The Nation Newspaper

Tag: STUDENT

  • Firm to assist students get foreign scholarships

    Usually, students are the ones that seek out firms that can help them travel abroad for further studies. However, the reverse is the case with Avail International Consul Limited (AICL), which is seeking to help students get into secondary and tertiary institutions in the United Kingdom (UK), United States and Canada irrespective of the funds they have.

    Mrs Bola Agunbiade, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), AICL, said in an interview with The Nation at the firm’s Ogba, Lagos office, that they can help brilliant students with good grades in their Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) attract scholarships from reputable institutions outside Nigeria.

    “There are several scholarship opportunities abroad that people are not even aware of. We want to be able to reach out to students, especially those who are intelligent who have come out in flying colours in their O/levels. They may not have the financial capability to travel abroad; however, there are opportunities for such students to get scholarship. It may be full scholarship, it might be tuition reduction,” she said.

    After evaluating their credentials, Mrs Agunbiade said the firm would help scholarship potentials to present their applications to the universities. She added that for the next two months especially, AICL would offer its services free to all categories of students in commemoration of its second anniversary. She said they would benefit from visa counselling, evaluation and tutorials.

    “We are inviting students and their parents to come in from June 26 all through July and the whole of August. We are looking at them going in for September. We are encouraging them to come here and it is going to be free. We are inviting them to celebrate our second anniversary.

    “We will evaluate their documentation, check credentials, see the ones that are really intelligent, assist to writing good personal statement because this is one of the requirements for scholarships and send the applications off to these institutions and see as many scholarship opportunities we can give out to these students for free. Those who can afford the fees and even those who already have admissions can come in we offer free counseling to them help them with their visa application, give them mock interview based on the likely questions they might be asked at the interview centres and embassies to ease the application process.“

    However, despite the firm’s enthusiasm to help potential students get admissions abroad, Mrs Agunbiade said it only assists those with genuine intention to study. She said if they go abroad for other reasons and misbehave, they spoil the country’s reputation.

    She added: “It is easy for me to tell if the student is genuine. Their parents may have money and just want them to travel. But by the time I talk to them, forgetting even their credentials, I can tell. They might not have the genuine intention to go abroad and really study and its not good for us because institutions come back and blame us that why did we send a student that is not serious.

    “I have about 40 schools in the UK and we have contracts. They make out rules and they insist we must send genuine students. If I have any doubt I tell them no I won’t process it.“

  • Students’ unionism resumes

    The EKSU Vice-Chancellor, Prof Oladipo Aina, has lifted the suspension on Students Union activities.

    However, the management has stipulated that only duly registered students who have paid their school fees in full would be allowed to participate in the union election either as contestants or voters.

    Also, contestants for any elective position must not have lower than 2.50 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA).

    The approved time table and guidelines for the election is expected to be out soon.

  • Osun students celebrate Omoluabi Day

    The Geology Lecture Theatre of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) was filled to capacity as students of Osun State origin and their friends from other states gathered to celebrate the Omoluabi Day. The event was organised by the UNILORIN chapter of the National Association of Osun State Students (NAOSS).

    Welcoming participants, Mojeed Fasasi, the President of the association, who said the students were poised to reflect the rich cultural heritage of the state.

    Dr Abdulrasheed Adeboye, Head of Performing Arts Department, who was the guest speaker, gave a lecture on the concept of Omoluabi (responsible citizen) and its effects on the development of the nation.

    The lecturer said monuments and tourist attractions, which dotted the landscape of the state made it to be respected among Yoruba state. He mentioned Oluminirin Waterfalls, Ooni’s palace, Ife museum, Enuwa Square, Ile-Ife City Walls, Oranmiyan Staff and Osogbo Arts Metal Works among others as historical monuments that distinguished the state.

    The association also used the occasion to inaugurate leader who was recently elected. The incoming executive was led by Tolulope Awoyinfa, a 300-Level Linguistics students. There was also drama presentation to mark the day.

    Prof Ronke Olademo, a lecturer who witnessed the occasion, admonished the students to promote the good image of the state and to desist from vices that could terminate their studentship.

    Dignitaries at the event included Prof Deremi Abubakre, a lecturer in Faculty of Art, Dr Mahfouz Adedimeji, representative of the Federal Commissioner of Public Complaint Commission, Osun State chapter, Prof Ronke Olademo, Head of Religion Department, Prof Babatunde Adeleke, Dean Faculty of Science and Dr Raji Abdulgafar, former Head of Economics Department, among others.

  • Tree’s fall scares students

    There was pandemonium in Adekunle Fajuyi Hall, a male hostel in the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, when a giant tree in the hall fell.

    Students residing in the hostel scampered for safety when branches of the tree ripped through a wall of the hostel before it fell where the hostel’s reservoirs were located.

    Though nobody was injured, the incident shocked students, who witnessed the scene. It almost stirred an uproar as a Law student in the hall pointed fingers at the hall management. A supervisor in the hall told CAMPUSLIFE that the tree was supposed to be felled the following day.

    “When I assumed duty over a year ago and I saw the state of the trees and how hazardous they could be to the structures of the hall, I wrote a letter to the Parks and Gardens Department of the university. We were given approval to cut the trees considered injurious to residents of the hall,” he explained.

    Responding to an allegation of negligence by students, the supervisor described the incident as nothing short of a natural disaster.

    He said: “Natural disasters are mostly inevitable and uncontrollable. We should give thanks to God that no one sustained any injury and no life was lost.” He, however, promised to see to the repair of the water pipes affected by the crash.”

     

  • Help… student needs N10m to fight cancer

    Students of the Department of Pharmacy, University of Benin (UNIBEN), have held a concert at the Hall 2 Car Park to raise money to save a colleague, who is suffering from cancer of the blood.

    It was tagged: “Let’s save Vincent.”

    The campaign is a fund-raiser by students and friends of Vincent Nwokedi, a 600-Level Pharmacy student, who was diagnosed of acute lymphocytic leukaemia, cancer of the blood.

    A medical practitioner at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), who pleaded anonymity, because he was not authorised to speak to the press, told our correspondent that the treatment cannot be handled in Nigeria.

    “As a matter of fact, Vincent needs N10 million for bone marrow transplant in India. But, for now, he undergoes chemotherapy here in UBTH. We are confident he would go through the process successfully,” he said.

    During the concert, a popular comedian, Efosa Iyamu, joined other entertainers and students in raising funds. He said all hands must be on deck to save the Vincent’s life.

    “I don’t know Vincent personally. But I am inspired to join other entertainers in saving the boy because he deserves the love and respect. Perhaps, this is my way of giving back to a society that raised me. I believe if my success cannot put a smile on others’ faces, it means I have failed,” he said.

    Joshua Chibo, a classmate of the ailing student, described Vincent as one of the brilliant students in the faculty.

    “Vincent is a great leader and a role model to many of us. That informed the large number of persons participating in this campaign. His impact on the faculty is overwhelming and that is the more reason we don’t want to lose him to cancer.

    CAMPUSLIFE learnt that Vincent led a group of Pharmacy students last year to wage war against drug abuse on the streets of Benin.

    “As Chairman of Anti-Drug Misuse and Abuse Programme (ADMAP) Vincent made a great impact by turning around the lives of abusers of drugs, especially in Edo State. That is why we want well-meaning Nigerians to save this boy from untimely death,” a student of the department said.

  • Student donates notice board

    tudents are known mostly for demanding one thing or the other but Rejoice Eziedo, a final year student of Education Administrative and Planning and the former coordinator of Female Leadership Forum (FLF), University of Calabar (UNICAL), demonstrated uncommon courage when she donated an ultra-modern notice board to the Students’ Affairs Division.

    While unveiling the board, Rejoice echoed the words of Abraham Lincoln, saying: “Don’t leave any environment the way you meet it, always bring a positive change to make it better.”

    She said the quoted sentence inspired her to embark on the project.

    The Dean of Students’ of Affairs, Prof Eyong Eyong, who was very excited by the project, commended Rejoice for the gesture. He said: “It is a thing of joy that a student could have the wisdom to think of having what to add to the system, we commend you for the presentation and we promise to make good use of the board.”

    The Students’ Union President, Bassey Eka, eulogised the donor for her benevolence, saying with the gesture, Rejoice had demonstrated attribute of a good leader.

  • Man held for ‘raping’ varsity student

    A man, who allegedly kidnapped and raped a 22-year-old female undergraduate of the University of Lagos, Akoka, for refusing to date him, has been arrested by the police.

    The suspect, Babajide Bashorun, also 22, is a dog breeder. He was said to have raped the student, took pictures of her nudity and posted them on the Internet, with the victim’s academic details.

    The Nation learnt that the victim was unaware of the development until her colleagues told her.

    The matter was reported at the Adeniji Adele Police station from where operatives moved to arrest Bashorun.

    Detectives are also hunting for two undergraduates of the university – Aje Mayowa and Babajide Ademuyiwa – both 400 level students of Architecture, for their alleged complicity.

    Narrating her ordeal, the girl (names withheld), said: “Jide came to our house to treat our dog. He asked for my Black Berry pin and phone numbers, which I gave him because I saw him as a friend. When he suddenly said he wanted to date me, I told him that I already had somebody that I love. But he insisted.

    “I deleted him from my BB and phone. I was returning home for the weekend one day, when a car drove and blocked me at Idumota bus stop. Jide was in the car. When I saw Jide, I hissed and made to walk away. He held my hand, dragged me closer and showed me a gun under the waist band of his trousers. He dragged me into the car and took me to his house. He started beating me and tore my clothes. He and his friend raped me.”

    She recounted further: “He asked me to unlock my phone. My password is my boyfriend’s name. He started beating me again because I used my boy friend’s name as my password. He gave me his phone to speak with his cultist friends. They threatened to kill me. He hit my head and back with a bottle. When he wanted to take my picture, I tried to cover my face, but he started beating me again. He took different shots. When I was bleeding, he begged me, that he didn’t know what came over him. His friend, had left.”

    “I cried. He asked me for what I would eat, I said I was not hungry. He did not allow me call my mother. I begged him to delete my nude pictures, but I guessed he didn’t. He covered my face with a shirt. In the morning, he made to get me some drugs.

    “I was surprised that the door was unlocked … I ran out. When I got home, my brother saw blood on me. I told him I had an accident and told my mother I fought with a fellow student, who used to smoke Indian hemp.”

    “When Jide discovered I had escaped, he called and said if I told anybody, he would kill me. Because he is a cult member, I didn’t. His friends also threatened me.”

    The girl’s mother said: “When Jide discovered that we had been informed of the crime, he threatened that he and his co-cultists would come to burn our house down! We couldn’t sleep. We embarked on a vigil.”

    Bashorun said: “She is my girlfriend. We fought in April and settled. I have begged her and she has forgiven me. What happened in April was that she asked me for money, that she wanted to buy I-Pad. The costs is about N100,000. She was always asking for money. And I always tried my best to satisfy her.

    “I raised about N70,000 for her. She came to my house to collect the money. I told her to desist from going to clubs for prostitution. We fought. I used floor mop to hit her back. I took her pictures, sent them to my friend, but I didn’t tell him to distribute them on the Internet.”

    Bashorun was charged to Tinubu Magistrates’ Court, Lagos lsland before Magistrate A.O Awogboro on a six-count charge of kidnapping, rape, conspiracy, attempted murder, indecent assault, and assault occasioning harm.

    He pleaded not guilty. He was granted bail with three sureties in the sum of N250, 000 each. The case was adjoined till July 10.

  • UNILAG students honour Ngozi Agbo

    The second Memorial Lecture in honour of the former CAMPUSLIFE Co-ordinator, the late Mrs Ngozi Agbo, has been held at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). The lecture, which was organised by the Press Club of the university, took place in the board room of the Faculty of Social Sciences with the theme: Becoming a successful campus writer.

    The guest lecturer and the Editor of The Nation, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, spoke on how students can be successful writers. He was represented by Wale Ajetunmobi, the Co-ordinator of CAMPUSLIFE.

    Ajetunmobi , who recalled how he met the late Mrs Agbo, noted that CAMPUSLIFE is a life-transforming platform floated by the newspaper.

    The Industrial Chemist turned journalist said the late Mrs Agbo carved a niche for herself in discovering and building the youths for a better future, saying there would not have been a platform where undergraduates would converge to air their views if the honouree did not initiate CAMPUSLIFE project.

    He described campus journalism as a nascent form of journalism being practiced by students of higher institutions across the world. He added that campus journalists write on issues related to campus life and people, including student-lecturer, student-student, lecturer-lecturer, student-management and student-host community relationships.

    He said: “To be credible, a campus writer must discharge his role within the purview of campus with courage and openness, without compromising his responsibility to the students on whose side he must always be.”

    According to the speaker, the ethical code binding a professional journalist, such as objectivity, fairness, openness, credibility and accountability, also applied to a campus journalist, which he described as interface between the students and management. He, however, cautioned that campus journalists should not write to paint the management as the devil all the time.

    Mr Damilola Ademola, a graduate of Microbiology, UNILAG, and former CAMPUSLIFE reporter, who is a post-graduate student of Mass Communication in the university, took the audience through his adventures and the reasons why he left the field of natural sciences to pursue a course in journalism at the post graduate level.

    According to him, the late Mrs Agbo inspired and nurtured him through CAMPUSLIFE platform during his undergraduate days. Ademola said the inspiration he got from the gesture prompted his decision to veer into journalism.

    The event was attended by students and some staff of the university.

     

  • OAU student caught ‘flushing baby’

    A student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, was yesterday “caught” trying to flush her newly born baby in the toilet.

    The 400-level student of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Diana Oyinlola Rotimi, allegedly gave birth to the baby in a toilet at Moremi Hostel.

    She was allegedly caught trying to flush the baby in the toilet by cleaners.

    It was learnt that a cleaner heard the baby’s cries and alerted her colleagues.

    Sources said they forced the toilet door open and found Diana pouring water on the baby in the closet. The floor was reportedly stained with blood.

    It was gathered that one of the cleaners removed the baby boy, who was alive but bleeding from the nose, from the closet.

    OAU’s spokesman Biodun Olanrewaju gave a different version of the incident.

    Olanrewaju said some students reported that the girl went into labour in the toilet and raised the alarm, which attracted students in the hostel.

    He said the Dean of Students’ Affairs, Dr. Latifat Durosimi, and other senior officials of the institution have taken the girl and the baby to the university’s Health Centre.

    Olanrewaju said the institution was investigating the incident.

     

  • Rector urges students to shun cultism

    None of the 4,800 new students of the Plateau State Polytechnic, Barkin-Ladi, will join a cult group unless he or she wants to leave the institution.

    The Rector, Mr Dauda Gyemang, has listed cultism among the no-go areas for the students.

    He has also named groups or associations they should not join.

    Speaking at the matriculation of the students, Gyemang said they should be wary of associations with seemingly harmless names as they could be dangerous.

    “Be wary of students’ association like the Amazons, Temple of Eden, Gentlemen’s Club, Sea Dogs, The Jurist, National Association of Air Loads, Daughters of Jezebel and the Black braziers, among others. These names may sound funny and harmless, but they are very dangerous and deadly,“ he said.

    He urged them to be serious with their studies given that only 40 per cent of the 12,000 candidates who applied were admitted to study Arts, Social Science and Pure Sciences courses, only 4,510 were admitted.

    “It may interest you to note that the institution received a total of 12,000 applications for the 2012/2013 academic session. However, only 4, 800 students were offered admission based on the school’s carrying capacity.

    “You should, therefore,count yourselves lucky to have scaled through the rigorous process of our admission exercise. You were able to make it because you are the most qualified,” he said.

    Gyemang assured the students that the institution would groom the students academically and mould their character to excel in various endeavours.

    To this end, he said that the institution is committed to providing the necessary infrastructure, and has entered into partnership with the Waterfall Institution of Technology, Ireland and ICT University Louisiana, United States, for transfer and exchange programmes.

    “Such partnership would in no distant time transform this 35-year old Polytechnic into a centre of excellence and would also enable us meet up with the global challenge in the 21st century,” he said.

    Gyemang urged the students to be focused on their academics, shun cultism, examination malpractice and other forms of lawlessness.

    The Plateau State Commissioner for Education, Mr Nanle Dashen, who was represented by the Director for Higher Education in the ministry, Mrs Sarah Ramadan, urged the students to work hard.

    He restated the state govern-ment’s commitment to transform the education sector.

    The commissioner said the government is making efforts to provide more funds for the construction of additional hostels, laboratories and recruitment of workers.