The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerian Newspaper

  • Still on the presidential tribunal verdict

    Sir: The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal verdict was delivered on Wednesday, September 11, in almost a 9-hour exercise. That put paid, although temporarily on who won the February 23 Presidential election. The tribunal in a unanimous judgement gave it to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari who floored his rival the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, in virtually all the issues raised against the victory of Buhari at the tribunal by the opposition.

    However, two issues are of main concern in this articulation. They are: 1) the non-academic qualification argument by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate against President Muhammadu Buhari; and, 2) the allegations by the All Progressives Congress that the PDP presidential candidate is not a citizen of Nigeria. The tribunal in its wisdom dismissed both allegations as it held that President Buhari is eminently qualified to contest the presidency of Nigeria, and that Atiku Abubabar is a citizen of Nigeria.

    The judgement of the court on this two issues were anticipated by right thinking Nigerians because the two parties left the main issues at stake and pursued the frivolous. They left the substance and went for the shadows, thereby begging the question.

    On the first issue, it baffles one to imagine that the collection of reputable senior advocates contracted by PDP would hinge their argument on the claim that Buhari does not have school leaving certificate.

    It is a truism that in 1962 when Buhari enrolled with the military, corruption was not pronounced in Nigeria as it is today. More so, Nigerian military was an off-shoot of the British Army which imparted discipline on the Colonial Regiment and Constabulary that gave birth to the Nigerian Army Buhari served. Again, if the minimum requirement for entering Nigerian Army was school certificate then it means that Buhari could not have joined the army ab initio if he did not have the minimum requirement.

    Buhari as a soldier passed his examinations in all the trainings he went through in Europe and America and other places with good testimonials from such institutions. Such successes catapulted him to the rank of Major General, a position he held when he was ousted as the Military Head of State in 1985 by General I. B. Babangida (Rtd).

    Is it not ridiculous that those aspiring for the presidency to argue that an experienced soldier  and also a sitting president does not have school leaving certificate just to score a cheap political advantage? No wise tribunal or court in the land would grant such prayer.

    The other issue is the claim by the ruling party APC, that the former vice president and the PDP presidential candidate is not a citizen of Nigeria. It is frivolous for lawyers to argue that Atiku Abubakar who had come of age in 1960 (the year of independence), and who served the country in various capacities such as Controller of Customs, and Vice President for eight years, prior to which, he vied and won a gubernatorial election in Adamawa State in 1999, is not a citizen of Nigeria. How can that be fathomable?

    To me, it is a lazy man’s argument in court of law! It is advocated that issues of relevance that will promote legal jurisprudence ought to be advanced than wasting the worthy time of court or tribunals on non-issues such as the above enunciated claims by both PDP and APC at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.

    • Nick Okanmelu, Awka, Anambra State.

  • 17-year-old wins talent hunt

    Seventeen-year-old Orhu Abigail Nneka, a Mass Communication undergraduate of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), has won a singing contest organised as part of the activities for the yearly Mass Communication Week.

    The event, held on the second day of the week-long activities, saw Orhu clinching a N10,000 reward amid encomium from friends and mates.

    “I feel blessed and it’s God’s grace that found me. Honestly, I’m actually happy for the platform and I’m super excited,” Orhu said.

    It was excitement galore as various acts thrilled the crowd with their performances during the week themed: “Unleash.”

    Orhu, a 100-Level undergraduate of the department, recalled how she started her music career while in secondary school because of the passion she has for the profession.

    President of the department Funke Ademola-Aliu said the Talent Hunt was to showcase various talents in the department, adding that prospective contenders were allowed to pay for air space to showcase their talents.

    She said: “This is a platform for students, especially the shy ones, to come and showcase their talents. This would help them build their courage to apply for bigger competitions.”

  • FUOYE: NANS secures students’ release

    National President, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Danielson Bamidele Akpan, has secured the release of two students arrested by the police, in connection with the crisis in the wake of a protest by students of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) last weekTuesday.

    The two students, Ogunlana Olabisi, 200-Level Electrical Electronics and Adeniji Oluwasegun, 300-Level  Agric Education, were to be arraigned in court on Monday before NANS’ intervention secured their unconditional release.

    Interestingly, too, students allegedly extorted by the police have identified the officers that demanded cash from them to facilitate their bail.

    Comrade Akpan also secured the release of the Students’ Union bus which was seized by the police and handed over to the FUOYE SU.

    The students’ body had earlier threatened to shut down the entire Ekiti State by what it described as ‘mother of all protests’ before eventually reaching a compromise with the police and Ekiti State government.

    On Tuesday last week, the students protested against poor electricity supply in Oye Township. They blocked the Oye and Ikole campuses, barring students and workers from gaining entrance into the school premises.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the protesters blocked the wife of Ekiti State Governor Erelu Bisi Fayemi while returning from a tour of the 16 local government areas of the state, where she had furthered her empowerment programme.

    The otherwise peaceful protest erupted in crisis as the police attached to the First Lady attempted to smuggle her via the surging protesters, a scenario that eventually deteriorated, and leaving two students dead, vehicles vandalised,  and several others injured.

  • UDUS student attacked

    A 100-Level Law student of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), Aliyu Saleh, has been attacked by hoodlums.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that Saleh was on his way to Bakassi Hostel last Wednesday, when the assailants attacked him with machetes around 11pm.

    The victim was walking along the snaky and often lonely Faculty of Veterinary Medicine road that leads to Bakassi Hostel where he resides.

    Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, Saleh narrated how his attackers cashed in on the porous security at the aforementioned route to unleash mayhem on unsuspecting students.

    He recalled how he decided to stroll out of the Bakassi Hostel at nightfall to make some calls, owing to poor network within the hostel, before the hoodlums intercepted him and made away with his mobile phone as he made to return to his hostel.

    Said Saleh: “At around 10:30pm, I left my room at Bakassi Block B, to go and make some calls as well as read because of bad network. So, I took that straight road connecting Bakassi with the main road where the new Faculty of Veterinary Science was built close to the signboard at the edge of Bakassi Street.

    “After the calls, I made to return to the hostel. Then, I realised a motorcyclist with two other passengers pulled up behind me. One of the passengers disembarked while the two others stopped close to the sign board.

    “Another guy who I initially thought was a fellow student came behind and enquired what the time was and I answered him. In a flash, the guy pounced on me trying to drag my phone. I fought back and before I could say ‘Jack’, a machete landed on my left shoulder.

    “I raised alarm as I took to my heels.  I then alerted some securities officials who also gave them a hot chase. Unfortunately, my attackers escaped using their motorcycle.”

    He thanked the security officials who thereafter rushed him to the school clinic for first aid, before he was later transferred to university’s teaching hospital for proper treatment.

    Aliyu further advised students to be very vigilant while walking at night around the school premises.

    He said: “To fellow students I would say, if they are going for any affairs whatsoever at night, should walk in group. Once you don’t trust a person at night, keep your distance, because it seems these criminals are not only after mobile phone, but lives.”

    One of Aliyu’s intimate friends, Sheu Shamsudeen, also a 100-Level law undergraduate drew students but particularly management’s attention to the growing insecurity on campus.

    “And for students, avoid walking alone during the dark hours of the night, walk in groups,” he recommended.

  • Sundry Misusages XXVII: Oblivious . . . plus more

    Still so many hurdles to scale on misusages! The reason is, anywhere you turn, you encounter egregious mangling of standard usage. Yet, when you mangle usage, you mangle meaning. That should make correct usage the spirit and soul of any language. Usage embeds the character, personality, essence, excitement, depth, unique feel and beauty of language. So, when you master usage, you are filled with the spirit and soul of the language concerned (You know what it means to be spirit-filled in Christendom!) It’s so that we may fill you with the spirit of correct usage that we converse on more pitfalls to avoid in this edition. 

    Oblivious

    Communicators advise us to use adjectives sparingly because they require deft and accurate handling to share precise meaning. But for the prestige of it most likely, a lot writers indulge in using adjectives cavalierly, even when they could find other ways to express their thoughts more intelligibly. It is bad enough to be careless in your use of adjectives but it is worse not to understand their correct usage. Such are the pitfalls in the following statement:

    While this extreme condition persists for the citizenry, both the outgoing government and the incoming one seem either oblivious of this fact or are incapacitated to act.

    Here is what our writers’ companion, “Pop” Errors, says about the statement: “There is nothing egregious here, but just a little nuance of usage. The adjective oblivious is usually used in two ways: oblivious of; and oblivious to. When used in the former form, it connotes a state of unawareness of something, and in the second form, a state of not taking cognisance of or not considering or almost ignoring something. The writer is commenting on the excruciating socio-economic miseries of people during the transition from one administration to another government-in-waiting. Against this background, it may be illogical and untrue to say both are not aware of the parlous situation. It seems, therefore, that the ace columnist (specimen’s source is a newspaper column) has the second sense of oblivious in mind, suggesting that they are aware but are simply not addressing it for now. In other words, the expression oblivious to seems more appropriate from the drift of the columnist’s thought. We leave the debate to aficionados of English grammar. What is important for us here is to master the two forms of the usage of the adjective oblivious.” To avoid any doubt, we restate the statement with the correct usage inserted, thus:

    While this extreme condition persists for the citizenry, both the outgoing government and the incoming one seem either oblivious to this fact or are incapacitated to act. 

    Offspring

    Quite often, many write their own rules, leveraging entrenched lexical mindsets. The erroneous attitude seems to be: just add s whenever and wherever you need the plural sense of anything. Yet there are exemptions and there are exemptions. The correct application of the noun offspring is such an exemption, which has not been observed in the following:

    All those that are shielding Maina and his cohort from facing the full wrath of the law should know that their offsprings, relatives and friends will need a pension at old age.

    “Correct usage is offspring, not offsprings. In singular or plural form, offspring is offspring, meaning “a person’s child or children,” “an animal’s young”, or “the product or result of something.” What is more, offsprings does not exist in the English language” (“Pop” Errors).  To avoid any doubt, let us insert the correct usage, thus:

    All those that are shielding Maina and his cohorts from facing the full wrath of the law should know that their offspring, relatives and friends will need a pension at old age.

    Onset/Outset

    Here is one usage with which many a writer does not say what they mean. A scrutiny of the following statements will bear this out most vividly.

    (a). . .Let me say from the onset of this piece.

    (b)…In the face of the seeming silence of the Federal Government on the plight of the girls at the outset of the abduction, it took the patriotic act of some Nigerians . . . to draw global attention to the issue. . . .

    Specimen (a) is the way a writer started an edition of his newspaper column. ‘Onset cannot be an appropriate usage for the beginning of a newspaper article, unless it is declaring war. Correct usage is outset. Outset is used to refer to “the beginning or start of something” good; onset is also used to refer to “the beginning of something,” but “especially something unpleasant” (Oxford Dictionary of English/AmazonKindle). There is nothing unpleasant in a newspaper column, even if seen as an event’ (“Pop” Errors). So, correct usage regarding (a) above is:

    Let me say from the outset of this piece . . .

    Specimen (b) is the flipside of (a). In other words, (b) exhibits the reverse error of (a), misusing outset and comically confusing the noun with onset. The explanation of (a) shows obviously that onset is the correct usage in (b), not outset, “because abduction is clearly an unpleasant development.” Thus, correct usage in regard to (b) is:

    In the face of the seeming silence of the Federal Government on the plight of the girls at the onset of the abduction, it took the patriotic act of some Nigerians . . . to draw global attention to the issue. . . .

  • Right school age

    What is the right age for a child to start school in Nigeria? Parents are not sure. There seems to be no clear cut legislation about this in our education system.  Before private schools became popular and when mothers did not have to work, children stayed at home until they clocked six to be enrolled in Primary One. To test if they were of age, their left hand had to reach their right ear and vice versa.

    This was the practice in public schools. Then little attention was paid to early childhood development education – even up to 2007. Children started learning their letters and alphabets in Primary One.

    Private schools embraced pre-school and nursery Education in Nigeria long before the public schools. Today, public schools run two ECCDE classes before Primary Education kicks off.

    But the scenario is different in private schools. There is no uniformity. Schools adopt different models in running their pre-school/nursery. They also have different nomenclature for the names of pre-school classes. Some start with playgroup, reception, nursery 1-2, then kindergarten in that order, while others place the KG classes first before nursery classes. The variation is to the point of confusion.

    When I started shopping for a school for my first child, he was 18 months old. None of the schools I visited said he was too young to start. I was encouraged to enroll him.  Some schools even informed me that they accepted three-month olds. Today, very few parents wait for their wards to clock three before sending them to school. It is so bad that a two year-old is deemed too old not to be in school.

    In contrast, in countries like the United Kingdom U.S. and Canada, children start school at four.  Princess Charlotte of British royal family recently started formal schooling aged four.  Before four, children are home-schooled, go to daycare or attend part-time nurseries on some days of the week. They are not expected to write 1-100 like some children in Nigeria or do homework.

    Another area of inconsistency in our school system is the duration of Primary Education.  Though the National Policy on Education states that we run six years of primary education, three years of junior secondary education, three years of senior secondary education, and four years of tertiary education (6-3-3-4), many private schools practice five years of primary education.  These schools also use text books one year ahead of the class the children are in to make primary six irrelevant.  For instance, they introduce Primary One textbooks to pupils when they are in Nursery 2, and continue like that as the pupils progress.  By the time they are in Primary Five, they use textbooks for primary six then take entrance examinations of public and private schools and off they go to secondary school.

    This ‘unofficial’ five years of primary education has been in practice for over three decades now.  It was in practice when I was in primary school in the 80s.  So it is not a new phenomenon.  By now government should have researched, assessed and put an end to the practice.  But nothing of such has happened.

    I do not think that this practice of rushing children through school has helped our education system in anyway.  There is no evidence we are better than countries that have a stipulated start age later than what we practice.  Nigeria is not on any list of high-ranking performers in maths, sciences or other areas because we rush our children, neither are we achieving 80-100 per cent pass in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination.  Ghana, where children spend longer in primary and secondary schools, has been outperforming Nigeria in the WASSCE for over one decade even though we have the largest candidature for the examination among the five West African member countries.

    Government needs to wake up and enforce our National Policy on Education to arrest the decay in our education system.  This sickening mediocrity should end.

  • Don seeks support for blind students

    Dr Adebowale Ayobade of the Department of Sociology, University of Lagos (UNILAG) has urged educators not to neglect visually-impaired students but find a means of accommodating them.

    She spoke last Friday at an event organised by the National Association of Nigerian Visually Impaired Students (NANVIS), UNILAG Chapter, tagged:The Power of the B4:Black, Blind, Bold and Beautiful.

    While speaking on the topic, Inclusive Education, she said visually-impaired students should be encouraged and assisted, not discriminated against.

    She said: “When we talk of Inclusive Education, it involves giving an enabling environment to all citizens to learn without any form of discrimination. It is all about giving equal opportunities to all. It accommodates everybody in the learning process.”

    Ayobade explained that the country was still evolving in the area of Inclusive Education, but advised that efforts should be made to make it work.

    She said: “We are still evolving, but there is room for improvement. We need to modify how we impart knowledge to the blind – their learning time, exam questions – and teachers too should have special skills to cater for them.”

    Commenting on the theme of the event, former NANVIS EXCO, Mr Kareem Ahmed, said being blind had not hampered the students in any way.

    He praised University of Lagos, noting that “UNILAG is the best place for visually- impaired students”.

    Earlier in his opening speech, Head of Department, History and Strategic Studies, Prof Rufus Akinyele, who represented the Vice Chancellor, Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, praised the blind students for visiting Ikoyi Prisons and assured them of the university’s continuous support.

    He said: “I really commend your efforts towards serving humanity in your present state.  Your visit to Ikoyi Prisons shows you care about others.  And I want to use this medium to assure you of the regular support of the university.”

    President of the association, Osho Sunday said their disability was a blessing to them.He noted that the association was formed to rid visually-impaired students of challenges facing them on campus.

    Meanwhile, Kunle Esun of EcoBank presented white canes to members of the association to support them.

  • YABATECH, group partner on ethics training

    To achieve improved productivity and effectiveness for its workers, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) in conjunction with Global Women Investors and Innovators Network (GWIIN), recently engaged 80 selected academics and non-academic members of staff in Work Ethics, Etiquette and Leadership training.

    The objective of the training was to assist YABATECH to gain competitive edge with workers being exposed to a range of tools and approaches that support good governance, ethics, professionalism and effective leadership qualities.

    The workshop was designed to expose participants to modules relating to innovation, business development and enterprise.

    During the two-day programme at G International Institute Training Centre (GIITC) in Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos, facilitated by Staff Development and Training Department of the College, the founder & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GWIIN, Dr. Bola Olabisi, buttressed the main purpose of the training which was to re-train, re-skill, re-tool and take advantage of current and emerging opportunities.

    The participants were divided into seven groups that brainstormed on case studies/scenarios and proffered solution.

    Day one of the workshop focused on work ethics and authentic leadership qualities, making sound decision and values and integrity.

    On the second day, the participants l earnt about the code of conduct for personal development, social etiquette, and the art of fine dining with regards to the do’s and don’ts; dignity and a sense of what is appropriate in a cosmopolitan society; as well as composure and sophistication.

    Certificates of participation were awarded to attendees after the workshop.

  • Three years after, CAMPUSLIFE reporter collects witheld certificate

    Abdulsalam Mahmud, a CAMPUSLIFE reporter, graduated in 2016 with a distinction from Fati Lami Abubakar Institute of Legal and Administrative Studies (FLAILAS), Niger State. However, it was only last month, August 28, that he collected his Diploma certificate. The institute held on to his certificate for three years, following a story he published in CAMPUSLIFE section of The Nation n1ewspapers. OLUWAFEMI MUBARAK, MASS COMMUNICATION graduate of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State, reports

    On October 6, 2016, Mr Abdulsalam Mahmud, then a CAMPUSLIFE reporter and Mass Communication undergraduate of Fati Lami Abubakar Institute of Legal and Administrative Studies (FLAILAS), Minna, Niger State, wrote a story on the CAMPUSLIFE cover of The Nation with the title: ‘Varsity applicants battle institute for results’.

    Pronto!

    Mahmud’s report jolted the management to do the needful immediately. However, FLAILAS  management debunked Mahmud’s claims, and considered the story ‘offensive’, ‘false’ and ‘injurious’ to the image of the school. And before anybody could say ‘Jack’, Mahmud was slammed hard with a punishment: his certificate was witheld for more than three years.

    It was, therefore, a victory for Mahmud, when the management  issued him his certificate on the school premises.

    Mahmud, CAMPUSLIFE gathered, dwarfed others, bagging a Distinction with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (cgpa) of 4.57. Interestingly, Mahmud was the only Mass Communication student who got Distinction among his classmates, an accomplishment which earned him the department’s best of his set.

    Mahmud, who started writing for CAMPUSLIFE in July 2015, has published over 93 reports and articles in the weekly pull-out of The Nation. In 2015, he received the ‘Most talented intern’ award from Newsline Newspaper after completing his media internship at the organisation’s office in Minna.

    A source, who was abreast of the incident, recalled the victim’s journey to his predicament.

    “The reason why Mahmud’s result was not issued to him immediately after he graduated was crystal clear,” began the source who pleaded not to be mentioned.

    He continued: “It was about the article he wrote on the plight of his classmates, especially the final year students. Mahmud published a story which the school management considered to be malicious, baseless and defamatory. But, actually, the report was not a falsehood, neither was it aimed at defaming the reputation of the institute.

    “The reporter (Mahmud) indeed carried out a thorough investigation and interviewed parties involved in the matter. He thereafter published a factual story on the plights of some students who missed their Direct Entry screening tests as a result of the delay by the institute to release their final results. That ugly development resulted in some of the 2016 graduating students missing their DE screenings, with some being denied admission that year.

    “The interesting thing was that barely 24 hours after Mahmud’s report was published, management quickly released the results of the graduating students, which enabled some of them to participate in DE screenings and post-UTME tests of their preferred tertiary institutions. There were a couple of the graduating students I know, who eventually got admission into universities that same year.”

    However, a day after Mahmud’s story was published, his name, matriculation number and details of his results ‘miraculously disappeared’  from the result sheets pasted on the notice board of the Department of Mass Communication.

    Shocked by the development, Mahmud had promptly drawn the attention of his Head of Department (HoD), Mallam Musa Gbage, who told him the error might have occurred during computation of the final results. Gbage assured Mahmud that the issue would be resolved

    “However, both the HoD and the school management didn’t actually address Mahmud’s complaint for weeks, until management sent a rejoinder that was also published in the same medium on 16 of November, 2016,” added one of Mahmud’s bosom friends, Umar Abdulkadir.

    Further, Abdulkadir explained that Mahmud was pressed into seeking justice in the court following several interventions by some eminent personalities with the Provost and other top principal officers of the institution, to no avail.

    A lecturer, who does not want his name mentioned, dismissed the assumption that Mahmud was victimised over the publication, saying some students and workers did not seem to understand Mahmud’s  true character and ‘uncultured attitude’.

    The source stated that on several occasions, Mahmud was warned by management against publishing stories that were not only injurious to the image of the school, but could also instigate riot on campus.

    The lecturer stated that the victim was in the habit of writing negative reports about the school, without cross-checking his facts.

    “As a young reporter learning the ropes through the window of campus journalism, it is expected that he adheres strictly to the ethics and tenets of news reportage. He should not be passionate about reporting issues without first gathering facts and doing thorough investigation. That was not the case with Mahmud. He authored several stories that dented the image of the institute even when he was yet to graduate from the school. A good student should also be a good ambassador of his or her alma mater. It should not be that you are destroying the image of your school,” the lecturer said.

    The lecturer, who attested to the fact that Mahmud has a very bright future in journalism, advised him to draw lessons from the ordeal by henceforth reporting issues objectively, and in such a manner that would not incite violence.

    Another source told CAMPUSLIFE authoritatively that the issue was eventually resolved in June this year when the victim’s lawyer and counsel to the institute both resolved that the matter be settled out of court.

    “Two lawyers made a gentleman agreement. Mahmud was prevailed upon to tender an unreserved apology in writing to the school over the said story, while the school management should also accept his apology and issue him his certificate.

    Miss Amina Ibrahim, a former classmate of Mahmud, described her friend’s victory as ‘a long walk to freedom’.

    Going down memory lane,  Miss Ibrahim recalled how the 2016 graduating students of FLAILAS, especially the DE applicants who knew Mahmud published a report about their plights, were deeply saddened on hearing about Mahmud’s dilemma.

    “I know Mahmud to be a very brilliant student. He was the best student in our department. Mahmud is a creative writer and a fearless campus journalist. While in school, Mahmud regularly filed in stories and other interesting events by students on campus for publication,” noted Miss Ibrahim.

    “He was the first Mass Communication student in the history of the institute that wrote stories and got them published on national dailies. He regularly contributed reports for The Nation, and some other national dailies. His numerous stories, especially inside CAMPUSLIFE pull-out projected the image of the school positively,” she added.

    Ibrahim admitted that even though there were some of Mahmud’s reports which did not sit well with the management; yet there were many which similarly projected the institution in good light.

    Garba Ismail, a 2016 law graduate of the institute, debunked claims by management that the victim was acting someone’s script by publishing some ‘harsh’ stories which sought to smear the reputation of FLAILAS.

    Ismail, stated that Mahmud, who was then the president of the school’s Creative Writers’ Club (CWC) of their set, should be proud that his writings motivated and spurred key authorities into action in addressing major problems facing the institution.

    He said: “Mahmud was the one that pioneered campus journalism at FLAILAS. He wrote stories of great impact. In the wake of the of the looting of the equipment of  Mass Communication radio studio of FLAILAS in November 2015, Mahmud wrote a report in The Nation which prompted  the Niger State government and Ministry of Education  to re-equip the facility.”

    Also in his reaction, the victim’s lawyer, Mohammed El-Surur, expressed delight that their legal intervention finally yielded fruit with the successful release of Mahmud’s credential.

    El-Surur, advised his ‘client’ to be wary of writing stories that may appear offensive to ‘powerful’ authorities, and which can truncate his academic pursuits or even terminate his life. The lawyer urged him to remain focused and continue to pursue his passion of becoming a seasoned journalist in the nearest future.

    In a chat with CAMPUSLIFE, Mahmud expressed gratitude to Almighty Allah for giving him the emotional strength to continue writing stories for CAMPUSLIFE and also practise journalism, even when his school certificate was withheld.

    The CAMPUSLIFE reporter, who said his travail was just like a flash in the pan when compared with what many famous journalists had experienced, described the entire experience as a ‘baptism of fire’ on his path to becoming a celebrated reporter.

    “Let me register my profound appreciation to my lawyer, my parents, lecturers at FLAILAS, my friends and several others well-wishers who stood by me and still believe in me, when I was denied my certificate.,” Mahmud began while thanking everyone.

    He added: “I also wish to thank the management of FLAILAS for pardoning, and issuing my result. I will forever remain indebted to them. Many thanks also to my lecturers who groomed me. The ordeal I passed through has only strengthened my courage as a pen pusher,” Mahmud added.

    Early this year, Mahmud won the ‘Upcoming writer of the year’ award at the annual Campus Journalism Award (CJA), hosted by Youths Digest at the Sheraton Luxury Hotel in Abuja.

    Prior to his ordeal, Mahmud had repeatedly told his friends and course mates how, upon graduation from FLIALAS, he had hoped to use that certificate for DE to a university of his choice. With his credential now ‘discharged’ Mahmud can now further his academic dream.

  • Xenophobia and Onyema’s patriotism

    Sir: Long before the news of xenophobic attacks on Nigerians living in South Africa became public knowledge, the much people knew about Allen Onyema is the fact that he is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of one of Nigeria’s leading private airline companies, Air Peace.

    Typical of most private business operators, we thought all that mattered to people him was simply how to maximise profit, expand his business frontiers and put in place necessary measures that would keep his business safe and healthy in a peculiarly challenging business environment like ours. But we were wrong.

    But by choosing to be exemplary even without being prompted or coerced, Onyeama has indeed altered the erroneous perception that business people suddenly become contemplative when discussing philanthropy, and that they only put their money into ventures that would advance their business interests. Onyema’s action has to a large extent put a lie to that assertion.

    Same way most Nigerians were outrightly enraged and distraught by what many have described as premeditated, sustained, unprovoked and malicious attacks on innocent Nigerians living in South Africa by some local criminals who serially launched attacks on black foreigners for some senseless reasons, so was Onyema.

    But unlike others, he didn’t just lament, wail and condemn the inhuman and degrading treatment that his fellow countrymen were being subjected to. He thought of how to possibly assist in providing succour to these Nigerians who have suffered both human and material losses in the madness that occurred in the rainbow nation. Truly, it takes a man who has abundant love in his bosom to express real love to others.

    Instead of turning a blind eye or feel unperturbed by the unfortunate experiences of our brothers and sisters in South Africa, and possibly become critical of government and accuse it of being insensitive to the plight of its citizens in foreign lands, he volunteered to deploy a B777 air craft belonging to his company, Air Peace, to air lift all stranded Nigerians in South Africa who are willing to return home free of charge!

    This is indeed a rare act of patriotism and humanity that should be acknowledged and celebrated by all. He knew it wasn’t his responsibility as a citizen to coordinate efforts to evacuate stranded Nigerians in South Africa, but the humanity in him took a better part of his mind the moment he ruminated over the issue. He didn’t put the tribe, religion, political or ideological leanings of these stranded Nigerians into consideration before he offered to help them out of the precarious situation they were in. He chose to look beyond those divisive and narrow considerations that often guide our conducts in this part of the world.

    Onyema’s patriotic gesture quite resonates with Nigerians who are genuinely committed to building a country where love, unity, peace and social justice will reign supreme. We must be deliberate in our resolve to strengthen the bond of unity that holds us together. For us to realize our national aspirations and other strategic goals, it is important that we dwell more on those things than join us and focus less on those that divide us. This is simply the clear message in Allen Onyema’s rare act of human kindness.

    Ultimately, like Onyema has demonstrated, we need not find ourselves in public offices or be extremely wealthy before we can contribute our quota towards national development. The little acts of patriotism and kindness we do unnoticed are the bricks we need to build a rock-solid, united, indivisible and great nation that we always talk about.

    • Abdullahi Yunusa, Lugbe, Abuja.