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Tag: Osun State University

  • UNIOSUN alumni urge Osun govt to probe accident

    UNIOSUN alumni urge Osun govt to probe accident

    The alumni body of Osun State University has urged the Osun State government to probe the accident that led to the death of five students, others on Ikire/Ibadan Road, Ikire last Sunday.

    The accident involving a luxury bus plying one-way collided with an 18-seater bus where the students were.

     President of Uniosun Alumni Association, Comrade Basit Abubakar, in a statement said: “We received the devastating news of the death of comrade Adedayo Suleiman Farouq, a prolific member of UNIOSUN alumni community and four other students of our alma mater with great shock. 

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    “Our thoughts and prayers are with the university management, families and loved ones of the deceased. We thank the university management for their immediate response and support for the afflicted families and urge the university students to remain calm and supportive during this difficult time.”

    The body added: “We, therefore, appeal to the Osun State government to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding this devastating accident.  More so, we are conscious of the fact that a poor road network is not an excuse for reckless driving.’’

  • Alakijas donate 250-bed teaching hospital to Osun State University

    Leaders have been advised to ensure that all citizens including children and adults always have access to timely and qualitative medical services.

    Making the appeal during the ground-breaking ceremony of a 250-bed teaching hospital donated by Mr. Modupe and Mrs. Folorunso Alakija to Osun State University during its 7th convocation ceremony, Mrs. Alakija who is also the university’s Chancellor, noted that it is only a healthy nation that can be productive and prosperous.

    The Osun State University Teaching Hospital will provide an avenue for medical excellence, job creation and bring relief to humanity.

    The donation of the hospital by the Alakija family was borne out of love for children, mothers and humanity in general and for the advancement of medical education. Alakija further added that the donation was also in fulfilment of a pledge when she was appointed chancellor by the former governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

    The hospital when completed will consist of a world class community health unit, maternity & neonatal medicare, research and diagnostic laboratories, state of the art operating theatres, C.T scan facilities, X-ray and radiotherapy suites, among a host of others.

  • Uniosun shut over non academic staff protest

    The Osun State University was Monday closed down by the authorities following the institution’s non-academic staff union protest.

    The university’s Governing Council said the closure took immediate effect because of the protest “now pose danger to lives and properties within and around the university environment.”

    Registrar and Secretary to Council, Gafar Adebayo Shittu, in a statement said: “The Management wishes to sincerely apologize to parents, guardians and students for any inconveniences that this closure may cause. Efforts are geared towards addressing the prevalent lawlessness.

    “We urge our law abiding staff and students to remain calm and stay away from the campuses in the mean time.”

    Meanwhile, the Chairman of Non-Academic Staff Union of UNIOSUN, Mr. Comrade Isaiah Fayemi, has expressed shock over the closure of the institution.

    He said: “We are surprised that the management decided to close down the university. Our protest has been very peaceful. We started the protest last week Wednesday. We are protesting because the management wants to sack some union leaders for exposing the atrocities of the Vice Chancellor.”

    Also, there was tension in the university after some operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) in the state allegedly attacked some workers  during the protest.

    It was gathered that the members of the non-teaching staff of the university had converged at the University Guest House at Olu Alabi Way, Opposite Ilelabo, G.R.A. Oke Fia, Osogbo to solidarise with some of their union leaders appearing before the Staff Disciplinary Committee of the school.

    The heavily armed DSS officers were said to have prevented some of the union leaders from gaining entry into the Guest House despite their explanation that they had been invited.

    The treasurer of the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), Comrade Hameed Owoh, was said to have been kicked with boots.

    Owoh, who reportedly lost consciousness following the alleged attack, was later rushed to a nearby private hospital where he was resuscitated and treated.

  • 29 bag 1st Class at August 2017 law exams – DG

    29 bag 1st Class at August 2017 law exams – DG

    The Nigerian Law School on Tuesday said 29 out of the 4,294 candidates called to the Nigerian Bar bagged First Class after the August 2017 bar examinations.

    The Director-General of the school, Mr Olanrewaju Onadeku (SAN) disclosed this at the Call-to-Bar ceremony in Abuja.

    Onadeku said the students were those successful at the August 2017 Bar final examinations and others from previous examinations as conducted by the school under the supervision of the Council of Legal Education.

    He said the 29 students were produced by the University of Lagos, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University of Uyo, Obafemi Awolowo University, Babcock University, University of Ibadan and Osun State University.

    According to him, others are from University of Ilorin, Lagos State University, Ambrose Alli University, Afe Babalola University, Adekunle Ajasin University and Igbinedion University.

    “I particularly commend the 29 students; theirs is the highest number ever attained.

    “They have worked hard to merit their grades after a very thorough assessment and have done the Nigerian Law school and their families proud.”

    Onadeku disclosed that 72 per cent success was achieved after the August examination as 211 obtained the second class upper grade, 1,046 made second class lower division and 3, 000 got the pass grade.

    He said that there had been a sustained level of focus and diligence among the students whom he noted had demonstrated a commendable sense of maturity and drive,  adding that some were involved in various forms of examination malpractices.

    The Director-General, while congratulating the newly called to lawyers, also urged them to make the best of the legal profession.

    “Since it is your freewill to belong to the noble profession of law, you must ensure strict adherence to its norms and ethics.

    “As you are aware, globalisation has impacted on the legal profession with the challenge of bench marking on minimum international best practices.

    “You must ensure you exceed the minimum in all that you do. ”

    Onadeku also noted that the successful students had completed the vocational training at the school as prescribed by the Legal Education Act.

    According to him, they have also met all other conditions set by the Council, while also exhibiting good manners and decorum during their training.

    “They have also been groomed in the best ethics and ethos of our noble profession.

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    “The screening committee of your distinguished body has carefully perused the records of each of the aspirants and have found them worthy to be presented for Call to the Nigerian Bar.

    “I attest that they are fit and proper persons for Call and admissions to the Nigerian Bar,” he said.

    In his address, the Chairman of the Body of Benchers and also Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, charged the candidates to practice the profession with diligence and sense of responsibility.

    He charged them to promote the course of justice and rule of law, adding that their level of proficiency was of immense significance to the efficiency of the justice system of the country.

    “I urge you to acquaint yourselves with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and all other relevant laws as far as administering justice is concerned.

    “You must not handle a matter without adequate preparation, neither should you handle a matter, which you know or ought to know that you not competent enough to handle.

    “It is advisable to consult your seniors or colleagues in areas you know you are not well groomed, ” he said.

    Onnoghen said that the Body of Benchers, whose role also includes disciplinary committee, would not hesitate to bring to order any erring practitioner whose conduct might negate the standards of the profession.

     The Nigerian Law School has to date graduated 117, 385 lawyers including all the judges of the superior courts of the country and almost all the legal practitioners.

    The event was attended by past and present Body of Benchers, Attorney-General of the Federation, past Directors-General of the school.

    Others are members of the National Assembly, some ministers, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in the Judiciary sector.

    NAN

  • UNIOSUN:Will VC survive the probe?

    UNIOSUN:Will VC survive the probe?

    There are divergent views on the fate of the Vice Chancellor of  the Osun State University, Prof Labode Popoola, over allegations of financial misconduct levelled against him by workers. The Governing Council  is investigating the allegations. ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA and ADESOJI ADENIYI (Osogbo) report 

    Opinions are divided on the fate of the embattled Vice Chancellor of the Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Prof Labode Popoola, who is being investigated by the university’s Governing Council for alleged financial misappropriation. While no one is faulting Popoola’s academic  brilliance, some are attributing his predicament to his ego, which they said, emboldened him to step on toes.

    Many, including the leaderships of unions, are cautious in speaking on a matter which is being investigated by the council. A few that spoke to The Nation described Popoola’s predicament as nemesis.

    The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions NASU-UNIOSUN which is spearheading the battle against the management, alleged that Popoola has squandered over N106 million since his administration came on board in November last year. To back up their claims, NASU, on October 18, submitted a petition to the Governing Council. Two days after, the Council constituted a three-member panel to investigate the allegations. The panel chaired by a professor of International Relations from the University of Lagos, Solomon Akinboye, has Mr. Oluwole Awe from the National Universities Commission (NUC), and Nurudeen Adeagbo, an engineer, from the Osun State Ministry of Works. The  investigation is ongoing.

    The petition signed by the union’s Chairman and Acting Secretary, comrades Isaiah Fayemi and Dada Kunmi, accused Popoola of trying to gag NASU by engaging in  victimisation to escape the long arm of  the law, a claim Popoola denied.

    “Mr Chairman Sir, we are reliably informed that the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Labode Popoola has written against NASU to the Governing Council for a sole purpose of blackmailing our union. If the VC is not predetermined to unjustly deal with NASU in order to cover up his dirt, why is he monitoring our congress? Or can’t we gather together again as enshrined in Section 40 of Nigerian Constitution of 1999 as amended,” NASU demanded in the said petition.

    But the management has described the allegations as “corruption fighting back in the university.”

    The management said the petitioner which had benefitted from the sleaze that was once the norm in the institution was now disgruntled as they no longer have the opportunity to dip their hands into the public treasury.

    “UNIOSUN, which was once cash strapped, now enjoys a financial robustness – courtesy of Popoola’s ingenuity,”management stated

    Reactions

    However, a source, who spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity, described Popoola as an individual that lacks the wherewithal to manage crisis and cater for workers’ welfare.  According to the source, Popoola acts like an omniscient and sometimes operates without recourse to due process in handling financial matters.

    “He (Popoola) is exceptionally brilliant,” the source said, “but he lacks the administrative skill and credentials required by the Office of the Vice Chancellor. He does not work with the Registry, a vital administrative organ of the university.

    “He is a lone ranger. He believes he knows it all and this attitude has affected his relationship with many, including workers and some members of the Governing Council, except the chairman of the council. Only (Yusuf) Ali believes in him and that is the more reason why the petitioners are warning that the council must not sweep the allegation under the carpet. They believe Ali is a man of integrity who must not allow the VC’s case  to tarnish his hard-earned reputation,” the source further added.

    But the Director, Inter-Campus and Public Affairs in the Office of Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Anthony Olusanya, denied that Popoola circumvents protocol. According to Olusanya UNIOSUN has a structure through which the VC operates and which will not allow him to work in isolation of departments and offices within the institution.

    “Popoola is an administrator. He follows due process in all his dealings. I don’t know how the petitioners came about the allegation of financial impropriety against the VC.  For instance, the VC cannot approve fund above N1 million and the ceiling for fund approval for the management team is N5 million. Any financial transaction above N5 million can only be handled by the university’s Governing Council.”

    Olusanya also denied that Popoola toys with workers’ welfare, describing such as an attempt to blackmail him so as to score a cheap point. He said in the last one year of Popoola in the saddle, workers have constantly collected their salaries on 25th of every month.

    Another source denied the impression in certain quarters that the Governing Council could not have been stampeded by NASU into setting up a probe panel. The source said that the chairman of the Council received the petition against the VC in the morning of October 20 which coincided with Council meeting and directed that a panel be set up and headed by him.  The source further insisted that no man could single handedly spend N106 million as claimed by the petitioners.

    A member of council also corroborated this view. The source said the amount was pretty mega for an individual to have pocketed in a system with checks and balances.

    “I do not want to agree that the VC stole such huge amount in a university system where there are checks and balances. However, I also do not wish to preempt the outcome of the panel. But one thing I will say is that the VC may be paying the price for his high handedness and disrespect for others. He doesn’t have human relations and this made him step on many toes. I also realised some of his close associates have tried to advise him against that tendency but he wouldn’t listen.”

    “See, majority of these workers writing petitions here and there are mere noisemakers. Do your checks and you will realise that they’ve always had a hand in every crisis that have rocked the institution. Most times, they don’t apply wisdom in conflict situations, and are difficult to pacify. They are only interested in heating up the system,”said another source.

    Meanwhile, NASU holds on to its position, and admonished all to exercise patience pending the outcome of the panel

    Speaking to our reporter on phone, Fayemi said the union would love to hold its peace for now, adding that the end would always justify the means.

    “For now, a committee has been set up to look into the allegations. We do not, through our utterances, wish to preempt the outcome of the committee. Mind you, all we know is that a dog will not bark unless it sees. We are the one that petitioned the Governing Council; so let’s see until the panel finishes its work,” he said.

     

    The Petition

    Non Aacademic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), has alleged that the VC went out of bound because he has the Governing Council in his pockets.

    “Permit us to say that we are worried that the VC, Prof. Labode Popoola has been able to successfully commit all these under your watch as the Governing Council Chairman going by your antecedents. We are not also surprised because he (VC) has been boasting that he is in control of the Governing Council. Sir, his actions so far also confirmed the statement,” stated the petitioners.

    “These, he is doing against NASU because he must have been informed that it is only our union that can expose his financial impropriety. Sir, NASU members have refused to be intimidated, humiliated, and victimised by the Vice Chancellor or anyone at the corridor of power because our union stands for truth, justice, equity and operates with facts and figures.

    “We, therefore, call on the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Mallam Yusuf Ali and the entire members of Council to do the needful and convince the entire staff of the Osun State University that he (VC) is not in control of the Governing Council. The leadership of NASU-UNIOSUN branch will be available to stand by the allegations leveled against the Vice Chancellor even in his presence. We use this medium to again call on the Governing Council under your leadership to please make sure that these allegations are thoroughly investigated’’.

     

    VC’s response

    “Just do your independent search on Labode Popoola as a person, a scholar and an administrator. Find out how much UNIOSUN is worth in cash after years of profligacy and sleaze by the current petitioners. Find out how a VC has succeeded without government subvention to pay staff salaries in full before the end of the month, for his 12 months in the saddle. Reflect also on what unionism has become in our clime- a tool of cheap blackmail by people who have no business being in the academia. We are dealing with a simple case of corruption fighting back.”

     

  • Nigerian universities training students for obsolete jobs – VC

    Nigerian universities training students for obsolete jobs – VC

    Prof. Labode Popoola, the Vice Chancellors of Osun State University, on Tuesday, said that Nigerian universities are training students for jobs that no longer exist.

    Popoola made the assertion in a lecture delivered in Kaduna at the maiden Postgraduate Lecture Series of Kaduna State University (KASU).

    The vice chancellor said that the development was in sharp contrast with what obtained in world class universities which were training students for future jobs.

    The don said that the absence of meaningful research in the universities has crippled the quest for creativity and innovation required to unleash sustainable development.

    He said contemporary Nigerian universities and research systems cannot contribute to national development due to absences of academic culture that drives process for good governance.

    According to him, graduates of world class universities are sought after because they carry out leading-edge research and are engaged in technology transfer.

    “This can only be obtained where there is high concentration of talented lectures and students, abundant resources and favourable governance.

    “But what do we see in Nigerian universities; poor funding, poor planning, collapse of academic culture, corruption and blurred vision among others”.

    He advised the academia in Nigeria to come up with new ideas and engage the rest of the world through inter and multidisciplinary research collaboration.

    Chairman of the occasion, Prof. A.S. Nwankwo of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, described the lecture as crucial in the discourse on the relevance of the Nigerian universities to the society.

    On his part, Dr Abubakar Saddique of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, who was the lead discussant, traced the root cause of challenges in the education system to poor service delivery at the basic level.

    He said that students were poorly prepared at primary and secondary school levels for university education.

    According to him, the business of universities is to identify societal problems and conduct research to solve them.

    “Since Nigerian universities cannot adequately prepare their students to effectively address contemporary problems, how can they prepare them for challenges of the future?

    “The country needs a bottom up approach; from the basic to the tertiary institutions to be able to address the rot in our education system.”

    Earlier, the Dean, Post Graduate School, KASU, Prof. Abdullahi Ashafa said that post graduate students represent the pool for the next generation of academicians.

    Ashafa explained that the lecture was designed to address the issue of quality of training in the university system, to ensure competitiveness of graduates in the continuously changing world.

  • Undergraduate remanded over alleged murder

    Undergraduate remanded over alleged murder

    A 34-year-old student of Osun State University, Osogbo, Akanbi David was on Tuesday remanded in Ilesa Prison by an Osogbo Chief Magistrates’ Court over alleged murder of his colleague, Amodu Kazeem.

    The accused is facing a two count-charge of murder and conspiracy.

    The Chief Magistrate, Mr Olusola Aluko, said he ordered the remand of the accused due to the magnitude of the offence against him.

    The accused’s plea was not taken by the court.

    The magistrate, however, adjourned the case until May 5 for mentioned.

    Earlier, the Prosecutor, ASP Mireti Wilson, told the court that the accused committed the offense on Jan.16 at about 5.00p.m., at Oke-Baale, Osogbo.

    Willson said that the accused conspired with one person now at large to murder Kazeem by stabbing him with a knife on his chest.

    He also said the accused had a disagreement with the deceased over a business deal which led to the incident and the subsequent death of Kazeem.

    “Both the accused and the deceased are students of Osun State University, they had a fight on an issue which led to the death of one of them,’’ he said.

    According to the prosecutor, the offence contravenes Sections 324 and 319(1) of the criminal code cap 34 vol.11 laws of Osun, 2003.