DELSU LECTURER ABDUCTED

A lecturer at the Department of English and Literary Studies, Delta State University Abraka was abducted while on her way to work on Monday, May 19, 2014.

 

Enajite Ojaruega (pictured above) was ambushed and kidnapped at gun point near Eku, Ethiope East Local Government Area of the state. Since then nothing has been heard from her abductors and her whereabouts remain unknown. 

 

ASUU, Delta State University, Abraka branch, in a statement by its Chairman, Professor Abel Diakparomre called on the state govt and security agents to ensure the release of Mrs Ojaruega, and lamented on the constant harassment and kidnap of its members

"The way things are at present, the lectures are in danger and the guarantee of their safety is in serious doubt. Further delay in the release of Mrs. Ojaruega would compel the branch to activate this principle which will not be in the interest of the society.

We must state that it is extremely sacrilegious to temper with an academic anywhere in the world. When a Harvard lecturer was harassed by policemen a few years ago, it caused serious uproar in the United States and across the world.

The matter was formally settled in the White House by President Barrack Obama. But this is usually not the case in Nigeria and especially in Delta State, where professors have often been kidnapped like the way hawks pick chicks. Kidnappers now deal with academics the way a wanton child deals with grasshoppers.

All over the world, lecturers are held in the highest esteem. They form the basis for societal and national development. To tamper with them is to tamper with the destiny of the society and the nation. Thus, the kidnap and harassment of lecturers must stop immediately.”

Source: Linda Ikeji

LASU STUDENTS, JAF HAD A PEACEFUL PROTEST ON FEE HIKE

The Lagos State University Students’ Union (LASUSU) and the Joint Action Front (JAF) on Thursday staged a peaceful march in Lagos to protest the fee hike.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that scores of LASU students protested at Onipanu through LASU, Anthony campus to the Gani Fawehinmi freedom park, Ojota, Lagos.
They carried placards with inscriptions: “Fee hike, the root cause of crisis in LASU,” “We demand immediate reversal of increased fees,’’ and “LASU is for all and not for the rich only.’’
LASUSU President, Nurudeen Yusuf, said the protest was staged as a result of a directive received from the university authorities that all students should pay their fees before May 30.
“The Management released a memo on May 21, directing all students to pay the outrageous fee for the 2013/2014 academic session, on or before May 30,” he said.
Yusuf said the authorities’ decision was against the position of the union to the state government for a reduction of the increased fee.
According to Yusuf, the students in its congress had unanimously agreed not to pay the increased fee for the session until government approved and implemented the reduction, as proposed by the union.
“We proposed N46,500 for returning students and N65, 500 for fresh students as the new tuition fee, as against N198,000 and N350,000 for medical students,
“As directed by Governor Babatunde Fashola in a meeting on April 3, the union had submitted the proposal for the new tuition fee on April 24.
The student leader said since the union was still on the discussion table with the government, the students had agreed not to pay the fees until the reduction was made.
He said the protest was to sensitise the public to the plight of LASU students and why the reduction must be implemented immediately.
“We will not pay the outrageous fee until the reduction is made.
“For a state that generates N77 billion a year and all LASU needs to sustain itself in a year is N10 billion, free tuition is even possible,’’ he said.

Source: Campus Life

Nigeria’s educational feats abroad must be replicated at home

For a nation whose existence has been disfigured by a succession of completely inadequate leaders, it is ironic that Nigeria has never failed to reveal the profusion of human resources that it has been endowed with. Proof of this was demonstrated yet again when Miss Merrilyn Akpapuna, a Nigerian student at Dillard University in the United States, emerged as its best graduating student.
Miss Akpapuna’s achievement is breathtaking in its extent and depth. She graduated Summa Cum Laude, Latin for “with highest praise” and better known as a first class. Her cumulative grade point average was 4.0 on a four-point scale, implying that she had nothing less than As in every course she registered for.
Her brilliance brought her membership of the Daniel C. Thompson/Samuel Dubois Cook Honours Programme, Phi Eta Sigma Freshman Honour Society, Dean’s List of Scholars, 1st Place for exceptional work in Algebra Relay, National Institute of Science, Beta Kappa Chi Honour Society, Alpha Kappa Mu National Honour Society, and Psi Chi National Honour Society.
Nor was Miss Akpapuna the only Nigerian in the pantheon of excellence at Dillard. Victor Ogburie, Stephen Igwe, and Emole Anyadimgba were also among the best graduating students in the university, all graduating with first class degrees.
It is a story which can be replicated in a wide variety of educational institutions across different countries: Nigerian-born or Nigerian-descended students demonstrating competence, ability and achievement at the most competitive levels of scholarship. There is Emmanuel Ohuabunwa, who became the first black person to attain a GPA of 3.98 at the Ivy League Johns Hopkins University. There is Tunji Anthony Olu-Taiwo, who graduated from Eastern Mediterranean University in the Turkish republic of North Cyprus as the best graduating student from the Faculty of Engineering.
These stories of superlative educational attainments are a heart-warming contrast to the prevailing stereotype of criminality which is almost synonymous with the Nigerian story, regardless of whether it is told at home or abroad. For a nation whose international reputation has been further diminished by the murderous activities of the anti-education Boko Haram sect, the feats of these young Nigerians offer a significant measure of self-respect and pride.
There is, however, the continuing dilemma inherent in the fact that people like Akpapuna would have found it difficult to flourish at home. Admission to tertiary institutions is riddled with corruption, ethnicity and incompetence. School calendars are regularly disrupted by strikes, riots and widespread breakdowns of law and order. Educational activity is hampered by the realities of an infrastructural crisis which ensures that there is inadequate water, power, internet access, laboratories and libraries. If a student manages to surmount these hurdles, there is the spectre of unemployment to confront. As the Nigerian Immigration Service debacle has shown, the search for jobs can have fatal results.
If Nigeria wants to achieve the global pre-eminence, social inclusion and political stability that it craves, there must be a new approach to the vexed issue of educational development in the country. Many of the students who have done so well abroad were on full scholarships which covered all their expenses for the duration of their undergraduate programmes. The fact that they were not citizens of the host countries did not stop their brilliance from being recognised or rewarded.
Source: The  Nation

Student opt for releasing of detained journalists

Media 961, a monitoring outfit of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Lagos State chapter, last Saturday, joined journalists worldwide to celebrate the World Press Freedom Day.
Students from higher institutions in Lagos state came together to mark the day.
A statement from the outfit’s Director, Abdurrasheed Abubakar, condemned sustained attacks on journalists globally.
Media, he said, is an important instrument of change in every society.
He said: “Apart from informing the general public on events and issues that affects them, the media is a significant force in modern-day culture. As a result, the United Nations General Assembly in 1993 proclaimed May 3 as the World Press Freedom Day.
“A Day meant to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; evaluate press freedom around the world; defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who lost their lives in the exercise of their profession, among others.
“It is an undeniable fact that the world today is currently experiencing a turbulent period like never before. The unfortunate events around us are enough to cite as examples. Thousands of innocent people have lost their lives, our media colleagues, who were only doing their job, have met their death, leaving behind wives, children, parents and siblings.
“As we celebrate this year’s World Press Freedom Day, let us remind you that majority of our colleagues are currently incarcerated in different countries innocently, most of them without access to lawyers. They have not committed any offence, other than discharging their duties dutifully. We have many cases, but the predicament of journalists in Egypt is very pathetic.”
The Muslim students also called for immediate release of detained Al-Jazeera journalists by Egyptian authorities.

Peter Greste, Abdullah Shami, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed have been in detention for the past 126 days.
Abubakar added: “They have appeared seven times in court for doing their statutory role. We want to emphatically state that journalists are not criminals. It is the fundamental rights of the people to know, and it is the responsibility of the media to give them the most objective and unbiased information. Hence, we demand for the immediate release of these reporters and others journalists who are going through the same treatment in other part of the world.”
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, over 500 reporters have been in prison worldwide in the last two years. The International Federation of Journalists reported that 105 media workers were killed in 2013.
The group added: “While extremist groups in crisis-ridden regions have been behind a good numbers of these injustice meted on our colleagues, in certain cases, government officials, even the allied forces with the United States of America are culpable.
“Back home in Nigeria, we are hitherto ranked among socially responsible media in the world, yet our leadership has failed to address  problems bedeviling media industry, one of which is poor welfare package.
“How do you expect journalists to feed their families when they are poorly paid or when they were not paid their wages for months? Facts have shown that we are among the worst remunerated in the world, yet we don’t want them to become subjective! In Nigeria, most journalists live on the gratifications they receive from people, even their editors, yet we say it’s unethical.
“We use this day to call on the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) to see the welfare of journalists, dead or alive, as a priority, and work with media owners on how to effect a standard wage for the practitioners to live good and happy life, so that, together, we can put an end to all forms of unethical practices among other members.
 source: The Nationonline

UNILAG ALUMMI REMEMBER FORMER V.C

The University of Lagos Alumni Association, Lagos State Branch will hold the second Annual Memorial Lecture in honour of Late Prof Adetokunbo Babatunde Sofoluwe, former Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos next Monday at the Afe Babalola Auditorium.

The lecture entitled: Funding of University Education in Nigeria: Trends, Challenges and New Directions will be delivered by the incumbent Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Rahamon Bello.
Prof A. Ogunye will chair the occasion while Sir Kessington Adebutu, M.D / CEO, The Kessington Adebukunola Adebutu Foundation is  the Special Guest of Honour.

National President of the association, Dr Sunny Kuku, is the Chief Host, while the UNILAG branch president of the association, Dr A. Ogunleye, is the host.

Source: The Nationonline

UNN WELCOMES FRESHERS

Members of the National University Geography Students Association (NUGSA) at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), have welcomed freshers.

The students were urged to shun vices that could jeopardise their academic pursuits.

The association’s president, Joseph Ubullian, charged the freshers to pursue excellence in anything they do, urging them to hint the association any challenges they face in the course of their studies.

A lecturer, Dr Chidi Nzeadibe, spoke on the careers available on the field, advising the freshers to choose career they have passion for. He urged them not rely on their lecture notes, but to focus on research, saying it would help them to understand their discipline better.

Prof Phil Eze told the freshers to obey rules and regulations, and focus on what brought them to the university.

Copies of a book titled: Environmental Impact Assessment of the Niger-delta Region was given to them.

A freshers, Chinenye Ugwu, said: “I am happy because today’s event made me appreciate geography more than before.”

Source: campus life

Collaboration with institutions improved education quality – NIJ

According to the provost, such collaboration had proven to be a great investment as it had helped in widening the students’ knowledge..

The Provost, Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Dr. Elizabeth Ikem, on Saturday said that collaboration with some international institutions had improved quality education in the institute.
Ikem made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos.
According to the provost, such collaboration had proven to be a great investment as it had helped in widening the students’ knowledge.
She said: “Currently, we are having collaboration with the World Press Photo based in Amsterdam.
“This has helped us to build and sustain a photojournalism programme over the years.
“It is indeed a great investment as it has helped us to equip and train not just our students but also our personnel within and abroad.
“We have produced international award winners in the area of photojournalism.”
Ikem said that NIJ’s collaboration with UNICEF had made the institute to develop a curriculum on child rights.
She added: “The collaboration with UNICEF has been waxing stronger and has resulted in training the trainers.
“We are abreast of local and international developments on child rights.
“The whole essence of training the trainers frequently is to ensure that our products are seasoned.
“We also have collaboration with the Nigerian French Village, Badagry, where we expose our students to French Language.”
NAN reports that the NIJ was established in 1963 by the Zurich, Switzerland-based International Press Institute.
In February, 2004, the institute received the National Board for Technical Education’s approval to organise programmes simultaneously for Ordinary National Diploma in Mass Communication and Higher National Diploma in Mass Communication.
The school also runs Postgraduate Diploma programmes in some specialised areas of Mass Communication such as Print Journalism, Broadcast Journalism, Public Relations and Advertising.