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Tag: Rahamon Bello

2019: Jega seeks reformation of election volunteering

*Seeks roles for journalists, engineers, medical doctors, others

Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) Prof. Attahiru Jega yesterday called for reformation of electoral volunteering ahead of the 2019 general elections.

This, he said, would enhance credibility of the poll.

He canvassed inclusion of additional groups of professionals like engineers, doctors, journalists and others to join the members of the National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC ) in volunteerism.

Jega spoke at a public lecture organised by the University of Lagos Muslim Community (UMC) in honour of the immediate past Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Rahamon Bello at Julius Berger Hall, Akoka, Lagos.

The theme of the lecture is: “Prospects and Challenges of involving Volunteers in Nigeria’s Electoral Process”.

The ex-INEC chief said the need for an increase in the role of volunteers in the nation’s electoral process cannot be over-emphasized.

He said: “It is necessary and desirable and if appropriately deployed can add tremendous value to having elections with integrity, with positive spin-off effects on good democratic governance. Since Nigeria and Nigerians have chosen liberal democracy as the political and governance system, citizens’ active participation and constructive involvement are prerequisites for its entrenchment, stability and legitimacy.

“However, to maximally tap the benefits of volunteerism in the electoral process, urgent reforms are needed leading to 2019 general elections, to reposition the continuous role of members of the NYSC and academics; to open avenues for additional groups of professionals, such as engineers, doctors, journalists, etc., to join academics.”

He also called for database of all those who have participated in election duty before, so as to assist in future elections.

INEC, as the Election Management Bodies (EMB), he said, needs to pay even more attention to the identification and selection of credible individuals and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), as volunteers and partners for bringing about improved electoral integrity.

According to him, since 2015, there has been enthusiasm and passion for volunteerism in the electoral process for both individuals and civil society organisations.

He lamented that some unwholesome tendencies are beginning to creep in to obstruct the positive gains of the volunteerism.

A few examples would suffice:

According to him, youth corps members have been threatened, intimidated, assaulted, maimed and even killed in the course of doing voluntary election duties, adding “a few have thus far succumbed to threats and intimidation and perpetrated or condoned fraudulent activities and committed electoral offenses. Some of these who were caught have been prosecuted, but many may have escaped arrest and prosecution. The loss of lives of youth corps members due to electoral violence, especially the death nine in the post-2011 general election violence, not only threatened the NYSC policy, but also resulted in many parents discouraging their wards from volunteering for election duties.

“Corrupt politicians are beginning to find creative ways to compromise youth corps members and some students involved in election duties. They are even increasingly penetrating and compromising seemingly credible CSOs. Similarly, as the use of academic staff as collation and returning officers has become predictable, corrupt politicians are increasingly snooping around university campuses and INEC offices, especially over governorship elections, inducing lecturers with humongous amounts of money with the hope of compromising their role in result collation and tabulation. So far, there is no evidence that they have succeeded, but the tendency is increasing and is of great concern.

“These emerging challenges need to be carefully studied and urgently addressed with appropriate measures deployed in order to protect the gains recorded.

In his remark, UMC Chairman Prof. Lai Olurode said one of the areas of concern for INEC under Jega was how to deploy Nigeria’s immense and inexhaustible social capital in service of its electoral regime.

He noted that previous attempts by INEC to track campaign and election expenses had been challenging for reasons of a paucity of information and logistic issues.

According to him, it is the responsibility of the Muslim community in an academic environment to make the utmost of every social outing to interrogate pertinent public issues that could extend the frontiers of citizenship.

Responding, the honouree and former VC, Prof. Bello expressed delight at the gesture of the Muslim Community, saying that he was proud being a member of the institution’s Muslim community.

Bello said: “As Muslims, we have the obligation of doing all we have to do, according to the Islamic tenets and the will of Allah. We must be vanguards and good ambassadors of Islam at all times.”

January 25, 2018
Jega advocates reformation in election volunteering ahead of 2019

Prof. Attahiru Jega, former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) says electoral volunteering require reformation to maximise its benefit ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Jega said this at a public lecture organised by the University of Lagos Muslim Community in honour of the immediate past Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Rahamon Bello, on Thursday in Lagos.

The Reporter reports that the theme of the lecture is: “Prospects and Challenges of involving Volunteers in Nigeria’s Electoral Process”.

According to him, such reform will reposition the continuous role of members of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) and academics in the election processes.

He noted that this would open avenues for additional groups of professionals like engineers, doctors, journalists and others to join in volunteering.

“In doing this slowly and steadily, it will set up measures to move in the direction of recruitment of volunteers, using a database of all those who have done election duty before.

“Even when they have moved out of the NYSC or universities as students.

“INEC, as an electoral body, needs to pay more attention to the identification and selection of credible individuals and Chief Security Officers as volunteers and partners for bringing about electoral integrity,’’ Jega said.

According to him, the case for an increased role of volunteers in the Nigerian electoral process cannot be over-emphasized.

He said volunteering was desirable, and if appropriately deployed, could add values to the integrity of elections.

The don observed that since 2015, there has been enthusiasm and passion for volunteerism in the electoral process for both individuals and civil society organisations.

“In 2011, the Transition Monitoring Group, a network of the CSO and professional groups working on elections, has mobilised and deployed thousands of volunteers for election observation and gathering data for parallel results tabulation.

“However, it is worrisome that some corrupt politicians are beginning to find creative ways to compromise youth corps members and some students involved in election duties.’’

Read Also: We must shun ‘do or die’ politics, warns Jega

He added that these politicians were also increasingly penetrating and compromising seemingly credible CSOs.

“Similarly, as the use of academic staff as collation and returning officers has become predictable, corrupt politicians are increasingly snooping around university campuses and INEC offices, especially over governorship elections.

“They are also inducing lecturers with money, in the hope of compromising their role in result collation and tabulation.

“So far, there is no evidence that they have succeeded, but the tendency is increasing and it is of great concern,’’ he said.

From the experiences garnered in the 2011 and 2015 general, governorship, bye and rerun elections, Jega said that the current role of volunteers, as necessary and desirable as it was, “leaves much to be desired’’.

He added that many challenges have arisen and needed to be appropriately addressed, in order to confer greater credibility and integrity to subsequent elections.

“One key reform measures introduced by INEC beginning with the 2011 general elections and improved upon subsequently, was the removal of civil servants and permanent INEC staff from core election day duties.

“These were replaced volunteers drawn from the NYSC as presiding officers and assistant presiding officers, students of federal tertiary institutions and university academic staff.

“But these core members have been threatened, intimidated assaulted, maimed and even killed in the course of their voluntary election duties.

“These emerging challenges need to be carefully studied and urgently addressed with appropriate measures deployed in order to protect the gains recorded.

In his remark, the chairman of the Unilag Muslim Community, Prof. Lai Olurode said one of the areas of concern for INEC under Jega was how to deploy Nigeria’s immense and inexhaustible social capital in service of its electoral regime.

He noted that previous attempts by INEC to track campaign and election expenses had been challenging for reasons of a paucity of information and logistic issues.

According to him, it is the responsibility of the Muslim community in an academic environment to make the utmost of every social outing to interrogate pertinent public issues that could extend the frontiers of citizenship.

Responding, the honouree and former VC, Prof. Bello expressed delight at the gesture of the Muslim Community, saying that he was proud being a member of the institution’s Muslim community.

“As Muslims, we have the obligation of doing all we have to do, according to the Islamic tenets and the will of Allah.

“We must be vanguards and good ambassadors of Islam at all times,” Bello, whose tenure ad the 11th VC of the university ended on Nov. 11, 2017, said.

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, described the occasion as apt, given the current state of the country.

NAN

January 25, 2018
UNILAG TV to begin operation in February

The University of Lagos ( UNILAG ) television station will begin operations in February to facilitate research-oriented education and ease communication within and outside the university community.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, gave the assurance in an interview on Monday in Lagos.

The Federal Government recently approved licence for the television thereby making it the first campus television station in Nigeria.

According to Ogundipe, the university is set to change the face of television broadcasting through its Mass Communication Department.

“We are ready to go on air, as we have all it takes to float a world-class television station.

“Right now, we have the cameras and other gadgets with a world-class studio.

“The approval to operate a television station will improve our branding; we are bringing professionals to help in kick-starting the station,’’ Ogundipe said.

He commended the efforts of the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Rahamon Bello and Prof. Ralf Akinfeleye of the Mass Communication Department, who pursued the dream.

Ogundipe said that the university paid N10 million to acquire the television licence.

Prof. Ralf Akinfeleye, also the Chairman, Centre of Excellence in Multi-Media/Radio Unilag and Television, told our reporter that the television station would be the first of its kind in West Africa.

He thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for granting the licence to the university.

He also praised former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who also granted the institution its radio licence in 2002.

Akinfeleye, a former Head of Department of the Mass Communication, said that the station would go beyond the Direct Satellite Television (DSTV).

He added that it would enhance the training of modern-day broadcasters.

“We are indeed happy to see the realisation of this dream.

“We bided for a World Bank’s five million dollars grant for equipment along with 19 other universities, and we won it.

“I am glad to state that we have taken delivery of various equipment such as cameras, teleprompters and other broadcast materials worth that amount.

“This makes our studio more sophisticated than most television stations in the country,’’ Akinfeleye said.

The don said that the station would also add value to the training of the students.

Dr Olubunmi Ajibade, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, said that the station, which would be hosted on the DSTV platform, would also be used to generate income for the institution.

Ajibade said that Nigeria and Africa as a whole, would witness professionalism at its best in terms of broadcasting, with the operation of the station.

“We train people for the industry; so we are in the best position to attract the best hands.

“Fortunately, the World Bank project has already supplied us with world-class equipment for both the radio and television operations,’’ he said.

NAN

January 22, 2018
How we resolved UNILAG MSSN face-off – Bello

The out-going Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Rahamon Bello, says the crisis of the institution’s Muslim students’ society was resolved through dialogue.

He said that all members of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria ( MSSN ) drafted a new constitution that resolved the conflicts within the society.

At a forum in Lagos, Bello said management also ensured that the society’s first allegiance was with the institution.

“The university authority didn’t get into there and say MSSN short down. No.

“Every student’s organisation in the university reports to the Dean of Students Affairs (DSA) because you are registered.

“Whether you are a religious group or you are a disciplined group or whatever, you must be registered and report through the DSA, to the management.

“In the case of the MSSN, they had a challenge and the problems were from within them; so, they became factionalised.

“At a point, they had up to four factions and each of the factions was now writing to tell of the problems they had within and planning to disturb the peace of the community.

“So, we watched them over a period. It has to do with leadership problem.

“If you are familiar with the MSSN constitution, they also have relationships with external bodies.

“The allegiance to the external bodies was far more than the internal body.

“They are students; they are supposed to be there for at least four years, so the allegiance should be more to the university.

“So, what we have done is to re-orient those situations.’’

The Vice Chancellor expressed happiness that the MSSN now has a new leadership that would sustain peace on the campus.

Explaining the new structure put in place, Bello said “there are Muslims in every faculty and each faculty has its own Muslim groups associations.

“So, the choice of the leadership was by what they call in Islam, “The Shurah Committee”.

“So, what we have done is to use the Shurah committee, which is a combination of all the faculty representations, in bringing out a leader.

“So, they are all happy and the executive will be inaugurated as soon as they come back from holiday for the new academic session and then they move on.’’

NAN

November 10, 2017
UNILAG to admit only 8,000 – outgoing VC

No fewer than 24,000 applicants to the University of Lagos ( UNILAG ) who scored 200 marks and above will still be unable to secure admission in the institution in the 2017/2018 academic session.

The outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Rahamon Bello, gave the indication at a forum with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

He said that although 32,000 applicants to the university scored 200 marks and above in this year’s Unified Tertiary matriculation examination ( UTME ), Unilag would not admit beyond 8,000.

Bello said that the university insisted that an applicant must also score at least 40 per cent in Unilag’s post-UTME before consideration for admission.

“We know what goes on in our public examinations. That is why we insist on candidates undertaking our post UTME and scoring at least 40 per cent,’’ he said.

According to Bello, who steps down as Unilag’s Vice-Chancellor on Nov. 11, the aim is to promote excellence.

“We admit the best so that we can produce the best,’’ he said.

He said that the university held 75 inaugural lectures during his five-year tenure in an effort to promote scholarship.

The professor of chemical engineering noted that the university had held a total of 374 inaugural lectures since its existence.

Bello said that the university produced 103 professors in the past five years, representing about 20 per cent of the 292 professors it had produced in its 55 years of existence.

“They just don’t come and get them; the process of becoming a professor in Unilag is very tedious.

“We have peer review from inside and outside and we have interview internally, so that at the end, you know why you are promoted or why you are not,’’ he said.

Bello said that Unilag had to change its curriculum in a bid to sustain academic excellence.

“We are neither a technology university nor a business university; we are comprehensive, except for agriculture.

“The only agriculture we do is marine.’’

He expressed satisfaction at the performance of the university in its new fields of study such as cell biology and genetics.

“When we started them, they were almost nothing.

“Cell biology and genetics, for instance, are the ones that drive the health sector when you talk about working in the sub-cell region, especially in the area of In-Vitro-Fertilisation ( IVF ).

He also expressed delight at the performance of the university’s creative arts department.

“When we started it, some saw it as laughable. Today, most of our graduates are the ones making money in Nollywood,’’ Bello said.

Bello, the 11th Vice-Chancellor of the university, came into office in 2012, following the death of the then Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adetokunbo Sofoluwe.

Bello will be succeeded by Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, the university’s Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics).

NAN

November 9, 2017
UNILAG: Emeritus professor urges incoming VC to build on Bello’s achievements

Emeritus Professor, Nimi Briggs, the Pro-Chancellor, Federal University, Lokoja, on Monday appealed that whoever succeeds Prof. Rahamon Bello as Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the University of Lagos ( UNILAG ) should build on his achievements.

Briggs spoke at the Public Presentation of the Book, “Walking the Vision,’’ in honour of Bello, whose tenure ends in November.

“Bello’s successor must be silent on his mistakes and that of the past VCs, concentrate on how to build on the good work they have started and let posterity judge.

“Bello has done excellently well; he is human and cannot solve all the problems of UNILAG,’’ the Emeritus professor, who was the book reviewer, said.

He described Bello as a remarkable man deserving of a national honor, s and said the book is a reliable account written by those who worked closely with the VC.

Prof. Jerry Gana, a former Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council of the institution, also lauded the contributions of Bello to the development of the university.

Gana, represented by Dr Isuwa Dogo, CEO, Kishima Nigeria Limited, said Bello had piloted the institution toward achieving the vision of the founding fathers of the institution.

Also, Dr Bolanle Babalankin, the current Pro-Chancellor of the institution, said the book was written for inspiration and guidance in University governance and for life well spent.

In his response, Prof. Bello, thanked God and dedicated the book to all the Council members who worked with him.

According to him, the council members gave the enabling environment for him to work and achieve what was recorded in the book.

Prof. Bello resumed office as UNILAG VC in November 2012.

NAN

October 24, 2017
VC blames incessant building collapse on education sector

The Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos (Unilag), Prof. Rahamon Bello, has blamed increasing spate of building collapse in the country on the education sector.

Bello made the observation on Tuesday at the 2017 Annual Lecture/Awards and Induction ceremony of the Lagos Branch of Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).

The event held in Unilag, Akoka, Yaba.

The vice chancellor was represented by the university’s Director of Works and Physical Planning, Dr Adelere Adeniran.

He called for increased funding of vocational training schools to develop middle level manpower which, he said, was lacking in the construction industry.

He said that quackery was in the increase because Shylock businessmen have taken over the role of vocational institutions and are churning out half-baked artisans.

Bello noted that artisans without requisite skills were not allowed to practise in developed countries, regretting that the reverse had been the case in Nigeria where they paraded themselves as engineers.

He also said that inadequate government attention on the development of vocational schools had made some students with insufficient intelligence to acquire university education at all cost.

“The implication is that those who would have made good craftsmen parade themselves as engineers,’’ he said.

Bello urged resuscitation of vocational training to provide skilled middle-level manpower needed for the engineering profession to have a complete chain of professionals.

In his lecture, the Acting General-Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Mr Oladotun Lasoju, urged Lagos residents to partner with the state government to fish out quacks and report illegal activities causing building collapse.

He urged engineers to monitor their projects from design to completion to ensure that developers would not cut corners to compromise quality.

Lasoju said that regulatory agencies in the state were working in synergy to ensure adequate regulation and law enforcement to stop building collapse and ensure proper planning of the environment.

“The Lagos State Government is leaving no stone unturned toward ensuring that an end is put to this problem.

“That is why, as individuals and groups, we need to partner with the government,” he said.

The Chairman, Lagos Branch, Nigerian Institute of Building, Mrs Adenike Said, urged building professionals to collaborate to end building collapse.

Said called on the NSE to carry artisans along in seminars and trainings in order to enlighten them on professional standards to stem building collapse.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bello, Adeniran and Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos received the Lagos NSE Awards for Excellence for contributions to the growth of engineering.

May 3, 2017
University of Lagos mourns ex-VC

University of Lagos (UNILAG) Vice Chancellor, Prof Rahamon Bello, has said the death of Emeritus Professor Jacob Ade Ajayi is a shock to the university community.

He said Prof Ajayi’s death came when the university was planning to celebrate his 85th birthday.

The late Prof Ajayi was UNILAG’s third vice chancellor. He served between 1972 and 1978, when Bello said the university witnessed unprecedented growth.

He said: “There were activities planned to commemorate his birthday at UNILAG. That is what we were looking up to. So, when the news came yesterday (Sunday) that he had passed on, it was a very big shock for us.

“As an administrator at UNILAG, his regime shaped this institution. You could move around and see the effect of his administration on this campus. It was he who conceptualised and built the new hall, where we have the greatest number of students housed. He was also the one who built the three high rise buildings for the university.

“He developed quite a large number of programmes. I remember Chemical Engineering was his baby. Many other programmes in the institution have really created. As far as development is concerned, he was the interregnum between the old era and the new era in this university.”

Also, Prof Abayomi Akinyeye, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at UNILAG said Prof Ade Ajayi’s death was a loss to Nigeria, especially with his pioneering work in history.

“This country has lost a dedicated academic, an elder statesman, a committed nationalist, a forthright scholar. His reputation is phenomenal worldwide. He was among the generation of historians that opened another perspective to the study of African History and he made enormous contributions at different fora. He was a member of the UNESCO General History for Africa; he was an Editor of the volume. His intellectual reputation spanned a broad spectrum of history. The void he has left would be difficult to fill,” he said.

August 12, 2014