The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nasarawa varsity

  • Dictatorship at Nasarawa varsity

    Dictatorship at Nasarawa varsity

    Sir: At the instance of the vice chancellor and the entire management of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, the hammer is slamming down hard and fast on the students of the school for doing nothing other than organize, make demands of the management and seek clarification.

    The university took the extraordinary step of rusticating about 37 students for forming and joining a WhatsApp group with the aim of organizing a protest against the introduction of fees for a third semester.

    Following an election into the school’s Student’s Union Government, the management alleged irregularities and violence before suspending the exercise.

    It also took the extraordinary measure of proscribing the familiar student union government, before replacing it with a dubiously described student representative council. Curiously, the management also stipulated that ascension into the body shall be based on academic performance.

    The university management may argue that it has taken these extremely shortsighted measures to forestall a breakdown of law and order on campus. But since it is clear that the students are becoming restive, it would be prudent to inquire into what cause of the restiveness in the first place. Are the students suddenly giving in to dangerous mischief, or are the insensitive decisions of the management making life unbearable for the students?

    Nigeria’s democracy owes a blood debt to student unionism in Nigerian universities. In the heydays of military rule, even when the country was under the most brutal dictatorships, students spread across Nigerian universities formed a battering bulwark against dictatorship. That some men and women who have gone on to play key roles in Nigerian politics and government started as student unionists is testament to the key roles student unionism has played in the history of the country.

    Read Also: TikTok removes over 2m videos in Nigeria over violation – Report

    So, why is the management university led by Professor Saadatu Liman intent, even desperate, on destroying what is a cradle of Nigeria’s democracy? The answer lies in the increasing intolerance underpinning the subtle dictatorship sweeping through the country.

    The management of the university should immediately rescind the rustication handed down to the students. In the circumstances, rusticating the students amount to killing a fly with a sledgehammer. The university should also discard the utterly ridiculous idea of a Student Representatives Council in favour of Student Union Government and students should be allowed to peacefully mobilize and form their government. That is where democracy begins.

    If mistakes are made by the students, it should be corrected with reasonable measures and not wild attempts to suppress the voice of the students. Student unionism has shown its ageless value to democracy in Nigeria from the days of Nigeria’s independence struggle. This value must be preferred to the misplaced distaste and disgust of ultra-political and dictatorial university administrators, many of whom want to drive students and staff with an iron fist.

    •Kene Obiezu, keneobiezu@gmail.com

  • Nasarawa varsity wins interview, counselling skills contest

    Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, representatives   have emerged first runner-up while Nasarawa State University was crowned the overall winner at the just concluded 14th edition of the annual National Client Interview and Counselling Skills Competition 2019.

    The  two-day competition (11th – 12th January) was hosted by Network of University Legal Aid Institutions (NULAI)  at the Sultan Maccido Institute of Islamic and General Studies, Kalambaina, Sokoto.

    It was gathered that the competition, which was organised on the platform of NULAI  and sponsored by Open Society Initiative, had in attendance 14 participants from across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. The  schools are: Nasarawa State University; Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto; University of Abuja; Ahmadu Bello University Zaria; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; American University Nigeria, Yola; University of Lagos; Kogi State University; Ebonyi State University; Bayero University Kano; University of Maiduguri; University of Ilorin; University of Benin and the Nigeria Police Academy, Kano.

    The first and semi – final round of the competition had eight and three schools eliminated respectively while Nasarawa State University emerged the overall winner with lesser mistakes observed, over Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto and University of Abuja as finalists.

    Speaking with The Nation, Lukman Ayinla; an associate Professor of Law from International and Jurisprudence Department, University of Ilorin, also a member of the co-ordinating team, explained that the competition was a way of strengthening the spirit of professionalism in trainee-lawyers.

    He said: “Honestly, apart from looking for a winner that will represent Nigeria at the international level in Dublin, Northern Ireland, on April 10, 2019, we also aim at improving and inculcating the sprit of professionalism in the students. At the end, most of them will be trained on some vital ethics of legal practices in Nigeria.”

    While responding to questions on  transparency and impartiality of the panel of judges, a lecturer from Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Ibrahim Shatabaya,   explained that the judges were not only limited to lawyers and legal practitioners, noting that, the brilliant method adopted by the organises made the competition one of the best in Nigeria.

    “I applaud the organises for the brilliant method they adopted. As one of the panel of judges invited, I can say that any judgment given by the panel in this competition is given without any favoritism. I personally found it impossible to even know the name of schools I examined because they were identified by their groups not by the names of their schools,” Shatabaya said.

    One of the representatives of the overall winner (Nasarawa State University) Paul Ebueka,  while speaking after the competition, expressed gratitude to God and all his teammates for their brilliant efforts and the opportunity to represent Nigeria in Dublin in April.

    “Firstly, I glorify the Almighty for this victory. I thank him for his infinite mercy. Also, I commend the priceless efforts and support showcased by my team in this competition,” Paul said.

    He, however, promised that they are proceeding to Dublin for the trophy as good representatives for the nation.

    “Now, we are done with the national task. I am very sure by the grace of God that we are going to Northern Ireland for the trophy,” he added.

  • ‘Nasarawa varsity has been transformed under my watch’

    Vice Chancellor of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), Prof. Muhammed Mainoma, has said the institution has experienced positive changes since he took over five years ago.

    The VC, who spoke in a statement to mark his 53rd birthday, said several segments of the institution had experienced transformation under his leadership.

    According to him, he met a dilapidated and poorly equipped institution in 2014, as well as insecurity and loss of programmes due to lack of accreditation.

    The professor of Accounting said he confronted these challenges and saw them as opportunities to enable him succeed.

    The VC added that he was proud his administration will be leaving a good legacy.

    He noted that one of his greatest achievements was the attitudinal change in workers and students, adding that people now appreciate that benefits must go with responsibilities.

    He said some of his landmark achievements include establishment of new faculties and academic programmes, maintenance of the academic calendar, which has made the university graduate students on time and mobilise them for National Youth Service Corps.

    The VC lauded the support he enjoyed from the university community, which, according to him, helped him to succeed.

  • JAMB increases Nasarawa varsity’s admission quota

    The Vice-Chancellor of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Prof. Mohammed Akaro-Mainoma, said on Friday the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has increased the university’s admission quota from 4,000 to 5,000 students.

    Akaro-Mainoma stated this Keffi when members of the state’s House of Assembly Committee on Education, Science and Technology paid an oversight visit to the institution.

    The vice-chancellor, who was represented by the Registrar of the institution, Alhaji Bala Ahmed, lauded JAMB for the gesture.

    He added that the move would address admission gap in the university.

    He commended the Assembly for its continued support to the institution and promised to continue to initiate good policies and programmes for lecturers and students of the institution.

    He said: “We are maintaining the act establishing the university that said that 80 per cent of every admission to the institution should be given to indigenes while 20 per cent should be for non-indigenes.”

    NAN

     

  • Gunmen kill two varsity students in Nasarawa

    Gunmen kill two varsity students in Nasarawa

    The Nasarawa State Police Command on Wednesday confirmed the killing of two students of the Federal University, Lafia, by gunmen suspected to be armed robbers.

    The state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Kennedy Idirisu, confirmed the killing in Lafia.

    He said police got a report from the university’s Registrar that gunmen stormed the students’ village at Mararaba-Akunza, opposite the university gate at 10:30 p.m. and shot sporadically.

    Idirisu said when the police got there, two students had already been shot by the suspected robbers, who disposed others of their valuables and fled the scene.

    The PPRO said one of the students died instantly, while the other later died at the hospital.

    He said the remains of the two students have been deposited at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital in Lafia.

    He said the police had commenced investigation into the incident.

    NAN

  • That unfortunate crisis at Nasarawa varsity

    SIR: Nasarawa State University, Keffi, has over the years earned an enviable reputation as one of the few universities in the country where industrial and academic harmony reign supreme. This record is particularly significant against the backdrop of the sundry strikes, students’unrest and disruption of academic activities that have characterized the life of a typical higher institution of learning in recent times.

    It therefore came as a cude shock to not a few persons across the land, when Nasarawa State University (NSU) was closed indefinitely a few days ago, in the heat of the students’ protest over water scarcity. No less surprising was the circumstances that led to the protest in the first place, and the eventual closure of the school that is otherwise universally acknowledged as a model in serenity and stability.

    It all started some three weeks ago when water scarcity became prevalent throughout Keffi and, by extension, NSU. Hopes had been raised that whatever was responsible for the scarcity would be dealt with sooner than later. But, alas, one week stretched into another without any respite. Not unexpectedly, the residents of Keffi in general and the university community in particular, started to lose patience as the scarcity stretched on for what, to some, appeared like eternity.

    The university management, led by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. S.O. Amali, swung into action. Following a series of meetings and consultation on the best ways to deal with the nagging problem. Water was to be made available to all and sundry through the boreholes and water tankers. It was hoped the effect of the prevailing scarcity on the university would, at worse, be minimal.

    One could, therefore, imagine the management’s utter dismay, even as plans were being fine-tuned to implement these and other far-reaching measures, a group of students commandeered their colleagues into a supposedly peaceful and orderly protest. Sadly, this particular protest wasn’t all that orderly. Tempers began to flare when, in the course of the protest, the ever-busy Akwanga-Keffi-Abuja highway was blocked for some hours, with thousands of innocent travelers stranded against their will. In other words, the students’ freedom of assembly/association eventually became a hinderance to other innocent citizens’ freedom of movement along the veritably busy expressway.

    Although the students were expressing their grievances by protesting, they were however misled by miscreants who eventually took over the crisis, using the moment to rob residents of their phones and cash, even inciting the wrath of the soldiers.

    From the foregoing, it is clear that some elements within and outside the university decided, for reasons best known to them, to turn this unfortunate and unforeseen situation (water scarcity) into an opportunity to indulge in mischief and mayhem. That notwithstanding, it is our hope and belief that this unfortunate chapter shall not only pass as soon as possible, management will put in place some measures with a view to ensuring that never again shall this type of bitter pill be forced down the throat of our students.

    • Akum Pamilu

    Keffi, Nasarawa State