all, it will open a new chapter in the history of both universities particularly, ILEPS in her quest to attaining excellence. That makes our journey to the top a lot easier,” he said.

    He said the university has been going through some trying times, contending with some elements, who want to throw spanners in the university’s good works.

    “Yes! There are challenges, but they are meant to make one become champions. We have lots of sycophants who are not sensitive to real issues.  Some parents are not patient enough and are getting swayed by hearsay. There are some bad eggs who want to reap where they did not sow.

    “Littoral University is not a warehouse where you just come and dump your child.  We are building future leaders here. The Republic of Benin education system has its modus operandi, which we must follow. We are appealing to parents and students to exercise patience because we are on course,” Prof. Ayeni said.

    ILEPS, he said, is speeding up plans at the permanent site located in Banigbe Idi-Iroko, so that the university can move there soonest.