The Debate

By Abiodun Omonijo

While growing up since Primary School days, debates were probably the best school activities for some pupils as it gave the opportunity to just stand, express yourself and simply talk away in the feat of the growing intellect. Debates encouraged some of us to brainstorm on critical issues for us then, such as that the ‘Farmer is greater than the Teacher’, or simply that ‘Women care better than Men’. Such “catch them young” strategy was what has contributed into making some of us the avid speakers, thinkers and writers that we variously are today. Some kudos to the education sector for that, at least, all isn’t very bad.

On the political scene however, the story is not the same. We awfully and shamefully find a lot of political leaders not interested and even disdain intellectual discourses. And where they discourse, you find a lot of their arguments embarrassingly porous. At the National and States’ House of Assemblies for instance, we sometimes find members who are completely unable to articulate their motions properly, they are though, slightly better than those who don’t speak at all. This is a country where aspiring Presidents still do not turn up for the Presidential Debate. This then leaves a very big question to the kind of leadership they intend to offer.

The most resent episode of the debate escapades against the traditions of the 21st century was staged in Osun State of Nigeria where a youth-focused debate was organized on the 3rd of August, 2014 towards the election coming up six days later, on the 9th August.

Typical of any Nigerian election so far, there are two major candidates ahead in the opinion polls to wit, the incumbent governor of the state who seeks a second term in office, and his major contender, a former senator of the Federal Republic. Shockingly, none of this duo turned up for the gubernatorial debate. In fact, only two “underdogs” were present.

From what can be observed, it can almost not be disputed that one of the incumbent Governor and the ex-Senator would emerge as the winner. What then unsettles the belly that, if they avoid youth and issue-driven interactions as such, what kind of administration do they then plan to offer? On what intellectual and ideological base can they then interface with the people which they fight so much to govern?

One thing is for the people to demand accountability from their leaders, another thing is for leaders to make themselves available for such. It is now time for people to begin to drill both aspiring and incumbent leaders seriously and take a conscious effort to relegate anyone who show traits of unaccountability and who avoid public intellectual stimulations. What developing nations such as ours need are not political jamboree and show-offs where godfathers and/or the republic’s President parade with their “anointed” candidate(s) amidst the cheers of misguided citizens, but platforms where aspiring leaders can be quizzed directly about salient issues by the people they intend to lead.



The writer of this article, Abiodun Omonijo is a student of  the Department of Philosophy, Obafemi Awolowo University. You can reach Abiodun via his Blog: www.abiodunomonijo.wordpress.com/

Great Ife SU Facebook Page: Unjustifiable Removal Must Stop!

By Damilola Toblan Dspice

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant"- Martin Luther King Jr.

Great Ife students, it is no longer a rumour that some set of people have hidden agenda which they plan to implement against the present Students' Union administration led by Ibikunle as the indiscriminate removal of Damilola Toblan Dspice which happens to me evidently shows.

It is really pathetic that students can unjustifiably resort to remove students who at any point render useless their Propaganda's and suicidal releases. The time has come for this evil colossal to be nipped in the bud. I remember the removal of one certain Ajaks whose full name I cannot recall but many Great Ife active students can remember.

This evil act was categorically tagged at the Union as most students are not cognizance of the fact that the page is not runned by the Present Union administration but by some few who feel that with the effective monopoly of this means disseminating of information, they can effectively perpetuate their evil agenda of making Great IFE student see the IBIKUNLE led administration as devilish so as to be able to pursue their impeachment agenda.

I begin to question the actions of students who because some set of people have refused to align with their beliefs and because the usual God-fatherism Stance of our Union is been negated, feel that the best way is to make his people turn their back at him so that they can get to Power, they are power hungry individuals.

I as a great Ife student personally feel that if we share contrary opinions to that of the present autocratic controllers of the Great Ife Student Union Facebook Page, that does not give them the right or justify their removal of students because constitutionally as a Citizen of Nigeria and a bonafide Great Ife student we have the Right to Freedom of Expression, thought and likewise conscience.

Consequently, I can with their action say that this set of few can actually delete Information meant to liberate students during this strike action as my removal indicates. Res Ipsa loquitor: The Fact speaks for itself!

THE ISSUE THAT BROUGHT ABOUT MY REMOVAL
The Omisore gift has truthfully torn students apart but to an extent it affords the Union some level of independence from the management. If for years our Union never had a Personal Bus then it means we have been stagnant! This bus was not only given to the SU but also to Union bodies like ASUU and NASU. So why are we biting ourselves?

If they were in his shoes they will have turned it into money and pocketed it. IBIKUNLE as a student feels that Developmental initiative that will be beneficial to students such as Scholarships, Buses to aide easy movement of students from Faculties to farms and to other areas where the students have to trek down, can actually be addressed and not by collecting cash to pocket like many of these town criers would have done.

It is even very disheartening that these people have forgotten the current reason why they are not in schools and have resulted to sponsored political campaigns here. SMH

Great Ife student its time to rise and fight for the return of Damilola Toblan Dspice to the Page if actually they don't have agendas which I have stressed above. I implore us not to be brainwashed by the selected few who do not see Positivity out of things.

Amandla Awetu!


The writer of this Opinion, Damilola Toblan Dspice is a student of  the Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University. You can reach Dspice through his e-mail: dotowobola@yahoo.com

Place Your Adverts On 'OAU Peeps' For FREE

Greatest Ife Students!

Good day and hope your break has been productive so far? As part of efforts to appreciate you all for your listening audience and welcoming gesture towards 'OAU Peeps' the newest and hottest hub of information on OAU campus and beyond, we will give out 4 free advert slots to interested students.

ELIGIBILITY:

- You must be a student of OAU
- Your banner for advertisement must be colourful and attractive.
- Your advert must be that of genuine goods/services
- You must be an ardent follower and reader of our Blog. This by commenting on our updates, promoting our updates on various social platforms.


FEE:

Free

Attractions:

• Google Estimated Daily Pageview: 7,000+
• Google Estimated Weekly Pageview: 50,000+
• Our audience is specifically targeted at OAU students the most.

Banner/Image Properties

-Banners/Images must be of high quality and very attractive. 

-It must not be too huge or heavy. Preferably not more than 60KB. 
-We do not accept Banners/Images with violent representation/nudity.
-You can link your images to wherever you want to.
-Promotional Ad sizes must be 125x125px


NB:

*Every promotional ad lasts 5 days on our Blog before giving opportunity to another set of Great Ife students.
*You can only win once. Multiple faked entries will be disqualified.
*Promotional Ads that we consider as against the interest of OAU Peeps will not be allowed.
*We reserve the right to remove any advert from our Blog if it violates any of our rules and regulations and any of the set rules of our Hoster.


Interested? Comment here and we will randomly pick 4 students for the first week of our promotion.

OAU 2014 Post UTME: 7,779 Candidates Scored Above 200

Aspirants for the coming session in Obafemi Awolowo University can now start to predict their chances of admission after the statistics of the 2014 Post UTME has been unveiled.

A statement by the Public Relations Officer of the University, Mr. Abiodun Olarewaju, stated that out of the total number of 14,648 who participated in the screening, Seven Thousand, Seven Hundred and Seventy Nine(7,779) candidates scored Two Hundred (200) and above.Among these candidates that crossed the average mark, only Eight(8) had above 300.

Seven out of the eight candidates who scored above three hundred(300) applied to read Law while the eighth candidate applied to read English Education. One candidate scored 360, two candidates scored 352 each, and each of the remaining six candidates scored 348.

While Akinade, Oladayo Felicia (45027699HD), who scored the highest got 360 (Law), others, whose scores follow closely, include Adeagbo, Folakemi Olanike (45737901HC), 352 (Law); Koye-Ladele Mofehintoluwa O(47368712CI), 352 (Law); Iloabuchi, Emerie Collins (47185750II), 348 (Law) and Ayodele, Timothy Oluwaseun (47189939DE), 348. Others are Odelami, Akintomiwa Akinleye (47194139EE), 348 ( Law); Ajayi, John Jesuferanmi (47198557HJ), 348 ( Law) and Ojo, Isaiah Olaonipekun (47356218GI), 348 (Edu/Eng).

The Vice- Chancellor of the University, Professor Bamitale Omole, in his reaction applauded the academic and administrative soundness of the members of staff, whose dedication to duty was described as a masterpiece, particularly on the just concluded post-UTME screening exercise. He thanked them for making the academic progress and overall development of the University their priority.

As for the incoming Law students, you can take a cue from this statistics. It is going to be a competitive class no doubt.


After Checking, Join fellow aspirants here as they discuss their admission chances 

ICAN Donates 200 Seater Lecture Theatre To OAU

 Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has donated a lecture theatre with 200-seat capacity to Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife, Osun.

Mr Chidi Ajaegbu, the President of ICAN, disclosed this on Wednesday in Ile-Ife at the foundation laying for the construction of the theatre.

Ajaegbu said the theatre would go a long way in assisting the Department of Accountancy to admit students that are more deserving into its training programmes.

He said ICAN had produced over 38,000 chartered accountants who had been adding value to wealth creation processes in various fields of human endeavour around the globe.

According to him, the gesture is part of ICAN’s strategies to further its public mandate

and encourage production of highly skilled accounting graduates.

``ICAN’s governing council recently approved construction of lecture theatres in five select tertiary institutions across the country, among which is OAU, Ile-Ife," he said.

He lauded the institution’s management for taking advantage of the initiative by providing plots of land for the project.

The president described the laying of foundation as a milestone in ICAN's relationship with the university.

He also said that OAU had always been the institute’s great partner as the university’s Accounting Department had continued to provide quality input into its certification processes.

Ajaegbu noted that some of the university’s students always pass ICAN final qualifying examinations even before graduation.

``This is a testimony to the quality of teaching and learning in OAU,’’ he said.

Prof. Bamitale Omole, the Vice-Chancellor of OAU, said the university’s management team appreciated ICAN’s gesture.

Omole promised that the university would not disappoint ICAN and the general public, adding that it would continue to provide qualitative education to its students. (NAN)

Campus Prostitution: A Growing Concern In Nigeria

Nigeria: Menace of Campus S*x Trade

By Blessing Undoidi

The growing rate of campus s*x trade in our tertiary institutions is becoming a cause for concern. It is no longer news that politicians, lawmakers, businessmen and other well-placed men in the society are the major people patronizing female students . When you visit female hostels at night, you will be amazed at the kind of flashy cars that come to pick up these young undergraduates for one function or the other. This is pathetic for this nation and its people. The same set of misguided leaders that have thrown the parents of these students into abject poverty, are the same ones destroying their children; because they control the means of survival and social status.

A student involved in the 'trade' who doesn't want her name in print said she is not happy doing it. She said people including the wide array of men who patronize her see her as immoral and indecent. "I was molested by five men when I was just 16 years old and in my final year in secondary school, so it affected me psychologically and the incident contributed to what I am today. I am also the first child of my parent's eight children. I need to struggle and sponsor myself in school and also help sponsor my younger ones because my parents are poor. So I do this to survive."

Another student in an interview with this writer said almost all tertiary institutions, either public or privately owned, have a representation of women of easy virtue. She said many female students are brazenly joining the train. "They are increasing on a daily basis because the ladies are being encouraged and initiated by their friends, added with an inordinate desire for affluence. Religious teachings, scourge of HIV/AIDS and ritual killers that find easy prey among s*x workers has not been able to curb the rising trend of the practice."

She said there is no doubt that the s*x trade, in the long run, corrupts the quality of the nation's future leaders and affects their values.  Understanding that young females constitute an appreciable percentage of the nation's population, little could be expected from them, productively, if they have been turned into 'cheap se*ual machines' with warped self-esteem and self-actualization.

Commenting on the issue, a lawyer, Terver Loius Abagen, said campus s*x trade is the business of having s*x for money by female students. "This type of immorality is certainly not a new thing.  The history of this type of immorality can be likened to the history of mankind, because every civilization has practiced it. Modern persons continue to patronize s*x workers. Even the name has now changed to "commercial s*x workers", in an attempt to lessen the stigma of the women who practice this trade.

"Notable people all over the country are known to patronize s*x workers, which is the major reason why the business continues to thrive in spite of global criticisms against it. Many of the big men in our society, who patronize them, do so discreetly and urge them to keep it up while coming to the open to fight for bills on why s*x workers should keep off the streets, and this profession is likely to equal the world oil market in the nearest future," he said.

According to him, several attempts have been made to curb the s*x trade through the Penal Code in Section 34 which states, 'Right to Dignity of human person. Every individual is entitled to respect for dignity of his person and accordingly - a) No person shall be subjected to torture or inhuman degrading treatment'. It should be noted that the s*x trade can be one of the elements of degradation. Also in State Law it says, they can be arrested and given two years imprisonment and can be charged with the fine of N20,000.

He said many arrests have been made in the past, especially with the help of Civil Societies, "but the Nigerian society has failed to arrive at a consensus on how to legally handle this blooming profession. While some people prefer that it be outlawed, others have sympathetically justified the profession on the bad economy of the country and feel that outlawing the s*x trade will further victimize the victims, so there is confusion on what steps to take to reduce the s*x trade."

He advised that the campus s*x trade can be stopped or reduced, if tertiary institutions can make laws to prohibit the practice on the campuses, arrest anybody caught in the act and, hand them over to the appropriate authorities for prosecution. He said, if these laws are put in place, it will pose a threat to others intending to venture into such a business within the campus environment and the country at large.

Barrister Abagen stressed that the parents also have a significant role to play in stopping or reducing the s*x trade on campuses. He enjoined parents to teach their children good morals from home. "They should also strive to meet the needs of their children in school. Many parents don't have time to check on their children and know what they are doing with their lives. They are carried away with their jobs, family problems and their financial challenges."

"The government is also not helping matters with the rate of unemployment in the country and the high cost of attaining higher education. The government should improve funding of the education sector in order to drastically reduce the cost of attaining higher education in the country," he advised.

Related Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD7lgHrG0pE

Source

Omisore Bus Donation Tears OAU Students Apart

The level of the fire that has been sparked by the Bus donation from Senator Iyiola Omisore to the OAU Students' Union amidst the students of OAU may not have been discovered. In what seems to be like a displeasure over the acceptance of this gift by the Union leaders, our sampled opinions of Great Ife students on her Facebook Group page reaveal more.

Olubanji Engels Oluwole
''This bus was collected by the OAU students’ union leadership as a gift from a politician. Personally I believe it rubbishes the age-long values and pace-setter’s tradition of Great Ife Students’ Union. Before now, we have recorded several politicians barred from entering the Great Ife campus and many more chased out of the campus. This is not because we hate there personality, but because we abhor what they stand for, and represent as a collective.''

Ogunniran Gideon Ogidiolu in his own reaction in an article he tagged 'OAU STUDENTS' UNION: A HOME OF JOY BEFORE THE ENTHRONEMENT OF BASTARDS', said  ''...Greatest Ife! The unholy romance of Ibikunle-led union with politicians is a dent on the face of OAU union's virtues capable of tearing the fabrics of the ideals and celestial traditions of this reputable union. Its a shame on all OAU students and alumni if this bus of sham and misrepresentation is not rejected. Jimoh Ibraheem who happens to be a benevolent alumnus of this institution has at a time offered the union a coastal bus which was rejected because of his insistence to have his name imprinted on it for his political gains.''

  
Yusuf Basit
''Abeg why we dey disturb ourselves on dis matter, Omisore Gave Student Union Bus, does dat mean we dey give our vote for him? 90% of OAU student didnt register on campus. I have d fact. If Politicians doesnt give u Bus who will? Shey na socialist people wil? I just dey laff''

Abdulhameed Abdulmujeeb
 ''I've always taken a backseat when it comes to criticism of the current Students' Union leaders executives, but with d rate at which this excos are tarnishing OAU students' image, it's too much to bear. The most recent being the receipt of a bus from Senator Iyiola Omisore, this administration has commited a lot of atrocities. From not being assertive enough in their first challenge as Union leaders, to seeking and accepting ridiculous gifts from political gladiators, the crimes of Ibikunle and Co gets more grievous by the day...''

 Socrates Biko Mbamalu
''It is a shame, a big one on OAU students that they have condescended so low in intellect and moral sense to think that the action of Omisore, a very clear political action, is something we should not criticize, alienate ourselves from and reject. Invariably, all Great Ife students have been associated with this man, whose nefarious actions, such as the accusation of the murder of Chief Bola Ige is yet to be cleared. What we must realize is that this is not just an issue of whether we were given a bus or not. Our Union is not a begging Union and neither is it an NGO. The person the bus came from is of questionable character, and so is the person that received the bus.''

Something that really bothers me as someone that has been watching and studying events lately especially since the inception of the Ibikunle-led administration is that, thesame students blaming the SU leaders for collecting a Bus gift from the Senator suggested to the Students' Union leaders to meet him for his personal intervention over the increased school fees which seems to be the starting point of romance between our Union and the Politician. How then that it is now that Omisore seems to leverage on his invitation to spice up the hope of becoming the next Governor of Osun State that thesame students come up as enemy? Who is deceiving who?

We are currently trying to reach the Students' Union President to know his reactions on the already mounting allegation over the Bus gift.