THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012
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CAMPUS LIFE The Naraguta Hostel at the University of Jos (UNIJOS) was among houses hit by the flood which ravaged Plateau State. ESTHER MARK (400-Level Mass Communication) reports.
•Soaked mattresses and pillows belonging to students
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HE shouts of “wake up, wake up, wake up” roused Evelyn Akpa, 200-Level Medicine, from her sleep. Still struggling to get up, Evelyn thought it was the usual An fara (disturbance) chant which she was accustomed to. Getting off her bed, she found the floor wet and cold. Her eyes cleared immediately. She looked around her and saw her roommate draining water from the room. She quickly carried her mattress, which was almost touched by the water. Then she realised what had happened-her room was flooded. Evelyn’s foodstuff was soaked. For the first time, the University of Jos (UNIJOS) experienced flooding last weekend. The Naraguta female hostel was worst hit by the flood, which happened two weeks after scores of people had died in Jos in the July 22 downpour that
•Water-soaked rugs spread by students the following day
Flood sacks students’ hostel affected areas such as Angwan Rogo, Gangare and Rikkos. No death was recorded in the UNIJOS flood, but over 70 students in 19 rooms lost personal effects, such as books, food items, mattresses, rugs and carpets. The flood, was caused by overflowing drainage in front of D Block, Naraguta Hostel. Most of the affected students were either sleeping or reading when the rain started. Only the ground floor was affected by the flood, which also destroyed the electric transformer, leading to a blackout in the hostel for days. When CAMPUSLIFE visited the hostel, students were scooping water from their rooms and mopping the floor. Friends assisted them in moving soaked items out
of the rooms. Visitors greeted by the sight of soaked rugs and carpets hung on the fence and iron rafters to dry. Mattresses and pillows were also littered the hostel. Most of the comments, saying students declined they were too busy to talk. An affected students, Juliana Emmanuel, 100-Level English, described the incident as serious. She said: “I was asleep but it was my roommates’ scream that woke me up. We had to pack our property in one place and leave the room. I slept upstairs in a friend’s room; now, I am trying to see how I can clean this mess.” She added: “I don’t see myself sleeping here in the next one week. My mattress is fully soaked; my foodstuffs are also affected. My
rug is still dripping water. How do you expect me to sleep here? As you can see, the cloud is already misty and, in a couple of minutes, it may start raining again. What are the chances that it won’t result to another flood?” A student, who pleaded anonymity, linked the cause of the flood to the bad drainage system around the hostel. She said if a proper drainage was provided around the hostel, the incident would not have happened. “This is July and we are witnessing this. What would happen in August?” she asked. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Hayward Mafuyai, visited the hostel, pleaded with the students to be patient. He said the management would provide more facilities in
the hostel and prevent a recurrence. He urged the affected students to go back to their rooms. The Welfare Secretary of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), Joshua Pythm, said: “We have assessed the damage and we have made arrangement with the hall governess to clear White House to accommodate some displaced students. Surprisingly, none of them showed up. We thank God the incident did not result to loss of lives.” Joshua attributed the flood to the blockage of the drainage system by a heap of dirt. To avoid a recurrence, the Naraguta Hall governor, Laritmwa Ginget, has warned students against throwing dirt into drainages. She said defaulters would be fined N500. Efforts to speak to the Dean of Students’ Affairs, Prof Rotgak Gofwen, were futile. The students have since returned to their rooms.
In preparation for the graduation of their Igwe in a few days, Igbo students at the University of Calabar (UNICAL) held the Ofala Festival to commemorate the end of the reign of their outgoing traditional ruler. CHARLES UDENZE and HOPE OFOBIKE were there.
Igbo students hold Ofala Festival
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HE Ofala is a yearly festival marking a king’s coronation in certain parts of the Southeast. At the University of Calabar (UNICAL), it is a tradition observed before an Igwe (traditional leader of Igbo students on campus) can transcend to the spirit realm (the euphemism for handing over) and be accepted by the ancestors. During the ofala, some hidden Igbo cultures are learnt and students who have contributed to the development of the Federation of Igbo Students (FIS) are honoured with chieftaincy titles. Before last weeks’ celebration to mark the end of the reign of Igwe Gabriel Ejikeme, a 21-market day was observed. During the event, Ejikeme and his chiefs sat with the FIS president, Kelechi Nkoroh, and the Chief Priest. They selected the date for the Ofala, after which the town crier (information adviser to the Igwe) went round the Halls of Residence to announce the date. The festival was preceded by Ofala night, where those to be honoured with traditional titles were called to test their
understanding of Igbo tradition; and teach them more, esepcially how to behave in school as titled chiefs in Malabo kingdom. The male honorees were warned not to visit the female hostels at night, an act considered unbecoming of a titled chief in the kingdom. On Ofala night, the chief priest, Peter Chibuike, interpreted the oracle’s message that nobody should panic after a two-week heavy downpour in the kingdom. He said the gods were consulted and they gave their blessing for the festival to be held, with a promise to withhold rain on the Ofala day. The festival, slated for 2pm, began about 90 minutes behind schedule. The Igwe arrived with his entourage that included, among others, Ezinne Ntamu (lolo), Maduabuchi Chibuike, the acting Prime Minister (onowu), Chief Priest (ezenmo), Gerald Ude, the scribe of the council, Ejikeme Aniagboso, Economic Adviser to Igwe and Kingsley Onyemachi, adviser on media and publicity. Just as the Chief Priest predicted at Ofala night, there was no rain on
•Igwe blessing one of the new chiefs and his wife
the day of the festival. The celebration started with the breaking of kolanut by Igwe. Special prayer was said on the kolanut in line with the tradition of Igbo people. Gabriel said: “It is only Igbo people that accord respect to kolanut. While Yoruba cultivate it more than any other tribe in Nigeria, the Hausa eat it more than any other tribe. But we pray with it and give it respect in Igbo tradition.” He described students as visitors who must leave the campus at a point in time. Gabriel said he would ‘join his ancestors’ within the next 14 market days when the new Igwe would be crowned and presented to the kingdom. He thanked those who stood by him
during his reign. After the breaking of kolanut, the chairman of the occasion, Fabian Mbaso, took the stage to advise students to shun acts that could terminate their academic career. Among the cultural dance troupes that graced the occasion were Ohafia War Dance group from Abia State, Elewe Ukwu Egbu Ewu Dance group from Ebonyi State and Adanma Dance group from Imo State. The UNICAL dance troupe known as Igwe’s daughters also entertained the guests. The high point of the event was the dance performed by the lolo, who had the audience hypnotised with her dance steps and waist wriggle. Her performance was
greeted with a standing ovation. Those honoured with chieftaincy titles included Stewart Chikiri as Anagba Ego Nkiti Ona Ezuzu, which literally means “because we ignore money, it keeps misbehaving”. Others were Emmanuel Ikemba as Odu Ama Enyi (rope doesn’t know cow); Henry Ogbuezi as the Anambra students’ president; Bassey Eyo as Nwanne di na mba 1 (a brother in another land). Bassey thanked the Igbo students for the honour. Giving his vote of thanks, Kelechi thanked the participants and reassured them that Igbo culture would continue to be present on the campus.