The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Lectures

  • Lagos begins lectures for pilgrims

    Weekend lectures designed to educate intending pilgrims of the basic requirements of hajj will begin tomorrow, Commissioner for Home Affairs Dr. Abdul Hakeem Abdul Lateef, said this yesterday.

    The lectures, he said, will equip the pilgrims with practices expected of them in the course of performing the Holy Pilgrimage.

    He said the state government is committed to ensure this year’s hajj exercise is hitch free and memorable.

    “Our pilgrims should take the lecture serious in order to help government achieve the set objective of ensuring that pilgrims know the basic tenet of Islam and have the required knowledge about Hajj,” he said.

  • LAUTECH : Lectures to start October 3

    LAUTECH : Lectures to start October 3

    The management of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso, has declared that lectures in the campus by October 3.

    The Chairman Governing council Prof Dayo Afolabi, said “What we did was that we have spoken with the two Governors who has started bringing in their quota and the information we have is that the money would be in before the end of today (Friday) , so before the close of work, we would start paying salaries and also the management would meet with the staffs”.

    “The major reason we may have after the lectures commences is just that they must be paid before they can commence with the lectures.”

    “As for the money the Government promised, the management would notify us if they have gotten the money because it’s one thing to pay and another thing to get the Alert. We just want to be sure we have gotten the alert. We really want to thank the two Governors they really exhibited the behavior of a good statesman. Even when they were provoked they never showed it,” he said.

  • PLAN visits Lagos market, lectures on plastic crates

    PLAN visits Lagos market, lectures on plastic crates

    Vegetable and fruit dealers at Ola Market in Itire, Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State, have expressed their enthusiasm and willingness to embrace the planned introduction of plastic crates in the movement of perishable goods in the state.

    The traders assembled in their numbers at the market on Thursday to listen to associates of Postharvest Loss Alliance for Nutrition (PLAN) under the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) in collaboration with The Rockefeller Foundation Yieldwise Program and USAID, as well as officials of the Lagos State Government Ministry of Agriculture and the Union of Perishable Farm Produce Traders of Lagos, as they spoke on capacity building and public/market sensitisation on the merits of plastic crates over the commonly used raffia/palm frond baskets.

    TealeYalch, Senior Associate GAIN, said: “The crates are durable. They reduce loss of perishable goods and keep the produce from being contaminated. We want them to use the crates all the way from the farm to the market so that they can have clean fresh nutritious food for the consumer.”

    According to Yalch, Raffia baskets usually lead to a loss of about 40 per cent of the perishable produce it is used to convey as against the use of returnable plastic crates where loss of produce is reduced to about 5 per cent. She said plastic crates are cheaper to use in the long run because they can last between three to five years, depending on the way they are handled. She said that the raffia/palm frond baskets are however not reusable and can only be used once, hence expensive in the long run.

    She further stated that in America, the plastic crates are standardised and called for same in Nigeria. “Here in Nigeria, the government has to provide a standard on how to build crates that can be used throughout the country. There are different sizes of crates, and the traders can tell the government what they need. There is the need for regulation and standardization.”

    On the issue of throwing people out of market because many may not be able to afford the crates, she said: “Changing behaviour is pretty difficult. Remember, in Nigeria, when the cell phone was introduced, people said the price was too high. But does everybody not have a cell phone now? From the beginning, it is tough. They need training on why they should grow their profit and why they should reduce loss. Change does not happen overnight.”

    Senior Project Manager for PLAN, Dr. Augustine Okoruwa who was represented by AyodeleTella, an Associate of PLAN, said that Ola Market was the 15th market the group had visited in the ongoing sensitisation.

    She stated that “In January, a plastic crates report was done and we were able to identify six plastic crates manufacturers, and they are getting the amount, the capacity, prices and specifications they will use to supply to the market. So within our plan of work, we connect buyers to the plastic crate manufacturers.

    Whenever we make that connection, they give a discount but it is at their own discretion; we can’t force them. What we try to do is create an alliance between our members so that they can do business even when we are no longer there.” She agreed that government can come in and subsidise the plastic crates for the dealers.

    On what they are doing to also take the crates to other states, Tella said, PLAN for now is working with Lagos State Government Ministry of Agriculture. It is the only state in the whole of the country that has taken the bold initiative, but our project is not limited to Lagos State.”

    Speaking at the event, the Project Director, Agricultural Services, Lagos State, Mr. Adebisi Adegboye said the Commissioner of Agriculture sent his team to the market to educate the traders on the benefits of using plastic crates in the movement of perishable agricultural produce, adding that the visit to the market is to explain the benefits of the plastic crates and to also answer their questions if need be.

    He also spoke on the new vehicles to be introduced for the transportation of the produce, saying “The vehicles cannot be disturbed unnecessarily by over-zealous uniformed men on the road. The new and dedicated vehicles will deliver more perishable produce at record time, thereby increasing the profit/income of operators. The new purpose-built vehicles will drastically reduce spoilage of perishable produce being conveyed,” he said.

    Adeboye also stated that for intra-city distribution of perishable produce, “Light trucks in the range of 1 to 8 metric tonnes which will make for easy maneuvering within the city and its metropolis is preferable while for inter-city distribution, heavy duty trucks in the range of 10 to 40 metric tonnes is desirable.”

    He said very soon “Malam, Danfo, Keke and Okada will not be used to carry fruits and vegetables on the streets in order to maintain the highest level of hygiene in Lagos State.”

    The officials also pointed out that light or heavy trucks properly lined on all sides with fibre or wooden planks is the most appropriate for the conveyance of perishable items from farm to the markets and between markets within the state. They also decried the situation whereby people sit on produce meant for human consumption.

  • Expert lectures on nutrition security at Bells University

    Expert lectures on nutrition security at Bells University

    Nigeria is battling with food insecurity and has to depend on imports to feed its 170 million citizens. However, Mr Larry Umunna, Nigeria Country Manager of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has pointed the attention of the Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State community to the challenges posed by nutrition security as well.

    Delivering the 10th annual lecture of the College of Food Sciences with the theme: “The agriculture, Food and Nutrition Interface: Advancing the frontiers in Nigeria,” Umunna said producing enough food for the citizens is one thing, but ensuring that such foods are of high nutritional quality is another.

    The expert said good infrastructure, including good road network, stable power and water supplies are factors that ultimately affect the quality of food that gets to the consumers.  When in place, he said they facilitate the transportation of food from the centres of production to the consumers and reduce post-harvest food losses, which ultimately protect the nutritional value of the food.

    Umunna also argued that the nexus between food production and its security is incomplete if the consumers lack nutritional awareness.

    “It is crucial that we bring the agriculture and nutrition sectors closer together. Not only is the agricultural sector crucial to combating malnutrition but it is often rural communities that suffer the worst effects of malnutrition,” he said.

    To address the problem of nutrition security, Umunna stressed that leadership is key.  He also suggested that there should be a tripartite arrangement between the Ministries of National Planning, Health and Agriculture.

    The lecturer also called on governments at all levels to make nutrition security a priority in their developmental programmes.  He explained that this would help the country to maximize the benefits of the outgoing administration’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA).

    Commenting on the lecture, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Adebayo Adeyemi, who chaired the occasion, applauded the efforts by GAIN to check the scourge of malnutrition in the country and the continent.

    The Dean, College of Food Sciences, Prof. Olugbenga Ogunmoyela thanked the VC for supporting the annual lectures and Umunna for advancing the cause of nutrition security in Nigeria.

    Ogunmoyela also highlighted the need for increased food production, effective conservation and utilization of foods in various forms.  He also spoke of the importance of grassroots education about the agriculture value chain to become more meaningful to consumers.

  • Lectures begin next week

    Old students of AAUA will resume classes for the 2014/2015 academic session on Monday.

    They resumed between February 22 and March 1, and have spent the intervening time doing their registration. New students are to begin their classes on March 15.

    According to the Academic Calendar approved by the University Senate last week, Pre-registration (on-line) exercise for the newly admitted students will hold between February 22 and 28, 2015.

  • Re: “At IMT, lectures stop when it rains”

    Our attention has been drawn to a report by Emmanuel Ahanonu on pages 29 and 30 of Thursday, September 25 edition of The Nation.

    Without wasting useful time on the unverified claims made in the report, we wish to keep the records straight as follows:

    • Ahanonu’s report lacks one of the most important ingredients of news – balance. The reporter did not bother to get the views of any officer of IMT before publishing the story. Not only is this approach unethical, as you know, it smacks of a poorly done paid job.

    • IMT has one main lecture theatre/auditorium. It is in Campus 1. This facility is air conditioned, has fans in it and has a seating capacity of about 300. The photograph presented by the reporter is that of an uncompleted ASET-Fund project of the Gp. Cpt. Samson Omerua era. This project is held up by contractual entanglements that are being addressed by this administration. That cannot be IMT’s main lecture theatre.

    • In front of the picture published in that report is a collection of on-going projects for the Schools of Business; Financial Studies; Environmental Studies; Art Design and Printing Technology as well as Staff Offices. Also, clearly starring Ahanonu in the face before he took his photograph is a 750-seater Auditorium that contains Staff Offices. Even the brand new asphalted road leading into Campus 111 did not assuage his search for potholes on IMT roads. What should be important to any right-thinking reporter is that even though this institution is not without problems, all the problems are being tackled from every corner. I believe that with a little patience, the reporter would have seen the brand new edifices for the Schools of Technology and Engineering and the new Library and Entrepreneurial Studies blocks.  All these buildings are just awaiting painting. Their furnishings are already available. He would also have noticed the new AfriHUB IMT ICT Centre – the best in the South-East. This Centre contains 600 mega-speed workstations for all sorts of ICT applications. But these developments do not matter to our reporter because they do not advance the negative assignment he came to do in IMT.

    • We are looking forward to the public institution, secondary or tertiary, where students do not bring their own mattresses to the halls of residence. The fact is that they go home with these mattresses after their stay in the hostels. The reporter may have taken a mattress to his own University. Why is it an issue in IMT?

    • A very ridiculous part of the report talks about the ban on cooking in the hostels as one of the grouses of the students. We may need to know which institution allows students to cook in their hostels. Just imagine for a moment that 500 persons are cooking in one building. Give a thought to the fire threat and the mess associated with cooking. IMT hostels have cafeteria where food is provided at student-friendly rates. So no one needs to cook.

    • The current administration in IMT did not meet a functional hostel in the Institute. Through a public-private-partnership, the hostels were refurbished for use by students. Tankers bring water to these hostels and the agreed number of students stay in one room. The reporter should have verified this from the administration before running to publish as if he is the one to determine for IMT how many students can live in a room. Similarly, no administration anywhere accounts to students about how their school fees or any of its components are used on the pages of newspapers. This information is readily available to information-seekers in line with the freedom of information law.

    • Ahanonu knows that if our hostels are bad (as he speculated), students will not live in them. That is why more students paid than there are spaces. Let it be known however, that any student who paid the hostel fee (arguably one of the cheapest around) but did not get a room, is entitled to a refund the moment he applies. This is on-going.

    • Concerning the former SUG President, Kingsley Isiani, he was involved in acts that ran contrary to the oath of office he took.  His colleagues discovered, passed a vote of no confidence on him and subsequently impeached him. It has nothing to do with the IMT leadership no matter the allusions and insinuations from the reporter. The IMT administration has a popular record of allowing students to choose their leaders in a free, fair and transparent manner.

    It is our hope that you will publish this expression of our right to reply since your reporter did not give us a chance to speak on the issues raised and did not verify or corroborate the story before publication. If anything, he did a bad job of the assignment. Despite the challenges IMT has, never before has so much good happened within its school boundaries. The IMT administration is straining every nerve to ensure that when people like Emmanuel Ahanonu visit us in the next few months, he will see that all on-going projects have been completed and that our goal of building a modern 21st century institution of higher learning has been achieved.

     

    Dr. Ifeanyi Ojobor

    PRO, IMT Enugu

     

  • At IMT, lectures stop when it rains

    At IMT, lectures stop when it rains

    At the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) in Enugu State, lectures stop whenever it rains. Reason: most of the classrooms are without roofs. The hostels too are decrepit. The school is frustrating the students’ efforts to draw attention to the pitiable situation, reports EMMANUEL AHANONU (Political Science).

    On its website, automatic display of neat pictures of students reading in a cozy library welcomes visitors. But a visit to the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) in Enugu State presents a different picture – that of a polytechnic battling dilapidated infrastructure. IMT is a state-owned institution established in the 1970s.

    When CAMPUSLIFE visited the school last week, defaced hostel walls, perforated roofs and pothole-ridden pathways abound everywhere. This state of infrastructure led to students’ rampage last month.

    According to the students, the management collects N10,000 development levy  from them every session, to maintain the  infrastructure. But the sorry state of the classrooms and Halls of Residence shows nothing is being done with the money.

    Students are not happy with the administrative style of the Prof Mike Iloeje-led management, which they claimed has done nothing to improve things. Students, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, pleaded for anonymity for fear of victimisation.

    They complained that some classrooms are flooded whenever it rains, prompting lecturers and students to flee. They cited  the main lecture theatre whose roof has been blown open.

    Students also complained about the hostels for which they paid N40,000. The hostels, they said, have no mattresses, fans and water. They said the mandatory payment of accommodation fee was requisite for admission.

    Six students, they alleged, are forced to stay in a room meant for three. CAMPUSLIFE learnt about the grievances of 215 freshers, who paid the accommodation fee, but are yet to be allocated a bed space, months after their matriculation.

    Other complaints are prohibition of cooking in hostels and double payment of N3,000 for biometric identity cards, which they claimed was paid with technology fees.

    The condition of the hostel led to a disagreement between the management and the Kingsley Isiani-led Students’ Union Government (SUG) last month.

    Kingsley led students to draw the government’s and the management’s to their plight. The protesters challenged the management to account for the N10,000 development levy students pay to maintain infrastructure.

    Reacting, the management allegedly removed Kingsley and replaced him with his Vice, Millicent Ogbuaka. It was gathered that the Rector warned the Kingsley-led SUG leadership to focus on its studies and not intrude  in administrative matters.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the Rector  initially threatened to expel Kingsley if he leads students in demonstration. Despite the threat, Kingsley mobilised students to meet Governor Sullivan Chime at the Government House. But riot policemen prevented them from leaving the campus.

    The peace meeting between the Rector and students’ leaders last month ended in stalemate when Kingsley was reportedly barred by the Rector from listing the students’ grievances. A students’ leader, who did not want his name in print, said the Rector was angry late because Kingsley came late for the meeting.

    When the students gathered again for the protest, they were stopped by the school security personnel and Man O’ War cadets.

    The Chief Security Officer (CSO), Mr. Geoffrey Eneonyia, was said to have invited Kingsley to a meeting at Ogui Divisional Police Station, where the co-ordinator of Students’ Affairs, Mr Chinedu Ekwueme, was waiting with a letter removing him as the SUG president.

    Kingsley protested, saying he could only be removed through a referendum by the general assembly, comprising all students.

    After being shown the SUG constitution stipulating how the union president can be removed, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) urged the parties to maintain the status quo for two days to enable the police make consultations.

    But, the following day, the Rector summoned other members of the union executive and some members of the management and swore in Millicent as SUG president.

    Kingsley petitioned the Commissioner of Police and the DPO, notifying them of the development.

    The petition reads: “This letter is to notify you about the management’s action, which is in contradiction to the provisions of the SUG constitution on how the president can be removed from office. They, for no just cause, want me out of my position as the SUG leader, without approval by neither the parliament nor the general assembly. I would be delighted if you can use your good office to look into the actions, knowing that peace is good but justice is better.”

    The police dropped the matter later when Ekwueme told the Deputy Commissioner of Police investigating the case that the management took the decision.

    Dissatisfied, the students notified the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). It was learnt that the NANS officials, who came to resolve the matter, were lodged in a hostel by the management.

    A departmental president, who did not want his name in print, said the NANS officials sold their goodwill to the management. “What do you expect from the NANS leaders? They were lodged in comfortable hotels at the expense of the school. We never heard anything after that,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the embattled Kingsley has said he would not vacate the position, vowing to defend the interest of the students who elected him.

    Students, who spoke to our correspondent, urged Governor Chime to visit the campus and see things for himself.

    Contacted, the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Dr Ifeanyi Ojobor, said he could not comment on the matter, because it is beyond him. He told our correspondent to speak to the Rector.

     

  • ‘No hostel, no lectures’

    ‘No hostel, no lectures’

    Last Thursday, students of the College of Education in Warri, Delta State protested what they call the “unsuitable”  hostels in the 33-year-old institution. PHILIP OKORODUDU (500-Level Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering, Delta State University) reports.

    STUDENTS of the Delta State College of Education in Warri took to the streets, last week, protesting what they call unsuitable Halls of Residence in the school since its establishment 33 years ago.

    Many of the students live in shanties, which they named “glass houses”. The makeshift hostels built with planks were burnt by youths of the college’s host community, who claimed that the land on which the shacks stand is in dispute between two communities in Warri.

    The wooden structures are being used, pending when the government would build hostels in the school.

    The government, CAMPUSLIFE gathered, promised that hostels would be ready this month. But at the time of this report, there was no sign that the project has taken off.

    Last Wednesday, those living in “glass houses” were caught unawares when youths, described as members of the family said to own the land, set the hostels ablaze at 7pm. Many of the students were relaxing when their rooms were torched. Properties and valuables, including students’ credentials were burnt. The victims told our correspondent that they were not allowed to pick anything from their rooms.

    Investigation revealed that the Okumagba family leased the land to people, who built the wooden hostels.

    It was learnt that all was well until the death of the Okumagba family head.

    Another family, Edjeba, upon hearing of the death of Okumagba family head, laid claim to the land, saying it is its inheritance which was rented out to the Okumagbas by its forefathers.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that Edjebas requested for part of the land, threatening to destroy the structures on it if its request was not granted.

    The government, it was learnt, intervened in the tussle during the college’s convocation last August by reportedly taking the land from both families.

    The government promised to build a befitting hostel on the land, which it said would be ready this month. Many students who had left the wooden hostels because of the threat by the warring families returned.

    According to them, the cost of renting a single-room apartment in the oil-rich city is expensive compared to the N40,000 they paid in the wooden houses.

    When the arsonists visited the disputed land, students, who were unable to take anything from their rooms, ran away for their lives. Some of them were injured in the ensuing melee.

    The following morning, students besieged the campus to protest what they called “neglect” by the government, which failed to build the Halls of Residence it promised the students.

     

    The protesters said the burning of their hostels brought them untold hardship, urging the police to prosecute the arsonists.

    During the peaceful protest, which was attended by the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the students gave the management two weeks ultimatum to provide accommodation for them or close down the college.

    The protesters displayed placards with inscriptions, such as “Enough is enough”, “We are tired of failed promises by government”, “Provost, provide hostels for us”, “No hostel, no lecture” and “The college hostel is long overdue”, among others.

    Following the demonstration, the Acting Provost, Mr. Sylvester Ebisine, summoned an emergency management meeting where it was decided that the school be closed till February 3.

    A 300-Level student, who pleaded for anonymity, said the management had been deceiving students on when it would build suitable hostels. “They have been pretending that they are doing something on our plight. The management is well aware that most of us sleep in hostels made from planks and bamboos,” he said.

    A 200-Level student of Economics and Political Science Education, who simply gave her name as Chidinma, relived the incident: “Words cannot explain the pain I felt when some community youths came to burn down the ‘glass house’; it all happened before my eyes. I saw students running in different direction to escape from the hoodlums. Some of us cried as we watched our personal effects being burnt; we could not move closer because we could be attacked. At that moment, I was so much disappointed in the management and the state government. Before a school is established, there has to be accommodation plan for students and staff. But here, the reverse is the case.”

    Several attempts to speak to the college’s officials were futile. The Students’ Union leaders declined to comment.

    The students are demanding the provision of suitable hostels whenever the school reopens. They also want the government to arrest and prosecute the hoodlums, who burnt their properties.

  • Lectures resume at AAUA

    Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) have returned to work.

    Investigations by CAMPUALIFE revealed that lectures have started in some faculties. A lecturer in the Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, who did not want his name in print, said they were working on the faculty’s time-table, adding that lectures would start soon.

    A student, who simply gave his name as Victor said: “As you can see, I am just returning from a class. We had a lecture today at Yar’Adua Hall.”

    Another student said he was happy that the university pulled out of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.

    “I pray that God would continue to bless Prof Femi Mimiko for saving our future from the strike. Many of us are happy to be back on campus. That is why we all returned to campus immediately we got our resumption messages.”

    However, CAMPUSLIFE gathered that some lecturers were unwilling to return to classes because they believed it was wrong to pull out of the strike when the national body was yet to end the industrial action.

    Efforts to get the local ASUU Chairman, Dr Busuyi Mekusi, proved abortive.