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Tag: UNILAG

  • Glamour as UNILAG honours Osinbajo, five govs

    Glamour as UNILAG honours Osinbajo, five govs

    Last Saturday was different at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). The array of exotic cars, presence of heavy security operatives and the buzz around the Multipurpose Halls, were signs that high-level dignitaries were on campus.

    It was the institution’s Alumni Homecoming programme, which the Vice Chancellor, Prof Rahamon Bello, described as “historic”.

    Bello was glad that at his request, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Governors, Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa-Ibom) and Willie Obiano (Anambra) as well as the Deputy Governor of Abia State, Sir Ude Chukwu, all alumni of the institution, came together under one roof to mingle as alumni of UNILAG.

    It was a night of reminisce, which left nostalgic feelings in the minds of the dignitaries, who were decorated with the distinguished alumni award of the university.

    In the words of the Vice President, “Of course it is only the University of Lagos that can bring us all together as we are today, from different political ideas and platforms.”

    Speaking in the red and gold themed hall, Osinbajo, said UNILAG moulded him into his current status.

    He said: “There is nothing nobler; nothing that gives one greater joy than the recognition of one’s colleagues, friends and associates and I think that this particular recognition is one that is very dear to my heart. The University of Lagos has been a place, which has in so many ways defined my life. I started to teach here in November 1981. And from that time, till 2013, practically every step of the way, the university has influenced my life in one way or the other; and I dare say that even today, the first thing that is known about me is that I am, not was, a University teacher.”

    The Vice President also expressed his value for tertiary institutions as a place of great inspiration and ideas that build the nation.

    “It (being a teacher) is a place of great pride for me because I very well believe that the university is a multimedia place of ideas and inspiration and whatever it is that we can contribute to making that the case, we must do it. In the years when I was here as a lecturer in the 1980s, those were the years when there was great inspiration and ideas.

    Of course they were the years of the dialectical tension between the Materialist School and the Ajere School and the great thinking and the great debate that went on in political philosophical terms. You had to be defined one way or the other in those days. You could not be neutral. You had to belong to one side or the other of the argument. If you were a law teacher and you presented a paper, the socialist school, the materialists would attack the paper, not just on its merits or by way of argument but the philosophical foundation would be questioned; its whole thinking would be questioned and by the time many of them would be through with you, you would rethink several of your ideas.

    “The University must continue to be a place of ideas. The future of the nation depends on the thinking of those in the university. It depends on the great ideas that emanate from a place like this… and the importance of great teachers. I remember an evening in 1977 when I walked in to a jurisprudence class and this was the first time I was coming across the gentleman called, at the time, Dr Akin Oyebode, now Prof Akin Oyebode.  There he was teaching on the sociological school and as I recall the occasion, he did not have any prepared notes, though he reminds me that he had cue cards which I do not remember seeing. But he spoke for about an hour and half on the sociological school of jurisprudence. By the time he was through, I made up my mind that I would teach law and that for me was the inspiration that led to my coming to the University to teach law four years after,” He said.

    Also, representatives of the UNILAG Students’ Union chanted solidarity songs to usher his decoration.

    Speaking after his own decoration, Ambode recalled values he learnt while studying Accounting at Unilag.

    “My commitment is such that every day of my life is dedicated to the service of Lagos State based on what I have learnt in UNILAG,” said Ambode.

    Obiano on his part promised to help their alma mater.

    He said: “Of all the awards I have received in my life, this is the best and I promise this will spur me to do more. I also promise to assist the university in any way I can when I am approached… I also appeal to all of us that let the word that opens all doors be ‘UNILAG.’ From today, anytime you want to see me and you say UNILAG, the door would be opened to you.”

  • UNILAG Creative Dept, Olokun Foundation for cultural research

    UNILAG Creative Dept, Olokun Foundation for cultural research

    With the involvement of the Olokun Festival Foundation (OFF), the Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos (UNILAG) is in for more surprises when it stages the 11th edition of the CRA 112 (Traditional African Festival) next year.

    Aside shopping for more befitting venue other than the usual open field in front of the department, which has hosted the event over the last decade, more resources would be deployed towards costume props and other logistics. Prominent royal fathers and other traditional rulers, including ace artistes would join in the celebration, in addition to more handsome rewards for outstanding performers.

    This was the promise made by Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) National Coordinator, Otunba Gani Adams, who, through the Olokun Festival Foundation, which he founded, is now in a cultural marriage with UNILAG department of Creative Arts.

    The tenth edition of the course witnessed more glitz as the performers, all 100 Level undergraduates of the department, showcased the stuff they were made of. The performers were divided into four dance groups; Zangbeto and Ojude Oba from Badagry and Ijebu Southwest Nigeria, as well as Suo-Aro from Bayelsa Southsouth Nigeria as well as Bori dance Festival from Northeast Nigeria.

    Gani expressed his excitement on the invitation of OFF by the department, in the drive towards showcasing culture as an important avenue for revenue generation.

    Gani said what Creative department of UNILAG is doing aligns with the vision of OFF.

    “The foundation (OFF) has always viewed promotion of African culture as important to the quest for African and Yoruba cultural renaissance. The foundation also believes in the use of African indigenous culture as a platform for promoting socio-economic development and fostering national unity.

    Dr Otun Rasheed, one of the lecturers that pioneered the practical aspect of the course, expressed his fear about the myth which surrounds some African traditional festival. Otun fears that except those myths are demystified by their so called custodians, the traditional festivals are heading towards extinction.

    “The idea behind the practical aspect of the festival is that each year we identify certain traditional festivals and ask our students to go and reserch them from the natives after which they would come back and demonstrate to us here,” Otun said.

    “But we observed,” he continued, “that due to Western and Islamic traditions, many of them (students) were never exposed to traditional festivals. On the other hand, whenever we send them to learn about a particular festival, they sometimes come back with scary stories. Some said those in charge of the festivals would ask them that getting information is forbidden except they have to carry out certain rites and all that. But I make bold to say these festivals are heading towards extinction once you cloth them in the garb of myth and you don’t allow people especially youths to know about them.”

    In the end, certificates were presented to Dr Otun and Dr Onyekaba Cornelius both of who were pioneers of the dance aspect of the course. Four student leaders were also presented with awards and cash gifts.

    The high point of the event was the presentation of trophy by Gani to Bori Group that emerged the overall best.  The Zangbeto and the Ojude Oba group emerged first and second runners up respectively, while Suo-Aro group came fourth.

     

  • Unilag electrocution 

    Unilag electrocution 

    •The Eko Distribution Company is rightfully found guilty of negligence

    The formal condemnation of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) for the negligence and lack of professionalism which led to the fatal electrocution of Miss Juliana Oluchi Anekwe, a University of Lagos student, must be praised as marking a new determination to hold institutions responsible for their shortcomings.

    The Federal Government Investigation Panel which probed the incident, as well as the one involving a 15-year- old student in Idi-Araba, found that the EKEDC had a poorly-maintained distribution network, and that its operations were riddled with below-average standards.

    The distribution company’s own claim that it was engaged in the re-routing of overhead cables at the university buttresses this claim: if it had undertaken that job more expeditiously and with greater attention to public safety, Miss Anekwe might not have died.

    The Panel’s findings are a relief to the University of Lagos, since they apparently absolve the school of contributory negligence. Its authorities have gone on to demand that EKEDC pay compensation to the family of the late Miss Anekwe under the terms of the company’s own insurance policy.

    In a country where dozens have been killed by the lethal mix of impunity, incompentence and negligence of public and private institutions, this acknowledgement that they must be held responsible for their failures cannot be over-emphasized.

    Prior to this time, the EKEDC’s notorious predecessor, the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), was implicated in many electrocutions, market conflagrations and house fires, but benefitted from a percieved immunity to prosecution.

    As the EKEDC has now found out to its cost, such impunity will no longer be permitted. It should ensure it meets its obligations to the grieving Anekwe family, even though it is obvious that no amount of financial restitution can compensate them for the loss of their daughter.

    In spite of the welcome change in official attitudes to institutional negligence of this sort, there is still a great deal to be done before Nigeria can truly become a nation where lives are no longer lost so tragically. It is vitally important that there be a comprehensive review of the legislation regulating issues like this in order to ensure that the guilty do not go unpunished.

    It is shameful that no one been held individually responsible for the lapses that led to Miss Anekwe’s death, even though it is obvious that somebody in the EKEDC took the decisions that had such fatal consequences.

    If institutions only have to endure financial sanctions and are able to avoid criminal responsibility for their carelessness and incompetence, no lessons will be ever be fully learnt. The prospect of jail time is the best deterrent for institutional malfeasance.

    Legal reform is vital, given the fact that the problem will not simply disappear.  The EKEDC is not the only electricity distribution company in the country; their counterparts are probably guilty of worse lapses, since most of them are operating in circumstances far less likely to be publicized than that of the EKEDC.

    Outside the power sector, construction companies are building half-finished death-traps which have claimed hundreds of lives. Advertising agencies and telecommunications firms are putting up structures that constitute obstructions to road users. Then, there is the well-known inhumanity of the hospitals which refuse to treat critically-ill citizens without prior payment or police reports.

    The institution of a rigorously-enforced safety culture is also long overdue. Buildings should have clearly-marked entries and exits. Areas under construction or maintenance should be marked off and closed to the public. Housing estates should stop the practice of sealing secondary gates. Fire drills and other emergency procedures should be regularly practised in schools, places of work and worship.

    Accidents will happen, but their negative effects can be minimized by effective legislation and a safety-conscious citizenry.

  • UNILAG ‘killer’ cable still hanging precariously

    UNILAG ‘killer’ cable still hanging precariously

    Several weeks after Oluchi Anekwe, a 300 level student of the Department of Accounting at University of Lagos (UNILAG), was killed by a high tension cable in front of her Sodeinde Hall residence, the same killer cable is still hanging precariously by a pole in front of the hall.

    At the time of filing this report, the electric cable which crisscross each other is still tucked inside a drainage directly adjacent to a branch of Access Bank on the campus.

    Following the uproar that trailed Oluchi’s death, it was expected that the authorities would take the necessary precaution to avoid another needless death.

  • High-tension wire still at UNILAG hostel

    High-tension wire still at UNILAG hostel

    Three weeks after the electrocution of a 300-Level Accounting student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Oluchi Anekwe, the high-tension cable, which killed the students at the front of New Hall, is yet to be removed from the spot.

    The development is generating concern among students, who queried the value the school management attached to human lives. The students said it was insensitive for the school to keep the wire at the spot.

    When CAMPUSLIFE visited the spot on Monday, the perimeter fence of the hostel was barricaded with safety tape. The pole to which the high-tension wire is attached did not have restriction tape, while the wire remained on the spot.

    Although the wire was said to have been de-energise, students felt uncomfortable with the cable still left on the spot.

    A 300-Level Law student, who gave her name as Bukola, said the development showed the management did not care about the safety of students. “Perhaps, they are waiting for another tragedy to occur,” she said.

    Another student, Olanike Ibiyemi, said: “If the school management said the cables are not serving the school, what is the logic of leaving the severed wire on the hostel’s entrance? Do they think another tragedy cannot happen because there is no power flow in wire? The management needs to be alive with its responsibility.”

    At the time of this report, the wire remained on the spot.

  • Unilag postpones exams after unrest

    Unilag postpones exams after unrest

    THE University of Lagos (UNILAG) has postponed its forthcoming examinations slated for October 12 to 19 following Monday’s students’ protest.

    Deputy Registrar (Information) Mr Olagoke Oke told The Nation yesterday that the institution would change the bed bug infested mattresses and furniture, which led to the protest and fumigate the hostels.

    He said: “We cannot fumigate when students are on campus so we would wait for them to go on break before that. But plans are at an advanced stage to procure new mattresses for all the hostels. It is not just one mattress we are buying, but many, so it would take some processes and negotiations. The university is giving the students a one-week postponement of their examinations also.”

    Students Union President Abiodun Martins urged management to go beyond yearly fumigation after procuring the mattresses.

    Clerk of parliament, Adeonipekun Adeyanju said: “Management has agreed to buy new mattresses and change the bunks in the hostels and also buy a covering for the mattresses to prevent them from easy harm and dirt. However, I would advise them to fumigate every week once they start. Those things can hide anywhere and they have already laid eggs in hidden corners. So they can fumigate every week for a period of one month or even more to be sure they are all gone.”

    A tour yesterday showed that the halls of residence are in good shape.

     

  • Bed bugs protest at Unilag

    Bed bugs protest at Unilag

    The gates of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) in Akoka, Yaba were shut until about 10am yesterday, following a students’ protest.

    The students, it was learnt, were protesting bed bug infestation of their halls of residence.

    A student said the protest started from Mariere Hall and spread to other halls of residence, before day break.

    He said the students embarked on the action when a colleague woke up screaming in the middle of the night because of “the bed bugs on his body at about 3am yesterday.”

    Residents of other halls soon joined the protest, with residents of Sodeinde, Eni Njoku, Makama Bida, Madam Tinubu and Fagunwa Halls trooping out in that order.

    The source claimed that the female residents were prevented from joining the protest; their gates were not opened.

    He said the bed bugs had become resistant to their commonly used insecticide, ‘Sniper’, adding that the students wondered the effect of the last fumigation the institution embarked upon during the last holidays.

    The Students Union President, Mr Abiodun Martins, gave the university authorities a seven-day ultimatum to replace all mattresses in the halls of residence, to avert crisis.

    Martins made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    According to Martins, the students protested because the bugs and mosquitoes were making life unbearable for them. Many of them, he said, could hardly sleep after the day’s activities.

    “We want this management to be proactive in responding to the demands of the students. The authorities must not always wait for a crisis or protest to erupt before they react,” he said.

    He said the issue had been raised with the authorities before now, adding that nothing was done.

    “There is a limit to what students can bear and I feel what they were protesting against is not out of place, because they paid for it,” he said.

    According to him, the whole place was recently fumigated, but it seemed that the bugs have developed resistance to the chemical.

    He said: “So, what we are asking for now is for the authorities to look for a lasting solution to this challenge. We hereby give them a seven-day ultimatum, beginning from today, to replace all the old mattresses. We want them to burn all the old mattresses, fumigate the hostels, do away with all the fittings, and then bring in new mattresses.”

    The students’ leader said  no matter the challenges facing the institution, students interests must always be given top priority.

    Deputy Registrar (Information) of the institution Mr Olagoke Oke said the bed bugs were the result of the unkept state of the hostels.

    Speaking with The Nation in his office at the Senate Building, Oke said: “Are we supposed to be telling university students to wash their clothes and clean their rooms? We did not have this problem last year or two years ago, so why now? The students need to take care of themselves, otherwise, no amount of fumigation would eradicate the bed bugs.”

    But, a worker at the university’s health centre said the mattresses in the hostels are in bad state and must be replaced.

    “The mattresses in the hostels are in a very bad state, so of course they are a breeding ground for bed bugs. Fumigation would not solve the problem, because if they fumigate, the bugs would be back in one month, if the beds are not changed,” she said.

    In a statement yesterday, the university condemned what it called the unruly act of the students, despite management’s efforts to ensure peace and order in the institution.

    It said: “It needs to be highlighted that plans are at advanced stage to replace the mattresses after fumigating the hostel at the end of the second semester examinations scheduled to commence in two weeks. It is, therefore, surprising that a group of students will embark on this unruly act (the protest).”

    The university urged the students to engage in dialogue in the bid to resolve conflicts, adding that it would no longer condone such acts of unruly behaviour from its students.

    “Management has always responded positively to issues affecting welfare of staff and students and would no longer tolerate any situation that will lead to break down of law and order. Management urges students to always engage in dialogue as it is the most fruitful means of conflict resolution,” it said.

     

  • Unilag, Uniben, ABU students for Shell Eco-marathon

    Unilag, Uniben, ABU students for Shell Eco-marathon

    Students of three Nigerian universities have built cars that will feature at the Shell Eco-marathon, Africa (SEMA) in South Africa from October 2 to 4. They are sponsored by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) Joint Venture.

    The students of University of Lagos, University of Benin and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, collectively known as Team Nigeria, will join 40 teams from four countries to test the energy efficiency of their cars at the Zwartkops Raceway, near Pretoria. The event will be hosted by the School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Johannesburg. The Shell Eco-marathon competition challenges students in different continents (America, Europe, Asia and Africa) to build and race energy-efficient cars, and rewards those that travel farthest with the least amount of fuel.

    “The sponsorship of the students opens an exciting phase in our long-standing support for education in Nigeria,” said Osagie Okunbor, Managing Director SPDC and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria.

    “In addition to awarding scholarships, building schools and donating science equipment, we’re challenging the leaders of tomorrow to begin to think about, and act on the difficult energy choices facing a rapidly increasing world population.”

    In 2014, the SPDC JV provided seed funding for the three universities and sponsored them to the European edition of the competition in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. They also participated in the maiden edition of Shell Eco-Marathon Africa which held in South Africa in 2014, with the University of Benin team winning the Best Designed Car award.  SPDC organised a test drive at the Campos Mini stadium in Lagos in March 2015 to test the readiness of the students.

  • SSANU, NASU protest unpaid allowances at UNILAG

    The University of Lagos (UNILAG) chapters of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) have protested unpaid earned allowances.

    For two days last week, the workers, bearing placards, marched round the institution to pressure the management to pay the outstanding allowances which have piled since 2009.

    Speaking with The Nation, SSANU Chairman, Adekola  Adetomiwa said the institution has not complied with the  Federal Government’s  directive  for schools to pay the allowances which are contained in the 2009 Agreement they had with the government.  In 2013, he said the government resolved to pay three and half years’ arrears (2009-2012) of the allowances totaling N30 billion.

    He said: “In January 2013, schools were expected to put the unions’ allowances in their budget so that each staff will get paid but UNILAG has not complied, which is against government’s directive.  With all the directives, why have they refused to pay?  They have collected the money from government but have refused to pay us.  We know that if we demand from 2013, it is a huge amount of money so we decided to demand for this year’s allowances, from January till date, at least to start from somewhere. But the management has refused to pay us.

    “With all these directives from the government, why have they refused to pay us? Senior staff, both teaching and non teaching, are entitled to N30,000 each  while junior staff, N15,000.  But when you sum it up from January, it is N270,000 for senior staff while N180,000 for junior staff.”

    He noted that some schools in the country have complied with the federal government directive.

    He said the allowances include: responsibility, excess workload, post graduate study, hazard, studio, and laboratory allowances, among others.

    Prior to the protest, NASU Chairman, Kehinde Ajibade, said the unions had given the management a seven-day ultimatum which elapsed on Monday last week.

    The unions also demanded the refund of “unlawful and illegal deduction of contributory pension from members of staff salaries since July2004 till date and immediate stoppage of further deduction of contributory pension from  salaries of staff as the contributory pension have been deducted from source before release of subvention for personnel cost by the federal government among others.”

    However, the Management in a statement signed by the Deputy Registrar (Information), Mr Olagoke Oke, said it was yet to receive money from the government required to pay the allowances which has made it unable to fulfill the demands of the unions.

    It said the implementation of the agreement signed by the Federal Government caused industrial disputes, which culminated in the six-month industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in 2013.

    “Following series of negotiations, the Federal Government in 2013, released funds for the first tranche to all the universities for the partial implementation of the allowances. The government promised to make further releases upon submission of returns by the universities.

    “This was subsequently disbursed at the University of Lagos, by a committee comprising members of all the four Unions, based on the agreed template. The University has since made returns to the appropriate authorities,” Oke said.

    Regarding the pension, the statement noted that deductions are made from all Federal Government workers’ salaries from the source, and the amount deducted reflected on their payslips.

    “No deduction is effected in Unilag in respect of the Contributory pension other than the one deducted at source by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) in Abuja before salary  grant is released.

    “Management appeals for calm, wishes to state that it is committed to staff welfare development of all cadre and category of staff  in her service,” the statement added.

     

  • UNILAG ‘settled’ Theo Vincent

    UNILAG ‘settled’ Theo Vincent

    The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has explained that the institution fulfilled its obligations to Prof Theo Vincent, who worked there for 34 years.

    The university released a statement in reaction to a story by a national daily titled: “Theo Vincent: from Ivory Tower to Lagos Slums”, published Thursday, September 3, 2015, which raised questions about what happened to his retirement benefits.

    The statement signed by the Deputy Registrar (Information), Mr Adegoke Oke, noted that all entitlements of the professor of English, who served as vice chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt between 1997 and 2000, had been paid.

    The statement reads: “To clarify some of the issues raised in the article, the university wishes to state as follows:

    • Prof Theo Vincent had a very distinguished career in the University of Lagos, spanning some 34 years.
    • He retired in October 2004, under the old pension scheme, and was fully paid his gratuity in line with the scheme.
    • The university also paid his monthly pension regularly, until July 2015 when the Federal Government took over the payment of pension of retirees.
    • Though Prof Vincent retired in October 2004, he did not vacate his official residence on Akoka campus of the university until July 2007. Members of staff are allowed to stay for six months after retirement.
    • Similarly, Prof Vincent only vacated his office accommodation in the Faculty of Arts in June 2015.
    • Earlier on, the Faculty of Arts, as part of its tradition of celebrating former academic staff of the Faculty, published a festschrift in honour of Prof Vincent.

    “The university management wishes to use this opportunity to state that it totally respects the privacy of Prof Theo Vincent, and remains committed to honouring his contributions to the university in particular, and the society, in general. The University of Lagos is also willing to explore all avenues to assist Professor Vincent in this period of distress.”