The Nation Newspaper

Tag: DON

  • Don seeks research-based transport policy

    Provost of the Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Ikeja, Prof Babatunde Solagberu, has urged the government to conduct thorough research into the various aspects of the society before formulating policies.

    He said this while delivering the university’s 53rd inaugural lecture on Ojo campus. It had as theme: ‘Of broken bones and broken dreams; a bone carpenter to the rescue.’

    Solagberu said his research linked major causes of road transport injuries (RTI) to human factors, followed by vehicular factors, with the least being environmental factors.

    He said: “Human beings are the largest contributors to the problems.

    “We did a research published in the Pan-African Medical Journal. Eighty five per cent of the problems are caused by humans. We are the ones who won’t follow speed limit, will drink and drive, drive against traffic, work ourselves as if we were machine and be tired; then become sleepy and still be driving, instead of us to park and rest.”

    Solagberu, an orthopedic surgeon, downplayed seat belt policies, noting that other factors were more prominent in causing RTIs.

    “For vehicles, the two most common causes of RTI are burst tires and brake failure; and for environment, the two most common are pot holes on the road and broken obstacles. Now, where is seat belt in all of these? Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying seat belt is not important. But if you have 1,000 problems, you ought to have the most important and that is what I mean. Our road safety people should formulate their policies to follow good research,” he said.

    He called for more funding from government and the society for the medical institutions to maximise their potential.

    “It is not only government. There is a role for everyone to play. We can have non-governmental organisations; but the responsibility is more on government, because government is organised,” Solagberu added.

    He continued: “Funding is an issue. Lagos State government is doing a lot but it is still not enough. There are policies that can be made, collaborations between the ministries of health and transport, among others. The institutions that also produce the expert, 99.9 per cent of their funding is coming from government. That is a lot. I feel if a lot more funding is devoted into the system, more can be achieved.

    “We see about 1,200 patients in our surgical emergency room at LASUCOM. Thirty per cent of them are sent back because the spaces are full. So, we need to expand facilities. Research also needs to be funded. Most of what we have been doing, a lot of them are from our own pockets. But it is not only government, we too should organise ourselves.

    “There should be the Trauma Society of Nigeria that should have everybody interested in contributing to the development of the society involved, not only health experts. That way, we would have a lot of things to help reduce injuries because it is about promoting safety. What we are doing now is like mopping the floor of a leaking roof. We should do a lot more and move out to prevent the injuries.”

  • Don promises to legalise CASSON

    Professor of Guidance and Counselling, Elizabeth Egbochuku, has promised to lift the Counselling Association of Nigeria (CASSON) to the position of constitutional recognition if elected as President at the association’s upcoming election.

    The election, which will usher in new executives for a two-year tenure, will hold as part of the association’s 41st international conference coming up next week in Lagos.

    Prof Egbochuku said working for the actualization of a legal status for CASSON would be one of her top priorities while in office, as well as ensuring better visibility for the counselling profession and the association in the society.

    She noted that counselling, which is much more than simply giving advice, should be included in curriculum reforms and enforced in schools to foster national development.

    Prof Egbochuku, who delivered her inaugural lecture at the University of Benin in 2009, said she would: “Make CASSON a more visible professional association in society that lends a voice on issues that touch on its cognate occupational jurisdiction; work to create Counsellors Registration Council to regulate professional practices; improve the financial resource base of the association; collaborate with government to create counselling units in all government agencies and institutions; evolve a programme of continuous professional education for counsellors; and work for a research and knowledge based profession, among others while in office.”

    She noted that her team, with Prof Muhammad Yakasai as Vice President, would do everything required to achieve their vision for the association.

    The professor of education and guidance counselling, with several authored books and journals as well as years of experience, has won the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Commission in the United Kingdom (2002-2003) at Birkbeck College, University of London. She is currently on Sabbatical at Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Benin City; is the founding co-ordinator of UNIBEN’s Guidance and Counselling Centre; and has taught at the University of Swaziland as a visiting Professor.

    The four-day conference, themed, ‘Counselling, women’s health, education/empowerment and sustainable development,’ will hold at the Multipurpose Hall, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, from Monday, August 21, 2016.

  • Don pledges to lift CASSON

    Professor of Guidance and Counselling, Mrs Mopelola Omoegun has promised to reflect accountability, transparency, and integrity if elected President of the Counselling Association of Nigeria (CASSON).

    The election, which will usher in new executives for a two-year tenure, will hold as part of the association’s 41st international conference coming up between August 21 and 26 in Lagos State.

    Prof Omoegun, who has served as vice president of CASSON in 2004, and started the Lagos chapter of the association in 1993, said she is ready to go the extra mile to serve as the body “in order to achieve greater image and reputation for the association.”

    Mrs Omoegun is credited for introducing monthly meeting of the association in Lagos, annual state chapter conferences and skill training workshops, as well as her role in leading CASSON Lagos to win the best chapter award in 2003, a position it has sustained to date.

    Mrs Omoegun, who has authored several books in counselling, is currently the Chairman, Management Board of International School, Lagos (ISL), member of Ajayi Crowther University (ACU), Oyo State’s governing council and Chairman, Board of Governors, Queensland Academy, Okota.

    This year’s conference has as theme, ‘Counselling, women’s health, education/empowerment and sustainable development,’ and will be held at the Multipurpose Hall, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka.

     

  • Don urges govt to make provisions as older persons’ population rise

    Don urges govt to make provisions as older persons’ population rise

    With research showing that the population of older persons in Nigeria is growing by three per cent year, an expert in Gerontology, Dr Emem Omokaro, has called on the government to make adequate provisions to cater for their needs.

    Dr Omokaro of the  the Dave Omokaro Foundation (DOF) spoke while signing an agreement with the International Institute on Ageing, United Nations-Malta (INIA) on Ageing Development and Training in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) at the National Universities Commission (NUC) headquarters in Abuja.

    With the agreement, DOF would provide a platform to deliver INIA’s outreach programmes.

    The pact immediately yielded a week-long workshop that exposed experts to training on Ageing Policy Formulation and Development for Sub Saharan Africa.

    Dr Omokaro hoped that the Federal Government would tap from the gains of the workshop by translating the INIA-DOF 2016 class into a National Working Group on Ageing, with the mandate to review the existing draft policies of 2003 and 2008 and finally lead to legislation on Ageing.

    She said the participants would come up with suggestions on how to improve the wellbeing of Nigeria’s ageing population, currently about 8.2 million, in the areas of economic inequalities to reduce poverty in old age; making older persons more independent and economically engaged; and as creating age friendly communities, among others.

    The National Universities Commission (NUC), Executive Secretary Prof Julius Okojie, who was represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary (DES) ll, Mallam Ibrahim Dan’Iya, said the pact with INIA would further advance the field of gerontology.

    He expressed a vote of confidence in DOF’s ability to mid-wife the capacity building process, saying that the NUC’s five-year research collaboration with the foundation resulted in the development of a curriculum for Gerontology and Geriatrics Programmes in Nigerian as well as the training of 24 academics at the University of North Texas, Denton, USA.

    The INIA Director, Dr. Marvin Fermosa, said the Institute had so far trained 2,189 participants from 150 countries in its regular international short and long-term training programmes held in Malta, and 102 in- situ training in 28 countries, training more than 3,200 various professionals in the field of Ageing.

    Fermosa expressed gratitude to Prof Nana Apt, considered as the mother of Gerontology in Africa, for accepting to act as INIA’s International Expert on the training programme.

  • Don laments disregard for teachers

    University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics), Prof Nike Ijaiya, has blamed the decadence in the education sector on corruption, lack foresight and uncaring attitude.

    Ijaiya, who spoke at the graduation of Roemichs International Schools, Ilorin, lamented that teachers in public schools are not yet accorded the respect they deserve.

    She said: “Teachers and teacher educators are being owed several months salaries in many states. The implications are enormous. When primary school teachers are not paid, it means the foundation of our education system, is slowly but surely being destroyed. It means the aims of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) which is to afford children unfettered access to basic education is being defeated.

    “It means both secondary and tertiary education are now endangered. What will university education build upon? On what are we building Vision 2020? Or more importantly the change we are all yearning for today”

    She urged President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to encourage the teaching of History in schools, while making reading association mandatory in all secondary schools.

    “Imagine a generation without a sense of its past! How does it handle the present and future of this country? How do they handle international politics with all its intrigues and complexity? No country loves another beyond itself.  Ignorance is clearly written on our national politics and outlooks; so how do we produce leaders? It has made us so lazy in ideas and performance that we look for a messiah to change us,” she said.

    Ijaiya also attributed Nigeria’s current travails to enslavement of mind of others by the elite, adding that the pervading hunger, poverty, deprivation, inflation, unemployment are mere symptoms of the enslavement.

    She said the problems are being compounded by ignorant and gullible masses “who have resigned to fate”. She said rather than open their eyes wide enough to see things clearly, the masses would prefer to blame others for their woes.

  • UNILAG don, Automedics boss for auto journalists training

    A senior lecturer at University of Lagos (UNILAG) Dr Oscar Odiboh and Automedics Managing Director Mr Kunle Sonaike will join other stakeholders in the automobile sector to speak at the annual capacity building workshop and training for the Nigeria Auto Journalists.

    The two-day training programme scheduled for July 29-30 will hold at NERO Hotel, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Sangotedo, Ajah, Lekki, Lagos.

    Sonaike will speak on Mechatronics and Automotive Parts.

    Odiboh, an auto expert will speak on importance of research in automotive journalism; while a Digital Marketing expert, Priestly Adaigbe will deliver lecture on the digitalisation.

    It would be recalled that the Chairman of Nigeria Auto Manufacturers Association (NAMA), who is also the Managing Director of VON Automobiles Limited, Mr. Tokunbo Aromolaran, recently hailed NAJA for organising the annual event.

    Aromolaran said: “Lots are happening now at various auto assemblies and manufacturing plants in the country. I know you (automobile journalists) have toured some of the plants. But if you would spare time to pay follow-up visits to the nation’s assembly and manufacturing plants, you would be able to see our latest products and so report them to Nigerians.

    “This will go a long way at encouraging local consumption of our locally made automobiles and at the long run, accelerate the Nigerian Industrial Development Plan (NIDP).”

  • Don counsels parents on best child-parent bonding tactics

    Head of Department of Educational Foundation at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Ngozi Osarenren, has advised parents to train their wards to resist peer pressure and guide their use of the social media.

    She said this at a parenting seminar tagged: “Godly Parenting seminar 2016”,  organised by Wellspring College, Omole Estate, Ikeja.

    The programme attracted many parents with children in the School. Prof Osarenren said good upbringing plays a vital role in children’s development, which is why those who imbibe their parents’ cardinal values hardly derail from it even when taught otherwise by peers.

    She said: “You must be able to bond with your child so that during those years of teenage rebelliousness, they know that they can always come to you; they know they have a friend in you. It is during this time that they rely on friends than family. You should be the friend they need.”

    Prof Osarenren rebuked parents who buy expensive gadgets for their children, saying that they are only spoiling them as it would have adverse effects in future.

    She said: “Some phones are not to be used by teenagers; do not buy them too expensive phones all in the name of I can afford to buy it or because since my parents could not afford these type of gadgets for me, I must buy for my own.”

    Principal of the college, Mrs Oluwayemisi Oloriade, said the seminar was organised for the parents because of the love they have for their pupils. She said the school cares about the emotional wellbeing of its pupils and does not focus only on their academic success.

    Mrs Oloriade said: “We intend to make sure that our pupils are emotionally balanced so that things become easy for us here in the school. We always advise the parents of our pupils to be available at all times so as to ensure that our pupils are well monitored, especially in this technological age.

    A parent, Mr Abiodun Olaiya said: ”I feel it is a good topic at the right time because homes are having issues. Children need to be parented the right way. The seminar is good because it will fine-tune parenting. I have always been using biblical teachings, but this seminar has been insightful and has taught me new things.”

    Popular actress, Ayo Adesanya, also a parent, said: “I have learnt how to manage my child, what category of person he belongs, the kind of behaviour he has and the best way to deal with those issues. Now I understand my child better. I am very grateful to the school.”

  • Don plans soft skills training for students

    Recruitment consultant and Senior Lecturer, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Dr Soji George, has identified lack of soft skills as a major reason many graduates do not readily get jobs.

    To address this problem, George is organising a two-day seminar to train students of the university who are close to graduation.

    George said his firm, J. Soji George, is partnering Exxon Mobil and a non-governmental organisation, Foundation for Leadership and Education to organise the seminar coming up on July 12 and 13 for first and second class 300 and 400-Level students of the Faculty of Business Adminstration.

    The don said inadequate funding forced him to limit the participants to only those two classes and advocated for sponsorships of more soft skills training for undergraduates.

  • Create grazing areas, says don

    To stem the attacks by herdsmen across the country, the Head of Department, Pasture and Range Management, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Prof Jimoh Olanite, has called on the government to create grazing areas, where animals will be restricted and promulgate laws that would punish herdsmen that go out of the grazing areas.

    He made this call while presenting the report of a research titled: “Mitigating the impact of pastoral/nomadic grazing on the natural ecosystem and rural livelihoods in Yewa Division of Ogun State”.

    According to him, herdsmen have been living all over Nigeria for several years and inter-relating with the people of their host communities without being troublesome until recently.

    ”Increase in human population has caused an increase in farm size which has eaten into the grazing areas. In order to produce enough food to meet the human needs, these two increases are coming into closer proximity,” he said.

    “This rapid increase in human population has made people to believe that the herdsmen are intruders, who are not wanted, but the people failed to realise that on the other hand, we need the animals and the animal products to complete our protein cycle,” he said.

    For this reason, he added, the only solution is to find a way of accommodating them without causing problems for both parties.

    Olanite said research had shown that most of the herdsmen that cause trouble in the country were mainly the ones, who do not have definite places of abode, but only come to a locality and leave whenever they are through with their business.

  • Don denies link with dead girl’s family

    A university teacher, Gbenga Ojo, has described a report linking him to the death of a two-year-old girl, Rachael Oyeniyi, as baseless and an attempt to blackmail him.

    In an April 22 petition to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone II, Onikan, Ojo, a lawyer, urged the police to prosecute those behind the story.

    A copy of the petition was also sent to the Vice-Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU), where Ojo teaches law.

    Ojo said his attention was drawn to a report published by naijagists.com, claiming that Gbenga of LASU and Busayo of the Ministry of Finance in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, were married and have two children, a boy and a girl named Rachael.

    The story says Gbenga lives on Jesse Street in Egbeda, Lagos while the wife lived and worked in Abeokuta.

    Against his wife’s wish, Gbenga brought the two-year-old Rachael to Lagos, and while she was playing in the compound, she fell into 80-foot well and died.

    The matter was said to have been reported at Gowon Estate Police Station, where the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) pleaded with them to bury the girl’s remains.

    The story claims that Busayo’s family was not satisfied with the police investigation and resolved to cry out.

    Ojo, whose picture was used to illustrate the story, said his photograph was used maliciously.

    “I am not Gbenga referred to in the story. I do not know any Busayo or Rachael. I am not married to any Busayo. I do not have a daughter by name Rachael. I do not have a two-year-old daughter for that matter.

    “All my daughters are adults and graduates. One read Accounting. The other read Law. I do not live at 8, Jesse Street, Egbeda or anywhere in Egbeda. I do not know the D.P.O of Gowon Estate. I did not take any child from Abeokuta to Lagos. I am not involved in any way with the police investigation.  I have never been to that station in my life. My picture was interposed maliciously.

    “The picture of the girl, Rachael, has been uploaded by the same irresponsible blackmailers. The girl is not my daughter. I have nothing to do with her. The blackmailers are impostors and irresponsible. I appeal to you sir to use your good offices to investigate these weighty allegations and bring the faceless blackmailers to book,” Ojo said.

    In his letter to LASU VC, Ojo added: “I will use the instrumentality of the law to deal with the malicious blackmailers and report later. I will clear my name and the name of our dear university. We are LASU. We are proud.”