Sun News - October 30, 2012 by The Sun News

D’Banj mourns the UNIPORT 4 and Mubi 40: ‘They were my brothers’ PAGE 33

A peep into Benue’s worst school PAGE 29

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

EducationReview EDITED BY CHIKA ABANOBI

PEOPLE•PLACES•PROBLEMS•PROSPECTS•PROGRESS

N I G E R I A’ S V O I C E O F E D U C AT I O N

Weeds exercise their right, take over schools in Plateau State, after six months of teachers’ strike

PAGES 26-28

DIVIDEND OF DEMOCRACY

Voice of the People: ‘I feel bad seeing other pupils go to school while I remain at home’ – Pupil

“Our children cannot remember what they were taught last in school. If I ask my daughter, ‘what’s your name?,” she would say, ‘I don’t know because I am no longer going to school.” – Parent

“It has been very hard for me as a teacher with a family to take care of. From the financial aspect, we have not been finding things easy” – Teacher

“Some of the teachers have started stealing from neighbours because they have no other means to feed themselves. They steal goats and foodstuff to feed their families” – Parent

DAILY SUN

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Education Review/COVER “One of the great reasons for the popularity of strikes is that they give the suppressed self a sense of power. For once the human tool knows itself a man, able to stand up and speak a word or strike a blow” – Charles Horton Cooley

•Deserted classrooms

Six months of siddon look in schools in Plateau Stakeholders count their losses, name them one by one From MARIAM ALESHINLOYE AGBOOLA, Jos

ince April this year, local government workers, including teachers of all government-owned primary schools in Plateau State, have been on strike, to press home their demand for the implementation of the N18,000 minimum wage. So, right through the third term of last academic session, the long vacation and even now that schools have re-opened for a new session, pupils of government-owned primary schools, otherwise known as public schools, have been at home. Ten-year-old Patience Emma, a primary three pupil of Obasanjo Model School, laments that all she has been doing in the past six months is, “read my books, help my mother at home and assist her in selling her goods in the market. I want to go back to school so that I can finish my education on time. I want the government to do everything it can to allow us get back to school. I don’t want to be doing only household work. I miss school and I miss my friends. I feel bad each time I see pupils from other schools going to school while I remain at home.” Pupils like Emma are not the only ones concerned. Parents

and teachers are also beginning to worry over the situation and to wonder when it will end. “The strike action has had a very devastating effect on me as a parent”, Ikechukwu Nwuko, a businessman who runs a shop not too far from Jos Township School, on Tafawa Balewa Street, cries out. With two kids, one in nursery class and another in primary two, he said they have been at home in the past six months doing nothing but playing “to the extent that the one in primary school broke his leg. The kneecap of his left leg came off and the neck of the foot was twisted. The leg had to be stitched. Forever, the scar will be there.” At a stage when he could no longer endure the long wait, he told Education Review, he decided to register them with a private school but the fees were something else. “To register alone, I paid N12,000 each. For school fees, I paid N8,000 for the older boy and N6,000 for the younger. I did not have a choice because it was becoming too shameful for me to keep my children at home doing nothing. In fact, my neighbours were asking why I couldn’t find something for them to do instead of allowing them to be playing about every day. I did not have a choice but to look for school for them, but the effect is biting hard on the family. Up till now I have not recovered financially.” •Continued on Page 27

•Patience

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

DAILY SUN

COVER/Education Review “The General Strike has taught the working class more in four days than years of talking could have done” – Arthur James Balfour

Our children are learning bad habits, mothers lament •Continued from Page 26 habits, dancing to all sorts of music because Apart from the shame that their aimless playing around was bringing to him, he added that “one other reason I had to look for school for them was because I met with the headmaster of the schools and with some of the teachers, including those living very close to where I stay, and they said the schools may not reopen till January 2013 because there is no response from the government.” Moved by the frustration he had passed through in the past six months, he blurted out, at this juncture: “I urge the government to always have compassion on those of us that voted them in. We lined up under the sun to vote for them. They should not treat us this way. I mean, instead of things getting better, it is getting worse. It is a big shame for them. That is why it will be hard for them to convince people again to leave their houses and businesses and line up to vote for them.”

SUFFERING IN THE LAND

For Mrs. Martina Mancha, a sugar cane trader, it is the same complaint. With two children in Obasanjo Model Primary School, one in nursery three, and the other in primary two, like Nwuko, she is also worried about the effect the strike is having on her children. “Since they have been on strike, I have been feeling the impact,” she told Education Review. “They are doing nothing at home but playing. Children are now picking up bad

they do nothing than watching television and playing.” The model school, she confessed, is very good “but you can see what we are now experiencing. Our children cannot no longer remember what they were taught last in class. If I ask my daughter, ‘what’s your name?,” she would say, ‘I don’t know because I am no longer going to school.’ I cannot afford some private lessons or to change school for them. I am only a petty trader and even then, market has been very dull. “What I want government to know is that we have come to agree that they do not love the poor. We are the ones that voted for the Governor but he does not like us. Since he has closed the schools, we have nothing any more to tell him. Let him continue to do whatever he likes.” “We are begging government to have pity on us,” Augustina Amos, a widow and fruits dealer, chipped in. “We cannot fight government. The Governor should hear our cry for our children to go back to school. They are now stealing while some of them are taking to hard drugs.” At this juncture, she points at a direction. “There is an uncompleted building not far from here. You will find children inside it taking all sorts of dangerous things. An adult is even afraid to go near there. If these children have been in school, they would not be there.” Amos, who has a child in primary five, believes that, but for the strike, she would have

•Mr. Nwuko written her common entrance and, perhaps, be in secondary school by now. “Up till now she is at home doing nothing. I am a widow. I find it difficult to feed. How do I add to it the burden of putting my children in private school?” Like others who spoke before her, she too could not end her lamentation without appealing to government’s sense of patriotism. “I want government to know that it has not been

fair to us,” she said. “We lined up under the sun to vote for them but now they are refusing to allow our children to go to school. For four years now, we’ve been suffering. The teachers have not been paid. They too are suffering. Some of them have even started stealing from neighbours because they do not have any other •Continued on Page 28

‘The Governor is doing his best to resolve the issue’

n this interview with Education Review, Mr. Nanle Dashe, the Plateau State Commissioner for Education, reveals what the governor, Jonah David Jang, is doing to resolve the strike issue. Excerpts: “The ministry is deeply concerned that schools remained closed for this long. The way the system works is such that the reason for this strike is beyond the control of the ministry because it has to do with the funding pattern of the primary school teachers. The teachers are paid from the allocation of the local government councils. The funding comes 100 percent from the local government allocation. Since the local governments have problem with the minimum wage issue, the teachers, by implications, are linked to the demand. “I want to assure you that because the governor is a listening leader, he is not resting on his oars in trying to make sure the issue is resolved; but not without standing by the truth, and standing by what is realistic without circumventing the ability of the local government to pay the wages they are looking for. Meetings have been held; stakeholders have met with the workers’representatives. Traditional rulers and elders have also waded into the issue because the governor has explained the issue very well to them. From the feelers we are getting, the union members are showing some understanding of the situations on ground. “As a ministry, we have tried to intervene by appealing to the N.U.T to look between the lines and call off the strike. We have made appeals on radio and made

•Dashe public pronouncements on the issue. If schools resume, as professionals, we have the mechanism to reduce the time wasted. We can do this by adjusting the timetable and school calendar. The teachers and pupils have to put in more efforts. For those going into JSS, we will make some arrangements to enable them go well into the programmes. It is something that can be redeemed even though we regret the

time wasted. “The issue of this nature is an issue of mindset. Labour unions over the years have been so radicalized that any little grievance results in strike action. There are always options to the problems which the unions would not want to exploit; but they are, instead, interested in government releasing more money at all costs. Some of us believe that unions could be more

relevant if they suggest how to improve the running of government through methods that would save cost and enable it have more money to meet demands. “One of the areas the government, at the moment, is concerned about is how to save cost. There are some inbuilt behaviours that are creating problems for government, like the issue of ghost workers, issue of people putting their family lines on payroll of government; this has exacted extra costs on governance. The unions sometimes know some of these things. They know that with sincere auditing of staff, they can save money to make up for some of these demands they are agitating for. “The unions themselves should have spearheaded the auditing of staff so that they can ask the government to channel the money they have saved towards meeting their demands. I am sure there is no government that would argue too much on that. But when you do not want to block loopholes and still want government to produce money even when there is nothing much on ground, it would be difficult. “As a country, we must begin to work towards good governance and that is what the governor of this state desires for the state. The era of not following due process, not being accountable for money given is gone. For one to be taking from money meant for capital projects or from fuel subsidy and diverting it to pay salaries, just to get out of pressure from labour unions, is not proper. The message here is, governance must be courageous and truthful. Labour and government must understand that they are in partnership, in serving the public.”

DAILY SUN

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Education Review/COVER “I am glad to know that there is a system of labor where the laborer can strike if he wants to! I would like to God that such a system prevailed all over the world” – Abraham Lincoln

‘Teachers are stealing goats, foodstuffs to feed their families’

• Pam

•Mancha

•Continued from Page 27 means to feed themselves. They steal goats and foodstuff to feed their families. Some of them are dying.”

THE STRIKE AND ITS AFTERMATH Though Education Review could not confirm the veracity of her allegations about teachers taking to stealing to feed themselves, Comrade Samson Pam, a parent as well as a teacher at Township Primary School, Tafawa Balewa Street, to some degree, confirmed Amos’ view about their plight. “The strike has been on for over five months now,” he recounts. “It has been very hard for me as a teacher with a family to take care of. From the financial aspect, we have not been finding things easy. We have not been paid for more than five months but hopefully we will be paid when the strike is over. “To say whether the reason for which we went on strike is worth the period we have been at home we will need to look at the issue as a coin with two sides. On the surface, it is worth fighting for but if one looks at the scenario that led to the strike and other situations on ground, reason should prevail at this point. We should be able to reason beyond the period we have given the government. We are calling on our members to look into the issue proper-

ly so that classes can start. The effect of it on the children today is going to be reflected in the nearest future. It will not be on the children alone but also on the society. It is true that the final year primary school pupils did not sit for common entrance but there are many ways of assessing children. It is not only by writing exams. If we are truly teachers and we had foreseen this problem, the head-teachers and, teachers in particular, ought to have fashioned out assessment procedures to help the students. The issue of sitting for the examination is not even the problem but the methods of assessment. I believe a dynamic school must have assessed their children by now. “For us to make up for what we’ve lost in the past six months, my own personal view is that teachers should endeavour to give their pupils or students extra coaching classes. After all, our work is a sacrificial one. We should be prepared to sacrifice for the children and the society at large. I will advise my union to henceforth look at things critically before going into any agreement. I believe it was the initial agreement that has hooked the civil servants in the neck; that is, the agreement that teachers should be paid 50 per cent of the minimum wage. “That is uncalled for. Initially, labour agreed on a particular level, I do not see why it should come down to another level. We should have

maintained demand to be paid that amount. Since we are also rational human beings, government can owe us and we can still be working until such a time government can clear the backlogs of debt. It is the issue of 50 percent that has brought us to where we are today. I call on government to always look at issue with compassion. I believe that it has a way of cushioning problems. I believe that it can find a way to do this so that the society will move smoothly.” Like Pam rightly pointed out, the reason the strike has lingered this long is because the Plateau State government was able to implement the new wage for the state government workers after series of industrial actions but tarried on that of local government workers on ground that it would come into effect as soon as the financial situation of the state improves. In discussions with the Labour Union, the government agreed to pay 50 percent of what the state civil servants were already enjoying but before embarking on the industrial action, the NLC insisted on full implementation of the minimum wage. The chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) Plateau State, Comrade Jibrin Bancir told Education Review that the deadlock existed because the state government refused to negotiate with workers. “Nobody was interested in reaching an agreement with

• Amos us,” he said. “The state’s House of Assembly that is supposed to legislate for the good of the state could not do anything about it. We met severally with the committee on local government affairs but it appears it cannot do anything about the new wages. It was unable to shift ground from the 50 percent the state was ready to pay but which we did not agree with. “It was only about three weeks ago when we met with the stakeholders in the state that they said we should accept 65 percent and get back to work. We have been going round to discuss the proposal with our union members in the 17 local government areas of the state so as to decide what to do. Right now, I am on my way to Pankshin.” In the meantime, most of the schools have either been overgrown by weeds or are being used by individuals to conduct private lessons for interested students. At the Ansar Deen Primary, for instance, a bilingual secondary school has taken off. At the Township Primary School on Bauchi Road, some private primary schools are already operating therein. The Obasanjo Model Primary School on Yakubu Gowon Way, one of the biggest primary schools in Jos, is now serving as the study centre of the College of Education, Gindiri. On weekends, most of the schools serve as churches or meeting venues and as football fields where students gather during the day to test their dexterity in the game.

PAMMS Private Schools recently hosted Association of Private Schools in Ota, Ogun State

A cross section of members

A cross section of executive members

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

DAILY SUN

COVER/Education Review “A hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the bank...but the world may be a better place because I made a difference in the life of a child” – Forest Witcraft

•Dilapidated Fiidi Primary School

Weeping for Benue’s most dilapidated school ...They want Governor Suswam to come to their aid From ROSE EJEMBI, Makurdi

he RCM Primary School, Fiidi, in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State is a sorry sight. In fact, it falls short of what one would refer to as a school, not to talk of a government-owned school. Established in 1974, the school, which has produced many illustrious sons and daughters of the state and country, remains dilapidated until now. But for very few seats for both teachers and students, it has no door or window. Situated very close to the bank of River Benue, the school has now become a haven for dangerous reptiles and a resting place for hoodlums. Comprising two blocks of six classrooms

•NAF donating desks and chairs

each, one of the blocks has completely collapsed, with no effort being made to rebuild any time soon, while its land has continued to suffer encroachment from outsiders, since it is not fenced. It was also discovered that in one class, for instance, 20 students have to squeeze themselves in, on six dilapidated desks, while in another class, 16 pupils were seen struggling for space on the four available seats. Moved by this horrible plight, the Tactical Air Command of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), based in Makurdi, donated some refurbished chairs and desks, recently, to assist the school. On that same day, the Command also visited the NKST Primary School in Gaadi where it donated 22 desks and 65 chairs.

Speaking at the event, the Air Officer Commanding, Tactical Air Command, AVM Gabriel Odesola, said the gesture was part of Nigerian Air Force corporate social responsibility to its host community. Odesola, who was represented at the ceremony, by the Command’s Logistics Officer, Air Cdr. Raymond Edom, explained that it was customary that wherever the Nigerian Air Force base is situated, it tries to help the community in whatever way it can. He described the donation of 63 chairs and 27 desks to the RCM Primary School as a way of contributing its quota towards the improvement of the standard of education in the area. The AOC noted that the Tactical Air Command of the NAF had in the past provided boreholes and transformers to its host communities in Makurdi and promised to continue to come to the aid of the community in whatever way it could, in future. Receiving the donation, the Head Teacher of the school, Mrs. Adajo Mercy, was full of appreciation to the Nigerian Air Force for the gesture. She, however, expressed fear that the chairs and desks may be at the mercy of hoodlums and thieves as the school does not have doors and windows. “I am happy for this donation but I don’t know where to keep them. I will accept them but it may not be secured since there is no single window or door in the school.” Mrs. Adajo seized the opportunity to call on the state government and other wellmeaning organizations to assist the school by renovating a block of classrooms so that the pupils can learn in a more conducive environment. Speaking with Education Review after the event, the Head Teacher, who explained that she was recently transferred to the school, disclosed that the school has 56 pupils, adding that it is like the government has forgotten about the school completely.

•Adajo She said it was in view of the development that she invited members of the community to sit together and fashion out what to do to help the school and expressed joy that the meeting with the community coincided with the donation by the NAF. Responding, the Kindred Head of the community, Chief Julius Uor, expressed happiness at the gesture and urged the Nigerian Air Force, as well as the state government, to do more.

DAILY SUN Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Education Review/INTERVIEW “Ten geographers who think the world is flat will tend to reinforce each others errors….Only a sailor can set them straight” -–John Ralston Saul

The findings by Prof. Oshodin, VC, UNIBEN on:

Why Vice-Chancellors don’t sleep From TONY OSAUZO, Benin

rof. Osayuki Oshodin, the Vice Chancellor, University of Benin, has revealed why Vice Chancellors of universities do not sleep or better still, sleep with one of their eyes open. You will find the reason in this interesting interview with Education Review. He also spoke on why the standard of education appears to be falling these days, as opposed to his own days as well as on his childhood days and up-bringing. Excerpts:

SIR, TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF, YOUR BIRTH, YOUR BACKGROUND, CHILDHOOD AND YOUR SCHOOLS DAYS.

I was born 9th of August, 1950. My both parents are late: Late Pa Omoruyi Oshodin and a great woman that I just lost sometime this year, Mrs. Lucy Oshodin. They are all from Ugbokan quarters of Benin City where I grew up. I attended St. Matthew’s Primary School, very close to my father’s house. Then Anglican Primary School and from there I went to Western Boys High School and to Federal School of Science for my Higher School Certificate. And then I left there. I had so many options of going to university in Nigeria but I went to Central State University in Ohio and then to City University of New York for my Masters and my doctorate in Columbia University, an Ivy League, all in the United States. I had a very beautiful childhood. I was never deprived of anything. My father provided everything I needed. I am very grateful to them even though they are late. We are from a very pure Christian home. My maternal grandfather was the first Benin Reverend in Benin City and you know what that means, not the modern day Reverends. Those were Reverends that never earned salaries and when they are paid, they ploughed back the salary for those who need it more than them. So, you can draw up your conclusion that we came from a very disciplined home where we were taught how to do things right and that has helped me a great deal, though in modern-day Nigeria you meet resistance when you try to sustain such moral principle.

HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE THE STANDARD OF EDUCATION THESE DAYS WITH YOUR GOOD OLD DAYS? WHERE DID WE MISS IT? WHAT ARE YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL OR A MEMBER OF THE MANAGEMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY DOING TO RETURN THE STANDARDS TO THE GOOD OLD DAYS?

Yes, I am happy you realized that the standard of education, of those good days, are not in vogue today. That is because teachers were never encouraged in this country. They were looked down upon. That was the beginning of the decay of education. It is not that people were not ready to learn. But what we have here now is a situation where teachers were never paid salaries. Talking about how the education system went down, for two years, those from local governments and state were not paid and you expect them to teach well? Like what I am doing here, I ensure that by 23rd of every month, the teachers and staff are paid. That will give them more zeal to want to do some work. We must look at that. In the olden days, they were paid promptly, and again, the type of teachers you have that time, like I gave an example of my grandfather, they used to use their salary to sponsor other students who could not afford their education. My mother was renowned for that. During my mother’s funeral, many people came out to say that she paid their school fees. Teachers need to be encouraged. They’ve obtained good training, and you know, very many people, sometime ago, would not want to teach, they only see it as a last resort, that okay, if this is the only job, let me just take it, meanwhile. When you have that kind of situation, you are killing education because they were not meant to be teachers. In the university system today, it’s not just enough to have a PhD, you must also learn and acquire knowledge about how to disseminate the PhD you have. We are not doing that yet. We would get there one day. The Americans are doing that now, that if you don’t have the acquired methodology of disseminating information, they would not allow you to be a teacher. I belong to Faculty of Education, a Faculty that is supposed to produce teachers at all levels, including the university, primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. So, we need to encourage them and train and re-train them, through seminars and workshops, and not look down on them.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR NUCLEAR FAMILY. HOW MANY CHILDREN DO YOU HAVE, WHERE ARE THEY, WHAT SO, PART OF THE ENCOURAGEMENT IS ARE THEY DOING? WHAT YOU ARE DOING NOW, PROMPT I have five boys. In Benin culture, we don’t count children. I don’t have any girl. PAYMENT OF SALARIES? They are all boys. The first one got his Masters; he is working on his PhD now. The second one has a Masters and the third also a Masters, the fourth is on his Masters degree programme; the baby is an undergraduate. They are scattered all over the world. I was trained abroad. So, whenever they say they wanted to go abroad, I always oblige. The first one got his Bachelors degree here, but now went to do his Masters in U.K. So, I sent him there. He completed it and I went for his graduation ceremony. Now, he is doing his PhD. The second one, he’s also has done his Masters and then the third one and the fourth one. The second one and the third one are in South Africa while the first and last are in U.K.

A lot of it! I am doing all that, I am training and re-training them. Even the newly employed Graduate Assistants, I am sending them to different parts of the world because that is the only way you can acquire knowledge. In-breeding is not the best. A situation where somebody gets Bachelors degree here, Masters degree here, PhD, you are not helping the system. They should be exposed to other environment, universities or institutions.

•Prof. Oshodin intrigues. The intrigues to a large extent, some are political. There is the problem of envy and jealousy. I try as much as possible to carry everybody along. There are some people you carry and you think you are carrying them but they will still be falling by the roadside. So, that is the thing that I found very interesting in the job, that no matter what you try to do for some certain persons, you can never win their hearts because of that ulterior motive of being envious and jealous.

instance, I consider the situation of the medical students who went on protest sometime ago on campus as indiscipline. I have never heard of that type of conduct. I used to look at the medical students as very, very disciplined but we had this problem of indiscipline among them and that was very, very uncalledfor, but we were able to handle it. That day, I was very, very sad. If a social scientist or a political scientist is a little bit undisciplined, I can understand, but not somebody in a profession like medicine.

HOW MUCH TIME DOES THIS JOB TAKE FROM YOU?

YOUR HAPPIEST MOMENT ON THE JOB?

It’s a 24-hours job. A vice-chancellor does not sleep. You can only sleep with one eye closed. But thank God, I have not had any problem here for about three years now. So I have been closing my other eye, to a large extent (laughter). But, it’s a job you sit on for 24 hours.

HOW HAS IT AFFECTED YOUR PERSONAL COMFORT?

I applied for the job and I suspected that it was going to absorb my time for a period of time, so I was quite prepared that I want to make this sacrifice and, I want to make a lot of impact and leave a legacy, like you said, so that people would remember me that while this man was here, this and this were the things that were happening, everything was going well.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR SADDEST SIR, WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER DAY OR WHAT MAKES YOU SAD ON YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGE ON THIS THE JOB? JOB AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME? The job is a very simple one except for the

Indiscipline in some professions. For

I am happy that I have been able to achieve what I have done so far. I have been able to put the university on the right path. This is the second time this year that we are taking the number one position. That is not without a good job that is being done by this administration. I am happy and like beautiful scenery, to see those buildings that were rickety now in good shape. You see, when you are reading and you see beautiful things around you, the urge will be there for you to read more and I am quite happy to see that. I used to be very depressed with Ekehuan Campus, but now I am quite happy.

HOW DO YOU UNWIND? DO YOU PLAY MUSIC OR WHAT?

I am a sportsman, so I play all sports. But starting from soccer, table tennis is my favourite. I get involed in all sporting activities because that is one way I unwind. I also like to sit with people and discuss intelligently about issues and how to develop a place, how to move the nation forward and that is why we have constantly maintained the number one position by looking for new ideas.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

DAILY SUN

CAMPUS SQUARE Where students report happenings on their campuses... with Sam Otti ( campuseditor@yahoo.com/08038829740)

“Bigotry is the disease of ignorance, of morbid minds; enthusiasm of the free and buoyant. Education and free discussion are the antidotes of both” – Thomas Jefferson

•Protesting students disrupt GNS exam

LASU mgt to students:

‘Protest and get punished’ By OLASUNKANMI AROWOLO

he management of Lagos State University (LASU) has also warned students against ‘illegal and unlawful protest’on campus, as severe penalties would be meted out to defaulters. This was contained in an official news bulletin made available to students by the Centre for Information, Press and Public Relations (CIPPR). It stated that the management took the decision after due consideration of the report presented by the Chairman, Security Management Committee (SMC) on the recent students’ protest and disruption of the Second Semester General Studies (GNS)

…indicts leaders of recent protest examination. While expressing disappointment at what is considers as acts of indiscipline displayed by the students involved, the management warned students against taking laws into their hands. Arguing that the assault on the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), and Acting Vice Chancellor, Dr Omolara Gbamgboye, was an affront on the university, the management noted that the protesters could have sought further clarifications on the regime of fees circulated vide the univer-

sity bulletin under reference, than run amok in violent rage. The news bulletin stated that under the existing university laws, regulations and traditions, the only recognized body that could represent the interest of the students was the Students Union and since the Union was not represented in the protest, the actions of the students amounted to act of lawlessness. The management concluded that the identified students involved in the protest would face the law. The Students’ Affairs Division has been ordered to courtmartial the identi-

fied students before the Students’ Disciplinary Panel. The Official bulletin, published by the CIPPR, identified leaders of the illegal protest as Sulaiman Adeyemi, 100-level student of department of Islamic Law, Faculty of Law, and the self-acclaimed Chairman, Students Protest Committee, Ogungbo Olatunji Gbenga, 100-level student of Medicine. •Arowolo is a 200 level student of Mass Communication, LASU

DAILY SUN Tuesday, October 23, 2012

CAMPUS SQUARE Where students report happenings on their campuses... with Sam Otti (campuseditor@yahoo.com/08038829740)

“The difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson” – Tom Bodett By SAM OTTI

he students of Lagos State University, LASU do not hesitate to register their displeasure whenever their interest is compromised. Tuesday, September 18th was another day of rage in the institution, when angry students abandoned the GNS examination for an unplanned protest. Our reporter gathered that the students were spurred into action following the release of an official school bulletin on Monday, September 17, which explained in details the breakdown of the school fees for the newly admitted students. The inclusion of the present 100 level students in the fees published sparked off an unscheduled protest. What started as a murmur gradually generated into fierce condemnation and subsequently snowballed to a protest. The crisis spilled over to the adjoining streets, disrupting the busy traffic in the area. The management of the institution hurriedly suspended the examination to save the situation. However, the school management released another bulletin, which rescheduled the examination to later times for the same day. Predictably, the enraged students did not accept this as chants of Aluta went up in the air. The resulting effect was an emergency

One week, one trouble

•Protesting students boycott exam congress called by the outgoing SUG president, Durojaiye Akeem. While addressing the students, he accepted that he was a servant of the students and therefore the decision was in

their hands. He however refrained from asking the students to take a definite stance. Calm however reigned as the students finally wrote the examination though at a different

time. In all, though the examination was written, the regular organized and uniform air was absent as the various departments were unable to start the exams at the same time.

Fear, as the Lion roars •UNN beefs security following students’ protest By IFENKWE CHIJIOKE

•Anti-riot policemen at the gate during the protest

ecurity has been beefed up at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC), following a face-off between the students and the management. Trouble broke out recently in the area over alleged hike in tuition fees by the management. Students’ anger burned like hell, when it was discovered that an additional fee was published on the school’s website. The amount was reportedly meant for Internet services on campus, according to a press statement by the Registrar, Chief A. Okonta. According to the management, there was no increase in the tuition fees as the additional amount was the internet service charge which was translated at N1000 per month, totaling N12,000 per annum.

Despite appeal by management, students took to the war path. Some of them, who spoke with our reporter, said the imposition of the Internet service charge on all students was unfair, as some students do not stay on campus to enjoy the said internet service, due to the limited spaces in the hostels. Though the provision of a 24-hour Internet service was commended by some of the students, many believe the furore generated by the service charge was caused by communication gap between management and students. To forestall breakdown of law and order, soldiers and members of the Nigerian police took up major entrances to the school, as fears increased that the disputed fee could trigger a violent protest by students. •Ifenkwe is a 400 level student of Law, UNEC

Nsukka teachers’ college slashes fees by 20% By CHRIS NNADI

he College of Education, Nsukka has announced a 20 per cent reduction in tuition fees to increase the number of trained teachers in the country. The Provost, Rev Father Christian Ele, said dearth of professionally trained teachers in most public and private school informed the decision to reduce the fees from N40,000 to N32,000. Ele, a priest of Catholic Diocese of Nsukka and an alumnus of Seat of Wisdom Seminary, Owerri, told our reporter that one of the major reasons for the establishment of the college was to provide education at the least affordable cost. “We believe so much that both the poor and the rich need education. That is why we have cut down our tuition fees and other fees payable in this school at the lowest. Beginning from this coming session, the tuition fees and other fees payable in this school will be reduced by 20%. This is to make education affordable to the have-nots. We are not here to make money, rather, to help our people to acquire formal education”, he said. Ele said the difficulty in accessing colleges of education in the area led to the establishment of institutions in 2008 at the old Army Barracks,

Nsukka. Hear him: “If you come to Enugu North Senatorial zone, there was no single College of Education. Based on this, we decided to partner with government and hearken the call for arresting this situation by establishing this college of Education, which is now the only NCE awarding institution in Enugu North senatorial zone”. To satisfy the yearnings of these students, Dr Ele said the school presently offers Pre-NCE, NCE and Professional Diploma in Education (PDE) programmes. With 33 courses under four major schools: Schools for Arts and Social Sciences, School of Languages, School of Science and Mathematics and School of Education, the college now has 1400 student population and 69 lecturers. Aside this, he said college hopes to achieve its dream of attaining a degree awarding status, with the ongoing efforts towards affiliation with the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT). “We have been working together with the Faculty of Education, ESUT and we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding. And they have to domicile our application assigned to National Universities Commission, NUC and Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB in Abuja”.

Despite these laudable efforts, the Provost expressed disappointment that some individuals had been peddling false rumour that the college had not secured the required approval. He said the college was given provisional approval by the National Commission for Colleges of Education, Abuja. According to him, the commission later came for inspection and the school met the required standard and was duly accredited. “I’m also aware that some people who are in different quarters don’t know the extent and veracity of our establishment and the power we have to run this college based on our approval by the NCCE Abuja and not just NCCE but also Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN). Those people who are defaming us are deformed people. This is because they lack the knowledge of what is happening. They should understand that we are duly operating within the approval of the law of Federal Republic of Nigeria”, he said. Although stakeholders privately fund the college, the Provost said the institution would eagerly partner with the government to promote quality education for the people. “Anything one is doing; funding is very

•Rev. Fr. Ele important. That is why we are calling on the government to extend the help it gives to public schools to private schools because these private schools are also educating Nigerians. They should also benefit from the good governance. So, we know that funding is very much important and that is why we raise funds through our stakeholders. We have not lacked what we are supposed to have as a college of education because God has been on our side and our stakeholders are really helping”, added.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

DAILY SUN

CAMPUS SQUARE Where students report happenings on their campuses... with Sam Otti ( campuseditor@yahoo.com/08038829740)

“The secret in education lies in respecting the student” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, U.S. poet, essayist and lecturer (1803-1882)

•Chidiaka

•Ugonna

•Tekena

•Lloyd

Students flee Aluu community By CHIJIOKE NWIBE

raveyard silence now prevails in Aluu community weeks after four students of the University of Port-Harcourt (UNIPORT), Rivers State, were tortured and burnt to death in the area by an irate mob. The victims, who were in their early 20s, were identified as Lloyd Mike Doku, 200- level student of Engineering, Ugonna Kelechi Obuzor,

•In the wake of the killing of the UNIPORT 4 200-level student of Geology, Chiadika Lordson Biringa Ugonna, and Tekena Elkanah, were tortured to death on alleged theft of mobile phone and laptop. Eyewitnesses told this reporter that the victims were stripped naked and paraded around the town after merciless beating with clubs and

sticks, before they were doused with fuel and set ablaze. Friends of the deceased on campus, who spoke with our reporter, refuted the allegation of theft and cultism leveled against them by their killers. They said they were fun-loving young men, who could not hurt a fly.

NANS blames killing on inadequate hostel facilities on campus By DELE OLORIOKE

he National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has blamed the gruesome killing of the four students of University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) on inadequate hostel facilities on the campus. The Secretary General of NANS (Zone B), Comrade Richard Ekutu, made this know in a chat with our reporter in Benin City, during a grand reception held by students’ leaders across the country to honour the immediate past President of NANS and

the newly-appointed Senior Special Adviser on Youths and Students to President Goodluck Jonathan, Comrade Jude Imagwe. Ekutu said over 75 percent of the students in UNIPORT live off campus, at the mercy of the host community. He also denied the allegation that NANS razed four houses at Aluu community in a reprisal attack over the killings. According to him, “During the protest which lasted over 12 hours, we, the leadership of NANS in the zone, ensured that it was peaceful. None of our students was

involved in the burning of houses. The arson was committed by indigenes of Aluu to gain sympathy from people.” He called on the federal government and management of the institution to provide more hostel facilities to save students the agony of living with hostile neighbours. He noted that having the students on campus would also help the management to monitor students’ movement for their safety and hitch-free academic programme. •Olorioke is a HND 1 student of Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State

D’banj mourns victims: ‘They were my brothers’ By SOPHIA OGWUCHE

ward-winning singer, D’banj, has expressed shock and sadness over the brutal murder of four students of the University of Port-Harcourt (UNIPORT) in Aluu community and 40 others at the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, Adamawa State. He said the aspirations of the young stars had been murdered, describing the incident as a collective loss. In his tribute to the fallen scholars, he said: “They were my brothers....and yours. Four days ago, I woke up to yet another unspeakable tragedy. Four young men, all undergraduates, brimming with great dreams, unfulfilled aspirations and a promising future were killed. To express the depth of my pain and shock at their murder is impossible as well as understanding how events could have degenerated to this level is truthfully beyond me. “Llyod, Ugo, Tekena and Chidiaka, four promising young men whose lives were interwoven in one way or the other with yours and mine. I mourn deeply with the families of these young men because this is our collective loss. They were our colleagues, our classmates, our neighbours, our brothers... our friends. “We are not a nation of barbarians. We CAN follow due process and procedures. We

must fight together as one nation to ensure that justice as a whole is served, and as a process, is duly followed... always. “We can only try to make meaning of this senseless tragedy by ensuring that this will not happen again, by affirming that the pursuit of justice does not in any way entitle any of us to the willful elimination of other people’s lives and by ensuring that we as youths,

do not destroy the honorable mantle placed on us as the future of our nation, by eliminating our present. ALUU 4 and Mubi 40, rest in perfect peace. God bless Nigeria”. •Ogwuche is a 200 level student of Maths/Computer Science, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State.

Our reporter visited Aluu community to dig deeper into the matter but was surprised to discover that the place had turned to a ghost town. It was gathered that students residing in private residential houses in the area had hurriedly left the town. One of the students, who gave his name as Juddy, told our reporter that the fear of the dead had cast ominous fear over the area. They are further terrorized by the mass arrest by the police and the Joint Task Force (JTF). Some residents of the area said they had experienced several robbery and rape incidents, such that the vigilante group craved for an opportunity to save its face. Speculations were high that the four UNIPORT students could possibly be scapegoats, as no weapon was found on them during their arrest. Another student, Kosi, said Ugonna was owed an undisclosed sum of money by a student from Aluu community. Several appeals made to recover the money failed, such that he decided to visit the student in his house with his friends to coax him to pay his debt. It was while they were exchanging words that an unidentified woman in the compound raised an alarm, calling the students thief. The loud cry attracted the vigilante group and they led the four boys away to the slaughter, tore their clothes and beat them into stupor, before setting their bodies on fire. Since the incident, uneasy calm has prevailed both within and outside the university campus, with heavy presence of security men everywhere. •Nwibe is 100 level student of Physics, with Electronics Engineering, UNIPORT

…as lecturers, students cry for justice By AMOSU OLUWASEYI

ggrieved lecturers and students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, have called on the government to probe the recent lynching of four students of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) by an irate mob in Aluu community, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Biringa Chiadika Lordson, Ugonna Kelechi Obuzor, Mike Lloyd Toku and Tekena Erikena were reportedly beaten to stupor and set ablaze by a vigilante, who accused them of stealing laptops and mobile phones. Reacting to the incident, Dr. Adepoju Tejumaiye, a lecturer in

Mass Communication Department, UNILAG, described the killing as ‘barbaric’ , ‘uncalled for’ and ‘pathetic’. While commiserating with the bereaved families, he said the killing of the students without fair hearing was a grave act of injustice that must be condemned by all. Another lecturer, Pastor Tayo Popoola, blamed the vigilante group for failing to hand over the suspects to the police and urged Nigerians never to take laws into their hands. “Nigerians are too eager when it comes to dispensation of justice and this requires time and due process no Nigerian is interested in.” He further stated that there is a significant improvement in the

legal system in the country as opposed to widespread belief of its stunted growth in the country.” Also speaking, another lecturer, Mr Taiwo blamed the corrupt legal system as a catalyst for the ‘jungle justice’ meted on the students, while advocating for such method that can help to checkmate the wave of criminal activities in the country. “Our law system is corrupt, that is why people are taking laws into their hands and employing jungle justice ,’ he concluded. A student, Kemi Oredugba, a 400-level student of Mass Communication, charged the government to bring the perpetrators of the act to book. She said, “I have been crying

since I watched the video. Since then, I have not been myself. I am shattered, heartbroken and depressed. If I am like this, I wonder how their parents would be feeling as I speak. They were too young to die that way and the government must do something about this.” Another student, Emmanuel Arimiwem, said the action of the mob in the community was not premised on any justifiable reason. He urged the police to fish out those involved in the killing, as ignoring such brutal act would spell doom for the entire society. Another student, Michael Ehimhen, described the incident as unfortunate and a clear disregard of respect for justice.

DAILY SUN Tuesday, October 23, 2012

CAMPUS SQUARE Where students report happenings on their campuses... with Sam Otti (campuseditor@yahoo.com/08038829740)

“I find four great classes of students: The dumb who stay dumb. The dumb who become wise. The wise who go dumb. The wise who remain wise” – Martin H. Fischer

At RUN, female students run faster than male •Until 20-year-old Adeleye came to their rescue, this year By SAM OTTI and AMOSU OLUWASEYI

ith a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), David Busayo Adeleye, outpaced contending female students to emerge the best graduating student of the Redeemer’s University (RUN). It was a feat worth celebrating because, for three consecutive years, female students have, repeatdly, held the crown, much to the disappointment of their male folks. The Vice Chancellor, Professor Debo Adeyewa, said Adeleye, a 20-year-old student of the Department of Transport and Tourism, res-

UNIZIK: First semester examination begins February 25 By ODOGWU OBINNA ODOGWU

he Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka yesterday commenced a new academic session, after the resumption date was postponed by a week. The first semester examination of the school would commence February 25, 2013. The 2012/2013 first semester academic session, slated to commence on October 15 was postponed to October 22nd, but the slight change wouldn’t disrupt the school’s academic calendar. Though no substantive reason was given for the postponement of the resumption date, it was speculated that the step was taken to suit the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU) calendar. It would be recalled that three months ago, the varsity resuscitated her ASUU spirit, following an election, which brought Prof. Harris Odumegwu to office, as Chairman. However, the new time-table released from the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. B.C.E. Egboka, among other issues, stated that the University Wide Quiz comes up on the 11th December, while the first semester examinations is slated for February 25.

•Odogwu, a 400 level student of Department of Political Science, is also the Political Editor of The Giant newspaper of the University.

cued the male students from the domineering influence of female counterparts, who have the largest share of first class results in the school. Speaking at the 2012 graduation ceremony, held at the Redeemed Christian Church of God Youth Centre, Redemption Camp, Adeyewa said male students dominated the lower class levels, notably the third class and pass degrees. Hear him: “Our records show that so far, ladies have the largest share of first class graduates (70%) while the men share just a fraction (30%). It is also noteworthy that female students actually dominated all the upper level classes, whereas, male students dominate the lower levels (third class and pass degrees).” He said the university awards degrees on a pedigree of Loyalty, Integrity, Faithfulness and Excellence (LIFE). Aside Adeleye, with registration number (RUN08-09/1876), 23 other students also graduated in First Class division, while 156 had Second Class Upper results. Also, 239 students had Second Class Lower results, including 71 students that fell into Third Class and pass categories. The Vice Chancellor also expressed joy over the school’s full accreditation of all her 14 undergraduate programmes by National Universities Commission (NUC), in March. Still basking in the excitement, he informed

•Adeleye with his parents the guests at the ceremony of the approval of the Postgraduate School by the NUC and endorsement of its programmes by leading professional bodies like the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN) and Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON). The approved postgraduate programmes, according to him, include English, Literature, History and International Relations, Theatre Arts, Psychology, Microbiology and Physics with Electronics. Also speaking, the Chancellor, Prof. Tekena

Tamuno, commended the efforts of the Vice Chancellor for the past one year, citing the full accreditation status earned from NUC and the planned relocation of the university to her permanent site in Ede, Osun State as evidence of progress. While commenting on the security situation of the country as an issue of concern, Tamuno expressed confidence over the assurance given to them since the beginning of the year by God that, in Nigeria. “ All is well that ends well”. The Chancellor praised the graduating students for their doggedness and urged them to remain worthy ambassadors of the institution.

Martyred by Boko Haram •How ATBU student leader lost his life in bomb-blast By MARTINS TAMUNO

•Suru

eath stole a treasure at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, when a final year student of Computer Science Education, Suru Bamgbose, was killed in a bomb-blast. Before his death, Bamgbose was a student with a difference, who propagated good morals on campus. Aside his active particpation in many Christian activities on campus, he served as the regional president of the Winners Campus Fellowship (2009-2010) and also, the Secretary-General of the Joint Christian Campus Fellowship (JCCF). Sadly, he bit the dust on June 3 on his way from church, when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the Living Faith Church, Yelwa Tudun area of Bauchi State. He was among the 21 people that lost their lives in the ill-fated incident. Bamgbose’s death brought silence on campus. Born on September 3, 1986, he grew up in

Lagos and later in Jos before he was admitted in ATBU in 2006. He endured the stress and struggled at ATBU till his final year but the wicked hands of death snatched him away, few months to his graduation. His friends and colleagues on campus told this reporter that Suru was hardworking and was one of the best students in his class. According to them, he lived like a saint, touched lives positively and shared his belongings with others. He had plans to establish a standard cafeteria within the campus after his graduation. One of the student lamented his death saying, “That was a man with a large heart. He actually had a passion for humanity and community service and that was why the Christian community at ATBU organized a service of songs in his honour.” •Tamuno is a 300 level student of Computer Science, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi.

CONTRIBUTORS THIS WEEK

Dele Odogwu Tamuno Ifenkwe Chijioke Sophia Oluwaseyi •EDITOR’S NOTE: We welcome reports of happenings on your campus. Send them to the above e-mail address, accompanied by your name and recent photograph, and photographs of personalities/ event you are reporting.

Arowolo

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

DAILY SUN

ISSUE/Education Review “Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers” – Josef Albers

Poor performance of students in English Language in public exams: the way out

•Students sitting for exams

By SUNDAY CHUBUZO CHUTA

that should be considered in order to resolve the issues of levels of performance and misconduct in public examinations.

HAMPERING FACTORS TO BETTER PERFORMANCE Among the vital factors that should contribute to the transformation of performance of Nigerian students in their post-primary final year examinations in the English Language are the availability of qualified and competent teachers, provision of quality instructional materials and a conducive environment. Teachers in the English Language course, should not only be qualified but should also be competent in the passing on of relevant ideas and intricacies of the subject to the students. The contemporary experience is that a good number of

ur students in post-primary institutions have, in recent times, come under severe blame for their poor performance in their final West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Commission (NECO) examinations. Even more disturbing is the high incidence of examination malpractice as is prevalent and recorded in these examinations, with the students also being accounted as culpable for such academic malaise. Using the English Language course as a case study, it would be pertinent to examine and determine who should be held responsible for much of these lapses in the education system – the student, the society or the education authority. If, according to Dr. Eniola Ajayi, the Ekiti State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, the scourge of examination malpractice is threatening the foundation of the nation’s educational system, it becomes necessary that a conscientious proactive action should be designed and implemented to arrest the situation. Efforts should be launched, under the present administration, in its transformation agenda, to restore the image of the country’s education system. The results released by the examination bodies show that, in 2011, only 25% and 14.15% of candidates in the WAEC and NECO examinations, respectively, came up with at least credit scores in their performance in the English Language. This, admittedly, is a holistic approach in this assessment. There is no doubt that there were some institutions whose performance ranged up to 90% credit score in English Language, whereas some others dropped to 5% credit scores in the subject. The locations of these institutions might not be relevant in the determination of these performances. There are basic contributory factors

•Dr. Chuta

qualified teachers posted to post-primary institutions lack the knowledge of much of the issues demanded in the subject. In such cases, the students are helpless in their academic challenges in the course. It is, however, worse in situations where the qualified teachers are not even available. In such circumstance, some other teachers are allocated to classes to give to the students what they have not received in the first instance. The dismal outcome of such arrangement is obvious. Let us delve a little deeper into this primary factor in the teaching of English Language in post-primary schools. It is necessary to understand that the current curriculum requirements of our secondary school students in English Language differ from and are higher than what they were before 1995. The introduction of the study of Oral English in 1996, to constitute the English Language Three of the WAEC and NECO examinations, marked a radical turning point in the academic challenges in that subject. There are few educated Nigerians who would appreciate and comprehend the nature and dynamics of Oral English as a Second Language subject for Nigerian youths. Yet, these students are expected to learn and master the technicalities involved in the symbolic, phonetic and variable accents of such a complex language as English for them to make the desired grades in their examinations. The rationale for injecting this aspect of the English Language into the national assessment system is best known to the educational authority. But the big question is, how many among the qualified teaching staff in this subject area, are competent enough to teach Oral English, and how many institutions in the country are endowed with such staff? Besides the factor of qualified and competent teachers in the field, there is also the challenge of having quality instructional materials on the subject. Over the years, detailed and comprehensive texts have been produced to take care of the theory and

objective issues as are required in the syllabus. So far, not much has been articulated in the area of Oral English to equip and transform learners for assessment and competence in usage. Whatsoever is available is in the hands of few students in few institutions that clamour for proper instruction and guidance. The truth is that a majority of our students remain absolutely blank on the subject-matter before and after their examinations. Finally, of all the teaching subjects in post-primary schools, the study of English Language appears the worst influenced by the environmental factor. The high level of corrupt language in society hampers the development of acceptable language standard. Within families and social occasion, there is constant emission of erroneous English expressions and articulation from even eminent and educated personalities. Most amazing is the quantum of faulty grammar and pronunciation of words among majority of our media broadcasters and reporters. All these distract our students from acquiring and cultivating an agreeable English Language benchmark for excellent performance in their examinations. REMEDIAL MEASURES FOR EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE Confronted by the above constraints, our helpless students either perform woefully in their examinations or are lured into devious and disingenuous practices in order to scale through. In such a business society as ours, there are individuals who would delight in cashing in on these lapses in our education to seek after illegal gains. Apart from the unwholesome record of mass failure in the subject in public examinations and the scourge of examination malpractice, there is also the unfortunate incidence of cases of empty brains with high paper grades. We experience instances of students scoring high grades in English Language and other subjects without the ability or evidence to justify such acclaimed performance. The situation is remediable, with a political will, under the transformation agenda of the present administration. In addition to the provision of enough qualified teachers, there is need for intensive orientation of these teachers to cope with the relevant demands of the educational curricula. Regional, zonal and local workshops should be mounted, periodically, to effect this exposure. On the issue of provision of quality in structural materials, there is need for government and stakeholders to invest in the procurement and distribution of standard textbooks to all school libraries for reading and reference purposes. Finally, the general pubic, the electronic and print media staff should work towards cultivating and communicating in an approved language culture that would positively impact on our students to develop confidence in the study of the language. •Dr. Chuta is the Coordinator, Humanities Unit, School of General Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

DAILY SUN Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Education Review/SPECIAL REPORT “Where I was born and where and how I have lived is unimportant. It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest” -– Georgia O’Keeffe

•Prof. Mrs. Nwanneka Okolo, Prof. B. N. Okolo, Vice Chancellor, UNN, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, His Excellency, Chief Arthur Mbanefo, Chairman of the occasion, Prof. S. O. Igwe, Pro-chancellor & Chairman of the Governing Council and Prof. Ortuanya, Commissioner for Education and representative of Gov. of Enugu State, Barr. Sullivan Chime, cutting the anniversary cake. Photos: OKORO NWOSU

UNN @ 52:

From CHIDI NNADI, Enugu

n the early hours of October 4, the heavens opened up to send down showers of blessing on the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). It was the beginning of the four-day 52nd Founders’ Day anniversary celebration of the first indigenous Nigerian university. The event slated for 11 a.m. on the day one commenced fully at 12 noon as eminent professors of the university in a procession led by the Vice Chancellor, Prof Bartho Okolo, arrived at the popular Princess Alexandria hall, venue of the 52nd Founders’ Day Lecture. Before the hall was cleared to allow Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, the managing director, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), deliver the year’s lecture, the chairman of the occasion, elder statement, Chief Arthur C.J. Mbanefo, had, in his opening remarks, set the ball rolling, by casting his mind back to the history of his association with the institution. Ostensibly happy for being invited by the Vice Chancellor, to chair the occasion, he said: “This invitation has been long, very long indeed, in coming bearing in mind that my association with this university dates back to

President Jonathan, eminent scholars give institution a thumbs-up 1963, when I led the audit of their books and advised the management on several accounting and financial matters. The university though has since grown and so have I, now in my 80s.” Chief Mbanefo noted that this year’s anniversary was particularly significant for the UNN as it is not only celebrating the 52nd years of its founding fathers, but also 50 years of incorporation into it, the Enugu branch of the Nigeria College of Arts, Science and Technology, revealing that the branch is what is known today as the Enugu Campus of UNN. The chairman said that he had to go into deep research to find out who the founders of the UNN were and what he found, he said, thrilled him. “The founders of the University of Nigeria were noble men of great talents and

A cross-section of the university lecturers at the occasion

democratic dispensation. They were simply put, iconic and visionary. It is what I found that has made me decide to take this singular opportunity to pay tributes to these great Nigerians and their foreign collaborators. Unfortunately, Nigeria can no longer boast today of having such men in government, even in the private sector; men of honour and utmost integrity. “It took two close friends, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and Dr Okechukwu Ikejiani from 1954, when they conceived the idea in a hotel in Frankfurt, Germany, to 1960 when the university was inaugurated to realize this dream. They had during that summer in Germany digested the report of the International Bank Mission on Economic Development of Nigeria released early in 1954,” he said. According to him, in the report it was stated that the establishment of the University College, Ibadan, was an important step forward, but that Nigeria still needed many more college graduates and a variety of courses than existed at that time. These, he said, were what propelled the duo of Zik and Ikejiani to establish another higher institution of learning, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1960. “They decided that on their return to Nigeria, the Premier of Eastern Region, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe would request the Regional Minister of Education, Chief Ibanga Akpabio, to introduce a bill at the Eastern Region of Nigeria and to fund the project. The bill would direct the Eastern Nigeria Marketing

Board to set aside 500,000 pounds annually for five years,” he said. He also said that the duo were encouraged by the report on the Economic Rehabilitation of Eastern Nigeria of 1955 which said that the aim of education in Africa was to develop the youth of the continent and prepare them to service the people, stressing the need to establish a full-fledged university in Nigeria. “The narrow range of the subject by the only University College in Nigeria, the small number of students’ intake each year in spite of abundant suitable local material and its high running cost were of serious concern to the founder of the University of Nigeria and the Premier of Eastern Region. He wanted to establish a university that would be different. He wanted a university whose basic objective of teaching would be seeking and preserving the truth,” Mbanefo said. Quoting Azikiwe, he said: “The story of the University of Nigeria is the story of how something was created from nothing or near nothing and of how it has grown from strength to strength through the labours of generations of dedicated people within and outside our country.” Mbanefo pointed out that the story of the founding of the UNN is a perfect case study in visionary leadership, strategic planning, due process and application of the rule of law. He, therefore, thanked Prof Okolo for living up to the standard of the visions set by the founders of the university, saying that under the few years the Vice Chancellor mounted the saddle he had transformed the institution to greater heights. The Visitor to the University of Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan, whose address

•Continued on Page 37

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

DAILY SUN

SPECIAL REPORT/Education Review “My mother drew a distinction between achievement and success. She said that achievement is the knowledge that you have studied and worked hard and done the best that is in you. Success is being praised by others. That is nice but not as important or satisfying. Always aim for achievement and forget about success” – Helen Hayes

How Zik, Ikejiani laid UNN foundation

Procession: Chief Arthur Mbanefo (right), Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi (middle), and Prof. B. N. Okolo (left) •Continued from Page 36 was also read by Mbanefo said that the 52nd Founders’ Day was a further confirmation that UNN has come of age. The President recalled that UNN being the first indigenous university in the country was charged to produce the necessary manpower needed to build the newly independent country and African continent, among others. Today, the President said, the UNN has lived up to the mandate thereby earning for itself an enviable reputation of excellence. “Over the years, the University of Nigeria has also pioneered the development of many of the unique features of the country’s university system and has contributed significantly to the development of curriculum and the training of personnel for younger institutions in the country. These accomplishments should form a major part of what we are celebrating here today, and I am truly happy to be part of it,” he said. Also speaking, the VC, Prof Okolo said that the “Founders’ Day celebration of the university is an annual event during which we

remember and honour our founding fathers.” Okolo said that the celebrations also remind them of the vision, foresight and courage that led Nigeria’s first President, Dr Azikiwe and his colleagues in the Eastern House of Assembly to “establish this university only five days after our country gained independence from the British colonial rule in October 1960.” He said that it was time they reflected on the extent to which the original vision of the university has been preserved, as well as strategize on how to advance the vision in present and future development. “Our Founders’ Day lecture is about the oldest and most prestigious of the public lectures organized by the university. The lecture serves to create a forum for frank discussions on issues of global and national relevance. Therefore, the honour of delivering the Founders’ Day lecture is reserved for men and women of uncommon accomplishments, especially those whose stories and achievements can truly inspire the university community and the youth of our dear country,” Okolo said.

He, therefore, said the selection of Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi for this year’s lecture was apt, as they had gone in “search of a man-ofthe-moment, a newsmaker and one whose personal achievements would also serve to inspire us all. At a time like this, when the entire world is still smarting from an economic recession that led to the collapse of financial institutions across the globe; an economic recession which has continued to threaten otherwise strong economies in America and Europe, there is no better choice of a guest lecturer than the man who has been saddled with the enormous responsibility of managing the huge bad loan assets of Nigerian banks.” And indeed, by the time Mr. Chike-Obi was through with his lecture entitled: “Sustainability as Key in Life; Business and Government,” he left no one in doubt that he was really, as rightly pointed out by the vice chancellor, “a man of distinguished pedigree.” The guest lecturer had explored all the realm of sustainable development and summed up that it “is basic to the well-being

of us all – all units of the economy – now and for the future.” He disclosed that sustainable development was first introduced into the extractive industry and eventually got into Nigeria’s lexicon through the oil and gas industry as companies in the sector came under intense pressure to adopt international best practices in environmental protection. Breaking down the topic, he delved into education for sustainable development, saying that UNESCO recommended the inclusion of climate change, disaster risk reduction, biodiversity, poverty reduction, and sustainable consumption and other sustainable development issues into teaching and learning. “It also requires participatory teaching and learning methods that motivate and empower learners to change their behaviour and take action for sustainable development,” he said. Chike-Obi also touched on sustainability in personal life; sustainability in business; and sustainability in governance; and concluded that all three units of the economy have an inescapable responsibility to contribute to the sustainable development of countries, and the world at large. And for this to happen in Nigeria, he said that “all stakeholders, individuals, businesses, and governments must purge themselves of wasteful living; and come together in partnership for the achievement of the country’s growth aspirations.” Day one over, the next day was for the launch of N20 billion UNN Endowment Fund and another lecture on “National Leadership Paradigm for Sustainable Development,” delivered by Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State. Okorocha who thrilled his audience for over one-and-ahalf hours as he spoke, extempore, announced a donation of N5 million to support the endowment fund while promising to assist the university in other areas. The governor, who said that the Imo State government was committed to qualitative and affordable education which was accessible to everybody, irrespective of economic status, maintained that the problem of Nigeria was not poverty, but corruption, inept and visionless leadership. He called for reformation in the education sector that would ensure the training of students in courses that are relevant to the country’s economic needs, saying the present courses were based on a model that served the interest of colonial masters.

Alli, former PDP Chairman, calls for ‘qualitative education’ …As ABS inducts FCT Min, Sen Sekibo, others into Hall of Fame From FRED ITUA, Abuja

frican Business School (ABS), Abuja, recently, inducted into its Hall of Fame, the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed and Senator George Sekibo and other well-meaning Nigerians who have contributed to the development of education. Speaking at the event, which turned out to be a combined occasion of awards ceremony, convocation and matriculation of students, former national chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ahmadu Alli, called on government at all levels and the private sector, to invest in qualitative education in the country. Dr. Alli posited that no nation can make any substantial breakthrough without investing in education. “The task to transform Nigeria is hinged on qualita-

tive education,” Dr. Alli stated. “Nigeria must therefore invest in qualitative educa-

•Ahmadu-Alli

tion.” 2000, and which is affiliated to the presABS, which has been in existence since tigious BABCOCK University in Ogun State, is the training school for Chartered Institute of Cost and Management Accountants as well as approved centre for the Chartered Institute of Administration. In his brief remarks, the Chief Learning Advisor and CEO of the institute, Dr Goddy Idaminabo, decried the untapped opportunities that abound in the education sector in Africa. “Africa is endowed with the totality of God’s gifts, but lacks the leadership ability,” he said. “ABS is the tool by which great men and women will be sorted out to lead this continent,” he added. Others honoured at the event include wife of Adamawa State Governor, Dr. (Mrs) Zainab Murtala Nyako and Dr. (Mrs) Moulikatu •Sen. Mohammed Adedjouma from Benin Republic.

DAILY SUN

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Education Review/NEWSLINE “When the enemy advances, withdraw; when he stops, harass; when he tires, strike; when he retreats, pursue” – Mao Tse-Tung (Chinese statesman, 1893-1976)

Much ado about Ado-Ekiti students rampage Fresh crisis looms in Ekiti State University as NANS orders students not to pay for damages; authorities call it “a joke”

•Cars set ablaze during the rampage

From CHARLES ADEGBITE, Ado-Ekiti

he crisis which the death of Abiola Teslim Yusuf, a final year student of Accountancy, Ekiti State University, (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti, caused on Friday, September 28, 2012, leading to the destruction of the university’s property said to run into millions of naira, seemed to have ended with the closure of the school. But unfolding events lately show that fresh crisis is looming in the 30-something-year old university. This is following the directive by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), on Wednesday, October 10, 2012, to students of Ekiti State University, (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti, not to pay the N10, 500 demanded from each student, by the university authorities. It will be recalled that the authorities had, earlier, issued directive to that effect, as the condition on which the students could be allowed to return to school.

In a statement signed by the NANS Director of Action and Mobilization (South West), Mr. Sunday Asefon, the students’ body described the fee as exploitative, adding that the university authorities have no justification imposingsuch fee on the students, without carrying the students’ leadership along. The university authorities had, on Tuesday, October 9, 2012, placed a public notice in two national dailies, asking the students to pay the stated amount for the extensive destruction brought on the institution by the students rampage on Friday, September 28, 2012. But in a swift reaction to the directive, NANS not only asked the students not to comply, but also gave the university authorities a seven-day ultimatum to reverse its decision or face serious mass students action. Asefon, who passed a vote of no confidence on the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oladipo Aina and his team, over their alleged failure in managing the crisis, called on Governor Kayode Fayemi to investigate the death of the student and bring the killer to book.

CAUSE OF THE CRISIS

It will be recalled that the whole crisis started when the news of Yusuf’s death spread like wild fire throughout the campus that Friday. Yusuf was reported to be playing with his friends about 9:30 pm, on Wednesday, outside his hostel on Wise Avenue, off Osekita Road, Ado-Ekiti when he was knocked down by a car. The driver, whose identity was yet to be known, was said to have fled the scene. Yusuf died forty-eight hours later. The driver had since been declared wanted by the police. While briefing the press on the ugly incidence, the Vice Chancellor explained that he personally ensured that Yusuf, who was said to be a member of a dreaded cult group called Eye Confraternity, was taken to Ikere-Ekiti Specialist’ Hospital for medical attention immediately after the accident. “When we realized that his condition was not yet stable, we ordered for his movement to the Intensive Care Unit of the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital. But on Friday, was discovered that he needed to be operated

upon by experts because he sustained serious head injury. This forced us to take him to Lagos University Teaching Hospital. “It was during this process that the student died at Ibadan, on our way to Lagos. These were the efforts we made to ensure his survival even when we were not directly responsible for his death.” But all the same, students, feeling aggrieved, embarked on violent protest, setting ablaze six vehicles, including an ambulance, belonging to the institution, a bus, and a security van parked in front of the administrative block. About 15 other vehicles were allegedly tampered with, during the protest. Many ultra-modern edifices of great values, including the multimillion naira- Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Centre, had their window glasses smashed. The university farm, comprising about 3,500 birds, 10 goats, 75 sheep and rams, 25 rabbits, 30 pigs were allegedly looted. Students were reported to have made away with one hundred and twenty crates of eggs while workers at the Agricultural Farm were manhandled. In his reaction to the vandalism, the Vice Chancellor ordered for the indefinite closure of the institution, set up an investigation panel comprising the security agencies and some members of the university authorities, to look into the crisis and, vowed to deal with students found culpable, at the end of the investigation. Prof. Aina who expressed shock at the extent of damage done to the buildings and who deplored what he termed belated response by the police to his call for intervention, disclosed that the University’s management will investigate the extent of damages done to the buildings and ensure that students and staff involved are exposed. Nigeria Police Force, Ekiti State Command it was learnt, had, since made some arrests, with a promise from the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Victor Babayemi, to double their efforts to see that the hit-and-run driver is apprehended and duly prosecuted. The PPRO confirmed that seven students who allegedly took part in the vandalism have been arrested by the Police and are now in its custody at the Command’s Headquarters in Ado Ekiti. He promised to charge them to court for malicious damage of public and private vehicles and for disturbing the peace of the university community. On October 2, according to Babayemi, the suspects were arraigned and later granted bail. But they are still being remanded in custody.

CAUSE OF THE PRESENT TENSION

While the students sent on compulsory holiday were wondering when they will be recalled, the university authorities suddenly came out with the directive about each student paying a reparation fee of N10,500 before they could be allowed to return. This is what has sparked off the latest tension between the students and the university authorities, prompting NANS leadership to issue a statement asking the students not to pay. The students’ argument is that it will be unfair to ask those of them who were law-abiding and who did not take part in the riot to pay for what they did not do.They are also wondering why the authorities that vowed •Continued on Page 39

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

DAILY SUN

NEWSLINE/Education Review “Every time you wake up and ask yourself, “What good things am I going to do today?,” remember that when the sun goes down at sunset, it takes a part of your life with it” – Indian proverb •Continued from Page 38 to fish out those who perpetrated the evil cannot wait for the outcome of the report before asking innocent students to suffer for the offence committed by others whose number may not be up to 10% of the entire student population. Again, they are anxious to know what the authorities are doing concerning the students who are being remanded in police custody. The students’ argument is that, considering the fact that the police arrived late on the crime scene, that they might have picked up innocent students, rather the guilty ones. It was in the light of these facts, that NANS leadership in the South West not only issued directive to students not to pay the N10, 500 but also came out with an ultimatum, asking the the university management to either reverse its decision or face the wrath of the students. It insists that the amount the university was asking the students to pay is outrageous, considering the student population, full-time and parttime. But reacting to the ultimatum and the students’ arguments, the university Public Relations Officer, (PRO), Mr. Ajibade Olubunmi, noted that “universities all over the world have rules and regulations which students must comply with, as long as they want to continue to remain students of such universities.” He added that whenever students engage in riot of any kind and destroy property in the process, they are always made to pay for the damages, arguing that EKSU cannot be an exception. As far as the university management is concerned, he posited, the students were responsible and would have to pay. On the ultimatum given to the university by NANS, the PRO said a student association cannot give the university order on how to run its

“Universities all over the world have rules and regulations which students must comply with, as long as they want to continue to remain students of such universities.” affairs. He made it clear that the University is an autonomous establishment that has Governing Council that cannot be threatened by anybody, even as it is ready to look into genuine grievances of students. He added that the He insists that those accusing the university management was on top of the situation and authorities of charging exorbitant reparation fee has put in place, sufficient security arrange- don’t have data to back up their claims, noting ments to guarantee safety of lives and property. that the management has necessary data to

•Prof. Aina back up what they are doing. He noted that they had quantified the damages done before coming out with the amount and denied that the authorities were out to exploit the students.

NEWS

Alumni President calls on members to give back to their university From GODDY OSUJI, ABAKALIKI

he National President of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Alumni Association, Engr. Larry Mbah, has called on the management and stakeholders of the institution to contribute to the sustenance and improvement of the university as a centre of academic excellence. Mbah, who recently took over from Dr. Innocent Akuvue as president of the association, pledged the readiness of the new executive to take the association to an enviable height, through transparent, accountable, dedicated and people-oriented leadership. Speaking during the one-day convention which took place at Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, he assured that all the projects not completed by his predecessor would be completed and new ones initiated as part of efforts to facilitate teaching and learning in the university. Earlier in his address, the immediate past President, Dr. Akuvue, commended all the branch associations for their continuous interest and commitment in the development of the university in both academics and infrastructures. In a release issued by the Publicity Secretary of the association, Rotarian Chika Nwankwo, Dr. Akuvue enumerated the achievements of his administration to include the construction of ultra-modern alumni cen-

•Onyeji tre which has reached 70 percent completion, donation of new 4x4 Toyota Hilux Patrol van and security gadgets, computers, office equipment and furniture to the university. He emphasized the importance of giving back to the system or institution that nurtured one to greatness and thanked members of his executive for the overwhelming support, trust and solidarity he enjoyed from them during his tenure. Akuvue also thanked the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Cyprian Onyeji, for honouring him with a doctorate degree and for his promise to do the same to a distinguished alumnus, during convocation, henceforth.

Lagos Deputy governor tasks students on innovative ideas By ADESINA OLANREWAJU

agos Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, has charged African students to always strive for dream innovation and implementation. This, she noted, will help them to be what and who they dream to be. The Deputy Governor made this call recently while delivering a keynote address at the 4th Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa (YALDA) 2012. Held in Lagos, with the theme, Innovation and Creativity for A Better Africa: Implementing Your Dreams, it attracted hundreds of students, between 18 and 35 years, from across Africa. Orelope-Adefulire pointed out that the conference was timely because “it obviously seeks solutions to the mind-boggling issues of underdevelopment in Africa which has become second name for the continent.” In further exploration of her topic, Mrs. Adefulire maintained that innovation and creativity are essential building materials that can only be measured by youthful intelligence, adding that it was important for African young minds to rewrite and review the many negative portrayal of the continent in foreign media. Her words: “We lift ourselves by our thoughts. We climb upon our vision of ourselves. If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought. The size of your accomplishment, the quality of your achievement, will depend very largely on how big a man you see in yourself, what sort of image you have of yourself.” “Nothing great or worthwhile has been achieved in the world without some dreams dared and shared in the dark alleys of defeat and

•Orelope-Adefulire depression,” she noted. “Economic and social change, political rejuvenation begins with a dream. But it is not enough to dream. A dream not supported with action will only turn into a nightmare. We cannot leave things to chances. This is why, right from primary school level, we have been exposing students to leadership training and acquisition initiatives.” She reiterated that information is, indeed, power and collaborations will not only help to facilitate the implementation of noble designs, but also aid in forging strong bonds to affect the continent of Africa. The Deputy Governor added that, “education and empowerment occupy strategic positions in policy formulation and implementation.” Speaking, the chairperson, YALDA 2012 Conference, Miss Kayala Okereke, opined that it is when dreams and visions are well conceptualized and incubated that “we have the passion and commitment to inspire positive or sometimes negative revolutionary changes.”

DAILY SUN Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Education Review “Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants” – John Gardner

SPOTLIGHT: Human Interest Story

Day Prof Awosika opened up OASIS in education desert “The purpose of the innovative school is to take education and make it real by marrying the theoretical with the practical”

•Commissioner for Education, Lagos State, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, Prof. Abiola Lanre Awosika-Fapetu, cutting the tape during the inauguration of the school.

By VERA WISDOM-BASSEY

he Executive Director, Olawoyin Awosika School of Innovative Studies, Prof. Abiola Lanre Awosika-Fapetu, has called on youths to engage in skillful education. Doing so, she insists, will give them entrepreneurial ability not only to succeed, but to also contribute to national growth and development. Stressing that the future of any country is invariably linked to education, she strongly recommends entrepreneurial education, which she notes, lays emphasis on practical experience. Theory, she believes, is quite good, but when it cannot be turned into practical use, it becomes useless. “I strongly believe that the future of any country is inextricably linked to the education and knowledge of his people and we have to catch them young; cradle to grave, we cannot stop learning. Entrepreneurial

education holds the key to technological development,” she emphasized. Prof. Awosika made her view known at the recent inauguration of Olawoyin Awosika School of Innovative Studies (OASIS), in honour of her father, Chief Festus Olawoyin Awosika. She maintained that the idea behind the establishment of the school is to bridge the gap between practical learning and theory. “OASIS is here to cultivate marriages between theory and practical,” she noted. Speaking further, Awosika revealed that the school has openings for students to showcase their skillful enterprises such as coffee shop which is expected to be run by the students; creative centre for manufacture of products and facilities for various entrepreneur workshops. “The purpose of the innovative school is to take education and make it real, so that at different workplaces in future, our graduates can work with confidence. When they fail, we pick them up, show them where they went wrong, and teach them how to handle

problems, solve the problems by thinking outside the box,” she explained. According to Awosika, it is useful for youths to think of entrepreneurship while undergoing their universities degree. This, she said, is working in the United Kingdom. Her decision to bring this home, she said, was prompted by her desire to help youths develop interest in skilful education. As an academic, she was in charge of some of the departments while teaching abroad, so this gave her the idea and confidence to bring it into the Nigerian school system, though there are a handful of universities that applies this system. The school, according to the Prof. Awosika, offers courses in Banking Operations, Business Administration, International Management and Entrepreneurship; these courses are good for admission into Nigerian or USA universities. She said that it was her love for education that propelled her into the industry, in order to keep alive the good work of her father who

propagated the idea of free education, in his days. “My father’s legacies in education and passion will not be allowed to die,” she assured. Talking about expectations and standards from the school, she said a typical class should not be more than 30 students who will converge in the premises every week. These will take their courses as required and be monitored till they graduate. The students are expected to be focused, and at the end, start up small enterprises. “Our students will come in cohorts of no more than 30 people; they’ll go to school together. They will come to school the same night or the same day, every week, and they will take their courses from beginning to the end, right down to graduation together. So, we’ll able to monitor them, make sure they stay focused, and while they are here, they can start small enterprises that they will run,” she explained.

•Education Review is published weekly . Editor’s email: abanobichika@yahoo.co.uk Phone Number: 08034041645