The Nation Newspaper

Tag: varsity

  • Students, workers kick against Dickson’s disposition to state varsity

    The only Bayelsa State-owned university, the Niger Delta University (NDU), is in dire straits. The institution located at the Wilberforce Island Amasoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, has been shut down since April, 2016 following the inability of the state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, to manage his financial obligations to the school.

    All categories of workers in the university are on strike. Dickson has been unable to pay them their salaries for about seven months. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT),  the Non Academic Staff of Universities (NASU), have all downed tools.

    But at the receiving ends of this industrial dispute are the students whose academic activities and future aspirations have been suspended indefinitely. The devastated students were driven out of school. Many of them roam the streets while others engage in menial jobs for survival.

    The students of NDU have however, reacted to the statement credited to Dickson that the institution should seek ways of funding itself. The governor recently in a meeting told the Governing Council of the school to stop depending on the state government for its funding.

    After the meeting, a statement sent through the office of Dickson’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the governor insisted that his administration would no longer sustain the existing funding system because of the present poor financial situation of the state.

    The governor said a situation where the state government’s monthly subvention of about N480million was spent on recurrent expenditure was unsustainable. He expressed concern over the bogus wage bill of the university and the need for its  leadership to be prudent in the use of funds.

    But investigations by the Niger Delta Report indicated that the students are angry with the governor accusing him of trying to privatize the only university in the state.

    Jeremiah is a student of Biological Science Department. Following the strike, he turned to vending newspapers on the streets of Yenagoa for survival. “Since there is no job for us (students), I have to go to the streets. I am now a vendor. I hawk newspapers for ends to meet’’, he said.

    He also said it was wrong for the governor to relinquish the financial commitments of the state government to NDU. He said sending the management of the university to revenue-generating spree would make the school unaffordable and inaccessible to Bayelsans. He said such attempt would place heavy financial burdens on the students, many of whom came from poor backgrounds.

    “It is a state university. That alone means that it needs to be taken care of by its owner. It is not a private school, neither is it a federal school. Hence, by law the state should fund it.

    “NDU can generate 20% of its required resource. It can actually get funds from hostel fees. The school workshop that can also produce furniture for sales and the school football team can go out for competitions, but it would not be enough to sustain the needs of the school’’, he said.

    He further said that NDU would be extinct if the government stuck to its gun that it must fund itself. “Bayelsa is a developing state. We know the governor wants to make NDU self-sufficient but his approach is drastic and irrational.

    “We cannot start building a house from the roof. He has to share his vision, ideas, and strategies to the workers, then they can work with him”.

    To Angilia, a student of the Department of English and Literary studies, asking the school to fund itself in a state where the government has no strong Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) base was an indirect way of keeping the school permanently closed.

    She said: “The Strike has delayed our academic calendar. By now we should have gone far. Now we sit at home with no hope of going back to school. I have therefore resorted to menial jobs. I do house-keeping for a staff’s quarter of one engineering firm.

    “it is not a good time to ask a university like NDU to fund itself considering the present economic crisis. While we were still in school, some students could not meet up with their financial demands. This new IGR drive will definitely lead to increase in fees that will consequently lead to dropouts. We appeal to the Bayelsa Governor to put himself in the shoes of the workers and students and work a way out”.

    Another student of the Department of Political Science, Gesi, said it was impossible for NDU to fund itself. He said the school required time to grow and develop to the level of catering for its financial needs.

    Gesi, who said he resorted to performing in shows for survival, added that any attempt to shift the financial burden to the school management would have adverse effects on the students, their parents and the state’s education.

    He wondered why the governor was talking about financial autonomy at a period he declared emergency in education.

    “NDU would need more time to fund itself. This new IGR drive will be a weapon to ruin the purse of parents and the destruction of the academic pursuit of the student. Fees will be increased and eventually faculties that cannot meet up financially will be scrapped.

    ‘’Within this short period, I have heard of robbery cases and also a murder case that involved the students of NDU. I therefore appeal to both parties, the school authorities and the government, to reconsider their stand”, he said.

    While Eto, a student of the Department of Computer Science asked the governor to jettison his plan, Emmanuel of the Department of History and Philosophy said: “The strike has not been anything close to positive as it has awarded me an automatic extra year in the institution.

    “We Niger Delta University will need time to generate enough funds. We appeal to the governor to do his duty by paying the workers of NDU to enable us return to school”.

    Furthermore, workers in NDU said it was hypocritical and illusory for the governor to have asked the university to fund itself when Bayelsa as a state could not generate internal revenue to sustain itself.

    The workers vowed to keep the university shut until the state Governor, Dickson, pays them four out of the about seven-month salaries he owes them.

    The aggrieved employees under the auspices of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT),  and the Non Academic Staff of Universities (NASU), took the decision in a meeting they held recently in Yenagoa.

    The angry workers also warned the government against any plan to sack any of them insisting that they would only return to work after the full payment of their four-month salaries. The chairmen of SSANU, Mr. Fakidouma Wilcox; NAAT, Mr. Dienagha Ekepet, and NASU, Mr. Kenneth Akpafegha of NASU, attended the meeting.

    The unions said: “We frown at the state governor’s decision to pay academic staff and technical workers of the university while vowing not to pay the senior and junior staff until the workforce is downsized.

    “Going by the National University Commission (NUC) employment ratio of 4:1 in the university, NDU is understaffed. Therefore, the governor should not think of downsizing as his action will be met with a brick wall.

    “We will not suspend the sit-at-home order until at least four months salaries are paid in full to our members and we will withdraw our members on essential duties after one week if the government does not comply.

    “We wonder why a government who has been boasting of declaring a state of emergency in the educational sector should allow the death of the only state university in the state which has so far turned out over 14,882 graduates since its inception thereby changing the educational fortunes of the state as an educationally-disadvantaged state.”

    But the governor said he had released funds for the payment of the workers’ January salaries and called on them to suspend their strike. Dickson who spoke through his Commissioner for Information, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, said the government was commuted to the welfare and the development of NDU.

    He said: “The Bayelsa State Government has met its agreement of releasing 100% of the January salary to ASUU, NASU and graduate assistants as requested by the unions. So, as we speak, that payment has been made.

    “We are all aware that NDU is our pet project, as it is the only state-owned university. So, this government is committed to the welfare of the academic and non-academic staff, as well as the students community of NDU. We want our students to return to school and pursue their academics.”

  • NUC shuts ‘illegal’ varsity in Delta

    NUC shuts ‘illegal’ varsity in Delta

    The Nigeria Universities Commission (NUC) yesterday sealed off the premises of World Mission University, Abraka, Delta State, declaring its activities illegal and without approval from the regulatory body.

    The institution, located on a  storey building on old Sapele Road in Abraka, Ethiope East Local Government Area, had 84 students in various disciplines, such as Nursing and Health Care, Information Technology, Building and Electrical Technology, Mass Communication and Computer Science. The school also ran diploma programmes in vocational studies.

    The university’s National Coordinator, Pastor Hannah Lucky, said the institution started operations in Benin, Edo State in awarded diploma certificates to 5,000 graduates.

    The coordinator said campuses affiliated to the university were in Oghara.

    She said Nursing and Healthcare had 42 students; Information Technology, 12; Building and Electrical Technology, six; Media Department, four and Computer Science and Vocational Studies, 34 students.

    Mrs Lucky said the school’s proprietor was planning to get approval from the NUC.

    According to her, the institution will award degrees to its first batch of deserving students in August.

    She  said lecturers were qualified volunteers, adding that the school created training centres for vocational courses.

    But NUC’s Head of Closure Team, Moses Awe, who led a four-man team, regretted that there was a rise in illegal universities, despite government’s efforts at expanding access to tertiary education.

    He said: “It has become a notorious menace in Nigeria, despite the efforts of the Federal and state governments at expanding access to the university education. You are aware that as of today in Nigeria, we have over 140 universities with the proprietorship of federal and state universities. You are also aware of the National Open University (NOUN), which is also an extension of expanded access.

  • Varsity, U.S. college partner on research

    Varsity, U.S. college partner on research

    The Ritman University (RU), a privately-owned institution in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State has signed an academic exchange agreement with Guildford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States.

    Its Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Celestine Ntuen, signed the agreement with Guilford President Jane Fernandes to promote collaboration in research, staff and student exchange programmes.

    A statement on Guilford College’s website reads: “The exchange programme will promote joint research, lectures, conferences and professional development programmes. Students of both institutions will have the opportunity to experience another culture through semester-long exchanges.”

    The statement also said there would be exchange of ideas, information and materials between lecturers and students of the two schools. The hosting university, it was leant, will grant full access to libraries and privileges allowed by laws and policies guiding international students’ participation.

    By this agreement, Ritman University students will have opportunity to undergo a period of study in the U.S. and their counterparts will also be in Nigeria for studies. The VC said the agreement was is part of RU’s objective to promote excellence.

    Daniel Díaz, Guilford College’s Director of Study Abroad, said: “It is exciting to see the college forging an international partnership that has wonderful potential. Globalisation takes shape in many ways, and this is an excellent example of how the college is not only a part of that process but is leading the way.”

    Ntuen said the collaboration was one of the programmes the varsity had embarked on in the last four universities. He said some schools in Korea and U.S. had already indicated interest in working with RU.

  • NBC training centre as good as varsity, says MD

    Managing Director of the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), Mr Ben Langat, has described the training provided by the firm’s Technical Training Centre (TTC) as good as that of a university.

    Langat spoke last Thursday at the 25th graduation of the centre during which 14 Graduate Engineers and 18 technicians graduated after completing 15 and 18 months intensive training programme.

    Langat said the centre was an integral part of the firm’s success, which he said is doing better than some bottlers of the coca cola products even in Europe.

    He said: “Our Technical Training Centre is fundamental to our current business improvement initiatives and a step-change in our processes with an underlying emphasis on efficiency, preserving our quality commitment and mitigating cost drivers in core operational areas,” he said.

    “I remember my first day of coming here, and I said this is a university in the future. When you look at the impact the graduate of this centre has had on our business since they left the centre over the last four years that I have been heading this organisation – you’ve heard from the manufacturing director – that in the lines that we have put in into this business – and it is a lot because we have gone far in this business- all the lines are run by people from this Technical Training Centre only. Nobody else has come from outside this technical training centre.

    “We have had performances that are equal or even above some in Europe in our businesses.  So, which other university do we need?”

    Langat said the success recorded by the centre informed an upgrade of the entry requirement from National Diploma (ND) to HND and the introduction of a separate training for graduate engineers in 2014.

    During the event, the graduate engineers, represented by Tolu Mogaji, presented projects they executed within their training that saved the company millions of naira and expanded its production capacity.

    Head of the TTC, Mr Tope Dada, led Langat and other special guests on a tour of the centre, showcasing various machine parts the technical trainees successfully produced that made the plant run smoothly.

    Erakpoweri Ogaga, a technical trainee, told the visitors how they are regularly challenged to design and fabricate damaged parts of equipment as stop gap measures pending when they are replaced by the manufacturers.

    “Sometimes on the lines, some parts might get damaged.  You don’t need to wait for two weeks for the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) to bring these products.  And you know here, time is money.  So what they do is bring the parts here, we source for the materials locally and we make them.  We do a lot of parts that have been used on the lines.  Like the Styro is the first of its kind.  The design we had initially was too big and expensive.  It was here we derived that if we make it smaller, it is better and it serves the same purpose.  That even gave the OEM a thought.  The new ones they now did are smaller,” he said.

    Corroborating Ogaga, Mr Oyegun Oyetunde, Lighting System Engineer, said: ‘’There are a lot of things they manufacture that help to keep the lines running.  To buy some of these parts from the OEM will run into millions. They are trained to be multi-skilled.”

    The graduates got counsel from various members of the NBC management team, urging them to be determined, hardworking, and adopt the right attitude to work and learning.

    Manufacturing Manager, Mr Anthony Njenga, urged the graduands to go the extra mile in all they do.

    “Never take the easy way out; always find a way to get a learning experience out of every situation,” said Anthony, who also shared how such attitude benefited him as a management trainee.

    Michael Lutz, Manager, Capacity Development, counseled them to continue the legacy set by previous sets of the centre.

    In his speech, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, represented by Dr Ifeoma Igweze-Anyawutaku, underscored the importance of technical and vocational education to economic growth and praised NBC for investing in it.

    “This is indeed a clear demonstration of the company’s firm commitment to manpower development, particularly with regard to local expertise in beverage bottling operations.  By so doing, the company is investing in technical education and training and contributing towards national development,” he said.

    In an interview, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB), Mr Olawumi Gasper, praised NBC for designing a training that improves its business directly.

    “They are doing very well.  This is a project-based, challenge based training,” he said.

    Those among the graduands who distinguished themselves during the programme got prizes.  Adikwu Umoru, was the best graduating trainee engineer (male), while Christian Ipuole was the best graduating trainee technician (male).  Mobola Tubi, who already had a masters before coming to TTC, was the best technical trainee graduate (female), while Ogundele David, won an award for the best behaved as Class Representative for the Technical Trainee Set 30.

     

  • Varsity autonomy and appointment of VCs

    Since 2009 when the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), won the battle for the university autonomy which gave the governing councils of Federal Universities power to appoint their vice chancellors, there has been restiveness on many campuses each time a vice chancellor is to be appointed.  The reason for all this is the politics that surrounds the choice of would-be vice chancellors. Apart from this, the perquisites of office are one major attraction to the highest office in the ivory tower in Nigeria. A vice chancellor earns as much as N1.8million per month. This is aside from the comfort that comes with the appointment while his professor colleagues in the departments earn less than N500, 000.00 per month. The thinking is that most professors’ interest in the office of the vice chancellor is driven primarily bythe lucre of office, all other considerations are secondary.

    The university autonomy as has been canvassed by members of the university communities will enable each university to handle the process of choosing its vice chancellor without government interference which to a rational mind is good for university administration. Part of the argument in favour of university autonomy is that staff members of the universities know who among them is capable of leading the system without trouble as they must have a working knowledge of such a system. And it took the federal government a lot of time before conceding this role to the university with the hope that it will work out well.

    But recent events at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife have proved otherwise. The process of appointing its vice chancellor has put a section of the workforce against the administration of the university. Specifically NASU and SSANU have kicked against the selection process that produced one of the deputy vice chancellors as successor to the incumbent. Their grouse is that the process was skewed in favour of the newly appointed vice chancellor. Among other issues, they argued that the governing council of the university did not follow due process as some statutory requirements of the university were not followed. The unions went to court to seek redress and the case was yet to be heard when the appointment was made. And since then, both academic and administrative activities have been paralysed on the campus while the union members are asking for the head of the incumbent vice chancellor.

    Many people have asked questions for the rationale to give autonomy to institutions that are funded by the government, especially the power given to the universities to appoint their vice chancellors. These are universities that depend on monetary allocation from the government on monthly basis but do not allow the government to be part of selecting who manages those resources allocated to them. What then is the meaning of political autonomy without economic autonomy? If these universities are able to stand on their own in economic terms, probably the political autonomy will make sense but in this situation where an investor has no say in who manages his investment is an irony of circumstance. This can only happen when the government lacks the will power to say no to the political brinksmanship of the academics.

    On the face value, there may not be anything wrong with university autonomy, provided the modus of operandi conforms to the rule. But is this feasible in our present society where corruption, especially moral corruption has become the order of the day? Everywhere you turn, there is corruption that one thinks that what drives the society is the pervasive corrupt practices. The university autonomy as a means of freeing the system from red-tapism and bigotry has been entrapped by the corruption in the system.

    Unfortunately, ASUU that fought and got the autonomy did not put any check and balance in place for the process of the selection of a vice chancellor. The governing council exercises enormous power in this process. It selects candidates, conducts the interview and declares the winner. There is no other organ of the university that has a say in the process. Possibly ASUU never envisaged a situation in which the power of autonomy could be used to feather some selfish interests. The university autonomy is good in intent but its practicability is fraught with human idiosyncrasies which make it possible for people to do whatever they like and go scot free.

    More worrisome is that a system that gives enormous power to a group without checks also encourages acerbic criticism from other members of the community. This is exactly what has happened at ObafemiAwolowo University, Ile- Ife, where members of staff have accused their governing council of the abuse of power of autonomy in the appointment of the new vice chancellor. They fault the process and blame the governing council for favouring one candidate over and above the others. They vowed not to allow the new vice chancellor to occupy the office; the incumbent vice chancellor who has some days in office has also been prevented from performing his official functions. It is like heaven broken loose on campus for two weeks running and there is no end in sight.

    To make matters worse, the government that funds the university has not done anything toward solving this problem as if the university is not part of its holdings. A proactive government would have nipped the problem in the bud by asking questions to arrive at a solution that will return normalcy to the system. What is happening in ObafemiAwolowo University provides a litmus test for the government to reconsider the university autonomy to appoint their vice chancellors. It shows that academics, like organisations in Nigeria cannot as of now manage the process of appointing who becomes the vice chancellor of their institutions.

     

    • Oripeloye is of the Department of English, ObafemiAwolowo University, Ile-Ife.

     

  • Varsity union seeks renegotiation of 2009 agreement

    The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has urged the Federal Government to kick-start  re-negotiation of the SSANU/Federal Government 2009 agreement.

    In a communiqué issued after a workshop and NEC meeting on Tuesday at the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, the union said the continued delay in kick-starting the re-negotiation of the agreement is detrimental to the growth of the education sector.

    The communiqué, signed by the union’s National President, Comrade Sampson Ugwoke, said the SSANU/FG 2009 agreement has been due for review since 2012 in line with the terms of the agreement that it should be reviewed every three years.

    “NEC-in-session noted that the continued delay in setting up a negotiation committee was not in the best interest of peace in our universities and called on government to immediately invite the union for discussion and negotiation.

    “NEC further advised the government that the membership of the negotiation team should not be tilted towards only teaching staff in the university, but be balanced to include registrars, bursars and representatives of other constituent groups in the system.”

    The communiqué also lamented the low budgetary allocation to the education sector, saying: “NEC in session noted with disappointment that the educational sector still remains highly underfunded, as the 2016 budgetary allocation to the educational sector is still extremely low.

    “NEC notes that the N403. 16 billion allocation is a far cry from the 26 per cent UNESCO standard.

    ‘’NEC in session notes that many countries with less incomes and population than Nigeria place more premium on budgetary allocation to education and finds it ironic that a government that promised to employ 500,000 teachers can devote meagre sums to the educational sector.”

    The union, therefore, called on the Federal Government to urgently make provision for a supplementary budget to bridge the shortfall in order to create greater focus on building the human resource more than the oil and gas sector.

  • It’s new beginning for Otuoke varsity

    It’s new beginning for Otuoke varsity

    The Federal University of Otuoke (FUO) will surely be great, says the new Governing Council of the institution led by Senator Gbemisola Saraki. Saraki recently led members of her council to the university located at Otuoke, the hometown of former President Goodluck Jonathan in Ogbia, Bayelsa State.

    It was, indeed, a maiden visit that sparked fresh hope and new beginning for the university community. The day coincided with the Old School Day of the students. Clad in different forgotten fashions that depicted ancient ways of dressing, the students out of excitement for the presence of Saraki and her crew danced away old school tunes that wafted from a loud speaker strategically stationed on campus.

    They were full of expectations that the bearers of the university’s torch would tackle most of their challenges. Undoubtedly, Saraki appreciated the shortcomings of the institution. She took time to tour all the facilities, buildings and equipment belonging to the institution.

    Her verdict. The institution is a huge joke. It is not measuring up with other universities in terms of buildings, facilities and equipment. In fact, the physiognomical countenances of Saraki and her council members depicted their feelings. They were sad at the structures on ground and they immediately knew that they had a lot of work to do to make people reckon with the university which was established by Jonathan.

    Leading the tour is the new Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Seth Accra Jaja. He took them to almost all the nooks and crannies of the school and pointed at everything he felt was wrong with the institution. He was accompanied by senior officials of the university. Jaja was expectant that at the end of the tour, Saraki would seek ways to address the critical challenges militating against his new job and the growth of the university.

    But Saraki soon discovered that what she saw on ground was a tip of the iceberg. In her inaugural meeting with all the stakeholders of the university, she was inundated with various demands. After meeting for hours with the vice-chancellor, the registrar and other principal officers of the institution, Saraki expanded the meeting to accommodate other parts of the university community.

    The second leg of the meeting had in attendance representatives of the Academic Staff Association, Student Union Government, non-academic staff, laboratory workers among others. They all made various demands and appealed to the council to grant them.

    However, Saraki who took notes of all the concerns sincerely told them that there was no way the council could satisfy all of them in view of the present challenges in the country.

    She said: “We must be honest and realistic with ourselves, where we are in Nigeria today we are simply not in a position to meet all demands.

    “There have been calls from different groups of people, we have such a high percentage of young children in Nigeria, so a lot of money is going into education.

    “The federal budget this year has spent millions of dollars on education. By the time you share that to all the institutions, it will come practically to nothing.

    “So, some people argue that this is time to start looking for student loans because the FG alone cannot provide for all the facilities.

    “It is now time for everybody to begin to get up, there is no more armchair Nigerian, everybody has to put on their running shoes, start looking for how to raise funds and the other way is to ensure that universities have facilities and programmes on ground that will attract students.”

    After the meeting, the chairperson who spoke to the Niger Delta Report, lamented the infrastructural deficit and dearth of equipment in the institution.

    Saraki said: “Honestly, I am very sad to see what I saw today after four years, especially when you look at all the other counterparts or sister universities, it is expected that by now, we would have gone beyond that and move much further.

    “As you can see, we do not have the facilities on ground, we do no have the buildings, the equipment. Surely, we just have to start all over again and chase after our contractors who have withdrawn from site. Federal University, Otuoke is lagging behind.

    “We have students that want to come in, we have lecturers and people on ground, but we just do not have the facilities in which to accommodate them.”

    But she said the governing council took stock of what was on ground and after interaction with the university community, had a vision to make FUO one of the foremost universities within Nigeria.

    Saraki said the council would ensure that the students produced from the school were qualified and armed with the credentials of interacting with other developed countries.

    She said: “So, our vision is to ensure that some of the courses we run will take the peculiarities of the area like marine engineering, environmental engineering and other things that are of interest and which we believe will benefit both the community and Nigeria.”

    In his comment, Jaja who commended the council for the visit said the university expected the council to help them to fuel the engine so that the school could keep the academic vehicle moving.

    He also acknowledged inheriting a crack academic foundation from his predecessor. He said there was nothing to fear about security adding that the university faired well in the last accreditation exercise.

    He said: “We met crack foundation and processes academically. We are trying to see how we can build on traditional academic culture in terms of curriculum development, delivery of lectures on the part of our lecturers and also improve examination system.

    “My major challenge will be the attitude of persons who may not want to embrace change. But we are still trying to accommodate them and we also believe that as behavioral scientists, we will be able bring them in.

    “With this new council, I believe it will no longer be business as usual. There is nothing to fear about in terms of security. We scored well over 90 per cent in the last accreditation exercise.

  • Varsity sends off ‘hardworking’ Corps member

    Varsity sends off ‘hardworking’ Corps member

    A Batch “A” Corps member, Dr. Jonathan Amaefuna, posted to McPherson University (McU) in Seriki-Sotayo, Ogun State, has completed his National Youth Service‑with distinction. Amaefuna, a Ukraine-trained medical doctor, served in the university’s Health Centre.

    At a send-off organised for him, the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Adeniyi Agunbiade, said Amaefuna was of good behaviour all through his service year.

    The Bursar, Mr Ebenezer Onilado, praised the Corps member for his professionalism and hard work, urging him to put selfless service above  pecuniary gains.

    The Registrar, Mrs Adebola Abegunde, hailed Amaefuna for “his courage”, saying the school would not forget his service as the first doctor to serve in the university.

    She urged him to imbibe good virtues, noting that medicine is a vocation for dedicated practitioners.

    The Librarian, Mr Abayomi Agboola, eulogised the Corps member and advised him to use the experience he garnered to improve his professional career and knowledge.

    Responding, Amaefuna thanked the school management for giving him an opportunity to serve, saying the school created enabling environment to develop his career. According to him, interaction with members of university community and the host communities elevated his medical practice.

    He said: “My stay in the university has been wonderful. I worked with great people who are strongly and professionally committed to their jobs. All through my service year, I was given free hand to do my job and there was no unnecessary intimidation. Everybody I met here is wonderful.”

    At the end of the ceremony, the VC presented a gift to the Corps member, urging him to be a good ambassador of his family.

     

  • Varsity workers to Fed Govt: we’re dying

    Varsity workers to Fed Govt: we’re dying

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), University of Ibadan (UI) chapter have appealed to the Federal Government to pay their salaries.

    The Chairman of SSUNU, UI chapter, Comrade Wale Akinremi, spoke with reporters at the weekend.

    He said life has not been easy for the workers in the university because  of the shortfall in payment of salaries.

    According to him, the development has affected school system because the workers are psychologically unbalanced due to heavy indebtedness of bank loans and inability to take care of their homes.

    He added that the university workers have been suffering from this since December last year while their counterparts in other universities who are in similar circumstance have resolved the issue.

    Akinremi wondered why only workers of the University of Ibadan are experiencing hardship coupled with lack of incentives while he said the workers are not willing to go on strike but if situation don’t improve, they willing resort to strike.

    Also speaking, the Chairman NASU of the university, Comrade Oluwasegun Arojo, said there is no assurance that the Federal Government would be able to pay debts.

    Arojo said the university workers have reliably confirmed that the shortfall from the Federal Government is 92 per cent but the workers are only receiving only 50 per cent of salaries.

  • Adeleke varsity’s quest for excellence

    The determination and quest of the founders of Adeleke University Ede, for an institution that will be a pace-setter and reference point in Nigeria, nay Africa, cannot be over emphasized. Adeleke University Ede, will for years to come, continue to be the first destination of choice for students across the globe, as it is presently being witnessed. The University management is focused on the quality of education provided for the students as well as their individual and collective moral growth, to make it live up to its motto of: “Education, Character and Excellence”.

    For a first time visitor to the university’s permanent site, along Ogberin road, a picture is painted as to whether you are in Harvard, Oxford, Yale or Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Nothing was done in half measures. First class standard was employed in putting up gigantic architectural master-pieces that are home to different faculties, the Senate Building, the magnificent student halls of residence for male and female, the eye-popping library, the state-of-the art cafeteria and the wonderland – called the staff quarters, are second to none.

    Talk of the network of asphalt roads around the campus and the well constructed drains, they are just super. The network of roads, I suggest, should be named after prominent Nigerians. The greenery, that dot the Adeleke University main campus, is a reflection of the deep thought of the founders, that academic excellence thrives best in a purely natural environment. Approaching the campus from the University gate, visitors would marvel at the imposing elegant building that is home to the Senate.

    Adeleke University Ede, prides itself with functional faculties, that are well equipped and meet the requirement of the National Universities Commission (NUC). It has gained accreditation for courses in Engineering, a school of performing art, with a first-class 1500-seat auditorium, which I refer to as the RED CHAMBER. The performing art building also houses the institution’s internationally acclaimed Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Centre, as well as a temporary medical centre. There are also the Faculties of Arts, Basic Science, Business and Social Sciences and Law. All of which give all round educational excellence to students, who are carefully chosen to be the best and brightest future leaders.

    The halls of residence for male and female students have rooms that are ensuite, with maximum of three students in a room. In my opinion, the female hall of residence should be named after the late wife of the founder, Dr Veronica Imade Adeleke of blessed memory as a form of immortalization. In these days of epileptic power and water supply, the promoters of Adeleke University have ensured, that each of the gigantic multi-storey buildings, that serve various purposes, are each provided with two or more industrial bore-holes and MIKANO generating sets, of between 320 and 1000KVA capacity, which gives 24-hour uninterrupted supply to these amenities and ultimately makes the provision from the national grid a standby, instead of the other way round. The cafeteria provides nourishing meals for the students and the workers. A full-fledged medical centre is also under construction.

    Investigations reveal that the founder, Dr Adedeji Adeleke, is not resting on his oars as far as attracting the best teachers to impact knowledge to the students is concerned. Adeleke University Ede, could be said, without mincing words, that it has more than its fair share of professors, where other state and private universities could not boast of two professors. This was made possible due to the conviction of the eminent world-class lecturers that they have a conducive environment and facilities to work with. It is on record, that some internationally renowned professors and doctoral holders are falling over themselves to relocate from universities abroad, to partake in the success story of the university. Who wouldn’t?

    For instance, a 450 staff quarters, made up of 3 and 4 bedrooms bungalows, are feverishly under construction in a strategic location in the University, 100 of which have so far been allocated. What’s more, a sporting arena, that will be home to an Olympic-size football field and swimming pool, gymnasium, Tennis court and other indoor games are in the pipeline to make for the relaxation of the students, the workers and their families.

    At the thanksgiving and dedication service of the main campus on April 1, 2016, the Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Dr. Adedeji Adeleke, was full of praise to God Almighty, describing the fruition of the Adeleke University as God’s own project, which was divinely ordained, as he could not make claim to have had any other strength in getting the university this far other than the grace and mercy of God. Dr. Adedeji Adeleke, therefore, enjoined all stakeholders in the university, to put God first in all their undertakings. The Pro-Chancellor may fight shy of it, but the fact should be expressly stated, that his workaholic nature, never-say-die spirit, resilience, coupled with high ideals for the university, were factors that propelled Adeleke University to its present enviable height.

    In his speech at the thanksgiving service, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Oluwole Amusan, praised the Pro-Chancellor for establishing the institution to assist many under-privileged young men and women to access university education.

    Apart from committing the affairs of the university into the hands of God, private security arrangements have been put in place. There is no location on the campus, as vast as it is, that you wouldn’t find stoutly-built and well trained security men in place, armed with their walkie-talkies and Altisan Dogs, keeping vigil. The activities of these eagle-eyed security men, who are always on motorised patrol, is complemented by hidden CCTV Cameras mounted at strategic places in the university campus. Therefore, mischief-makers and intruders had better have a rethink, as their activities would be promptly detected and dealt with appropriately.

    The first convocation of the University held on September 6, 2015, saw the conferment of honourary Doctoral Degrees on Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Justice Alfa Belgore (retd) and Alhaji Aliko Dangote, as well as the installation of Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke (CON), as the first Chancellor of the university.  At the occasion, over 300 students were awarded first degrees.

    Definitely, the Adeleke dynasty of Ede has taken a deep plunge into the waters of educational excellence and swam to safe shores. This great dynasty has further put the name of Ede in the world map, as they are planning the second phase of the university, which will accommodate the College of Medicine and Faculty of pharmacy. The former mini-campus will also be put into some other meaningful use.