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Tag: OAU

  • Fellowship organises Jesus Sales

    Fellowship organises Jesus Sales

    The Redeemed Christian Fellowship (RCF), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife chapter, has held a trade fair tagged “Jesus Sales” for students. The fair started on a Saturday at the covered pavilion of the Sport Complex with exhortation by pastors in the fellowship.

    Students were told not to see the trade fair as an avenue to buy items at cheaper prices, but instead they should see it as a propagation of love to the needy.

    After the brief sermon, tags were distributed to ensure the purchase of food items at low prices. Packaged foods and beverages such as noodles, sachets of milk and Bournvita were sold for as low as N20. Sachet of Spaghetti went for N50 and a kongo of rice and beans went for N250 each.

    Students swarmed the venue to get food items.

    One of the welfare officers of the fellowship said the food items were donated to be sold by unnamed philanthropists. But the proceeds from the sales would be used to fund activities of the fellowship and members’ needs. Orphans would also benefit from the proceeds.

     

  • Corps members trained on safe delivery

    To reduce maternal deaths in Oyo State, a seminar has been organised for Corps members, who are medical doctors.

    The workshop, which was held at the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) House, Ibadan, was put together by Dr Adeyemi Oluwaseun, a Corps member and graduate of Medicine and Surgery from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State.

    Corps members from various Local Government Areas in the state attended the seminar.

    Also at the event were officials of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) led by Mrs Oluwayemisi Otaru; the Schedule Officer, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Community Development Service (CDS) Group.

    The chairman on the occasion, Prof Adefolarin Malomo, a Neurosurgeon at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, who is the NMA chief in the state, urged the young doctors to always observe medical code of conduct whenever they practise.

    Malomo told participants to also look on maternal mortality and how they could help in their various places of assignment to save lives.

    The seminar, which was divided into five sessions, featured three guest speakers – Dr Emmanuel Olowokere, Dr Olalekan Ogunlowo and Dr Nkemdiran Jacob – who took turns to sensitise the young doctors on prevention of maternal death.

    Olowokere, who came from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, UCH, spoke on Emergency Caesarian Session, Instrumental Emergency Delivery and Management of Ante-Partum and Post-Partum hemorrhages with a practical session. He demonstrated the use of anti-shock garment in other to reduce peri-partal bleeding.

    There was also a video show on how to perform an Emergency Caesarian Session and the use of vacuum extractors in performing Instrumental Vaginal Delivery.

    Ogunlowo, of the Ibadan Central Hospital, lectured the participants on the principles of safe abortion and management of complications after abortion.

    Saying the vote of thanks, Oluwaseun, a Corps member, enjoined his colleagues to practise what was learnt during the seminar to save lives and reduce mortality rate in Oyo State.

    He said: “As a development facilitator of MDGs, I have been particularly interested in the fifth goal of MDGs, which is improving maternal health. To achieve this, I decided to bring veteran medical practitioners to tutor young doctors so that we can equip ourselves with necessary skills and reach out to improve maternal health.”

     

  • Aregbesola plants tree of life

    Aregbesola plants tree of life

    It was 7am and the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile- Ife was filled with guests and members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) from within and outside Osun State. Academic activities were literally brought to a halt as students, in green and white attires, welcomed the honoree, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, to the university.

    The award was organised by the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Studies, OAU in partnership with the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria and the National Parks Service, Abuja.

    As people trooped into the campus, security operatives had a hectic time controlling them. At 8:34 am, the convoy of members of the State Executive Council led by the Deputy Governor, Mrs Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, arrived.

    Clad in a green attire with white trousers to match, Mrs. Laoye-Tomori led commissioners to the Vice-Chancellor’s office, where they were received by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Prof Ayobami Salami, and top members of the university’s management.

    Appreciating the management for recognising and supporting all developmental initiatives of the government, Mrs. Laoye-Tomori said the Aregbesola administration was proud of the university for being environmental-friendly.

    A few minutes after, Prof Salami, who represented the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Bamitale Omole, led guests to the Jimoh Ibrahim Post Graduate Building to welcome Aregbesola for the tree-planting initiative of the government, tagged Igi Iye (tree of life).

    Welcoming guests, Director of the Institute, Dr Olusegun Awotoye, said Aregbesola was honoured in recognition of his administration’s initiatives on the environment through various programmes such as O-CLEAN and others.

    Awotoye congratulated the governor for being the third recipient of the prestigious award. Past awardees are Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola and former Governor Donald Duke of Cross River State.

    The Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment and Sanitation, Mr Bola Ilori, said the survival of humanity depended on trees to restore friendly weather, adding that Igi Iye would be planted in towns and villages and not in the forest.

    He said God remained the best environmentalist with the creation of the Garden of Eden before man. He praised the institute for the support, commending OAU Parks and Garden for supporting the beautification project.

    Prof Bukola Oyawoye, Commissioner for Agriculture, said Aregbesola had worked hard to save the environment. Reading from Genesis 2:8, she noted that God believed that man could not survive without the environment, which was why it came first before man.

    Earlier, Prof Omole, noted that the university had a plan for ecology and the environment since 1972 after it held a conference on ecology and the environment.

    He promised to partner the state in its afforestration and environmental programmes.

    The highpoint of the ceremony was the presentation of the Gold Environment Award Aregbesola.

    Responding, Aregbesola thanked the university for maintaining the standard and making the dreams of its founding fathers a reality. He restated the government’s readiness to partner with the university to improve the environment.

    Singing to the admiration of the guests, the governor said his joy knew no bounds, adding: “It is not easy to receive an award put together by three distinct and reputable organisations. It is uncommon for a university like OAU to lend its hallowed ground for a programme like this. I salute the management team.”

    Describing environment as humanity’s common heritage, Aregbesola said: “I want the children who are in their formative years to take this initiative with all their hearts. We have imbibed a positive spirit that we must improve our environment. For us in Osun, the environment is not something to trample upon but something that must be cherished and taken care of.

    “To the children, we are borrowing your time and you must not allow us to misuse it. We do not believe that the environment belong to us. It was bequeathed to us by our predecessors and so also we shall bequeath it to you.”

    Saying that the award will further spur more progressive action, the governor urged the youths to see opportunities in his administration’s environmental policies.

    Presenting the symbolic trees to the OAU managment, Aregbesola, who was joined by Oyawoye, Dr Awotoye and a female student representing the youths, said that the state had bought 2.5m seedlings for the initiative.

    The presentation of Igi Iye by Aregbesola was witnessed by Prof Salami, Registrar, Mr Dotun Awoyemi, traditional rulers, members of the state executives and students. The governor later planted the symbolic tree on the campus.

    Ace Nollywood actor, Saheed Balogun and hip-hop sensation, Olamide, thrilled the guests and students after the ceremony.

  • How to promote culture

    How to promote culture

    The Department of Sociology and Anthropology of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has held a cultural symposium for students of the department. KEMI BUSARI (400-Level Political Science) writes.

    The World Cultural Day may have come and gone, but the memory of the cultural celebration held at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, will linger in the memory of students.

    The programme with the theme: Cultural dialogue and integration: A pathway to unity and development in Nigeria was attended by lecturers, Sociology students from the Federal University of Oye (FUOYE), Oye-Ekiti.

    Mr Joshua Ayodele, a lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, OAU, in his address, noted that though many rolled out drums to celebrate their cultures, the world had been reduced to an artificial object.

    He said it was important for nations to engage in cultural dialogue to achieve development. He said: “Since culture is a way of life of people, there is the need for proper representation of such people in the cultural dialogue. This will go a long way in promoting unity and understanding among various cultural elements.”

    Stressing that cultural dialogue should be an ongoing process, the sociologist said every informed individual needed to be actively involved in promoting peaceful coexistence of various cultures.

    He added: “It is observed that cultures have been more developed today than in the past. This development is due to the enlargement in trade, technology, education and migration.”

    Emphasising that cultural dialogue remains the solution to Nigeria’s challenge, Ayodele said discouraging dialogue would lead to ignorance, intolerance and loss of opportunity to learn about one another’s way of life.

    Prof Moses Awogbaje, a lecturer, said the focus on study of culture was to identify diversity, which he described as a major problem in every plural society.

    “For us to develop as a nation, we need to identify and proffer solutions to the problem of diversity,” he charged.

    Dr Lateef Adisa, who represented the head of the department, said harmonisation of cultures must be taken into consideration in dialogues about peace and unity among cultural elements.

    His words: “We need to focus on the non-material aspect of our culture; there is no nation that can develop if citizens are chosen on standards alien to their culture.”

    Olawale Olatujoye, chairman of organising committee, said he was delighted by the success of the programme, urging students to advance the cause of peace.

    The programme also featured Ifa presentation by students. Also, Urhobo students presented while members of Kegites Club thrill the participants with their gyration songs.

  • Traits of godfatherism on campuses

    To say that godfatherism has eaten deep into Nigerian politics is to restate the fact. Our politics has always been defined by who a candidate knows. Before anybody can occupy public office, he must have a godfather. Such candidates, who ride on the back of godfathers to clinch political offices, will only be loyal to the person(s) that help them win elections.

    Such is the ugly side of godfatherism. In higher institutions, the trait is rearing its ugly especially in students’ politics.

    Historically, godfatherism can be traced to the old Catholic Church when youths and children looked up to elderly persons and emulated them to be responsible. This practice is still in operation till today in some Anglican Churches and Pentecostal churches.

    In Nigerian politics, the likes of Nnamdi Azikwe, Obafemi Awolowo and Tafawa Balewa, were seen as as political godfathers in the First Republic; politicians, who wanted to be elected invoke their names and banked on their influence to be elected.

    Operationally, a political godfather is a term used to describe a merchant who acquires the state as a client to further his personal economic and political empire, which will be maintained by a godson, through an unbroken pact of remitting the state resources before ascending the throne of power.

    Godfatherism is firmly establishing itself as a phenomenon in contemporary Nigerian politics. These godfathers are rich and have so much influence within their individual domain. They decide who becomes the governor, legislator, and local government chairman in their consistencies.

    These political godfathers ensure they get into politics through whatever means, whether legitimate or illegitimate and employ unconventional methods to achieve their aim of political relevance. Their formidable political structures, if positively used, can strengthen democracy and improve the political process.

    But what we have is contrary; political godfathers have continued to make life unbearable for the citizens because they stand between elected officials and the people, who should be served. Their activities have made politics in Nigeria a difficult process and this has hampered development both at the local and national level.

    However, the inability of political godsons to continuously grease the financial wheel of their godfather has resulted to the removal of some of them from office because godfathers will not hesitate to bring down their disloyal godsons to prove their political supremacy.

    Like other forms of political corruption, godfatherism is a major threat to Nigeria’s democracy and it has eaten deep into the political structure of higher institutions in Nigeria, including private institutions. Some students plead with their colleagues to get their favourite aspirants elected into the students’ union body. They would support their aspirants with cash to print campaign posters and buy other materials needed for the election.

    Candidate elected this way will eventually embezzle the funds of the union to enrich the people, who assisted them to get to the position. This unfortunately tells us that young people of this generation are also into this despicable practice of getting into power and positions on the back of godfathers.

    The cliché ‘youths are leaders of tomorrow’ has been ringing into the ears of many for a long time but the question now is: if these young people, who engage themselves in this despicable act of godfatherism, later become the leaders in reality, what hope do we have in becoming one of the greatest countries in the world?

    •Damilola, recently graduated from Mass Comm., REDEEMER’S

  • NDLEA club recruits members

    embers of the Drug Free Club at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, have inducted new members into its fold at Marquis Lecture Theatre, Faculty of Pharmacy, OAU.

    The event was graced by the Deputy Ife Area Commander of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mr Abdulai Musa; Head of Drug Demand Reduction, NDLEA, Dr Ibrahim Baba, and Assistant NDLEA State Commander in Osun State, Tunde John, who conducted the swearing-in rite at the event.

    The club is a non-political and non-profit students’ organisation, which partners with NDLEA in its campaign against drug abuse, misuse, addiction, trafficking, sales and production of fake drugs.

    The induction ended the recruitment embarked on by the club in the academic session.

    The event was also marked with a lecture titled:Drug Abuse and the Rule of Law in Nigeria delivered by John, a lawyer.

     

  • Varsities’ programmes are archaic, says Ibrahim

    Varsities’ programmes are archaic, says Ibrahim

    A business mogul, Dr Jimoh Ibrahim, last Thursday donated a new Post-Graduate Complex to his alma mater Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU) Ile Ife. In this interview with ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA, Dr Ibrahim, who studied Law and graduated in 1990 frowns at some programmes run by universities which he described as ‘antique,’ adding that it’s about time our universities conferred graduates with two degrees on graduation.

     

    You have just donated a new Post -Graduate complex to your almamater. What are your expectations from this new structure?

    I expect the university to produce credible certificates. What we have now is that the certificate carried by graduates cannot solve their problem. Nobody is running a four-year programme for one degree today. It is now antique. What they are doing in Oxford, Yale and other universities is that, for instance, if you are doing a degree in Mass Communication, you do with LLB Law. In Yale and in Harvard (universities) for instance, you bag let’s say a BS.C in Mass Communication and LLB Law. If you chose to practise journalism, the law you also studied alongside it will give you ideas about what libel is all about , so you can avoid it in the course of your journalism practice. And if you again decide to dump journalism, you can go back to Law practice. If you take compulsory courses in Mass Communication as optional for law, you have satisfied the examiner in Mass Communication; and if you again take compulsory courses in Law as optional for Mass Communication, you have satisfied your examiner in Law. So, you are qualified for the two degrees. This means the day you are graduating the vice-chancellor gives you two certificates.

    University of Yale, for instance, has gone a step further. What it does is that when you are doing LLB in Law, you will be doing your PhD simultaneously in Philosophy within four years. So, the day you are graduating, you get your LLB Law and PhD in Philosophy. So, from the second day you can become a lecturer. In Harvard (University) the day you get your PhD, you become associate professor the next day and two years after, you are a full-fledged professor.

    Do you think this is possible in Nigeria with our myriad of academic challenges?

    Yes!”Why can’t we do same thing in Nigeria? Why should we wait until four years doing GNS 201; or GNS 304? (general laughter). If we are not careful, the universities can also be a problem rather than the solution. Today, people are bringing out certificates (from universities) that cannot solve any problem. People only believe Law, Medicine and Accounting are courses where you can make money. But I didn’t study petroleum or media yet I have interest in those enterprises today. Whatever you study is to give you the education for leadership in future. So, what I expect is that the students produced from this college should be able to use the certificates to solve human problems.

    There is a leap in the number of universities in Nigeria today, especially private universities, many of which are faith-based. Ironically we still have leadership problems, how can our universities begin to address this?

    Many of the courses universities are running today are not relevant to the needs of the society. What we have today are leadership and economic challenges. They (universities) don’t run courses on leadership, so how do you solve leadership problem. Unfortunately, there are no universities that run leadership programmes. This is a challenge for the NUC (National Universities Commission) in terms of restructuring the courses to meet the challenges of today. Some of us were here many years go, but nobody ever told us anything about leadership until we finished our programmes. The only time we heard of leadership is when the vice chancellor is delivering his convocation address and says: ‘be good ambassadors’ but by what means? In the home the mother and father are training their children but where did they get the training from? We have AIDS virus in leadership.

    It is observed that some of the first-generation universities are placing emphasis on post-graduate programmes. What do you think is responsible for this?

    We need the first generation universities to place emphasis on post- graduate studies because of manpower. What they are doing are a short term strategy to build manpower at the post graduate level and retain them to teach undergraduate students. If you look at private universities some of them graduate students at the age of 18, and they are not mature enough. There is academic qualification in respect of intellectual capacity of the brain. There is also the moral and cultural concern, and you can’t just send a 17-year old boy with a BS.C on the street looking for job. What can he do?

    If you insist then that there is no personnel in the universities, why do people like you with intellectual capacity not stay back, but ventured into entrepreneurship?

    The reason is: we don’t have enough entrepreneurs! the government wants people to build businesses so they can employ graduates but the reality today is that how many employers of labour do we have in Nigeria to employ 116 million people? So, more people should be encouraged to go into entrepreneurship. In entrepreneurship, there is no democracy. You don’t need election or primaries; you can make yourself the MD of your company the very day you start. But the point is that we need academic knowledge base to work within the framework of our situation in order to succeed.

    You also canvassed increased funding with physical infrastructure for our universities

    If you don’t have physical infrastructure, how do you lecture? Now, you have to bring the students into the post-graduate college to do masters and PhD. Three years for PhD minimum, and one year for masters. For instance in OAU here, there is no post-graduate college. This is the first time we are trying to put one in place after 50 years. What about other universities especially the individual-owned who wants to look at profit, building structures and all that?. So I believe let us put in the physical infrastructure first, then we can now begin to lay the foundation; like equipping the infrastructure with e-library, physical books, giving scholarships to PhD students, providing chairs and tables and all that.

     

    The OAU will no doubt appreciate this gesture coming after 50 years of its existence

    For me, it’s a normal thing and not something extraordinary! And I believe everybody is contributing. I have colleagues who finished together here in 1990 and now they are at the Faculty of Law teaching. If they had decided to come to my world, we would be like colleagues in entrepreneurship but they opted to stay back marking scripts, teaching young ones, and turning out graduates. That is their own contribution. And if you multiply this in monetary value, I’m sure it is more than this new building. So, we out there had to come back and support them as a means of collaboration to create a more meaningful world.

  • Pupils donate to OAU

    In a rare show of magnanimity, pupils of Sunshine Nursery and Primary School, Ile-Ife, have donated N500, 000 to the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, as their contribution to the 50th anniversary celebration of the university.

    Leading the representatives of the pupils into the Oduduwa Hall of the university where the FirstBank cheque was handed over to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Bamitale Omole, the Proprietress of the school and former chairperson of the Great Ife Alumni Association, Ife branch, Mrs Bisi Anyadike, said the money was in fulfillment of the promise made by one of the pupils that they would raise half a million for the institution.

    Surprised by the gesture, the VC could not hide his feeling by praising and praying for the pupils. He appreciated their teachers for rallying round the university and contributing the amount.

    Emphasising the need for adults to emulate the sincerity of the children and not take their innocence for granted, Prof Omole said: “It is unbelievable that children could contribute this much from a private school and hand it over to a Federal Government-owned university for its development.

    “If it were to be in a movie or children’s movie, one would have said that the mental faculty of the playwright is running haywire. But here in Ife, it is the first of its kind we have ever witnessed.”

  • Gunmen shoot OAU student

    A CHEMICAL Engineering student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife,who was identified as Pelumi Taiwo, has been shot by unknown assailants outside the campus.

    Acording to a statement by the Security Unit of OAU, the victim was in his car with his girlfriend about 9pm on Friday when the incident occurred.

    Pelumi, it was learnt, initially stopped his vehicle on the Ede Road to pick a female acquaintance. While he was waiting for his friend at a bushy part of the road, the assailants approached him and pointed a gun at him.

    He was ordered to move to the back seat. Pelumi was said to have pleaded with the gunmen, but the attackers riddled his body with bullets. As Pelumi was bleeding, the attackers, who witnesses said were robbers, left with the victim’s girlfriend.

    The victim, drenched in blood, crawled to the security post at Road One Gate, where he called for help. He was immediately rushed to the university’s Teaching Hospital. His girlfriend was, however, dropped on the Ife-Ibadan Expressway near Oduduwa University.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered the shot student has been discharged and recovering at undisclosed location. The university has beefed up security around the campus and urged students to be alert and security conscious.

     

  • OAU gets new Registrar, Bursar

    The Governing Council of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has announced the appointment of Mr David Oladotun Awoyemi as the Registrar and secretary to the Council. The university also appointed Mrs Josephine Akeredolu as the Bursar.

    A release by the Public Relations Officer, Mr Abiodun Olarewaju, stated that while the appointment of Akeredolu took immediate effect, Awoyemi’s resumption would be effective from June.

    Born on January 23, 1959 in Ile-Ife, Awoyemi attended Osogbo Grammar School between 1970 to 1974 before proceeding to the then University of Ife, where he obtained a degree in Philosophy.

    Awoyemi, who joined the service of the university on August 9, 1982 as an Administrative Officer II, was until his appointment the Director of Academic Affairs. He worked in all the units of the Registry department and rose to the level of Director in charge of Academic Affairs in 2008.

    He also served in the Vice–Chancellor’s office from 1986 to 1990, Centre for Energy Research and Development from 1996 to 1998. Between 2005 and 2006, he worked at the College Secretary Office of the Postgraduate College and the Centre for Distance Learning of the university from 2007 to 2008.

    Awoyemi has attended and delivered papers and reports at several conferences, workshops and seminars both within and outside the country. He is also a member of different professional organisations.

    Mrs Akeredolu, who hailed from Badagry in Lagos State, joined the services of the university as an Accountant II on August 9, 1982 and was posted to the cash office and the Bursary department. In October 1986, she became an Accountant I and was posted to the Expenditure Control of the Bursary department.

    She rose through the ranks to become the Deputy Bursar, then acting Bursar before being appointed as substantive Bursar. She is a member of several professional institutions.

    Born on the November 8, 1956, Akeredolu attended Our Lady of Apostles Primary School in Lagos between 1962 and 1969, before proceeding to the Holy Child College, Ikoyi, Lagos between 1970 and 1974. She also attended Federal School of Arts and Sciences, Victoria Island, Lagos between 1976 and 1978.

    She studied Accountancy at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and graduated in 1978. She proceeded to Toronto School of Business, Canada, where she obtained a Diploma in Micro Computer in Business Application in 1989. She also has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, in 2002.