The Bauchi State Orphans and Vulnerable Children Agency, says it will enrol 100, 000 orphans and vulnerable children into primary schools across the state this academic session.
Tag: Nigerian news
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There should be changes in educational curricular – OAU VC
The Vice Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University ( OAU ) Ile Ife Prof Eyitope Ogunbodede has said that there should be a change in the Educational curricular of Nigeria.
He made mention of this while giving an opening speech at the Faculty of Education interdisciplinary conference which was held at Ododuwa hall Ile Ife.
He said, “I will implore the faculty of Education to resuscitate the part time program during the long break so that many people will be able to have proper educational knowledge”.
Read Also: Four OAU students suspended for criminal activities
While showing his dissatisfaction over the state of education in Nigeria he said “Many students do not have extra knowledge ,especially in management and that is making the government not to have any confidence in their graduates for employment”.
“There should be a room for change in the curricular for education in Nigeria” he added.
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Kwara vaccinates 200,000 people in three days
The Kwara Government said on Monday that no fewer than 200,000 people have been vaccinated within three days of the ongoing yellow fever reactive vaccination in the state.
Dr Sulaiman Alege, the Commissioner for Health, who gave the figure to newsmen in Ilorin, said 960,000 doses of the vaccine would be administered in nine communities in the state.
“The vaccination is taking place in Ifelodun Local Government and eight others, comprising Isin, Ilorin South, Ilorin East, Irepodun, Oke-Ero and others.
“About 960,000 vaccines has been deployed, and for now, we have immunised close to 200,000 people in the first three days,” he said.
The commissioner described the turnout as impressive, saying that people were massively mobilised through the use of town criers and community informants.
Read Also: ‘No monkey pox in Kwara’
He said that the health education unit of the ministry was also on ground, to ensure efficient participation.
Alege said that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and National Health Care Development Agency team had visited some of the communities to monitor the exercise.
According to him, the state government remains committed to ensuring good health for its citizens.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the vaccination would last for 10 days.
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Combining studies with school politics
Politics can be daunting for anyone; and, for students, combining studies with politics can really be demanding and even be fatiguing, morally, physically and even emotionally. Politics in this sense does not all mean having a political post in the departmental or faculty association, rather it begins at the “grassroots”: in this case from being a class representative or being a floor representative in the hall of residence. The hustle and tussle to get to be the representatives can be feisty in some departments and halls of residence, especially in such departments or halls where the fire of politics rages. There was, for instance, a spirited battle between two contestants at last session in Kuti Hall, University of Ibadan, over the post of floor representative.
These two obvious greenhorns in UI student politics locked horns almost bitterly in order to “rep” their floor. They were both 100level students. One of them would eventually win, but some weeks after, his initial gra gra had been sapped by the academic demands of his studies. He learnt so fast that, politics does not insulate one from academic rigour in the university.
Politics is said to be a selfless service; a (student) politician is, on that basis, presumably called to serve. Once a student discovers his/her political calling, s/he informs his/her closest allies and the journey to receiving the biggest anointing for his calling begins in earnest from the majority of the students s/he needs to get to his/her envisioned post.
Meanwhile different factors, whether openly stated or not, serve as the propellants that drive political ambitions of students. However, monetary gains ideally are out of the factors that drive one. Therefore some of the challenges faced by students, which will form the bulk of the next paragraphs, can chase away intending student politicians. These challenges are also responsible for the inactivity of some student politicians.
Time is the soul of a business! The primary reason each and every bona fide student of the university is here is to study and graduate with a presentable certificate which will look good on a resume. However, a student politician has to learn how to spend his 24 hours judiciously; he needs to learn how to go about his studies and also deliver on his mandate to the ‘people’ who have called him to service without either suffering. This can be a little too much on such a student because there might be times when studies and politics will need attention at almost the same time. This may prove a difficult pass to navigate for some student politicians. The dilemma student-politicians fall into sometimes outstrip that of the Hamletic question of To be or not to be? To jettison studies for political demands may be an invitation to the so called CGPA vampires, and to do vice versa is to court the censure of the hard-to-please fellow students.
Moreover, money drives any ambition. Student politics has become so costly that ambitions of many a student has been killed because of their inability to compete with others who are able to finance their own ambitions. Making of posters, jingles, banners etc. requires funds, huge funds at that. These are many necessaries that are sine quo non in student politics on campus. All these will go a long way to project and illuminate the politician’s ideas and personality which will crystallize fast and in time before the election. A student with less visibility has less chance of winning the hearts of his fellow students. This point applies to the larger societies as it is often seen that politicians go all out to cover every blade of electoral grass in order to be known and seen by prospective voters.
Meanwhile it is an obvious truth that a politician cannot and must not please everyone at every time. One who does this is digging their own destructive pit. There comes another dilemma for student politicians on campus: to please his closest allies all the time in lieu of the general student populace or do otherwise? Often this conundrum makes some student politicians appear clueless. More often than not, they are confused in the convincing calls their allies and the general populace put to them. More so, the dangerous bend student politicians must always pass each time the will of student populace clashes with that of the management is usually pitiable.
Furthermore, students are always on their parents or guardians tether even while on campus. Keen parents or guardians are anxious to monitor their wards activities as much as possible. They are quick to draw the ears of these young adults on campus to the dangers of engaging in activities that may terminate their academic sojourn or even prolong it beyond the normal time. Therefore it is not surprising when parents and guardians often want to discourage their wards from making political forays while in school. The default thought are usually clashes between school management and students which students cannot win; clashes between different political camps which may turn out to be ghastly or even fatal et cetera. Parental solitude obviously is praiseworthy, but it can suffocate student’s latent leadership qualities if taken too far. The best place to begin the long lifetime process of being what one will become remains the school.
In conclusion, the demands of politics and studies can be intimidating. To judiciously harmonize the two attention-demanding tasks is not for the laggards. Therefore it is usually to the credit of student politicians who are able to navigate the two successfully. To excel at both will be utile in the here and there. A sensible juggling of the two is therefore essential and required in order to excel.
Remember, however, that a student-politician will not be a school politician without being a student. Needless to say therefore studies must not “suffer” for political ambitions.
Tobi Idowu writes from the University of Ibadan
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Sen. Gaya calls for patience with Buhari
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Sen. Kabiru Gaya, has urged Nigerians to be patient with the present administration as it works towards entrenching good governance.
He made the call while speaking with newsmen on the sidelines of the 137th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly on Sunday at St. Petersburg, Russia.
Gaya, who is the Vice President of the IPU, Africa, urged Nigerians to engage in constructive criticism of government policies rather than castigating the leadership.
While admitting that Nigerians had a right to hold their leaders accountable, he said it was imperative to do so with caution.
“Nigerians need to be patient with our leaders.
“When you have a leader, you pray hard for them because if you keep on castigating your leader, you will only end up frustrating them or hurrying to take bad decisions.
“So, I urge Nigerians to support the present government and President Muhammadu Buhari, make constructive criticisms and offer advice on the way forward,” he said.
On the theme of the 137th IPU, “Promoting Cultural Pluralism and Peace through Inter-Faith and Inter-Ethnic Dialogue’’, Gaya said it was apt in view of increasing level of conflicts around the world.
He said that there could not have been a better time when people were resorting to violence in expressing their grievances.
He said that Nigeria was not insulated from the trend as there were increasing agitations in different sections of the country.
The parliamentarian, however, called for dialogue across board.
“Generally, in any governance in a country where there are crisis or people are oppressed, dialogue is the easiest and best solution.
“This is because unless people open up and express their grievances, there may be no solution and violence is never the answer to any problem.
“Whatever peace cannot give, violence will not give. So it is better to discuss with the people and come up with solutions.
“That is why in Nigeria’s government, most of the time falls back to dialogue.
“For instance, the Biafra and Niger Delta issues were partially resolved on dialogue.
“It is only the issue of Boko Haram that we were not able to resolve with dialogue and you can see the casualty figure,’’ he said.
The chairman commended the Buhari-led government for its effort in keeping the country one in spite of the daunting challenges.
On causes of agitations, the lawmaker said that there was a need to do more to carry every section of the country along.
He said; “the issue of marginalization, for instance, is not peculiar to any section of the country but we in the National Assembly will continue to champion the course of dialogue.
“This 137th IPU assembly is timely as those of us who are able to attend will carry home the language of dialogue.
“On restructuring, particularly the issue of devolution of power, during the Constitution review, we looked at areas that are less controversial and we agreed on them.
“We in the parliament are prepared for restructuring but let us first understand ourselves.
“If the issue of devolution of power comes up again, we will open up and speak with the interest of Nigerians at heart.’’
Gaya said that more needed to be done to get every region to be on the same page before proceeding with the process.
According to him, times have changed and it will take continuous dialogue to get everybody on the same page.
“Nigeria was united under only three regions; people were not complaining at that time. Our leaders were honest and dedicated.
“Nigerians were committed to being Nigerians but these days, it is different. However, we are prepared for dialogue,’’ he said.
NAN
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Plateau killings: Lalong vows to deal with attackers
Gov. Simon Lalong of Plateau has vowed to identify and prosecute those behind the resurgence of terror attacks in the state.
Lalong made the pledge on Sunday while reacting to Saturday night attack by unknown gunmen on Tagbe Village, Jebbu Miango, Bassa Local Government Area, where six persons were killed and five others severely injured.
The governor, in a statement by the Director of Press Affairs, Mr Emmanuel Nanle, warned that government would not relent in its renewed efforts at identifying and prosecuting all those behind this heinous crimes.
He said that the killers and their sponsors seek to take the state back to the dark days of violent conflicts and vowed not to let that happen.
According to statement, the criminal elements perpetrating the spade of vicious attack within the Irigwe Chiefdom of Bassa, were finding refuge among the inhabitants of those areas.
“We are shock over the night gun attack on Tagbe Village, Jebbu Miango of Saturday the 14th October 2017, after the failed attack on Nzoruvho Village, which resulted in the killing of 6 persons and 5 others who sustained various forms of gunshot injuries.
“The attack coming at the heels of the 12 hours curfew imposed over Bassa LGA, leaves government with serious concerns,” he said.
The governor appealed to all residents of the affected areas in Bassa and the surrounding border villages, to volunteer useful information that will lead to the arrest of all the criminals behind this sudden resurgence of terror.
He warned that any person or group of persons in villages and neighbourhoods identified to have been providing refuge and escape for these criminals, will incur the wrath of the law.
Lalong extended his heartfelt condolences to families of the bereaved and directed the State Emergency Management Agency and Ministry of Health to immediately coordinate medical services for the injured as well as provide all necessary humanitarian relief materials to the affected areas.
The governor also appealed for calm from all law abiding citizens in these areas of attacks all around Bassa.
He assured that security has been reinforced, while intelligence and security search and patrol have also been intensified to ensure the immediate arrest of the culprits.
NAN
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Ikpeazu warns soldiers against extortion, manhandling of Abia residents
Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia has warned soldiers deployed in the state to desist from alleged extortion and molestation of residents.
Ikpeazu gave the warning in a statement by his Special Adviser on Information Communication Technology, Mr John Okiyi, in Umuahia on Sunday.
In the statement entitled, “Call Your Men to Order”, he expressed worry that soldiers were allegedly extorting money from residents and subjecting innocent people to unwarranted “corporal punishments”.
He described the development as unwholesome, illegal and provocative, warning that the acts could trigger civil unrest and a breach of the existing peace in the state.
“The unwholesome activities of some men of the Nigerian Army, who have formed the habit of subjecting members of the civil populace to corporal punishments and extortion of money, have reached the government of Abia.
“These acts are more prevalent along the Bende-Umuahia road, Ohafia town and within Aba and environs.
“These acts are not only illegal and extremely provocative, they are capable of triggering off civil unrest and a distortion of the peaceful atmosphere the government has worked hard to put in place,” Ikpeazu stated.
He assured that his administration would continue to cooperate with all security agencies in the discharge of their lawful operations in the state.
He, however, warned that government “shall not condone a situation where the presence of the army in the state becomes a platform to assault our people and subject them to inhuman and degrading treatments”.
The governor, therefore, charged the Commander, 14 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Ohafia and all heads of army formations in the state to closely monitor activities of their men and ensure that the practices were stopped immediately.
According to him, government shall no longer condone this unwarranted assault on the people of the state.
“Our people, as law-abiding citizens, are fully deserving of their basic freedom and fundamental rights to life, personal liberty and dignity of the human person,” Ikpeazu added.
Cases of assault, inhuman treatment, molestation and extortion of motorists, allegedly perpetrated by soldiers deployed to military checkpoints in strategic locations in the state, have been rampant.
NAN
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Officers’ promotion exam: Army urge Enugu residents not to panic
The Nigerian Army has urged residents of Enugu not to panic as they see sporadic movement of military vehicles and personnel during the Captain and Major Practical Promotion Examination 2017.
Col. Sagir Musa, Deputy Director Public Relations of 82 Division Nigerian Army, Enugu, said this in a statement issued in Enugu on Monday.
Musa said the exercise, which would run between Oct. 16 and Oct.20, would involve movement of vehicles conveying troops to selected field locations for the examination.
According to him, members of the public in Enugu city and Nsude – Udi community along 9th Mile general area are hereby informed not to worry when they notice the exercise.
“In line with the directive of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, the 82 Division Nigerian Army is set to host Captain – Major Practical Promotion Examination 2017, from Oct. 16 – Oct. 20.
“The examination is intended to test the intellectual and professional ability of the candidates as well as to improve on their capacity and knowledge base in the discharge of their duties.
“Eligible candidates will be tested on map reading, tactics and low intensity conflicts, communications, staff duties and French language.
“The Headquarters Training and Doctrine Command ( TRADOC ) Nigerian Army, will conduct the examination in 82 Division Area of Responsibility.
“A team of observers from the Headquarters, directing staff and members of the examination panel drawn from formations and units of the Nigerian Army will be involved in the conduct of the exercise,’’ he said.
Musa said that the Commander TRADOC, Maj.-Gen. Rasheed Yusuf, would address the 130 candidates and the directing staff at the division’s auditorium before the commencement of the exercise.
He said that the General Officer Commanding 82 Division Nigerian Army, Enugu, Maj.-Gen. Adamu Abubakar, would also make some remarks at the occasion.
NAN
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‘Caleb University subscribes to 120 cut-off-mark of JAMB’
Caleb University in Imota, Lagos State, says its cut-off mark for admission in the 2017/2018 academic session will be 120 as stipulated by Joint Admission Matriculation Board ( JAMB ).
Its Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Daniel Aina on Friday in Lagos said that the cut-off mark was aimed at “liberalising admission” into tertiary institutions and give access to the best candidates.
“The 120 cut-off mark was a joint decision of all Nigeria universities vice chancellors, not the JAMB alone.
“Since universities are still at liberty to conduct Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination ( UTME ) to access their candidates and select the best, we are sure to still have the best students in the system to admit,’’ he said.
Aina said the Post-UTME could not be cancelled in universities as “JAMB score is not enough to test the capability of a student’’.
He said that admission into Caleb University was not only about JAMB scores as there were other criteria the university employed to access candidates before recommending them for admission.
According to him, candidates who choose Caleb University and scored 120 and above would still be interviewed among other processes of selection.
“That a candidate scores 300 or more is not a license to be admitted in Caleb.
“You can score that much and still be denied admission if you have no moral value, while a candidate who scored between 120 and 200 marks may be admitted if he or she has excellent moral value and positive character.
“We do not just want to admit an academic giant, but a moral dwarf, so we ensure that a candidate is certified both academically and morally,’’ he said.
NAN
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Kebbi to engage 100,000 youths in livestock services
The Kebbi Government says it will engage 100,000 unemployed youths in provision of livestock services as part of efforts to reduce unemployment and make them self-reliant.
Gov. Atiku Bagudu, made this known in Birnin Kebbi on Friday when officials of the Birnin Kebbi Technology Incubation Centre visited him.
“We will collaborate with the Technology Incubation Centre to create jobs for women and youths through entrepreneurship in order to make them not only become self-reliant, but employers of labour,’’ he said.
Bagudu said that about 7,500 women would also be offered soft loans by the government in collaboration with the Bank of Industry.
“We believe in service delivery to our youths and women; we will not relent toward that direction.
“We believe in technology; we believe is the way to follow; we will demystify technology so that our young men and women can join and reap the benefits of technology,’’ he said.
Earlier, the Acting Manager of the Incubation Centre, Alhaji Abubakar Koko, commended the Wife of the Governor, Hajiya Aisha Bagudu, for her contributions to the graduation of 350 youth entrepreneurs in the centre.
Koko pleaded that the state government should assist in the construction of additional rooms and provision of buses for transportation of products produced from the centre to other states.
NAN