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Tag: National Open University of Nigeria

  • NOUN VC seeks guidelines for obtaining recognised certifications for specific skills

    NOUN VC seeks guidelines for obtaining recognised certifications for specific skills

    The Vice-Chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Olufemi Peters, has called for nationally recognised guidelines to ensure the quality and relevance of micro-credentials align with national education objectives and quality assurance measures.

    He stated this in Abuja while declaring open a regional consultative meeting for West Africa organised by the Regional Training and Research Institute for Open and Distance Learning (RETRIDOL), National Open University of Nigeria in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Learning.

    The event, which has as its theme: “Commonwealth Credit Transfer Framework: Micro-credentials in a Digital Age”, witnessed participants from Togo, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cameroun and Ghana.

    Micro-credentialing refers to the recognition of specific skills or competencies through bite-sized credentials, often in the form of digital badges or certificates.

    Prof. Peters said micro-credentialing was reshaping the landscape of education and professional development.

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    The VC called on the National Universities Commission (NUC) to take the lead in developing clear definitions, standards, and goals for micro-credentialing in Nigeria.

    He was upbeat that with NUC’s leadership, micro-credentialing can unlock new opportunities for Nigerian learners, enhance skills recognition, and drive national development.

    He warned that micro-credentialing may soon disrupt the traditional structure of knowledge acquisition and skill development, potentially impacting global certification processes.

    The vice – chancellor stated: “The time has come for our institutions, our national regulatory agencies and the industry to commence to take a deep look into how to agree to restructure our thematic path to degree certification. I dare not mention the other elephant disrupting our normalcy in the education sector: Al. Micro-credentialing is an innovative approach that is reshaping the landscape of education and professional development. They reflect a shift in how education is perceived and delivered, focusing on skills and competencies in a particular area of competence rather than in lengthy formal education. They are increasingly being seen as a viable alternative to traditional academic degree structures.

    “These courses are often developed in collaboration with industry experts, ensuring that the skills taught are relevant and in demand, which enhances employability. They are gaining popularity as an alternative route to certification due to their flexibility, accessibility, and relevance to the evolving job market.

    “I believe that by creating a structured framework, Institutions can then effectively implement micro-credentialing programmes that will meet the needs of learners and employers while enhancing educational pathways and workforce readiness. I call on our national regulatory bodies and especially the National Universities Commission to take the leadership role in formulating nationally clear definitions, standards, and goals, aligning with national education goals and quality assurance measures.

    “I call on our national regulatory bodies and especially the National Universities Commission to take the leadership role in formulating nationally clear definitions, standards, and goals, aligning with national education goals and quality assurance measures, that would strengthen micro-credentialing in our country.”

    President, Commonwealth of Learning, Prof. Peter Scott, highlighted the transformative potential of micro-credentialing in enhancing access to quality education, promoting lifelong learning and fostering skills development, emphasising its relevance in today’s rapidly evolving global landscape.

    He expressed COL’s commitment to ensuring efficiency and quality of learning by using appropriate open, distance and technology-based approaches.

    Prof. Scott tasked participants to explore innovative approaches to micro-credentialing, share best practices, and develop strategies to harness its potential in addressing the complex educational challenges facing West Africa and the broader Commonwealth, ultimately enhancing the quality and relevance of education.

    Similarly, the Higher Educational Adviser, Commonwealth of Learning, Prof. Jane Frances-Agbu, said the event was organised to engage with key national and institutional post-secondary education stakeholders at regional level; share findings of in-depth reviews of micro-credentialing literature, tools and practices throughout the Commonwealth; determine the national and regional needs in terms of credit transfer and micro-credentialing and obtain inputs from the stakeholders to inform the draft Commonwealth Credit Transfer Framework for Micro-Credentials.

  • Students decry paying N50 to safeguard their bags in NOUN

    Barely a week after the start of the first semester examinations in the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), the students in the Minna Study Center have decried having to pay to safeguard their bags when they write examination.

    The students also lamented over the attitude of some of the staff in the study center who have made it a point of duty to exploit the students in order to safeguard their bags.

    The Nation learnt that for each session, examinations are written three times daily, the students are asked to pay N50 to leave their bags in the open hall.

    Complaining bitterly, a student who brought the attention of The Nation to the situation, Georgina Paul said it has not been the trend before adding that the staff do not hide the fact that one have to pay.

    “They know you cannot go to the examination halls with your bag and they ask you to pay. When I first started writing exams this semester, I was not told, when I came to pick my bag, one of the lady invigilators said I will have to pay N50.

    “I protested and it turned to insult. They claimed they were doing is a favor. Why can’t they leave us to keep our bags at our own risks, we have been doing so, what changed.

    “Imagine thinking of what to write in examination and I will think of how to pay N50. I will also transport myself to this center. Why can’t they employ security to look over the bags? Are they even supposed to be looking after our bags or invigilating?”

    Curious over this allegation, The Nation paid a visit to the Minna Study Center to ascertain and when the Reporter got there, she met two staff quarreling a lady over the payment of N50.

    “Do you think we are begging you for the money? We are doing you a favor. Madam, you have to pay the money o! Because others have been paying”, a staff learnt to be called Zainab said.

    Read Also: Obasanjo: I didn’t receive N40,000 annually as NOUN lecturer

    Another staff identified as Halima said, “What is N50? Is that what you think we use to eat? It is a law that has been set here and you must abide by it.”

    “I will not say, do your worse. Why did you not write it and post it on the notice board if it is legal? I have said for my examination and you do not even have the power to stop me from writing it”, the student who have her name as Helen retorted.

    When The Nation inquired what the N50 was used for and why it was being demanded, she was told that it was to safeguard their bags and phones.

    A male staff who spoke but did not give his name explained that during last semester examinations, students belongings were stolen and it was decided that a staff will watch over the bags while examinations are being written and the students will pay N50 as a sign of appreciate for watching over their bags and phones.

    “We are not asking for much, we know of other Study centers where they demand for more. Like in Obalende center, to park your car, you will have to pay N1, 000, do what they are making noise over N50. We did not ask for much”, he claimed.

    Most of the students frowned over the manner students who refuse to pay the money are being treated.

    Yusuf Abdullahi, another student said, “if you refuse to pay, the staff will frustrate your life. They will pick on you during the examinations, looking over your shoulders, changing your seats and doing other frustrating things. You will know it is because you did not pay the N50. They had no business with me before but on Monday, I refused to pay and since then, I have not had peace in writing my examination.”

    Hadiza Kagara said, “On Wednesday I had two papers, 8 am and 2 pm, I had to pay for my bags those two times. It is not fair.”

    Efforts to see the Director to ascertain if he was aware of the N50 bag-keeping fee  was not possible as he was not to be on seat when the Reporter checked the office.

    The Nation also noticed that there was no security in the open hall, the only security in the Center was a Civil Defence officer who was at the gate.

  • Petroleum subsidy not benefitting the poor, says Shamsuddeen

    A former Minister of Finance Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman has said the petroleum subsidy regime of the Federal Government is not benefitting those it is intended for.

    He stated this while delivering the 8th convocation lecture at the National Open University of Nigeria with the theme: “Education as a public good – The role of NOUN in promoting entrepreneurship and economic independence.”

    The former minister said the subsidy was going most to people who had three, four and five cars.

    He identified the petroleum and fertiliser subsidies as two policies of the federal government that are not working.

    He said: “But really, who is benefitting from this subsidy? The subsidy is going most to people who have three, four and five cars.

    ‘’So it is actually not going to those that it is intended for plus all the other economic distortion that it leads to.

    “Some of us were old enough. Remember the days called essential commodities in Nigeria and people used to line up at government stores to collect stupidly, five bags of salt.

    “A typical family will probably not use one bag of salt in a year but because it was government providing, people queue up, they collect five bags of salt and of course it is to go outside and sell to some other people and make money. So those kinds of things really don’t make any sense.

    “The fertiliser subsidy is another one. I am not going to mention names so that I am not regarded as criticising this government.”

    Shamsuddeen, who is also the Chairman of Susman and Associates, described NOUN’s entrepreneurship programme as a common good for economic independence in Nigeria.

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    According to him, economic independence is a situation where a society or macro economy has a high degree of division of labor, where people depend on each other to produce most of the goods and services required to sustain life and living.

    He said: “A good commodity is non-rival if its consumption by one individual in a society does not reduce the amount available for others.

    “Traditionally, some economists have then taken a leap from establishing that market exchange will not produce socially optimal output of the public good.

    “There is some evidence that the provision of by the government is, itself, not a silver bullet and is prone to the creation of many other problems.

    “NOUN and its entrepreneur programme can be viewed as common good for economic independence in Nigeria due to the number of positive externalities they exhibit,” he stated.

    The convocation lecturer also described education as a public good that promoted respect for life, human dignity and social justice in the society.

    Shamsuddeen, who was also a one- time minister of National Planning, said the Open University model was providing education more generally at an adult level for people who did not have the opportunity to attend regular university.

  • Obasanjo denies collecting N40, 000 yearly as NOUN lecturer

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday denied collecting N40, 000 yearly as a facilitator at the National Open University of Nigeria(NOUN).

    Obasanjo was responding to a newspaper report attributed to NOUN’s Vice –Chancellor  Prof. Abdalla Adamu that the university pays him N40, 000 annually as one of its facilitators.

    But Obasanjo, in a statement signed by his  Spokesperson Kehinde Akinyemi, in Abuja yesterday, stated that his service at the university was free and without charges.

    The former President stated that he has not received any money either as salaries or otherwise from the university and not planning to do so now or in the future.

    Chief Obasanjo described the report as “embarrassing, uncharitable, mischievous and in bad taste.”

    The statement reads: “The attention of the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has been drawn to a newspaper report, published on Wednesday, March 20, 2019 with the headline ‘Obasanjo earns N40,000 as NOUN lecturer –VC.’

    “Ordinarily, this will have been unnecessary exercise, if it has been the usual shenanigans of the media to sell their newspapers, but, the very clear quotation of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Abdalla Adam on the headline made this clarification imperative and to set the records straight on His Excellency’s engagement with the University.

  • Truck driver kills two in Anambra

    Two persons on Tuesday lost their lives, while no fewer than seven shops were reduced to rubbles after a trailer veered off the road and rammed into some shops along old Enugu-Onitsha road, Anambra State.

    The incident was said to have occurred directly opposite the National Open University of Nigeria, Abagana.

    The Nation gathered that the driver who was carrying his wife and two children was severely cautioned by the wife over his reckless driving before the incident happened.

    By-standers who witnessed the incident alleged high speed and possible intoxication on the part of the driver, who is currently in police custody.

    One of the victims whose three shops were destroyed in the calamity, said the wife confessed to have warned her husband over his reckless driving.

    Read Also: Gunmen kill man in Anambra

    “The woman was so angry with her husband for refusing to heed her constant complaints about his recklessness and high speed,” he said.

    Reacting, Member representing Njikoka Two Constituency at the State House of Assembly, Hon. Pete Ibida, described the incident as unfortunate.

    He called for caution and concentration among motorists, just as he enjoined them to be considerate to other road users.

    A sympathizer, Mr. Elijah Onyeagba, attributed the cause of the incident to the proximity of the shops to the highway, calling for proactive measures that would eliminate trading on the highways.

    Men of the Anambra Traffic Management Agency, ATMA were on ground to clear the debris and towed the articulated vehicle away.

  • ‘Missing’ scripts row at open varsity

    Some graduating students of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) have kicked against paying N20,000 fine each for their ‘missing’ examination scripts to be remarked. The more than 3,000 students, whose fate hangs in the balance, risk being delayed for an extra year if they do not have complete results. They are praying the Minister of Education and NOUN Chancellor Mallam Adamu Adamu to prevail on the management to release their results. TEMITOPE YAKUBU reports.

    How does it sound for a school to ask students to pay for the remarking of missing examination scripts? Bizarre? Well, that seems the scenario at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), a federal school that has campuses and study centres across the country, which has asked about 3,000 students whose scripts were declared missing to pay N20,000 per  script to be remarked.

    A memo by the school, which asked students to pay before their examination scripts could be marked, is generating ripples. The controversial memo followed the release of second semester results nationwide in which examination scripts of over 3,000 students were said to be missing.

    Some students complained that they have about two to three of their examination scripts missing; some more than three. So, a student with three scripts missing will have to pay N60, 000. Most of the affected students, CAMPUSLIFE gathered, are in graduating classes.

    If the missing scripts are not graded, it could delay their graduation by one year as the school, according to the memo, ordered the affected students to pay the money or risk an extra year.

    By implication, students with more than one missing scripts would have to pay N20,000 times the number of scripts to get the required grades for graduation.

    Students have described the development as “a plain extortion”, insinuating that their scripts could have been withheld to extort money from them. They wondered why they had to pay the school for an administrative service. The students want the Minister of Education and chancellor of the school  to intervene in matter.

    In a memo released on October 19, 2018, the school said: “All students who have issues with their results are to make complaints with their faculty officers between October 22, 2018 and October 30, 2018. They are to write a letter in a tabular format, indicating name, matriculation number, code of missing course, course title, semester in which the course was registered and date of examination.

    “Any student with missing results will not be attended to after October 30, 2018. Students are to come with both hard and soft copies of their complaint letter, and attach photocopies of their stamped examination registration slip as evidence they sat for the paper.”

    In compliance with the directive, the students in the graduating class went to their respective study centres across the nation to submit their letters in which they expressed disappointment and complained about sloppiness in the school’s handling of examination scripts.

    Weeks after, the school did not respond. The students claimed that they called all telephone numbers provided by the school to channel complaints but the calls were never answered; text messages sent to the phone numbers were not replied. Also, the students’ messages to the official email address of the school were not replied.

    While students were waiting to get responses to their complaints, the school released the controversial memo on November 21, titled: National Open University Policy of Remarking of Students Examination Scripts and Recomputation of Results.

    The memo reads: “All applications for re-marking examination scripts should be addressed to the Registrar through the Study Centre Directors and a copy forwarded to the Dean in the faculty concerned. Applicants must submit the necessary application form at the relevant study centre. Students must ensure that the course(s) code(s) and title(s) is/are correct when completing the form.

    “A non-refundable fee of N20,000 is charged per course for the remarking of examination scripts. The said amount should be paid into a bank account designated for the purpose. Students should note that the evidence of payment of the fees must be attached to a completed application form. Also payments without application forms would not be processed.

    “The decision to remark is a prerogative of the Faculty’s Examinations Committee. Remarking of scripts shall be completed within two weeks. The new score awarded shall be approved by the dean on behalf of the Faculty’s Academic Board. If a student decides to withdraw his/her appeal before it is considered by the committee, a notice of withdrawal shall be done in writing to make it valid. The Faculty Board shall communicate its decisions to the Senate within a period of 14 days for ratification.”

    Majority of the affected students complied and paid the N20,000 for the remarking of their scripts. Weeks after, there have been no action from the school.

    At the time of filing this report, the school was yet to release the grades for the remarked scripts and has not responded to any of the students’ requests, raising concerns among the students on what could have become of the money they paid and their missing scripts.

    The aggrieved students are accusing the school of extorting them, calling on the Minister of Education, Prof Adamu Adamu, National Universities Commission (NUC), and chancellor of the school, Igwe Lawrence Okolio Chikezie, to prevail on the authorities to release their results.

    One of the affected students, Kingsley Mbamalu, described the development as “a daylight robbery”.

    He said: “From the way the scenario played out, it was clear the school authorities purposely withheld our examination scripts to extort money from us. How can the scripts of over 3,000 students go missing at the same time and the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Abdalla Uba Adamu, asked us to pay N20,000 each for the school to remark ‘missing scripts’ and give us a grade? This is unbelievable. We want the minister and chairman of Governing Council, Prof Peter Okebukola, to look into this official daylight robbery.”

    Kingsley said the development had dashed the hope of his colleagues, who wanted to use the degree certificates for promotion at their places of work.

    The aggrieved students decried the lackadaisical attitude of the school towards the academic pursuit of its students, which they said contradicted the purpose for establishing the institution.

    Stephen Obi, a graduating student at NOUN Community Study Centre in Emevor, Delta State, said: “Most of the people studying at NOUN are public officers and workers who want to obtain additional qualifications for career progression. Now, the chances of these people tendering their certificates for promotion this end of the year is slim. They went through pain attending the school; to graduate, it is another period of pain. Who should we hold responsible for this?”

    Kola Olaseni, Feyisetan Adesola, Tobiloba Olanrewaju and Damilola Sogbesan of Oyo and Kwara states’ study centres lamented that the withheld results had affected their academic pursuits negatively, noting that their plans to further their studies had been shattered.

    The students unanimously criticised what they called “costly blunder” committed by the school’s Management Information System (MIS) and departments concerned with the processing of examination results.

    The affected students, comprising undergraduate and post-graduate sets,  appealed to the Senate Committee on Tertiary Education, Minister of Education and NUC to prevail on the school to resolve their complaints, pointing out that the development could delay the graduation of over 3,000 students.

    According to the school memo, any of the affected students in the graduating set, who did not pay the N20,000 for the remarking of their missing examination scripts, must register for the courses asa  carryover on or before October 26, 2018. The fate of the students is hanging in the balance, as the school is yet to release the results of those that paid the script remarking fee.

    In a statement by the Director of Media and Publicity of the school, Ibrahim Sheme, the school clarified the reason for the charges.

    Sheme said: “I would like to clarify that NOUN does not charge any unnecessary fees or fancies extorting money from students.

    “What obtains in the case is that, when results of examinations are approved and released by the university, any student who feels that he or she ought to have scored higher grades may decide to apply to the university for the remarking of such courses.”

    “The procedure is that, such papers will be forwarded to other experts in another university, who are paid together with courier service from the fee the affected student pays for the remarking that he or she has asked for.

    “NOUN does not withhold the results of students in order to ask them to pay for marking their scripts. Any delay in releasing results may have been caused by a minor hitch in procedure, but the said fee affects only the student who files an appeal for remarking with the hope that he or she will score a higher grade.”

  • Enrolment at NOUN hits 515,000

    No fewer than 515,000 students are currently enrolled to pursue different courses at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abdalla Adamu, has said.

    Adamu said this on Monday during the first vice chancellor’s retreat for principal officers, deans and directors of NOUN in Enugu.

    He, however, said that of the figure, only 150,000 students are active across the 78 study centres of the institution.

    The vice chancellor described NOUN as a one-stop solution to open and distance learning in Africa.

    He said that the institution had spent the last 15 years developing its programmes, adding that the institution has the largest open and distance learning university on the continent.

    Adamu said that no fewer than five countries in Africa— Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Mozambique and Malawi—were understudying NOUN.

    “Our centre is now a reference point and the most successful.

    “ We are dealing with African realities and problems and other countries are sending their people to know how we run the programme.

    Read Also: Will social commerce ever overthrow eCommerce?

    “Recently, we gave out about 1,700-course materials to Zimbabwe on request and others are also consulting us. This retreat is introspective and aims at self and institutional improvement.

    “We are going to look into our areas of strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as custodians of open and distance learning in Nigeria.

    “The aim is to take from the positives of our achievements and document them for posterity in form of annual report,” he said.

    The vice chancellor said that NOUN over the last 33 months had focused attention on system reform.

    “ We are going to interrogate our efforts so far and see how well they have fared.

    “In spite of our strategic importance, we must not forget the number one stakeholders in the NOUN project– students.

    “Thus, how to deliver to them a life-enhancing learning experience in line with our university’s vision and mission must guide our actions and thoughts, both here and elsewhere,” Adamu said.

    Earlier in an address of welcome, the Director of Enugu Study Centre of the institution, Prof. Alexander Onyia, said the university had made progress in delivering qualitative education.

    Onyia attributed the successes recorded by the institution to the foresight of its founding fathers, devotion of the leadership as well as cooperation of the students and other stakeholders.

  • Bright sparks from prison

    • Inmates on death row pursue PhD, master’s, other degrees

    • Amazing stories of prisoners on death row pursuing PhD, master’s, other degrees

    What gain is in pursuing a goal which in the end may be of no use? This is one question that comes to the mind when one learns of prisoners awaiting execution but pursuing Ph.D, master’s and other academic degrees in the university. Is it a worthwhile venture in their circumstances? INNOCENT DURU asks after a visit to the Kirikiri Maximum Prison in Lagos where he interacted with some of the condemned prisoners.

    Tunwase Kabiru, an inmate at Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos was crestfallen when a death sentence was passed on him three years after he was taken into prison custody. Many who knew him as a man who with a burning desire for education deemed the sentence the end of the road for his unbridled dream of acquiring higher academic qualifications.

    Although he was distressed by the verdict, Kabiru did not see it as capable of truncating his educational ambition. Rather than brood over his situation, he vowed that if he would lose anything in life, it would not be his dream of acquiring higher degrees.

    So, like a hungry lion sighting a prey, Kabiru jumped at the opportunity to go back to school when he found out there is a study centre of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in the prison. Today, he is studying for a PhD at the centre.

    Going down memory lane in a chat with the correspondent, he said: “I was incarcerated in 2003 after a communal clash here in Lagos. I was charged for murder and condemned to death in 2006. The death sentence was commuted to life sentence in 2009.

    “Before then, I had HND in Insurance and was a member of the Chattered Insurance Institute of Nigeria. I have always had the zeal to study. I was doing PGD (post graduate diploma) in Human Resources Management at Lagos State University (LASU) before I came into prison. I never thought there would be a school here.

    “I enrolled for the PGD programme which I could not continue in LASU. I completed the programme in 2014 and enrolled for a master’s degree programme in Business Administration. It was after that, that I enrolled to start PhD in the same course.

    “I was the best student in all the NOUN PGD programme across the country for both prison inmates and non-inmates in that academic session. I was duly recognised at an award presentation held at the National Museum, Iganmu, Lagos.”

    Explaining why he did not allow his plight to extinguish his burning desire for higher education, Kabiru said: “If you feel you are in prison, then you are in prison. You can be in your house and still feel you are in prison. There are many of my colleagues who have not had additional qualifications after our HND programme. But here I am already studying for PhD. I have the firm belief that I will one day walk out of the prison to impact knowledge to the society.

    “Everything in life is a matter of perception. If I had thought that furthering my education in the prison would not be useful, I would not have registered in the first place.”

    The PhD student said his interest in education is “purely about acquiring knowledge and not about the certificate. I know I am in prison. I am also aware of the stigma out there. But I want to make a difference by being able to defend the certificate that I am acquiring.

    “I used to be a teacher and director of studies here. I was teaching the primary school Mathematics as part of my contribution to the academic development of fellow inmates. I have moved to higher responsibility as I am now the chaplain of Liberty Chapel. I counsel inmates on self-development.

    My only daughter is pursuing her master’s degree now. I have the support of my family. On the award ceremony day in 2014, they were there to support and encourage me.”

    Asked how he felt the day a death sentence was passed on him, Kabiru said: “I was sad when the death sentence was passed. I thought it was finished because of how prison is perceived out there. Everyone in prison gets downcast. Even the most hardened criminal becomes downcast when a sentence is passed.

    “So much has changed between the time I came to the prison and now. I am not the same Kabiru. I have been transformed and reformed.”

    When the hunter became the hunted

    Another inmate and master’s degree student, Alegbe Afolabi, is a former police officer. When he left for work on November 25, 2005, he did not have any premonition that he would not return into the warm embrace of his family at the close of work.

    As a law enforcement officer, he had been arresting and prosecuting suspects. But on that fateful day, he became a victim of what he had been legally doing to people caught on the wrong side of the law and ended up in prison where he has spent 13 years.

    But why would a law enforcement officer going about his legal duty end up in the prison?

    Alegbe explained: “I have been here in the prison since 2005. I was a policeman attached to Isheri Division, Ojodu Berger, Lagos. I served as a police officer for 16 years before the issue that brought me to prison came up. I was a sergeant then.

    “My journey to prison started on November 25, 2005. I was on duty with three other officers on that fateful day. At about 3 am, our operational vehicle developed a mechanical fault and we had to push it back to the station. But while waiting for the people on morning shift to come and take over from me at 6 am, I received a radio message that there was a robbery attack at Ojodu Berger.

    “I moved immediately and met three other officers in the area where the incident happened. Being the most senior officer among them, I gave instruction that we should spread ourselves to different parts of the area.”

    Alegbe recalled that shortly after they had positioned themselves, a vehicle on full speed started advancing from the direction where the robbery took place. “We tried flagging down the driver, using our touch, but he failed. Before I knew it, he rammed into me and hit my left leg.

    “We subsequently shot at his tyre to make him stop. When the vehicle stopped, the driver came out crying, ‘MOPOL has killed my brother!’ He started calling for assistance from area boys. I asked my men to go back to the office and reinforce.

    “By that time, it was about 6 am. Before I knew it, the area boys came and tried disarming me. I narrowly escaped and jumped on a waiting motorcycle that took me out of the place to the office. I was thereafter arrested and taken to Panti from where I was taken to court and charged for murder. I spent 11 years awaiting trial before I was eventually sentenced to death.”

    Alegbe said although his conviction was devastating, instead of brooding over it, he saw the prison as a fertile ground to pursue his academic dreams.

    He said: “All hope was not lost when I was sentenced to death. I was already in 400 level at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) centre here in the prison. The sentence did not deter me from pursing my academic dreams. Before I came to the prison, I had diploma in Cooperative Economic Studies. Now I have BSc in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution and I am studying for a master’s degree.

    “I decided to study the course when I sat in my prison cell and ruminated over the myriads of problems in the society. At the end, I settled for the course, hoping that if I regain my freedom, I would use my knowledge to proffer solutions that will not require force to resolve some of these problems.”

    Explaining why a death sentence would not end his academic dreams, Alegbe said: “I believe that with the help of God and faith in the judicial system, I will regain my freedom. I do encourage other inmates to further their education. I teach the inmates in secondary school Commerce and Accounting. This is one of the things I want to do when I regain my freedom. I want to impact knowledge.

    “I am married with four children. My wife and my children feel sad each time they come to visit me. The children always ask when I would be coming home. Even at that, they are consoled by my academic achievement in the prison. My wife and my children encourage me.”

    Fulfilment even in death

    The correspondent’s encounter with Nwomuh Chika, who was about to complete his studies for BSc in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, sparked some emotions. Although he has a death sentence hanging on his neck, the former secondary school drop-out said after achieving his academic dreams, he would be a fulfilled man even if the death sentence is not quashed and he is eventually hanged.

    He said: “The thought of death sentence weighs me down, but I have continued to press forward, believing that there is gain in my pain. If tomorrow the death sentence is carried out, I will be fulfilled that I made use of the opportunity I had to acquire higher education. I am happy for it.

    “But no condition lasts forever. I hope to be free one day to impact on the society positively than I left it. Right now, I have been telling fellow inmates about the beauty of education. I teach the inmates in secondary school as my contribution to their academic development.”

    Chika said he was only a secondary school drop-out when he came into prison but was about completing his first degree.

    “Precisely, I dropped out in JSS 3. While awaiting trial, I was always reading novels in my prison cell. One day, a fellow inmate said if I had been in a prison where there was facility to further my education, I would have been in the university. I prayed about what he said and as fate would have it, I was sentenced two weeks after and moved to the prison in Abeokuta which had Yewa College of Education at that time.

    “Shortly after, an inmate who was transferred from Lagos to Abokuta saw me reading and suggested that I should seek transfer to where I could get higher education. I applied and it was granted. That was how I came here and went back to continue from SS 1.

    “From SS1, I got to SS3, wrote GCE and passed. I was subsequently admitted to NOUN. My project topic is on Evaluation of Capital Punishment and Its

    Effectiveness in Combating Crime. I submitted three topics but Dr. Bolarinwa of NOUN chose the one I am working on now.

    “I am in my final year now and already writing my project. I was charged for robbery in Ondo State in 2005 and sentenced to death by hanging in 2010.”

    In spite of the progress he is making academically, Chika said his penchant for reading has made him an object of ridicule among his peers.

    “I do read in my prison cell, but some inmates always try to discourage me by saying if I loved book so much, how manage I became a prisoner? But I am determined to give education all it takes.”

    Motivated by fellow inmates

    The chance to go back to school has kept Joel Ighalo, a death row inmate at the prison, going.

    He said: “I was charged with robbery, awaited trial from 2003 and sentenced to death in January 2007.  I am currently pursuing a BSc degree in Political Science. I was a secondary school drop-out. I started from JSS class when I came here and moved all the way to the senior class from where I wrote GCE and thereafter got admission at NOUN.“

    “I sat the GCE twice before I could make my papers. My fellow inmates motivated me to further my studies. They saw that I am eloquent and encouraged me to go back to school. I lost courage before and after I was sentenced, but the motivation of my colleagues helped me. I am happy because I have access to the library and resource materials here in the prison.”

    Ighalo added: “My family members have been very supportive. They bought the GCE forms for me and brought food and drinks on my matriculation day. Aside encouraging my fellow inmates to go back to school, I am also the soul winner chairman. I move from one prison cell to the other to minister to inmates.

  • NOUN: NGO condemns ordeal, endorses NANS ultimatum for Law School

    An NGO, Equity & Social Justice Initiative (ESJI) on Tuesday described the refusal to admit law graduates of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) into the Law School as “malicious’’.

    Mr Shuaib Umar, the Executive Director of  ESJI, in a signed statement in Abuja said refusing the law students’ admission into the Nigerian Law School was an injustice and malicious.

    Umar said that the NGO vehemently frowned that the injustice as darkness was allowed to triumph over light for half a decade by deterring brilliant Nigerian youths that studied in an accredited federal institution from completing their vocational training as required.

    He said that the NGO painstakingly conducted independent investigations after the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) issued a three-month ultimatum.

    He said it was discovered that NOUN law students were always invited to all NBA conferences and other conventions for all faculties of law in Nigerian universities.

    The NGO said that the students emerged as star-prize winners in a national moot-court competition for all Nigerian universities, and consequently represented the country in an Indian international competition in 2012.

    Read Also: ‘Being a lawyer is a dream come true’

    “Since then, the school was ostracised; schemed out of other competitions and bitterness, vendetta and pull-down syndrome heightened the refusal to admit to its law graduates into the Law School.

    “This refusal was carried out by the Council of Legal Education after disclaimer advertorials, despite accreditation by the National Universities Commission (NUC),’’ he said in the statement.

    The statement reads in part, “Without mincing words, it is terribly disgraceful that innocent Nigerian youths were subjected to such stretched hardship and ridicules.

    “This is for doing nothing wrong but incarcerated for their hard work and brilliance, thus a vendetta against virtues.

    “Indeed, the gang up and draconian attitudes leave much to be desired and not less than enthroning mediocrity at the expense of meritocracy.

    “It is therefore a shame on the nation that brilliance is ridiculed instead of celebrated, and innocent students held to ransom on account of inability of their counterparts to compete with them.’’

    The NGO therefore called on President Muhammadu Buhari to use his good office to address the protracted injustice immediately.

    Umar said that hard work must continue to be encouraged in all spheres of life including education and success rewarded in line with conventional norms.

    He added that competition and sportsmanship were positive virtues that exist in all vocations and societies. NANS issued a three-month ultimatum terminating in August 2018.

    The ultimatum was issued to relevant authorities to facilitate admission to all NOUN graduates into the law school like their counterparts from other accredited universities without further delay.

    NAN 

  • Monarch to Nigerians: Emulate Ekwueme’s virtues

    Monarch to Nigerians: Emulate Ekwueme’s virtues

    Enugu State Traditional Rulers’ Council has advised Nigerians, especially politicians, to emulate the late former Vice-President, Dr Alex Ekwueme’s ideology of politics of accommodation.

    The News recalls that Ekwueme died on Nov. 19, 2017 at a London hospital after a brief illness.

    The Chairman of the council, Igwe Lawrence Agubuzu, told news on Tuesday in Enugu that Ekwueme showed a great sense of maturity, wisdom and leadership in his political philosophy and lifestyle.

    Agubuzu, who spoke on behalf of the council, noted that Ekwueme never engaged in politics of bitterness and pull-him-down as was evident in the country today.

    He was always contented with whatever position he found himself and ready to better the position for posterity.

    “He was always accommodating other people’s views and opinions at all times; that is why he was called the “Great Organizer’’ of men in some quarters.

    “The late political icon was also full of practical and workable ideas on issues, especially national issues.

    Read Also:  Ekwueme   a strong pillar in National Development – Yakasai

    “Ekwueme always aligned with ideologies meant to favour the vast majority of Nigerians, especially those meant to bring peace, unity and progress in the country,’’ he said.

    Agubuzu, who is also the Pro-Chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), said that Nigerian youths had a lot to learn from Ekwueme’s life of service to other people.

    “What matters in life is not how much wealth an individual has accumulated but the services he or she renders to other people.

    “Ekwueme, during his life time, touched many people in many positive ways.

    “He also rendered service to his community, Oko community in Anambra, where he established a polytechnic that has grown to a university status.

    “The late Ekwueme rendered a lot of service to Nigeria due to his wisdom and some of his ideas had brought about peace in the country,’’ he said.

    The monarch also described Ekwueme as a great man in character, wisdom and learning.

    Ekwueme will be laid to rest on Friday.

    NAN