The Nation Newspaper

Tag: UNIOSUN

  • UNIOSUN will not pay staff on strike —VC

    UNIOSUN will not pay staff on strike —VC

    The Vice Chancellor of the Osun State University, Osogbo, Osun State, (UNIOSUN) Professor Labode Popoola has said that any of the staff of the university who join the ongoing strike by Non Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), will not be paid for the period of the strike.

    Briefing newsmen over the strike, the Vice Chancellor noted that he had met with workers several times on the issue and others and made the financial position of the university known to them adding that non-academic unions members are not the only body affected.

    Popoola who blamed the inability of the university to pay the money on paucity of funds noted that despite the financial situation of the university, salaries were paid promptly, a situation he said does not obtain in most state universities across the country.

    According to him, the university is being funded through the Internally Generated Revenue, the bulk of which comes from the fees paid by students adding that other sources that are expected to contribute to the funding of the university are not doing so because of lack of fund.

    The Vice Chancellor who said the university authorities have resolved to adopt the ‘no work no pay’ rule on adamant workers said attendance register had already been opened for workers to ensure that workers to go back to work.

    Popoola called on eminent citizens of the state, parents and guardians, students and well wishers to help prevail on the workers to return to work and give the University peace to move on in the interest of the students and service to humanity.

    The Vice chancellor expressed surprise that the workers are not appreciative of receiving their full salaries.

  • Court remands UNIOSUN student over alleged theft

    Court remands UNIOSUN student over alleged theft

    A 28-year-old 300 level student of Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Osogbo,  has been remanded in prison custody over alleged burglary and theft by a Osogbo Magistrate’s court.

    The police prosecutor, Inspector Abiodun Fagboyinbo, had told the court that the suspect committed the offence on November 25,2017, at about 1:10am at Adeoti Street Alekuwodo Area, Osogbo

    Fagboyinbo further explained that the undergraduate broke into one Oyedele Jamal’s home and took away  some valuable items.

    He said the items allegedly stolen by Olusegun and others include one iPhone 7 valued N310,000, one nokia phone valued N19,000, one Infinix Hot phone, one HP laptop, one Laptop charger, one samsung X6, one Gionee phone and cash sum of N35,000.

    Prosecutor added that “one of the phone that was stolen, was tracked and the defendant was
    caught.” The offence according to the prosecutor was contrary to and punishable under Sections 312 and 316 and punishable under Sections 519,411 and 427 of the Criminal Code Cap 34 Volume II, Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2002.

    The accused person who had no counsel, pleaded not guilty to the three-count charge preferred
    against him.

    The Magistrate, O. A. Ayilara ordered that the accused be remanded in Ilesha prison custody.

    Ayilara then adjourned the case till 26th of February, 2018 for mention.

  • Aregbesola inaugurates UNIOSUN road as Alakija donates N250m

    Aregbesola inaugurates UNIOSUN road as Alakija donates N250m

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has said it is an act of mental laziness for university operators to rely on subvention from the owners and burden the students with humongous tuition fees.

    The governor spoke yesterday in Osogbo, the state capital, while inaugurating the access road to the University of Osun (UNIOSUN).

    He urged Nigerian universities to adopt world best practices where schools raise funds through endowments, grants and donations from the society, the primary beneficiary of university education.

    UNIOSUN’s Chancellor, Chief Mrs Folorunso Alakija, donated N250 million, said to be the amount needed to complete the road.

    Aregbesola said university funding across the world is capital-intensive and requires helps from philanthropists, like Mrs Alakija, to boost the education system.

    He hailed Mrs Alakija’s gesture, saying her gesture was a refreshing perspective in education funding, particularly the university, which requires a huge financial outlay.

    Aregbesola said: “Universities require a large amount for capital projects and not less sum for recurrent expenditure. In our intellectually lazy (or idea-challenged) environment, the line of least resistance has largely been followed – which is to rely on subvention from the owners and burden the students with humongous tuition fees.

    “But the best practices, as we see from other climes, are to raise funds through endowments, grants and donations from the larger society, which is the primary beneficiary of university education anyway.

    “Universities also generate revenues through patents, royalties and other intellectual property materials.

    “This is why there is a huge gap between per capita spending on students by the Euro-American universities, compared to our own.”

  • What is happening in UNIOSUN?

    THE death of a 400-Level Microbiology student, Oluwafemi Shonibare of the Osun State University, Osogbo by suspected ritual killers, is quite unfortunate. It was an incident that has left the university community devastated as well as parents and friends of Oluwafemi Shonibare. However, it has been observed that the editorial comment by a national newspaper, beside being sensational, was not based on appropriate information surrounding the activities of the university in relation to the security of students living on and outside the university campuses.

    It is totally wrong and misleading to classify the Osun State University, Osogbo as a ritual shrine in the mould of the infamous Okija Shrine in the earlier days of the current republic, rather the editorial board should see incidents of this nature, which sadly, occur regularly in our various communities as a decadence of moral values and desperate search for wealth. I felt this should be seen as a national and social problem which definitely begs for urgent interventions. There is no doubt in my convictions about the academic credentials of this university which are clearly shown in the recent feat of her law students (who recorded a 100% pass in the final law school examination where the entire country could only present a 30% pass), the university representative also came first in a debate organised by the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, among Nigerian universities. Recently, one of the UNIOSUN students graduated as the overall best medical student in Ukraine.

    This and many more are clear indications of the university’s commitment to quality and effective teaching, research and community service. It is instructive to posit here that the two examples given in the editorial happened outside the university campuses and to Nigerian citizens who were victims of inhumanity. Despite the fact that the university is a non-residential one, the management has in place an arrangement where hostels outside the university shall be registered for proper monitoring of the safety of her students, but unfortunately, some owners of such hostels have refused to be part of this initiative.

    Of course, no known law compels them to do so. Severally also, the Security Unit of the university has collaborations with the Nigeria Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps with positive results on these efforts. The management of the university is not relenting in this type of collaborations. It is pertinent to note that none of these ugly incidents occurred on UNIOSUN campuses reinforcing the need for residential facilities on the campuses. Ironically, this same newspaper in an editorial after some “students” of the UNIOSUN were attacked by some men of the Nigeria Police in December, 2016 condemned the call of the UNIOSUN management for hostel facilities on her campuses as being frivolous. Regardless, the university has initiated a public and private partnership approach in the provision of hostel facilities on her various campuses.

    This has yielded encouraging results with the interest shown by four different developers and work will soon start on the construction. In addition to this, the abandoned hostel facilities on one of the six campuses are being rehabilitated by the current administration and will be ready soon for the use of the students. The assertion of a glaring absence of security in the university is not correct. The university’s security unit is populated by experienced personnel who are always on ground 24/7 to attend to security challenges that may rear their heads on the campuses. The collaboration with national security agencies has also assisted on several occasions.

    I am quite aware that the management has resolved to step up the collaboration with these various national security outfits. “The assailment of students on several occasions by ritual killers on one hand and the police and the Nigerian Air Force on the other” as alluded to in the editorial are direct consequences of activities of students outside the university campuses. Swift responses of the university management to all these incidents really calmed down frayed nerves. The university is always in constant touch with the government of the State of Osun on issues relating to the safety of her staff members and students and responses from the government had always been impressive and encouraging.

    Once again, while appreciating the concerns of the editorial board of the newspaper, we want to assure the entire public that efforts will continuously be geared towards the safety of lives and property of staff members and students. I can assure the public that the university management is leaving nothing undone to ensure proper investigation and prosecution of suspected perpetrators of this heinous crime, and to show the seriousness of the university management in ensuring the proper prosecution of the suspects in this case, the Deputy Vice – Chancellor (Academic) was personally present in court, representing the university management on July 7 when the suspects were arraigned before an Osogbo magistrate court. Finally, I will like to advise that these untoward occurrences, which are clearly social issues of disturbing national dimensions, should not be localized. It will be helpful for society, including the media, to collectively fight this social menace that is threatening our collective existence.

    • Fadare is a corps member, serving in the Legal Unit, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, Osun State University.

  • UNIOSUN varsity students protest colleague’s killing

    Students of Osun State University (UNIOSUN) in Osogbo, the state capital, yesterday protested the killing of their colleague, a 400-Level student, Oluwafemi Timilehin Shonibare, by suspected ritualists.

    Shonibare’s mutilated body was reportedly found near a bush on Jafaria Street at Oke-Baale area of Osogbo, 10 days after his disappearance.

    For hours, the roads leading to Olaiya Junction from Okefia through Alekuwodo as well as Ayetoro via Old Garage and Oja-Oba via Okebale were shut down by the protesters.

    There was heavy traffic as motorists were unable to drive freely on the roads.

    The protesters created bonfire and barricade at major junctions on the major roads.

    The angry students, who wore black T-shirts and jeans, attacked some shops and a supermarket inside a filling station at Olaiya Junction.

    They also harassed motorists before riot policemen dispersed them and removed their barricade.

    The police command, on Tuesday night, paraded three suspects in connection with the alleged killing of the student.

    Police Commissioner Olufimihan Adeoye said the suspects – Sakariyahu Abdulrafiu, a 19-year-old herbalist apprentice and two of his friends, Ayuba Ibrahim (24) and Yusuff Kareem (18) – allegedly committed the crime on June 26 at 7:30 p.m at Oke-Bale in Osogbo.

    According to him, the suspects conspired and killed Shonibare, a Micro-Biology student of UNIOSUN, by hitting him on the head with a pestle.

    Adeoye said after the killing, Shonibare’s head, wrists and palms were removed and his remains dumped in the bush.

    He added the case of a missing person was reported to the police by friends of the deceased on June 27 at 7:45 p.m.

    According to him, the information and support by the victim’s friends led to arrest of the suspects.

    Adeoye said police investigation led to the arrest of the suspects, adding that detectives were trailing another fleeing suspect.

    The police chief said the student’s body parts, which were roasted in a black clay pot, were recovered from Abdulrafiu, while his confessional statement led to the arrest of his accomplices.

    He said the remains of the victim had been deposited at the mortuary for autopsy, adding that the suspects were being prepared for prosecution.

    Also, UNIOSUN’s aggrieved students on Tuesday set ablaze the home of the parents of one of the suspects at Oke-Baale in Osogbo.

  • UniOsun students protest colleague’s death

    UniOsun students protest colleague’s death

    The students of Osun State University, Osogbo, on Wednesday morning shut down all major roads in Osogbo, the state capital, to protest their colleague’s death.

    Oluwafemi Timilehin Shonibare, a 400 –level Microbiology student at the institution, was gruesomely murdered by unknown persons last month.

    The deceased was declared missing for about 10 days before his mutilated body was found near a bush at Jafaria Street in Oke-Baale area of Osogbo.

    Motorists were held up in traffic for several hours as protesters created bonfire and barricades in major roads in the state capital.

    The protesters, who appeared in black Tee- shirt and jeans, looted shops and a super market inside a filling station at Olaiya Juctiinn and harassed motorists before a team of anti-riot policemen chased them away from the roads.

    The state police command on Tuesday night paraded three suspects in connection with the student’s murder.

    The Osun State Police Commissioner, Mr. Olufimihan Adeoye, said the suspects – Sakariyahu Abdulrafiu, a 19-year-old apprentice herbalist and two of his friends, Ayuba Ibrahim (24) and Yusuff Kareem (18) committed the crime on June 26 at Oke-Bale Area of Osogbo.

    “The suspects conspired and killed one Timilehin Shonibare, a 400 level Micro-Biology of University of Osun, by hitting him on the head with a mortar- pestle,” the police commissioner said.

     

     

     

     

  • UNIOSUN student leads Ukraine varsity’s medical exam

    UNIOSUN student leads Ukraine varsity’s medical exam

    A medical student of the Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Miss Oyeleye Lateefat Abiola, has emerged the overall best of the 546 final year Medical students of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University in Ukraine.

    She is among the 85 medical students of UNIOSUN sponsored by the Rauf Aregbesola administration in 2012 to complete their studies at the foreign university, one of the oldest in Eastern Europe.

    Abiola led other students in the examination with 95.9 per cent.

    A statement yesterday by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Adelani Baderinwa, said 50 of the 85 students, including Abiola, became medical doctors after passing the Krok 2 Exams.

    Baderinwa said all the 50 UNIOSUN students, who wrote the final examinations among the 546 medical students of the university, passed, from the result released earlier on Sunday.

    The commissioner said the students will have their convocation on June 30.

    He recalled that the students, who gained admission into UNIOSUN in 2007, would have had their ambition of becoming medical doctor cut short because of the non-availability of a medical school to further their education.

    Baderinwa said the Rauf Aregbesola administration sent them to the medical school in Ukraine.

    The commissioner, who congratulated the medical students on behalf of the state government, said Aregbesola had offered to assist the parents of the students to get visas to attend the convocation of the 50 students in Ukraine.

    He said the remaining 35 final set of the UNIOSUN Medical students will graduate in May 2018.

  • UNIOSUN flaunts 30,000sqms facility

    UNIOSUN flaunts 30,000sqms facility

    The University of Osun (UNIOSUN) Faculty of Engineering building, acclaimed to be the biggest in any Nigerian tertiary institution, has been ascribed as an architectural masterpiece. The building, which was commissioned on April 5, 2015, sits on a vast area of 30,000 square meters.

    The edifice, which was built by Stabilini Visinoni, consists of two structures married into a single entity and has a 600 seating-capacity auditorium; 22 lecture halls; 16 workshops; 47 offices; six conference rooms; six shops; a 100 sitting-capacity cafeteria and a state-of-the-art kitchen.

    The building features various sizes of courtyards that provide ventilation and lighting to its many components. It also has a basement covering 100 square meters. The external work and car park are finished with interlocking paving stones.

  • Adebooye, Olaitan made UNIOSUN DVCs

    Adebooye, Olaitan made UNIOSUN DVCs

    Two senior lecturers of the Osun State University, Prof Odunayo Clement Adebooye and Prof Janet Olubukola Olaitan – have become Deputy Vice-Chancellors (DVCs).

    Adebooye and Olaitan became Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) after an election conducted by the university’s Senate on April 27.

    Two contenders nominated by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Labode Popoola for the positions are: Provost of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, Prof Janet Olaitan; the Provost of College of Health Sciences, Prof Esther Olufunmilayo Asekun-Olarinmoye, for the position of the DVC (Administration).

    Also, a former Provost of the College of Agriculture, Prof Clement Adebooye, was nominated with former Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ganiyu Olatunde, for the position of the DVC (Academics).

    Adebooye was unopposed after Prof Olatunde stepped down a day before the election and pledged his support for his candidacy.

    Announcing the result of the election, which started at 9 a.m and ended at 10:30 a.m, Acting Registrar, Gafar Adebayo Shittu, told members of Senate that the Council had approved four candidates nominated by the Vice-Chancellor to vie for the positions.

    Shittu said the university’s Governing Council, on April 19, gave the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Mallam Yusuf Ali (SAN), the power to approve the results of the election to enable the victorious candidates assume duties immediately.

  • 4,000 UniOsun students owing fees

    4,000 UniOsun students owing fees

    More than 4,000 students of Osun State University may lose their studentship for failing to pay their school fees.

    Tomorrow is the deadline set by the university management for all students to pay their outstanding school fees.

    In a statement by the university’s Corporate Affairs Unit yesterday, 4,410 students are yet to pay their tuition three days to the expiration of the deadline.

    “It has been observed that many of the students owing the university between two and 11 semesters have collected the money from their parents but either “invested” in the failed Ponzi scheme (MMM) or diverted same for other purposes.

    “No fewer than 400 parents/guardians of the defaulting students have called the University helplines to report that they had long given money to their children/wards,” the statement reads.

    However, the university stated that students who cannot meet up with the deadline and do not want their studentship terminated may apply for leave of absence for the current semester with a sworn affidavit.

    The school  said: “The University Senate wants the public to know that at no time were school fees increased. So, the university has thus decided that no unregistered student should be permitted to write the first semester examination, which begins on March 6.

    “Defaulting students who do not seek for leave of absence will also have their studentship terminated.”