NANS, Vice Chancellors Meet DG NYSC Over Partial 2016 Batch B Mobilization

This week, delegations of the committee of Vice Chancellors and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) visited the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Sulaimon Kazaure over the proposed partial mobilization of prospective corps members for the 2016 Batch B Youth Service.

Here is a statement from the NYSC Headquarters today.

"The Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Sulaiman Kazaure, has disclosed that proactive efforts are being made to ensure that all prospective Corps members eligible for the 2016 Batch ‘B’ service year are mobilized.

He gave this indication during an interface with the National Association of Nigerian Students in his office.

As part of measures to facilitate the mobilization of all the eligible graduates, the DG stated that all Corps Producing Institutions had been requested to upload full list of their Senate-approved prospective corps members to the NYSC portal.

He appealed to the students’ umbrella body to cooperate with the Scheme in its genuine efforts to resolve all issues relating to hitch-free mobilization of prospective corps members for the 2016 Batch ‘B’ service year.

Earlier in his remarks, the NANS President, Aruna Kadiri, said the union leaders were in the NYSC Headquarters to seek explanation on the earlier plan to get Corps Producing Institutions to submit partial list of their eligible graduates and to discuss the ways out.

After being informed of the latest development, the students’ leaders applauded the Federal Government and the NYSC Management for the steps taken towards addressing the challenges, and assured that they would promptly transmit the information to all their members.

During a similar meeting with the NYSC Management, a delegation of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors led by its Chairman, Professor Adebiyi Daramola, said the body was concerned about the likely implications of not mobilizing all eligible graduates in the 2016 Batch ‘B’.

The meeting agreed that the Universities would upload full list of all prospective Corps members approved by their respective Senates while the NYSC would take the most appropriate decision in processing the lists.
Discussion at the meeting also centred on the need for the Vice-Chancellors to put in place internal mechanisms that would ensure credibility in the handling of mobilization data by their institutions, including avoidance of submission of names of part-time graduates, as well as strict adherence to the approved carrying capacities of the institutions."

Jimoh Ibrahim To Storm OAU For Professor Ijalaye Annual Lecture

On Thursday, 13th of October, 2016, the Quintessential EQUITY CHAMBERS notable for her excellence presents to the generality of the Great Ife Community a threefold event:

The 8th Emeritus Professor D. A. Ijalaye Annual Public Lecture themed: "Nigeria's Economy: Roles of Worshippers in the Temple of Justice."

Guest Speaker: Dr Jimoh Ibrahim, OFR, CFR, the renowned lawyer and businessman (Chairman, Global Fleet Group)

Chairman of the Lecture: Mallam Yusuf Ali, SAN (Principal Partner, Yusuf Ali and Co)

Special Guest of Honour: Mrs. Funke Aboyade, SAN (managing partner, Funke Aboyade and Co)

The programme is also said to feature a Book Launch of "A Worshipper in the Temple"-  Selected Works of  Emeritus Professor D. A. Ijalaye (SAN, FNIALS).

Chief Launcher: Rt. Hon. Yusuf Lasun (Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Nigeria)


Book Reviewer: Mrs Funke Adekoya, SAN (Partner, AELEX Legal Practitioners and Arbitrators)

The Equity Chambers Alumni Reunion in celebration of past and founding members of Equity Chambers as well as an avenue for young honourables to learn from distinguished alumni some of which include Dr Abiola Sanni, Justice Olamide Oloyede, Dr S.B Odunsi, Barr. D. I. Kekemeke amongst others.

DATE: Thursday, October 13th 2016.
Venue: Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
Time: 10:00 am prompt.

Live Through This - Nikhil Lagh

All my life, darkness was the only light. Living never had much meaning to me and everyday I anticipate a cataclysm that would bring an end to the world and humanity. No child is born like this, trust me I wasn't. I was eleven when it all began.

My father was long gone and my mother owned a provision store that was quite far from our house so she'd always return late at night. Most times when my sister and I returned from school, we were made to stay at a neighbor's place before my mother returned. They had two daughters and I was of the same age with Layo, the younger one. Her elder sister being way older than us had Layo and my sister run an errand while she insisted I stayed behind to do the dishes with her.

Midway into the dishes, she went into her room and called me. I rinsed the soap off my hands and went in. She lay unclad on her bed and ordered me to touch her in her core places. I did not realize how stunned I was until she yanked me by my ears to the bed and soon, I found my little hands bending to her wish. I remember feeling very nauseated, yet I could not tell it to anybody because to my childlike mind it didn't seem like what it was; child abuse.

This went on for several months and ended only when she got admitted into an higher institution and had to leave home. My joy knew no bounds, I had found freedom or so I thought until I found myself feeling torn and incomplete. This feeling was soon replaced with a longing for a classmate of mine, Victoria who was known for passing such 'vibes'. Towards the end of junior school, I summoned courage to approach her and we became partners.

The next year, we moved and I had to change schools. It felt like I was living in hell already. I was cursing Layo's sister and missing Victoria at the same time. I was a boarder at my new school and I found comfort in solitude; the beautiful new girl was a certified loner. I hated it when school went on break because it seemed to like my only escape. I felt filthy whenever I was in church or knelt to pray and soon I began to question the existence of a supreme being and lapsed into depression on many levels.

After secondary school, the long wait upon resumption into OAU were the worst days of my life. I had several fits of anger and with my younger sister in boarding school, my mother was always at the receiving end. When we eventually resumed, I started failing from day one. I never made sense of classes or my notes. I was disgusted at the mess I had become. I had lost my joy of living and slowly, all the beautiful dreams I had of touring Venice and Kuala Lumpur faded away.

I thought I had seen the worst but it came on a night in second semester when there was a bloody battle in my head. I checked my results and I had just been gifted with two F's. I was having severe cramps too. In that moment, everything stopped to matter. I dragged myself from my room to sit on the roof of the college of health sciences as I always did whenever the tumult in my mind seemed to overwhelm me and after minutes of blankness, I composed a text message to my mother; an equivalent of a suicide note.

As I stood close to the edge of the roof, I wished the stillness in the night would not call my name. I wished I would not care about the people that cared. I wished I would not be reminded of the many things I had yet to do. For a moment, the thought of failing a million people occurred to me, but still I braced myself and asked for forgiveness (quite comical, considering the fact that I loathed a God theory). Apparently, the demons of my thoughts had won though I wanted to be discovered, to be stopped but most importantly, I wanted to be free.

Three seconds to my leap into oblivion, my phone rang. It was the ringtone I specially assigned to the group 'family' on my device and when I looked at the screen where I lay it, turned out my sister was calling with the phone she smuggled into her hostel and you would not believe. She just called to say she missed me and couldn't wait to see me come December. As the call ended, I shrieked madly. All my senses were flooded in unbelievable pain, I couldn't believe how close I came to taking my life.

I cried until I was weak on my knees pleading to nobody in particular. I had wanted freedom from my flesh yet somehow I knew that beyond this death lay a life that would be sadder than ever. I prayed hoping that somebody, anybody was listening and in that moment, on my knees, I knew I had found not just one, but several reasons to go on living. In the warmth of my sister's voice, I had found peace and many other things I was blind to all my life and most importantly, I found my liberation.


(Nikhil Lagh is a student of Political Science at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-ife and a member of the OAU Peeps Team)

A Little Or None At All - Okpala Uzochukwu

Alcohol have stirred up a lot of controversies in the modern world. It is a drink that means different things to different people: to some, it is the best definition of recreation, leisure and having a nice time, to some others, it is the best antidote to stress, while to others it is an unholy drink that can cause a lot of havoc.

Despite the controversies, alcohol is still one of the most commonly abused drug in the world, and the leading cause of preventable infant mental retardation in developed countries (fetal alcohol syndrome).

There are controversies amidst the medical profession too, the general belief is that a little bit of alcohol is good for the heart (some do not agree to this though, instead they believe the research was sponsored by breweries to down play its side effects), never the less, alcohol is a risk factor for numerous  diseases which include liver diseases, cancers, diabetes, infant mental retardation, to mention but few.

In our campus community, we have witnessed some bad effects of alcohol. Overspeeding, especially by motorists coming from New Buka late at night thereby endangering the lives of innocent students. The most touching story I witnessed was in my first year (four years ago) when a drunk driver coming from New Buka area killed a barber on his bike. More recent drunk driving incidences we have heard about have lead to injuries only.

There is a good side to alcohol, the bond it creates between friends, its alleviation of anxiety and its recreational purposes cannot be under emphasized.

As a general rule in life, too much of anything is bad, alcohol is not exempted. alcohol intoxication has lead to loss of lives, loss of relationship, loss of trust, disgrace and other social vices. Moderation (a little) or non at all is the safest measure.

(Okpala Uzochukwu is a student of the College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-ife and a health writer on the OAU Peeps Team)

Alpha Club OAU Commences Charity Week, Commissions Several Projects

Known to many as the league of gentlemen and big boys, the Alpha Club of the Obafemi Awolowo University on Monday, 10th October 2016 commenced her charity week 2016 with free bus rides for students between campus gate to bus stops and the commissioning of her community projects.

Some of the projects which were commissioned by the Dean of Students Affairs, Dr (Mrs) Akinola included waste bins and Road Safety Signages at strategic locations on campus. The programme however continued today, Tuesday 11th October with a blood donation exercise which was done in collaboration with National Blood Transfusion Service and had quite a number of students turning out for the donation.

Commenting on the nature of the club, the Lord Mayor of the club, Mayor Adelowo Adeola, said, "Alpha Club is a socio-cultural and philanthropic club". In a chat with our correspondent, he further encouraged the participation of students and members of the University Community in the donation which continues tomorrow and outlined the other activities of the week; donations to the University Health Centre on Thursday, 13th October, an orphanage visitation on Saturday, 15th October and Thanksgiving services on Friday 14th and Sunday 16th October respectively.

CLASFON OAU To Host Next National Conference

"We Came. We Saw. We Conquered" this was the song of members of The Christian Law Student Association Of Nigeria (CLASFON), OAU after the just concluded 25th Annual CLASFON National Conference at Nnamdi Azikwe University Awka.

According to reports gathered from attendees, the conference had in attendance about 26 universities and commenting on the conference, Mr Adedigba Daniel said, "We have exercised this through  the Grace of God upon our lives and the conscience effort of mankind. We have once again made Obafemi Awolowo University particularly IFELAW an envy of other universities.
Sitting judges asserted IFELAW as the standing hope of the Legal Field. We were tagged 'the green light of a seemingly looming future of the judiciary1".

In the same light of successes recorded at the Conference, IFELAW, won the WOLE OLUFON Moot Competition with the scholarly effort of F. B. I. Oyewale and as well produced the Best female oralist, an award that was unavoidably created as an irresistible honour  to Apeh Martha for her witty excogitation of legal arguments.

Above all, CLASFON OAU contested and won hosting rights for the next National Conference. It was indeed an unforgettable event for CLASFON OAU.

OAU Vice Chancellor's Cup: Here Is The Summary Of What You Have Missed So Far

The ongoing Vice Chancellor's cup started on the 29th September, 2016, and it has continued to live up to expectations. The competition has generated a lot of interest from students of Obafemi Awolowo University. This is obvious, as students come out en mass to support their respective faculties.

The tournamement which started on a high note comprises all faculties on campus. However, only the Faculty of Pharmacy has failed to show up for their first and subsequent matches. Their opponents were given a walkover and a 3 nil match result.

So far, the favourite faculty predicted to win the competition - the Faculty of Education - has crashed out. The faculty failed to progress to the quarter finals, after a fierce showdown between it and the Faculty of Agriculture saw it ousted; courtesy of a last minute goal by the Faculty of Agriculture.

Unfortunately, the Faculty of Medical Sciences conceded the most goals before they were knocked out of the competition; their defence allowed twelve goals.

In the quarterfinal clash between the Faculty of Agriculture and the Sciences, the former was eventually knocked out. With a man of the match performance by faculty of Administration goalkeeper, they won on penaties after their goalie saved two penalty kick during the match and three during the penalty shoot out. The Faculty of EDM showed much zeal and endurance in its game against the Faculty of Law and it paid off. Following a full time draw, the game extension saw EDM progress.

The last quarter final match was between the Post graduate (PG) and the Faculty of Technology. The star studed Faculty of Technology managed to win the PG, after a very tight game to set a semifinal showdown with the Faculty of Administration.

The final match of the competition is expected to have in attendance the Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Anthony Elujoba, the Deans of Faculties and other top university officials.

Here are the Semi-final fixtures

EDM vs Social Sciences
Administration vs Technology

MATCH RESULTS OF THE ONGOING INTER-FACULTY COMPETITION

Group Stage Results

29th September, 2016
Education 2 : 2 Social sciences
Administration 3 : 1 Sciences

30th September, 2016
Law 2 : 2 Arts
PG 0 : 0 Environmental Design and Management

1st October, 2016
Pharmacy 0 : 3 Agriculture
Medicine 0 : 6 Technology
Basic Medical Sciences 1 : 3 Administration
Dentistry 0 : 6 Postgraduate

3rd October, 2016
Agric 1 : 1 Social Sciences
Tech 2 : 0 Arts
Pharmacy 0 : 3 Education
Medicine 0 : 4 Law

4th October, 2016
Science 2 : 0 Basic Medical Science
EDM 5 : 0 Dentistry

5th October, 2016
Social Sciences 3 : 0 Pharmacy
Arts 7 : 2 Medicine

6th October, 2016
Law 1 : 0 Tech
Education 0 : 1 Agric

QUARTER FINAL Results

7th October, 2016
Agric 0 vs 3 Science
Administration 1 vs 1 Social Sciences
Administration won 3-0 on penalties

8th October, 2016
Law 1vs EDM 1
EDM won 4-3 on penaties

PG 0 vs 1 Technology