Lecture-boycott: Students' Union Leaders Refuse Meeting With The Management

The leaders of the Students' Union of Obafemi Awolowo University has refused to attend a meeting with the University administration scheduled for Sunday, November 29 on the grounds that their attendance of such meeting would be a betrayal of their cause and frustrate the already planned lecture-boycott and protest.

The Congress of Great Ife students on Friday decided to embark on a lecture-boycott cum massive protest to press home for their demand on improved welfare of students and reinstatement of Olawale Ogunruku. Some hours after the Congress has decided, the Management having understood the impending disturbance invited the Union officers to a meeting which was allegedly requested by the Union leadership before now.

The Students' Union President has however said the Union leadership is likely to honour subsequent meeting invitation when many students will be aware. "In a sensitive period as this, meetings with the management must be well known to Great Ife students in the spirit of transparency. We want to inform the generality of Great Ife that subsequent meeting will likely be honoured after the students’ body is much aware of it. It must be said that we are open to negotiation throughout the period of struggle." he said.

As at the time of filing this report, all plans are in top gear as the students remain dogmatic about their position to protest their deplorable welfare conditions and any moment from now, the protest is expected to start.

OAU Student Caught Stealing During Service In NCCF

A final year student of the Department of Chemical Engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University who simple identified himself as Fela met his waterloo today as he was caught after he stole a bag belonging to a member of New Covenant Christian Fellowship (NCCF).

In the course of a dynamic Sunday service of the NCCF today at the Fajuyi hall cafe, Fela was at the back of the curtain separating the other end of the cafe from the auditorium planning and strategizing on how to steal from bags of innocent worshipers. It took the conscious effort of one of the members who was at the back of the auditorium to notice him which eventually led to his napping red-handed. Fela confessed to have taken some items from the bag but pleaded guilty.

Fajuyians whose attention were called when Fela was caught insisted that he be taken to the Fajuyi hall excos' secretariat for further investigations. Upon getting to the secretariat, he was admitted in with those concerned on the matter. The hall executives promised to get back to everyone after his case has been investigated which is still expected as at press time.

GEMSTONE Campus Connect Holds Value Based Leadership Training

By Farombi Oluwaseun

Students of Obafemi Awolowo University gathered in Eden, New Buca on Sunday for a training programme tagged ‘Value Based Leadership’ organised by GEMSTONE Campus Connect in OAU. The event started at about 3pm with each participant introducing themselves.

The speaker of the event, Daniel Otabor who is the National Coordinator of GEMSTONE Larders' Connect and also a Personal Assistant to Fela Durotoye; the seasoned motivational speaker started the training with differentiating between a nation and a country. In his disposition, a country represents a geographical area with many nations but a nation consists of people with the same heritage, belief and language. He described Nigeria as a country and the United State of America a nation though they do not have the same belief and language but they have the same purpose, mission and vision. He further stated that Africa represents Poverty in the midst of the plenty and to solve our problem in Nigeria, there must be a personal transformation before national transformation.

Obviously elated and encouraged by the event, David, a participant expressed delight as he confessed to have gained a lot in the programme and now knows that for Nigeria to be a better nation, it is a collective responsibility that begins with all of us. Speaking with the President of GEMSTONE Campus Connect, OAU Chapter, he said GEMSTONE is an acronym which stands for Generation that is Empowered, Motivated, Steered To Operate with Natural Excellence. He said the main motive of the programme is to train people on GEMSTONE’s message which is to ‘having Nigeria become the world's most desirable nation to live in by 31st December, 2025’.

Nigeria Of My Dream; The Role Of Youths - Adigun Olayemi

By Adigun Olayemi

I gett baffled with the current state of my country Nigeria. The job opportunities continue to decrease, roads are not the way they should be anymore, agriculture is depreciating day by day due to the non-cognisance of our governments. Not only these, public workers no longer get paid their salaries as at when due. The telecommunication sector is now a means of income to their owners only thereby allowing for all fraudulent acts to invade the sector at the expense of Nigerians. Maximum security is no longer the priority of the government of the day whereby allowing for incessant bombings and incessant kidnapping which scare foreign investors.

Food prices get on the high on daily basis paving way for the poor to get poorer. The education system has sporadically declined knowing that no Nigerian university is among the first 200 in the world. Electricity is another thing hampering our nation’s economic development. The National House of Assembly has turned to the home of several hybrids of wrestlers. What are we to do to all these things? What exactly is our government of the doing?

These questions and many more I keep asking myself. Nigeria has huge potentials to be the greatest nation on earth. Nigeria is blessed with abundant land to cultivate many crops for human consumption. The potentials are there in our teachers to make the students better. Youth have roles to play. We must influence people around us with the dream of a greater Nigeria. Nigeria youths must change their orientation of the country from bad to good.

They must start seeing themselves as the future leaders of this country whereas the future starts now. Passing through the higher institution must reflect in their activities for those that have the opportunity.
Nigeria has so many potentials like Chimanda Adichie who won the Orange prize, Wole Soyinka, the Nobel Laureate winner and so on. They have all contributed immensely to the growth of the nation while they were in their youth days. Youths must stand to their feet to make Nigeria a better place to be.

Nigeria Varsity System Syllabus Is Archaic And Misused - Ope Banwo

The Vice Chancellor of America Internet Business School Dr. Ope Banwo, has challenged the Federal Government over the archaic syllabus usage in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

Ope Banwo, fumed at the Federal Government and the Ministry of Education over non inclusion of certain new courses in the tertiary institutions syllabus. He made this known at the just concluded Nigeria Internet Business Conference which was held at the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, where he talked about how young Nigerians can generate legal money on the internet.

According to Banwo "Nigeria varsity system syllabus is archaic and misused. "Why are we not having E-commerce, Freelancing, Blogging, Affiliate and Digital Marketing included in the Nigeria University syllabus? As the internet is becoming larger, youth are supposed to be growing with it. But otherwise is what we have in Nigeria, even youth that grew with the internet used it on illegal businesses". He said.

He further stated that he has forwarded a petition to the current Nigeria Education minister Adamu Adamu, on need for a revised syllabus in universities nationwide.

Meanwhile, to put in his quota to online business development, Ope Banwo, is inaugurating an internet business club - 'Netpreneur club' on campuses across the country. He recently launched the Netpreneur Club at the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University, where Lukmon Fasasi, emerged to be the club interim president.

Congressmen Accuse TY Of Congress Manipulation

The congress of Obafemi Awolowo University students on Friday did not end without descending heavily on the Students' Union President, Omotayo Akande a.k.a TY as he was alleged of manipulating congresses to satisfy his opinion. Apart from this, many congressmen expressed doubt in the ability of the current Union leadership to implement congressional resolutions thereby requesting for the constitution of a 19-man Committee that will include the CEC members, some SRC members and some other congressmen to ensure the implementation of the congressional resolutions that will be made.

A congressman who is also an honourable of the Students' Representative Council (SRC) asked the congress rhetorically in his submission that should the students trust a President that can boldly say to the students that he manipulated the previous congress to ensure that the Afrika remembrance day held? He further stated that the Union President over time has not always effected the implementation of congressional resolutions. Corroborating the initial submission, the popular student activist and a member of the Left, Comrade Engels confess to share the same sentiment with the former saying he does not trust the President though they are friends.

Responding to these claims, TY warned that they should not feed the congressmen with lies as he denied saying he manipulated the congress to favour any programme to hold. Also reacting to the vote of no confidence passed on him by Engels, TY said it is not fair for Engels to come out and say he does not trust the Union leadership that fought for his reinstatement.

Some students who spoke with our correspondents after the congress however had diverging opinion as regards the turn of events. Some said the Left is doing everything possible to frustrate the TY led-administration and also calling for the creation of a committee so that they can sell out the reactivated struggle for better welfare conditions to the Management. Some others are also of the opinion that TY started getting it wrong since he manipulated a congress to favour the then embattled Secretary General of the Students' Union, Hon. Seun even after a judicial injunction had sacked him for not meeting the criteria for contesting the elections that brought him in.

OAU Recognized & Awarded For ICT Strides

The annual NITDA-NIHILENT awards held on the 18th of November, 2015, during the eNigeria 2015 conference at the International Conference Centre Abuja. This award held in recognition of excellence in e-Governance cuts across ICT based sectors ranging from State Government, Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Education and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

The award reflects the all-inclusive use of ICT for organizational operations in general, but in the case of educational institutions, the adoption of ICT in Teaching, Research, Learning and Administration.

In attendance were the Honorable Minister of Communication, Barrister Adebayo Shittu (himself and IFE alumnus), the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communication, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

The award was received on behalf of the Vice Chancellor of University, Prof. B.I Omole by the Director, INTECU, Prof. G.A. Aderounmu.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) whose mission is: To develop and regulate IT for sustainable national development, was established to create a framework for the planning, research, development, standardization and regulation of Information Technology practices in Nigeria.