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Tag: LASU

  • LASU disowns student that jumped into lagoon

    The Lagos State University (LASU) yesterday debunked claims that a man, Kingsley Gabriel, who jumped into the lagoon on Monday, is its student.

    Gabriel was rescued by Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) officials after jumping into the lagoon off Falomo Bridge.

    LASWA General Manager Damilola Emmanuel said attempted suicide act was becoming rampant and worrisome on Lagos waterways.

    According to him, “the student was quickly rescued from drowning in the water by LASWA officials who responded swiftly by jumping into the lagoon.”

    Gabriel, Emmanuel said, was taken to the Falomo Police Station after he was rescued.

    LASU spokesperson and the Students Union President. Ademola Martin Adekoya and Samuel Moshood Olalere, told The Nation that Gabriel’s name was not in the university’s database.

    Olalere said: “We have to approach the Office of the Dean of Students Affairs to look into our database, but we realised no one bears that name Kingsley Gabriel.

    “We don’t know yet if the victim is our student but his name misspelt; but I can categorically tell you we have no such name in our record.”

    Aside the university database, Olalere said the Students Union also has its personal database where names and pictures of registered students can be ascertained.

    “We have our own generalised platform and upon the news yesterday, we logged on the name ‘Gabriel Kingsley’ but none of our students’ identity tallies with that name.”

    Management, Adekoya said, had now only acted on the victim’s name and was yet to visit Falomo Police Station or the hospital.

    “But I think our security unit is doing something about that now,” he said.

  • LASU produces 26 first-class graduates at 22nd convocation

    The Lagos State University (LASU) has said 26 of its 26,637 graduates will receive First-Class at its 22nd Convocation.

    Its Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, spoke yesterday at the media briefing heralding the convocation.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the convocation will hold on May 23 and 24 on the main campus at Ojo on Lagos-Badagry road.

    Fagbohun said the best graduating student for 2017/2018 academic session recorded a Cumulative Grade Point Aggregate (CGPA) of 4.7.

    He said of the 21,637 graduates, 201 had diploma; 21,481 first degree on part-time and full-time, while 4,955 were higher degree students.

    The VC said their results had  been approved by the senate.

    Fagbohun said: “For the diploma level, two graduates made a Distinction, 39 made Upper Credit, 147 finished with Lower Credit while 13 ended with Pass division.

    “For the first degree, 26 have First Class honours, 1,084 students bag Second Class Upper Division, 17,323 students finished in the Second Class Lower Division, 2,940 Third Class Honours and 108 finished with Pass Division.”

    For higher degrees, the VC said the university would award postgraduate diploma to 1,589 graduates, academic Master’s to 299 and professional Master’s to 3,022 and 45 would get PhD.

    He added that LASU produced a large number this year because students on its External System Programme, ended in 2017, were included.

    Fagbohun added: “We were also able to produce 26 first-class students because our assessment process is very thorough, with different processes of quality assurance at faculty and department levels.”

    The VC said the university awarded scholarships to 220 undergraduates, who finished the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 sessions with a CGPA of 4.5 and above.

    According to him, LASU was ranked as the first among state universities in the 2018 maiden National Universities Commission’s Open Education Resources (OER) ranking.

    He unveiled the new university anthem, which he said would further entrench the essence and value of the institution in the hearts of its workers and students.

    On some key projects at the university, Fagbohun said the Faculty of Dentistry Research and Service Centre had been completed and furnished with state-of-art equipment.

  • ‘LASU External System gone for good’

    Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU) Prof Lanre Adigun Fagbohun, has expressed happiness that the Lagos State University External System (LASUES) has been wound down having substantially graduated most of its students.

    “All those buildings in Anthony, Jibowu, Agege and rest that we once used for the external system no longer belong to us. We have told the owners to do whatever they want with their properties, Fagbohun told reporters during an interactive session at the university premises on Wednesday, last week.

    Nonetheless, he said the university still retains an office, headed by the LASUES Director Dr Steve Ogunpitan for some outstanding students with one complaint or the other.

    To replace LASUES, Fagbohun said the National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved Open Distant Learning (ODL) education.

    “Do not forget that it was due to the problem of access that LASU established LASUES, but we have complied with NUC’s directive to close it up and in lieu we now have ODL, which also has NUC approval.

    “We would have actually started (the ODL) but we are being careful because we want it to be very effective in terms of delivery. We are  running a pilot project and I can assure you that come September/October, we shall commence in earnest,” said the VC.

    He said LASU had also entered into Memorandum of Understanding with various foreign universities as well as small and medium enterprises to boost its entrepreneurship programme.

    Fagbohun said: “We have signed MoUs with SMES and other companies. The idea is we don’t want to do what you generally see around. Our aim is that when they have had the theory in class, they will meet with industry partners and practicalise these things they were taught.

    “One of the companies we have signed with has expertise to the extent that they will give you a paragraph to write, and after, do a scientific analysis of that paragraph and tell you, if you are troubled emotionally, psychologically, financially and otherwise. So, the idea is to deepen the practical aspect of entrepreneurship.”

    Further, Fagbohun said since he took over as VC, he has remained committed to inclusive governance, infrastructural growth and students/workers’ welfare.

  • Land dispute: ‘LASU’s claim spurious’

    An activist, Alhaji Makanjuola Gani,  has lent his voice to the land ownership tussle between the Lagos State University (LASU) and some surrounding communities.

    The elder statesman said LASU’s claim of unutilised 800 hectares of land is spurious, noting that the land the institution is laying claim to is not originally its, but was acquired through other agencies.

    He said he feared that the planned regularisation by the government would open up some cans of worms.

    “Let me restate here that I have been following the purported LASU land for the past 32 years.  I therefore wish to meet His Excellency to discuss this matter with him, that there are other scientific methods of raking in land money into the coffers of the government instead of the money going to LASU, which negates the dictates of the Land Use Decree,” said Makanjuola, a resident of Igbo-Elerin.

    He said controversy over the LASU land  dates back to three decades ago. It subsided, he said, but was later revived under the administration of the university in collaboration with some government agencies.

    But the university said Makanjuola was only trying to revive a forgone issue.

    Makanjuola recalled that Lagos State’s first  civilian governor Alhaji Lateef Jakande set up LASU through an implementation committee and the institution took off in Ojo in December 1983, the same month the military struck. A month later, LASU raised another panel, which rubbished Jakande’s initial plan.

    He said in July 1986, LASU served contravention notice on residents of Igbo-Elerin, and demolished over 100 structures. Against this backdrop, Makanjuola said residents  complained to the authorities under former military governor Raji Rasaki, which discovered that LASU was  lying.

    “In 1988/1989, Lagos State government erected a signpost on Igbo Elerin indicating that the land within that vicinity is for residential scheme, and not institutional scheme like LASU,” he added.

    Makanjuola said the Epe campus of LASU was ceded to the university following a letter of appeal by residents to the then governor Micheal Otedola to reverse the excision law of 1992/93, which ceded developed areas in Igbo Elerin to LASU, and the scattered areas for residents.

    Since then, Makanjuola explained that the issue continued to gallop from Col. Buba Marwa (rtd), another military administrator of Lagos State to his successor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who despatched his then Chief of Staff Babatunde Raji Fashola  to intervene, to no avail.

    In his reaction however, the university’s Acting Public relations Officer (PRO) Ademola Adekoya, said: “I must made it known to you that the issue has passed the stage the writer is drawing us back to. Nearly every stakeholder on the land agreed that LASU land was encroached upon, but the extent of the encroachment is the bone of contention.

    “At the last stakeholders’ meeting, the community agreed with the state government on the land reclamation, but it appealed that the process be seamless and devoid of pain to residents.

    “They stressed they were ready to pay the state government and not LASU, which the deputy governor promised to convey to the governor for consideration. These have, no doubt, shown that remarkable truce had of being reached by both parties on the land issue. Therefore, going back to what Alhaji Makanjuola said is to go several steps backward which will not be of interest of both parties.

    “Lastly, let me make it clear that no one in LASU is trying to reclaim the land for individuals or personal use.

  • LASU: houses on fence to go

    •Residents: some land not yours

    Management of Lagos State University (LASU) has said it will not hesitate to demolish structures constructed very close to its fence or within its campus by people who broke the fence.

    The university management said the demolition was necessary to achieve the institution’s expansion agenda.

    However, the Lagos State government last week shelved a planned demolition.

    During a stakeholders’ meeting with residents of the affected areas such as a parts of Iba, Igbo Elerin, and a few others in Ojo Local Government Area, the Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Adebule, allayed residents’ fear of imminent demolition.

    She noted that available document indicated that the portions of land in dispute belonged to government.  However, she lamented that many of the residents fell prey to omo onile (land grabbers). She promised to meet the stakeholders again for amicable resolution on a yet-to-be-decided date.

    Speaking with The Nation, LASU’s Director, Centre for Planning Prof Ayo Omotayo, said the institution does not want hotels and brothels close to the campus.

    “We have recommended to government that those houses cannot cohabit. LASU as an institution cannot be living next to hotels and brothels. We need more space to build classrooms and hostels.

    “There is no land on LASU acquired area that can have government approved survey. Government cannot give two surveys; there is one that covers total acquisition for LASU and any survey emanating from outside what governments has given us, is illegal.”

    Meanwhile, one of the leaders of the community, the Baale Igbo Elerin Alhaji Muhammad Taofik  Aina faulted LASU’s claims.

    He said: “Government said we should come and pay to LASU that owns the land, but we told government that the land does not belong to LASU but families,” he said.

    Another community leader, Chief Makanjuola Ganiyu, said the land issue between the university and the communities dates back over three decades.

    He said: “Government has come and listened to us. Even the (next) consultation meeting, we will ask them (LASU) when governments was sharing land, we knew where they gave LASU and where they allocated to estate and the metro line. If they had allowed (Lateef )Jakande (former Lagos State governor that established LASU in 1982) to finish these three projects, these problems would not have risen now. LASU is laying claims to some places as their boundaries but it is not so. This meeting will serve as an opportunity to explain to government and iron everything out once and for all.

    “How can you say you want to demolish 2,700 houses without considering the environmental impact assessment of the likely victims?”

     

  • LASU shuts Ojuelegba, Anthony campuses

    The Lagos State University (LASU) has phased out external programmes at the Ojuelegba and Anthony Village campuses.

    The university also said it is no longer in business with its former partners on the premises, its spokesman Adekoya Martins, has said.

    Martins told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos that the off-campus buildings at Ojuelegba and Anthony Village in Lagos did not belong to the university.

    The university has replaced its external campus programme with the Open and Distance Learning and Research Institute (ODLRI), which was approved by the National Universities Commission (NUC) last month.

    Martins said LASU had relocated its School of Communication from Ojuelegba to its main campus, in Ojo.

    He said though the Ojuelegba building was donated to LASU by the late Alhaji Adebola Adegunwa the change of ownership could not be effected.

    “For now, LASU does not have business with those buildings, which belong to the former partners of the university.

    “The owners are, however, free to use their buildings for whatever they wish to use them for,” he said.

    Martins also said LASU will soon erase its name and identity from the buildings to dissociate the university from them.

     

  • LASU no longer using Ojuelegba, Anthony campuses – Spokesman

    LASU no longer using Ojuelegba, Anthony campuses – Spokesman

    The Lagos State University ( LASU ) says it has phased out external programmes at Ojuelegba and Anthony Village Campuses and is no longer in business with its former partners on the premises.

    LASU spokesman, Adekoya Martins said on Tuesday in Lagos that the off campus buildings at Ojuelegba and Anthony Village in Lagos did not belong to the university.

    Reports say that LASU had in 2017 phased out its external campus programme and replaced it with Open and Distance Learning and Research Institute ( ODLRI ) which was approved by the National University Commission ( NUC ) last month.

    Read also: Two years on, LASU VC takes stock

    Martins said LASU had since relocated its School of Communication from Ojuelegba to its Ojo main campus after vacating the building.

    He explained that the Ojuelegba building, which formerly housed its School of Communication, was donated to LASU by Late Alhaji Adebola Adegunwa but the change of ownership could not be effected.

    “For now, LASU does not have business with those buildings which belong to the former partners of the university.

    “The owners are, however, free to use their buildings for whatever they wish to use it for,’’ he said.

    Martins further said that LASU would soon erase its name and identity from the said buildings to dissociate the university from them.

    NAN

  • VC’s 2 years: LASU has been transformed, staff, students say

    VC’s 2 years: LASU has been transformed, staff, students say

    Members of staff and students of the Lagos State University ( LASU ) said on Thursday that the institution had experienced positive changes in the first two years of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, in office.

    Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State appointed Fagbohun as eighth substantive Vice-Chancellor of LASU on January 6, 2016 and inaugurated him on January 11, 2016.

    Fagbohun, a professor of Environmental Law, was appointed following Ambode’s approval of five-year single-term tenure for all helmsmen of the state-owned tertiary institutions.

    Fagbohun’s appointment also followed the expiration of the tenure of Prof. John Oladapo Obafunwa, the seventh substantive Vice-Chancellor of the institution on October 31, 2015, after which Prof. Fidelis Njokanma, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) held office as Acting Vice-Chancellor.

    Mr Saheed Oseni, Chairman, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), LASU Chapter, told NAN that several segments of the institution had to a large extent, experienced transformation within the last two years.

    Oseni said although there were ups and downs which were humanly inevitable, the incumbent vice-chancellor’s administration was quite commendable .

    He, however, urged Fagbohun not to rest on his oars, but to initiate policies that would bring more smiles to the workers’ faces because the end justifies the means .

    “To a large extent, things have been transformed in LASU within the last two years; but the vice-chancellor must endeavour to do more because it is not the beginning that matters, but the end.

    “He must also ensure that all pending contentious issues are resolved amicably, while the rule of law must be upheld to the letter while making sure that no party within the system is unjustly treated, ” he said.

    Mr Samuel Olalere, President of LASU Students Union (LASUSU) said the university was not what it used to be, because it had seen a lot of progress.

    Olalere said the students community was pleased with the current administration and its system because the atmosphere in the campus had been relatively serene.

    “This is my fourth year in LASU and I would not have been involved in students unionism if it was the LASU of then.

    “But because things have really changed under Prof. Fagbohun, and we are enjoying peace, that is why I am now a student union leader,” he said.

    Read also: LASU undergoing internal cleansing – Spokesman

    Olalere, however, urged Fagbohun to continue to maintain the peace enjoyed within the university community and to ensure that the LASU brand was incomparable globally.

    Mr Adekoya Martins, the University Spokesman, said that LASU had witnessed tremendous improvement in all facets within the last two years, compared to its 35 years of existence.

    Martins said that Fagbohun’s achievements so far hinged on the Lagos State Government’s support and funding, to ensure that all roads in the institution are in good shape and to ensure the community was well lit.

    “Other infrastructure being put in place, aside beautifying the entire university environment, include installation of a new generator at the Faculty of Arts, renovation of some classrooms and the university’s Iba road entrance,” he said.

    According to him, the restoration of peace in the university has ensured uninterrupted academic calendar within the period.

    “Staff, within the two years administration, got their outstanding and due promotion; and no staff duly qualified was denied promotion, while the end of the year package was improved upon,” he said.

    Martins said the Open and Distance Learning and Research Institute (ODLRI) established to replace the LASU External system which was recently phased out was recently approved by National Universities Commission.

    NAN

  • Don’t distort information on sacked lecturers, LASU tells ASUU

    Don’t distort information on sacked lecturers, LASU tells ASUU

    Authorities of Lagos State University (LASU) have urged the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) not to plunge the institution into a fresh crisis by feeding the public with false information on 16 of their colleagues who the university sacked last September.

    LASU said the current peace on its campus was the result of the reform and an all-inclusive governance style it administered for the acceptance of all parties.

    A statement by its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Ademola Adekoya, said: “The call for crisis by the few discredited ones among them is mischievous and self-serving and should be completely disregarded and ignored.”

    The university management was reacting to a report by ASUU’s Lagos Zone which urged the Lagos State government to set up an independent panel of enquiry to review the case of the sacked lecturers, who included the chairman and vice chairman of ASUU at LASU, Isaac Akinloye Oyewunmi and Adeyemi Suenu.

    ASUU’s Lagos Zonal Coordinator, Prof Olusiji Sowande, accused the university of conniving with certain elements in government to victimise their colleagues.

    ASUU also accused LASU management of high-handedness, disregard for due process as well as undue victimisation of their members, now led by ASUU-LASU Treasurer, Dr Oluwakemi Aboderin-Sonibare.

    Adekoya regretted that ASUU was more concerned about the two union leaders than the others.

    The university said ASUU was playing the ostrich, adding that the management’s decision was in line with LASU’s Condition of Service.

    The statement said: “What they (ASUU) failed to tell the public was that the sack of the two, alongside others, was in line with the Conditions of Service of the university. They refused to state that the allegations against the sacked workers were, ab initio, brought forward by the victims of their indiscretion in some cases, and or staff members from their own local union (ASUU-LASU).

    “In fact, the information that led to the dismissal of a number of the academic workers, who were dismissed, was given by officials of ASUU-LASU executive before further checks revealed that a member of the executive was himself culpable.”

    It added: “All cases went through impartial statutory committees, which established their culpability on the various acts of misconduct before the university’s Governing Council, its highest decision-making body, ratified the dismissals.”

    LASU said the union’s call for the state government to set up an independent panel of enquiry was like chasing shadows.

    It added that by the Edict that established LASU, a statutory panel of enquiry to appraise the activities of the union only comes up every 10 years, and the institution is not yet due for that.

    “Supporting impunity and illegality of individuals and shielding them from due sanctions, because they are union executives casts a shadow of doubt on the integrity of ASUU leadership as a body,” the statement stated.

    “For ASUU to continue in this path of dishonour portends grave danger for the future of our universities and every concerned stakeholder must rise up to save our ivory towers from further onslaught.”

  • Olatunji delivers LASU inaugural lecture

    Prof Rotimi Williams Olatunji is to deliver the 63rd Inaugural Lecture of the Lagos State University, Ojo on Tuesday, October 10, 2017.

    In a bulletin signed by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olanrewaju Adigun Fagbohun, the inaugural is to hold at the school’s main campus in Ojo by 3:00pm.

    Olatunji, who is a Professor of Public Relations and Advertising, is to deliver his paper on Advertising, Advertainment and the Rest of Us.