The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Students

  • Students: So long, Mr President

    President Goodluck Jonathan will bow out tomorrow. How will students remember him? Some say they won’t miss him; others laud his ‘achievements’. OLUWAFEMI OGUNJOBI writes.

    Tomorrow, there will be a change of  government. President Goodluck Jonathan will relinquish power to President-elect Muhammadu Buhari, who defeated him in the March 28 election. It was the first time a sitting President will lose election in the nation.

    For the outgoing President Jonathan, tomorrow marks the end of his six-year administration. Jonathan came to power, promising to take Nigeria to greater height through his Transformation Agenda. He assumed office, following the death of his predecessor, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010.

    But, did the nation fare well under his administration? Given the hardship in the twilight of his administration, he may be leaving a bad legacy.

    In the last few weeks, the country has been in darkness; electricity generation dropped to below 2,000 Megawatts. Petrol, a commodity which the nation produces in large quantity, is sold far beyond the fixed pump price because of scarcity. Life has become more unbearable for the people.

    Students, especially, will not forget the outgoing administration in a hurry. Under the Jonathan administration, university, polytechnic and college of education teachers shut down campuses for over 10 months because of non-implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which they signed with government in 2009.

    There were other incidents, which almost brought down education to its knees. One was the killing students in Buni Yadi and Potiskum, in Yobe State by Boko Haram insurgents. 43 were killed in Buni Yadi and 47 in Potiskum.

    Under Jonathan, the insurgents stepped up their bloody campaign against education. Will students miss him? “No,” says Segun Odunayo, a 300-Level student of Adekunle Ajasin University in Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) in Ondo State. The era of President Jonathan will not be forgotten by students and parents, he said.

    Segun said: “Although, the Jonathan administration established more universities, but some of his policies were guided by politics and not nation-building. The universities created are as poorly equipped as the existing ones. President Jonathan’s exit is good riddance.”

    The poor funding and perennial closure of tertiary institutions which marred the tenure of the outgoing administration has left education in a shambles, Abiodun Omonijo, a graduating student of Political Science of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, said.

    He said: “The problems with education did not arise in one day; they are consequences of long years of neglect, which I consider to be deliberate on the part of the ruling class. Fixing the problems would require years of planning which will transcend the tenure of the incoming administration.”

    Abiodun questioned the reason for establishing more universities when the existing ones are dying for lack of adequate funding.

    “Why would I miss President Jonathan when his administration failed to address the hike in school fees imposed on us by the management?” Quadri Olaoluwa, a 400-Level Accounting student of OAU, asked, adding that the president remains insensitive to the plight of his parents who cannot afford the school fee.

    ‘’I will miss him,” Ezekiel, a medical student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) said. “There is no government that is perfect. President Jonathan has performed excellently well in education, he added.

    “The industrial actions by the lecturers’ unions were the only noticeable calamity that befell education during his time. But, who is talking about 14 new universities established by the president? These schools would make tertiary education admission accessible and affordable to many. The Jonathan administration also introduced the Federal Scholarship Board (FSB), which gave opportunity to thousands of First Class graduates to further their studies in world-class institutions across the globe. Although, there is work to be done. But, compared to the rot he met, Jonathan has created a good platform for the incoming government to work on,” Ezekiel said.

    Oluwatobi Oseni, a graduate of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, said despite students’ bad experience under Jonathan, the outgoing president made far-reaching decisions that will turn out to be good in the end.

    Hammed Hamzat, a graduate of the University of Ibadan, said: “Given the rot in education, it will be out of place to say President Jonathan has done well in the sector. Whether he will be missed will be judged by the effort of the incoming administration to clear up the mess.”

     

     

  • Be servant leaders, FUTA VC advises students

    Be servant leaders, FUTA VC advises students

    The Students Union leaders of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) have been advised to be servant leaders in their comportment and service delivery.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adebiyi Daramola and Dean, Students’ Affairs, Dr. Kayode Alese, gave this counsel at the inauguration of the new leaders.

    Daramola, who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Development), Prof Tolulope Akinbogun, advised them to see leadership as a process whereby a person influences others to accomplish set objectives and direct an organisation in a way that makes it cohesive and coherent.

    “The underlying principles here are service, character and teamwork.  Do not let your position get into your heads.You must be humble and approach every situation with maturity.The character you display during your tenure will show the kind of persons you are. Strive to serve others, even as you lead,” he said.

    The vice chancellor promised that the students’ leaders will benefit from local and international trainings in tandem with the extant culture of the university.

    “We have consistently been sponsoring student leaders to attend leadership training programmes within and outside Nigeria for the past six years.  I believe your administration will not be an exception.  This is part of our resolve to take FUTA and its products to a higher level of internationalisation in scholarship and excellence,” he said.

    Alese advised the leaders to make the interest of the electorate their utmost priority.

    “You must represent them and put aside personal gains.  As leaders you must be up and doing.  You must be responsible and exhibit leadership qualities at all times. You must be able to take decisions in the overall interest of not only the students’ populace but the entire University Community,” he said.

    President, FUTA Students Union, Fowobaje Oluwaseun, said he and his colleagues would ensure that they take students unionism to a positive level and a crisis free tenure.

    “We shall stand to uphold and uplift the integrity of the Students Union by rebranding FUTA and also ensure peace and progress in running the affairs of this great institution. Our mission is to build a better union, to bring back respect to the students union, to change the perspective of students about student unionism,” he added.

  • Students build News website

    Students build News website

    A group of eight students of the Schools of Applied Sciences and Technology; Communication and Information Technology and Engineering Technology, Federal Polytechnic, Offa (FEDPOFFA), has developed a website on past and current events on politics, sports, security, fashion, education, entertainment, nutrition, information technology, and history.

    There are plans to also add a job search link to provide information on vacancies for applicants.

    Deputy Director, Entrepreneurship Development Centre of the polytechnic, Dr Sam Obaje, said the students were inspired to build the site to address the dearth of information and poor knowledge of the students about their immediate environment.

    The students also planned to spread the website’s coverage to other tertiary institutions across the country.

    The website is www.bentopxel.com.

    Members of the group are: AlukoTemitope (Computer Technology); Gbolahan Benjamin (Computer Technology); Ejiro Excellent (Computer Technology); Aileru Sherifdeen (Office Technology Management) and Oke Benjamin (Mass Communication).

    Others are Adereyo Oke (Mass Communication); Adesope Ridwan (Computer Technology) and Idemudia Jude (Food Technology).

     

  • Medical students visit prison

    Medical students visit prison

    The Oko Prison at Oko Ogba Road in Benin City, Edo State capital, was a beehive last Saturday when members of the Christian Medical and Dental Association Students (CMDAS) of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) and Igbinedion University in Okada (IUO) visited the inmate.

    The students, numbering over 70, left from their campuses on an outreach to the facility. On their arrival, they were conducted round the facility by a warder, who enlightened them on the rules guiding prison yard. After the excursion, they students met with the prison inmates.

    Harry Ogodo, the association’s Mission Secretary, said the visit was part of the students’ mission to reach out to the needy. He urged the inmates not to feel condemned because of their predicament, urging them to make good use of their stay and apply lessons they learn whenever they gain freedom.

    “Being free is a thing of the mind and not necessarily means being out of prison,” Harry said.

    In his exhortation titled: Free at last, Aisosa Guobadia, a 600-Level student, told the inmate to build personal relationship with God for them to have divine mercy in hereafter. He used the story of Joseph in the Bible, who went to prison for an offence he did not commit, noting that God has better plans for the inmates.

    Some of the prisoners got born again during the encounter with the students, promising never to sin again.

    The visit also featured dental and health talk, where the students advised the inmate to wash their teeth daily and keep their environment neat to reduce the tendency disease outbreak. The students donated toiletries, wears, sanitary pad and food stuff to the inmates.

    The prison Director of Welfare Services, Mr J.I. Osemwengie hailed the students for the visit. He encouraged them to be focus and law-abiding.

    Obehi Eseaton, 300-Level Medicine and Surgery student, said the visit was more than an outreach but a life excursion. “It is good to be obedient. It is my prayers that God bring the inmates out of the prison soon,” he said.

     

  • Firm donates to students

    To celebrate the 2015 World Environmental Day, Ecologistics Integrated Services Limited yesterday donated over 300 textbooks to Opebi Senior Grammar School in Ikeja, Lagos on ‘Sustainable Consumption and Production’. At the event held on the school premises, it also sensitised pupils on sustainable environment.

    The books are on science, literature, music and mathematics.

    According to the firm’s president, Dr Paul Abolo, the gesture is a way to give back to the society because the company is more interested in the future.

    ‘’We are giving out books as part of the environmental programme, reinforcing the concept of reuse, recycle and at the same time we are also reinforcing the concept of giving; the children need to understand that they need to use the books and what soever book that is given to them, they have to use it well.

    ‘’Book is something that students cherish most and we notice that the reading culture is declining in our environment, so giving out these books is our way of trying to revive the reading culture.’’

    Vice president, Ecologistics Integrated Services Limited, Mrs Seyi Abolo said the books given out are meant to sustain the environment, adding: “Knowledge is power and the only way to acquire knowledge is to read; if you do not read, you will not know what is happening in the world.’’

    She encouraged the students to make use of the books, adding that there is no point donating the books to them if not well used.

    The school’s Vice Principal, Mrs Olufunmilola Fadare described the gesture as kind. She said the donations would go a long way in improving the reading culture of the school and the reading habit of the students.

    ‘’We now know that the world environment day goes beyond planting of trees and beautifying the environment, but we can also give back to the environment and be environment-friendly. We can do things to our environment just like we are doing things for our neighbour,’’ she said.

  • FUTA students launch balloon in space contest

    FUTA students launch balloon in space contest

    Members of Space Club at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Ondo State have participated in the just-concluded Global Space Balloon Challenge (GSBC) held on Saturday. The contest was held simultaneously across the world, with participants launching their balloons and taking the video to send to the organisers.

    The students, who represented West Africa in the contest, launched a 600 gram balloon, which flowed into the atmosphere at an ascent rate of 300 metre per minute. They balloon travelled a distance of 32km into space.

    Besides, they also performed a pollution experiment, taking the vertical profile measurement of the concentration of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere. The experiment, the students said, is important to understand global warming and climate research.

    According to the FUTA team leader, Temidayo Oniosun, the feat was achieved after weeks of preparation. He said: “The club members were divided into groups to work on different aspects of the project, which includes weather forecast, payload design and tracking system, which built a compartment in the balloon that has a camera taking video of the earth as the balloon ascends. We also have tracking device and sensor for measuring the concentration of carbon monoxide.”

    The aim of the project is to provide a platform on which students can expand their knowledge in space science and applications, which can prepare them to become leaders in space technology, said Prof J. Akinyede, FUTA’s Director of Centre for Space Research and Application.

    Over 200 local teams in the 42 countries participated in the contest. Winners will be announced in July by organisers of the contest.

    The club comprises 70 students of various departments, who operate under the Centre for Space Research and Application with a mission to produce next generation of space leaders. The club has project groups, including Astronomy, Cosmology, Global Navigation Satellite System, Robotics and Space Engineering, among others.

  • Computer Science students elect leaders

    Members of the National Association of Computer Science Students (NACOSS), Crawford University chapter, have elected their leaders.

    The elections, which held last Friday, started with the screening of candidates by the electoral committee; this was followed by a debate and manifesto during which the candidates explained their programmes for students.

    Voting started at 11am in the department’s Lecture Room and ended at 2pm. The position of the president was keenly contested.

    Samuel Jegede emerged the president-elect with 69.20 per cent of the total votes. His opponent, Chibuzor Umeilechukwu, had 28.8 per cent. Godwin Umekwe garnered 89.40 per cent votes cast to become the vice president-elect but contested unopposed.

    Others elected include Samuel Salami, Software Director, Caleb Chibuike, Hardware Director, Henry Isaiah, Director of External Affairs, Precious Aderimiki, General Secretary and Tayo Fabiyi, Sport Director.

  • 59 OAU students bag alumni scholarship

    The joy of 59 outstanding undergraduates of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) knew no bounds when they won scholarships worth over N3 million during the OAU Muslim Graduates’ Association’s annual reunion convention held at the institution’s campus in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

    On hand to present the scholarship to the lucky students were erudite lawyer and business tycoon, Dr. Wale Babalakin, who was also the guest speaker at the event; chairman board of trustees of the association, Alhaji Rafiu Ebiti; National President, Prof. Abdulwahab Egbewole; chairman of the occasion, and Secretary General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede.

    One of the recipients from the Faculty of Arts (who does not wish to be named) thanked the organisers of the scholarship for making their dreams come true.

    “As you can see some of us are from the less privileged homes but endowed with extra-ordinary intellect by Almighty Allah. Through benevolence of these people, we have been able to achieve our dreams which would have been jeopardised due to financial constraints. I pray that God will continue to bless them and enlarge their coasts,” she said.

    National President of the association, Prof Egbewole, said through the initiative, the group has been able to touch many lives.

    “Since the inception of the programme in 2009/2010 academic session, UNIFEMGA has awarded scholarship to students of OAU worth N17, 566,000.00. It is gratifying to note and put on record that 16 of our awardees bagged First Class degrees at the last convocation of the university,” he said.

    Egbewole implored the awardees to learn one lesson from the gesture: that giving back to the society is the only way it can be sustained.

    Also speaking, the OAU Vice-Chancellor, Prof Bamitale Omole, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Prof. Ayobami Salami, praised the association for its benevolence and support to the university.

    “For so many years, they have been consistent and exceptional in awarding scholarship to their students. If we can assist five or six of them, the story will not be the same. As an institution, we will continue to partner with you,” Salami said.

    Founded over two decades ago, apart from providing the scholarship to outstanding undergraduates and postgraduate students, the association seeks to educate, enlighten and address societal issues.

    The annual convention in its 11th year running provides opportunity to members and the academic community to celebrate, network and seek ways to improve their alma mater.

    Other dignitaries at the event included the Chief Imam of OAU Central Mosque, Prof. Abubakar Sanusi; Governor Rauf Aregebsola of Osun State, who was represented by Mr Basil Lawal; Alhaji Ahmed Popoola, and Alhaji Abdulwaheed Odeyimka.

  • How students can achieve their dreams, by Enactus chief

    How students can achieve their dreams, by Enactus chief

    For five days last week, over 300 students from 34 higher institutions converged on the Ekiti State University (EKSU) for a leadership training organised by Enactus Nigeria, a youth non-profit organisation.

    The Acting Country Director for Enactus, Mr. Michael Ajayi, said the event was aimed at training students on how to implement and achieve their sustainable project plan.

    Each Enactus team in the participating school will present 10 community-based projects and select 10 project leaders to present the plan on their behalf.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Patrick Aina, reiterated the school’s readiness to partner with Enactus to engender intellectual development among its students. He said: “We want our students to mingle with their peers from other schools to share ideas and challenges and also look for possible solution to such challenge. This is the best way to develop their intellects.”

    After the training, the participants visited Ikogosi Waterfall in Ikogosi Ekiti to unwind. The excursion featured talent hunt show and platform where Enatcus members from other school interact with themselves.

    Participants also presented a dummy plan on how they would achieve their projects. Implementation plan of the EKSU team was adjudged as the best project and the team qualified to the final stage.

    Ajayi praised the university management for supporting the initiative, saying the event was the best since its inception in 2013.

    Olusegun Falana, a 300-Level student in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, described the training as educative and fun. “I would love to come again if given the opportunity,” he said.

    Abdulgafar Onilearo, a student of Kwara State University, said: “I am refreshed and glad to be in Ikogosi warm spring. The organisers must be commended for this event.”

  • Varsity counsels students against vices

    The Department of Counselling of the Crawford University in Atan-Agbara, Ogun State has held a counselling session for its students with the theme: Counselling towards academic excellence. The event was held at the school Multipurpose Hall.

    The session was aimed at educating the students about the positive effects of seeking counseling while they stay on the campus.

    Speaking on Counselling services and the benefits to staff and students of tertiary institutions, the institution’s Guidance Counsellor, Mrs Olushola Coker, said good counselling would help students to reach upper most level in social, educational and economic development.

    Represented by Dr E.O. Aramide, a counsellor, Mrs Coker, however, said counselling cannot proffer solutions to all human problems but said good advice could assist in reducing social problem facing mankind.

    She advised higher institutions to integrate guiding and counselling into their curriculum irrespective of discipline to guide the youth aright and build a peaceful nation.

    Dr S.O. Awosoga, the institution’s Acting Director of Health Services, spoke on Health viewpoint for enhancing students’ academic excellence during which he explained how good health could enhance academic excellence. He listed physical and emotional abuse, chronic illness, unwanted pregnancies and abortions as factors that could affect students’ health status, thereby hindering their efforts to achieve excellence.

    Awosoga advised the students to take their careers services and shun vices which can truncate their academic pursuits. He said: “The university management has shown care to all students by guiding, monitoring and always advising them on how to achieve their dreams. Students must shun all vices and take your studies seriously.”

    The event was attended by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Samson Ayanlaja; Chairman of Governing Council, Prof Peter Okebukola, Dean of Students’ Affairs, Dr B.A. Onyekwere, Parents’ Forum members and students.