ASUU Suspends Strike

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has just announced a conditional suspension of its strike action.

The ASUU President, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, announced this in Abuja late on Monday.

Apply For MTNF Science & Technology Scholarship 2017/2018

The application for the MTN Foundation Science and Technology Scholarship scheme for the 2017/2018 session has commenced, OAU Peeps News Agency can confirm.

With over N1,690,800,000 spent so far, the MTN Foundation “Scholarship scheme” is pleased to commence phase eight of this hugely successful initiative.

Eligible candidates are invited to apply for the educational opportunity of a life time.

Eligibility:
Second year full time undergraduates in public tertiary institutions (universities, polytechnics and colleges of education studying any science, technology or accounting related course and has a CGPA of 3.5 or its equivalents (Second class Upper/Upper Credit).

How to apply:
1. Visit www.mtnonline.com/mtnfscholarship
2. Upload a copy of your recent passport photograph: Maximum file size of 600kb

Please Note:
• The application portal opens Monday September 18, 2017 and ends October 09, 2017.
• Only short listed applicants will be contacted and MTNF bears sole responsibility for final selection of successful beneficiaries.

Worth: N200,000

Available Awards: 500

Opinion: A Million Pythons Cannot Dance Away The Biafra Question

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. — Albert Einstein

Whoever he is, the military officer who coined the code name ‘Python Dance’ is a genius. Although an original version of the military operation, the Python Dance I, held between November 27 and December 27, 2016, no one should have looked any further than the code name to deduce the possible outcome of the army’s latest incursion into the south-east. As a rebel scientist, I’ll break this down.

‘PYTHON DANCE’ MORE THAN MERE NOMENCLATURE
Although they are a family of nonvenomous snakes, pythons, scientifically Pythonidae, can be extremely dangerous. They are some of the largest snakes in the world, and are notorious ambush predators in that they typically lay motionless to evade the notice of a passing prey but then suddenly strike when danger is least expected. Ordinarily, no one should tease the python — that is where Nnamdi Kanu and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) got it wrong. Even though it looks innocuous when motionless, a python cannot be active without inflicting harm — that’s the misjudgement of the army, the thought that the operation would run without tension.

Prior to the take-off of the operation, the Nigerian Army acted like a python, listing a raft of harmless activities to cover up its one controversial aim of the operation. David Dawandi, a Major-General and Chief of Training and Operations of the army, said in a statement on September 8, that “during the exercise, emphasis will be placed on raids, cordon-and-search operations, anti-kidnapping drills, road blocks, check points, patrols, and humanitarian relief activities such as medical outreach”. That’s the motionless python. The statement also made it clear that there would be a “show of force to curb the rising threat to national security in the south-eastern part of the country”. A “show of force”? That’s a python in ambush mode. The summary is that it was an unnecessary operation. For many reasons.



NEEDLESS DANCE
Nnamdi Kanu’s court trial is ongoing. When he returns to court on October 17, the court will hear the federal government’s application for the revocation of his bail. There is no chance Kanu will win that argument — unless Justice Binta Nyako, who granted him bail in April, wants to make a mockery of herself and the judiciary. Kanu has repeatedly violated his bail conditions, the most obvious being his prohibition from hanging out with a company of more than 10 or granting interviews. The violation of the latter Kanu has already tried to defend, bizarrely claiming that he doesn’t “grant interviews” but he only “answers the questions” of journalists because it would be “rude and arrogant” of him to keep quiet when asked a question! But no such ingenious explanation exists for the former; there are numerous footages of him among scores and hordes of people, including videos of him preaching raw hate. Kanu’s return to prison will be permanent in October, so first question to the army; why roll out the pythons against a drowning adversary?

While the pythons were still dancing, the defence headquarters rushed to designate IPOB a terrorist group without even taking a moment to find out the procedures, as laid down by the same law they claim to be enforcing. The army erred by failing to follow the provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011, amended in 2013, that “setting up or pursuing acts of terrorism, the judge in Chambers may on an application made by the Attorney General, National Security Adviser or Inspector General of Police on the approval of the President; declare any entity to be a proscribed organization and the notice should be published in official gazette”.

Even that move itself is an overkill. Of course, Nnamdi Kanu is very annoying — I can imagine the Chief of Army Staff watching him in one of his numerous hate videos and itching to grab his throat and strangle him. There can be no arguments that he is unstable: how can a man who so passionately preached Nigeria’s unity under Goodluck Jonathan now so vehemently champion secession? But a more careful look at him will reveal his true nature: a mere radio/internet noisemaker elevated to the status of Biafra champion by a zealous and unlawful Muhammadu Buhari government. Kanu would never enjoy half his current popularity if he wasn’t repeatedly denied bail. Kanu talks too much; die-hard rebels talk less and act more. His Biafra Security Service (BSS) is toothless; not one of the so-called trainees carried any sort of weapon. They, in fact, looked too confused to be able to withstand confrontation by a private, the lowest-ranked officer of the Nigerian army. Little wonder Kanu himself is now in hiding.



LESSONS AND QUESTIONS
The deployment of soldiers to the south-east has caused needless tension. The death of a hard-to-ascertain number of people, the assault on suspected IPOB members (which, by the way, will go unpunished despite the army’s claim to be investigating it), the combing of buses by IPOB members in Aba for Hausa to harm, the Igbo-Hausa tension in Jos and Port Harcourt are all worrying scenarios that would have been avoided without military action. The seething inter-ethnic tension is worrisome; this is how wars start. In the past week, whether we admit it or not, Nigeria took one giant step towards a second Civil War. The good thing, though, is that the situation is still reasonably under control. To avert a total breakdown of law and order, our leaders must learn from our history and ask themselves the hard questions.

Speaking of lessons, it is hard to imagine how quickly our leaders have forgotten the role of military action in the escalation of Boko Haram from a nonviolent ideological group under Yusuf Mohammed to a ruthlessly violent one under Abubakar Shekau. The 2009 police crackdown on Boko Haram in Bauchi led to violence in Kano, Yobe and Borno states; and after Mohammed’s capture by the military and extrajudicial execution by the police, the reins of Boko Haram fell on the bellicose, blood-thirsty Shekau. The rest, as they say, is history. It will take decades for the north to recover from the ruin of this insurgency — the deaths of hundreds of thousands, displacement of at least 3million people, the humanitarian crisis, the sheer destruction of flora and fauna, the physical and socioeconomic regression. So, even if the military succeeds in taking out Kanu, the Biafra mantle will naturally be transferred to someone else, who may even be more dangerous than kanu. Tact, not force, is what President Muhammadu Buhari needs to handle Kanu and the Biafra agitation.

There are two questions the government must answer if Nigeria must remain peaceful. Why, despite his apparent weakness of character, lack of purpose, unruly choice of words, does Kanu continue commanding huge youth following? And, why, after almost four decades post-Civil War, are we still discussing Biafra? I do not have all the answers, but I’ll supply some.

First question: as I said earlier, Kanu is the number-one beneficiary of government’s misuse of power. But more importantly, Kanu’s followers are mostly made up of unemployed or unprofitably employed, disillusioned youth who have finally found someone to identify with their struggles. For the second, it must mean that the Biafra question was never addressed after the war. Buhari must think long and hard about what the Igbo want, why they feel sidelined, and what he can do to make them feel part of Nigeria.

Otherwise, a legitimate Biafra question will be left in the hands of an opportunistic Kanu, and we will lose a golden opportunity to once and for all resolve our differences and strengthen the bond of our nationhood. Buhari should let the courts decide Kanu’s fate. He must jettison the use of force and embrace dialogue — because whether we like it or not, a million pythons cannot dance away the Biafra question!


The writer, 'Fisayo Soyombo, Editor of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), tweets @fisayosoyombo

Igbobi Boy: The Sweet Bitter Tales Of A Young Old Man

A review of Adebayo Lamikanra’s “Igbobi Boy” by ‘Joba Ojelabi


Having had firsthand experience on the effects that good aesthetics can have on the human mind, I tend to often find the maxim; “Do not judge a book by its cover” quite controversial. For indeed, as much as a substance’s exterior is not always a precise expression of its interior, I believe that the packaging of a thing, to some extent, defines the value of such substance. Such that before any critical appraisal, the metaphorical cover of a book offers a potential reader some privilege of a preliminary assessment because eventually, the cover is part of the book! And more importantly, it is the part that carries the burden of first interaction with potential readers, bringing to mind the brother expression of first impressions and their comparative lifespan in the mind of readers.  This, coupled with the fact that I have had the privilege of stopping by Adebayo Lamikanra’s office a number of times, is perhaps why I find the cover of the enlightening memoir of the Professor of Pharmaceutics not as arousing.

It does not take too much time with “Lamikay”, as Professor Lamikanra is more fondly called, to learn of his fascination with the arts; both visual and virtual. His office, apart from the several expressions of visual art present, is littered with sheets of abstract sketches by the Professor himself. It is on this basis that a person aware of this fact about Lamikay, such as myself, might demand more from the book cover of Igbobi Boy; which, as at the time of this review, is a simple silhouette of a school boy carrying the blue and yellow colours of Igbobi College; the Alma mata of Lamikanra. Personally, I have a soft spot for covers which, in their attempt to express the theme of the book and in obedience to the sacred laws of design functionality and aesthetics, are laced with some with some elements of mystery and simplicity. What says mystery better than abstract art?     
                                                                                           
A bite into the less colourful pages of the book, however, might leave a reader a little more interested than its blue and yellow covers as Lamikay describes his experience at Igbobi College in very specific and quite fascinating detail. Beginning from his admission into the legendary college, Professor Lamikanra describes people, places and events with such precision that makes it hard to believe that the memories are from over forty years ago; leaving any reader familiar with the author pondering on how young the old man really is. Lamikanra, in the first few chapters after his interesting admission into Igbobi College, describes the age-old college. And indeed, he does so with such detail and affection that should leave any person in the current Nigerian educational system with a bitter sweet aftertaste.        
                         
In the course of book, Lamikay describes many of the events that would go on to influence his personality. Starting with his immense affection for the college; which it would seem the college herself instills in her sons, discipline, leadership, a passion for excellence amongst other things, the author would even describe traits that were not directly instilled by the college: A good example being his mother’s well delivered offhand speech, which at the time was merely a source of pride for the author but would eventually become a strong influencing factor in his method of presentation in subsequent years; a method which has interestingly become characteristic of a number of lecturers of Pharmaceutical Microbiology in the Department of Pharmaceutics of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-ife to state but a few secondary influences.

Lamikanra, apart from the walls of Igbobi College, also describes fondly a number of people met either at or through Igbobi College. Some of these persons, the Professor would later come across in later years under different circumstances.

Igbobi Boy is a description of golden years, not just for the boy currently living in an old man but for a nation presently in the shadow of herself. Lamikanra reminds us of an almost forgotten period in Nigerian history through his affectionate and passionate narration of his formative years. For those of us that were not around in the sixties, Igbobi Boy might come off as a fairy tale, especially considering the current realities of the Nigerian state but for those that were around, Igbobi Boy is the kind of book that brings back some fond memories especially for other alumni of the institution. Although the book does contain some typographical blots, looking at its cover once again, Igbobi Boy might actually just be a good reason to not judge a book by its cover.             

Post-UTME: Printing of Online Registration Slip To Commence Tomorrow

All Obafemi Awolowo University aspirants are to print their slip by the end of Monday 18th, September 2017. The Printed Registration Slip would contain the allotted date and time  to be brought along to the screening venue in addition to JAMB UTME Notification of Results/Registration Slip. The Combination (i.e. OAU Post-UTME Registration Slip and JAMB UTME Notification of Results Slip) would be the pass for entrance into the Computer-Based Aptitude Test venue.

Course Registration To Commence Next Week Monday

Registration of courses for the Rain semester of the 2016/2017  academic session will commence Next week Monday, 18th September 2017. Students are advised to complete their registration as soon as possible..

Startup Labs Ife Launch Monthly Interactive Meetings

Startup Labs, an organisation set out to assist intending and upcoming entrepreneurs in bringing to reality their ideas, announced its presence officially in Ile-ife on Sunday, 10th September 2016.

The meeting which was organized by the localized section of the organisation, Startup Labs Ife, was held at the Rotunda of the Obafemi Awolowo University Campus and was supported by Classic Systems Infotech.


Giving his welcome address, founder of the organisation, Mr Igba Joshua; founder of the Neonatar brand stated that the organisation was birthed in a bid to assist young entrepreneurs, most especially considering the peculiarity of Ife not being as friendly for business.


The speakers at the event included Opeyemi Adesanya of OFA Multiglobal, Bomi Opatayo from StartUp Nation Africa, Adewale Ojo from the A&G group. The speakers spoke on an array of intricacies involved in starting and scaling a business, giving attendees practical experiences.


Commenting on the necessity of starting the programme, Mr Igba in an interaction with our correspondent stated, "The Startup Ecosystem in this terrain (Ife) is not vibrant. This is why startups in Ife hardly get any funding from investors in Ife let alone getting funding from outside.
One of the strong purposes of Startup LABS is to push Startups in Ife in the direction of funding for scaling."