Maintaining In Maintenance (Episode 1)

What was your reaction when you first heard a person say he/she was going to "Maintenance" in OAU? what came to mind? For me, it was the thought that probably such place was where cars or some other technological thing was handled.

Well, anyone who knows OAU better would know I was wrong. "Maintenance", in OAU, is a collection of hostels only for female students. Geographically, Maintenance is maybe the most proximal residential area to the OAU campus after the school Halls of Residence and this is probably why many ladies seek to live there. However, female students stay in maintenance for some other reasons like; inability to get an accomodation on campus, privacy, aesthetics, being identified with the financially buoyant students (aka "forming") amongst other reasons. Maintenance can be quite homey, relaxing and comforting and one certainly enjoys the calm of having almost no sense of insecurity or danger.

As ostentatious as it may sound, Maintenance is also not as rosy, living there can be like living in any other place in the world, with people and their different tastes, life-style, personal beliefs, e.t.c.

Maintenance is a place where "the big girls" and the "aspiring" try as much as possible to live a comfortable life, even if their family background and finances say otherwise, where guys come shopping for "babes" with their cars or "Leggedes Benzes".

Once I heard that one can even get low self-esteem in Maintenance, and if not careful, the desire to be more like others may tend to start to influence a person. And just as hostility and animosity tends to exist wherever one may find himself, it is also not far-fetched among some female students who live in Maintenance as an  individual may feel superior to another in terms of intelligence, financial capacity, achievements, and other impressionable things which makes life in maintenance private and reserved for some people. Last session, I heard about a fight that ensued over a gas cooker in one of the hostels between a then final year student and one of her roommates who was then in her Second year, the fight led to the destruction of some personal property which belonged to the second year student. And on eventually leaving the hostel, the graduate did more havoc by removing the padlock on the girl's wardrobe and replacing it with another, and she also did the same with the padlock at the entrance of the room.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around why the place is called Maintenance but I can assure you that just as there is a good and bad side to life, so is there to Maintenance. As whilst many are the popular benefits of living there, there are also many other things that can be detrimental to one's pursuits as a student. However, Maintenance is an enjoyable place if one as a student can set his goals and priorities right. Till next time, I'll be maintaining in maintenance...

Ayo Sulaimon is a Student of the Arts and Social Science Education Department of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-ife and also a member of the OAU Peeps Team.

Porters, Students Clash In Fajuyi Hall

The porters of Fajuyi hall arrived Block 3 at about 10:00 am yesterday, Wednesday, 24th August, 2016 to pack some goods such as bread, indomie and some other wares sold by some students on the block. The porters stated that their actions were based on an order from the Division of Student Affairs.

The student involved (name witheld) pleaded with the porters not to take away his goods and other students came out in large numbers restricting the porters from going away with the items. Some of the angry students protested and claimed that hostels are meant for students and any transactions that happened between students in the hall did not concern the Porters.

All efforts by the Porters to lock up the room and leave with the goods eventually proved futile as Fajuyans in Block 3 stood their ground almost leading to a combat with the porters. Keeping in mind that the same act of taking students goods was outplayed at Block 2 of the Hall on Tuesday, 23rd August, 2016. Most of the students even further lamented the saddistic attitude of those selling at the buttery and how they treated students with disgust citing these small student entrepreneurs as the only better alternatives.

Dean Raises Alarm Over Possible Collapse Of OAU Faculty Building

The Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Prof. Agbo Amusan, has said that the failing link bridge between two buildings at the faculty poses a serious danger to the lives of staff and students of the university.

Amusan raised the alarm while delivering a speech at the inauguration of the lecture theatres renovated by the 1991 alumni of the faculty on Saturday.

He said that apart from the failing link bridge, years of neglect caused the sewage pipe to burst inside the offices of some lecturers and the place was shut down despite the fact that offices for the staff were insufficient.

Noting that the faculty needed urgent renovation, the dean lauded the 1991 set and urged others to assist their former faculty and give the present staff and students an environment conducive for teaching and learning.

Amusan said, “The attendant old age and progressively increasing pressure occasioned by staff and students’ usage over the years on the various facilities within the faculty buildings have led to a near total collapse of the facilities.

“This was compounded by the lack of routine maintenance of the various facilities within the buildings. The inability to carry out regular routine maintenance of facilities is often attributed to dwindling funding from the Federal Government.

“Some of the major challenges facing the faculty are the structural problems of the faculty buildings. One of the columns that support the link bridge is failing already and this poses a serious danger to lives. In one of the departments, some academic and technical staff have sewage pipes leaking directly into their offices and they had to vacate the offices.

“There is the problem of leaking roofs and this causes disruption in power supply and students are expected to carry out laboratory research at the faculty, without electricity supply.”

The President of the Faculty of Agriculture (1991), Mr. Henry Ojuoko, said he mobilised other alumni in the set to assist the faculty because of the decapitation caused by years of neglect.

Ojuoko promised that the set would not relent in assisting their alma mata within the limited resources of the members. He called other old students of the faculty to emulate the 1991 set.

The Acting Vice- Chancellor, Prof. Anthony Elujoba, who was also present at the brief ceremony, said he would ensure a good change within the six month period of his tenure.

Elujoba said the university would not allow the link bridge to collapse, adding that renovation would be carried out not only at the faculty but also all over the campus.



Source: TODAY.ng

Only Senate, Academic Board of Varsities Can Admit – JAMB

The Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oyolede, yesterday in Kano, cleared the air on the processes for admissions into tertiary institutions in Nigeria for the 2016 academic year.

He said it is the Senate or Academic Board of each institution that has the prerogative of admitting candidates to their respective institutions, subject only to the existing national policy on admission into tertiary institutions.

Addressing participants at the first Technical Committee meeting on 2016 admissions to first choice institutions at the Bayero University, Kano, he explained that  JAMB’s responsibility was to coordinate the process and not to usurp the traditional responsibilities of the senates and academic boards.

“Consequently, no candidate must emanate from any other source (JAMB inclusive)  outside the list prepared and recommended by the institutions,” he stated.

He explained that JAMB has the right to reject candidates for non-compliance with the extant rules and regulations, but has no right to substitute or originate any names without prior concurrence of the institutions.

“The only difference between this year’s admission process and what has always been the practice is the policy that there should be no written post-UTME test. All other processes should be and would be as they have always been,” he said.

He tasked the participants, which included admission officers, registrars, directors and several stakeholders to act with focus on that which would be beneficial to the largest number of Nigerians.

“We must avoid adding to the burden of the masses of our people who rightly yearns for higher education as a veritable means of active participation in public life,” he stated.

He reiterated the fact that the National Policy on Admissions into tertiary institutions in Nigeria remains a 60:40(Science/Art) ratio for conventional universities, 80:20 Science/Art) ratio for  non-conventional, universities, 70:30 ratio (technology/non-technology) ratio for National Diploma awarding institutions.

Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, in his remarks, applauded the resolution of the controversy surrounding this year’s admission into tertiary Institutions, saying there ought to be a difference between the regulators and implementors

“You  cannot regulate and implement. The two must not meet else you will be compromised,” Ganduje who was represented by his deputy, Professor Hafiz Abubakar said.



 Source

Late Registration For 2015/2016 Harmattan Semester Begins Today

The Management of Obafemi Awolowo University has announced the commencement of the late registration of courses today, August 22.

"All students should please note the following:

1. All payment problems (RRR errors) emanating from the eportal have been
resolved.

2. Normal registration (without penalty) ends at 11:59pm, Friday 19th August, 2016.

3. Late registration begins on Monday, 22nd August and ends on 31st August, 2016.

More information to follow…" the portal reads.

UP NEPA: Electricity In Nigeria

With the rising rate of blackouts and incessant power failure, it is hard for one not to comment on this issue. One phrase any child truly Nigerian can not but say in the process of growing up is “Up NEPA”. As a matter of fact, it is a trademark of anybody truly Nigerian. NEPA stands for National Electric Power Authority and the phrase is used usually to express the joy that accompanies the restoration of power supply or as we often like to wrongly put it, “the bringing of light”. Anyone who has lived in this country would agree that the power supply in the Nigerian nation is nothing to be proud of and many individuals and organizations have commented and made several recommendations as regards how the deteriorating state of the power situation can be confronted but then again, talk is cheap.

Statistics have shown that Nigeria produces far below her consumption demand for electricity. According to Babatunde Raji Fashola led Ministry of Power, we produce about 2,464 Megawatts of power and at present we have a purported demand of about 12,800 Megawatts. Apparently, we are nowhere close to enjoying long term uninterrupted power supply anytime soon. Personally I think there are only two ways out this: We must try to reduce demand and at the same time consider other alternative sources of power. At present, Nigeria generates power majorly from Hydroelectric and some thermal and fossil fule power plants but it would be nothing but self deceit to slight the fact that Gasoline generators also take a huge chunk when accounting for power production in the country. In fact, there are notions that the not-so-serious attitude of the government to the improvement of power supply in the country is due to the strong politicking from stakeholders in the "Generator and Petrol" industry.

And there is also the Solar energy alternative which is rapidly gaining ground, however this option remains relatively expensive and in seasons like this when the sun doesn't shine so brightly, it may not be as reliable. So even with all these alternatives gaining ground, we may still have to shout Up NEPA a little longer...


Pope Jay

OAU Peeps News Agency Holds Screening Exercise

Panelists L-R Dosunmu Deborah, Olaoluwa Joseph, Fatoye Temitope, Ojelabi Jesujoba

OAU Peeps News Agency held her Screening exercise on Saturday, 20th August, 2016.

The exercise started at about 10am with a written test at AUD 2 and was followed thereafter by an oral interview at the ACJ Secretariat.

We hereby use this medium to inform applicants to be on the lookout for feedbacks.