Nigerian Newspapers
OAU: Applying the Omole balm
•Why I’m in a hurry to perform – VC
By MOSHOOD ADEBAYO, Abeokuta
Even at 51, Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU), Ile Ife, Osun State is still soaring, reaching for greater heights, both in academics and research.
Calling the shots as the Vice Chancellor is an alumnus of the institution, Bamitale Omole, a professor of International Relations who came on board in 2011 for a five-year term.
Education Review reliably gathered that he was one VC in the history of the university that his appointment was devoid of petitions; at least not from the ‘’aluta’’ Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) or any other association in the Ivory Tower.
This shows the consensus of his acceptance by all stakeholders in the university. During an encounter with Education Review, Omole, the 10th VC and third alumnus to lead the university which was recently ranked, first in Nigeria and the 14th in Africa, assured that the institution would not rest on its oars.
Truly, the Omole balm is working as evidenced by the recent leap from a distant 79th to the 14th position in Webometric’s world’s universities ranking.
“Before I became the Vice Chancellor, we were 79th in Africa and I remember very well that during my campaign I said within the next five years, OAU should rank among the 30th best in Africa. It is a thing of joy for me that just last month, we were ranked 14th in Africa and first in Nigeria,”. “
We deserve the recent ranking as the first in Nigeria and the 14th in Africa and I want to assure that we will not rest on our oars as our best is yet to come.’’ A pastor of the Foursquare Gospel Church, Omole said the result of the ranking was an attestation and affirmation that hard work, commitment and perseverance really pay. “Gradually, we are getting there, but we will remain focused and not be distracted by the euphoria of the ranking.
We will continue to soar in morals and academic standards as well as in researches. I will continue to improve on the standards already set by my predecessors.” Omole, a man driven by vision, rather than ambition, is embarking on many projects, including academic and infrastructural development in the university to the delight of the alumni, the students as well as lecturers.
Among these is the scaling up of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) which enables lecturers to upload students’ results within a stipulated period as well as provide convenient way for the latter to access their results. Omole believes in the private sector participation to further add to the university’s legacies in infrastructural developments. Many projects that have been abandoned as far back as 1982, are currently being completed by Omole.
Prominent among these is the Environmental Design and Management Building, and the Ecological Department, among others. The old popular “buka’’ (cafeteria) within the campus has given way to a modern building which is currently under construction, while a new central market has also sprung up to accommodate many shops and offices with parking lot and security network.
“We believe OAU, Ile Ife, is a brand, I can’t finish everything. I am building on what my predecessors built, and myself, my team are committed to total transformation of this great university.’’ In a recent interview with Education Review, he spoke on various issues:
Why I contested for vice chancellorship
I was motivated to seek the office of the Vice Chancellor because a tradition of integrity, good and open governance, transparency, hard work, recognition, reward of excellence and diligence among the university workforce should be entrenched and institutionalized. Personal challenges It has been very exciting, but exceedingly challenging in my life as the VC of this great university.
I am an alumnus, the third to become VC in the university, so I can’t afford to fail. That’s why you see me working as if I will quit office tomorrow. I must not deceive you, it is very stressful, but I am enjoying the fun and challenges.
I am motivated by the past efforts of my predecessors in office who toiled day and night to ensure that OAU remains the best in this country even after it marked its golden jubilee in 2012. No doubt, there are challenges confronting the university system which is not peculiar to us alone, but I don’t allow them to weigh me and my team down.
Students/lecturers welfare
We are doing our best in the areas that you mentioned and I want to tell you that my over 25 years as a university teacher, researcher and administrator have revealed that giving due attention to staff and students welfare issues is a sine qua non for peace, stability and industrial harmony on campus. It is my desire to allocate an expanse of land to estate developers for construction of personal houses to staff members as well as to encourage cooperative thrift and credit unions on campus to acquire spaces for development of staff housing. One of the things I did when I came on board was to get mini-cars that ply our campus. We don’t even go to town.
The political economy of this is not to ruffle feathers with the National Union of Road Transport Union (NURTW). The students’ population in this university is about 35,000 and of this, we have about 12,000 in the hostel, so you could see that just a third of the population of our students are accommodated by us.
Aside from that, we have a place we now call student village, so many of them are now coping with the annual rent. In the nearest future, we intend to have more of such hostels to cater for the needs of our rising student population. Many of our alumni are also hearkening to the university’s clarion calls to come and develop their alma-mater and they are doing well in this regard.
Relationship with students
Students-management relationship 20 years ago has changed and so VCs must change with times for them to be able to get the best from their students. We are literarily in a global world seamless world where technology and not ideology rules the world. It is in the interest of any VC who wants to do well in office to know the whims and caprices of his students; be friendly with them, yet be firm.
Challenges facing OAU
There are many, but I am glad to tell you that we are gradually surmounting them through prayers and commitment of the Senate members who are desirous of making the university a reference point in both academics and researches.
My vision for OAU
I envision an OAU standing in the forefront of social, scientific, cultural and technological renaissance in Nigeria and Africa. These ideals and beliefs have been the fulcrum of my contributions and interventions in the development of the university since 1986. We are yet to get there, there is a lot we can do, but we are trying our best.
Few months ago, we won a World Bank project, the Craft Computing and Tele-printing project, a 3D new generation in ICT, whereby a student will be performing experiments here in Nigeria and supervisors will be giving instructions in Harvard or anywhere in the world in the real on-time without any lacuna!
This is how far we have gone and I am very happy with this feat, that out of eight universities that bid, OAU was chosen. Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) efforts We are doing our best in this area, particularly with our investment company which is manned by an experienced person.
Partnering the alumni
When government was giving enough fund, many universities did not bother about their alumni, but now that the “father’’ appears to have too many children, “he’’ has to look outside, not to commit adultery, but to be involved in other businesses which will bring money to take care of her many children. That’s exactly what we are doing in our university now, because the Federal Government is now a polygamous father with many children to cater for.
Many of our alumni are assisting their alma mater. Why I stopped teaching as VC I was teaching soon after my appointment but recently I had to stop because the demands of the office were making it difficult for me to teach.
But I still examine my students; I just finished examining a PhD and some Master’s degree students. Very few VC still find time to do this. What the office has taken away from me
The work in the VC’s office in Ife is such time consuming that if care is not taken, an occupant of such a seat may lose his family life, his life, his faith or his friends because you get to office around 8.00 a.m, the earliest time I would leave is 10 p.m. Even after leaving office, there are pockets of people who want to see you at home after which you manage to eat and take the shower.
It is interesting, but challenging appointment, but with God on my side, I am doing my best.
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
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Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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