With his ‘Lightning Bolt’ poses, play acting for the cameras and care free attitude, he delighted fans at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, but Usain Bolt is very serious when it comes to sprinting.
N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.
Bolt dominated the World Athletics Championships just as he did at the Beijing Olympics, shattering the world records for the 100m and 200m, while Jamaica won the 4×100m relay to complete his hat trick of gold medals.
Bolt, who regularly pleased the Berlin crowds with his trademark pose, sliced 0.11sec off both his 100m and 200m world record times to be crowned the undisputed sprint king.
But behind the smiles and jokes, Bolt says he came to Berlin to prove Beijing was no fluke and a rare false start in the semi finals of the 100m showed there were a few nerves.
“Last year I was a joker, but I showed people that this was no joke here,” he said.
“I did almost everything the same as I did in Beijing. Winning three gold medals in Berlin is wonderful, I am proud of myself.”
Had security guards not been present, Bolt would have been mobbed by a noisy crowd of adoring fans on his way to the 4×100m press conference.
Bolt’s humour translated well to the Germans and he delighted fans when he had “Ich bin ein Berlino” written on his warm up T-shirt in honour of the championships’ cuddly mascot.
The over-sized bear, who patrolled the sidelines, returned the compliment with a T-Shirt reading: “Ich bin ein Bolt”, but there is room for only one global superstar in athletics.
“For me it is not too hard to do what I did, because I am just trying to be myself and have fun,” Bolt replied when asked if he thinks he is the saviour of a sport which for years has been tarnished by numerous doping revelations.
“I just wanted to come here and show people my personality and they love it,” he added. But having admitted his aim is to eventually be known as a track and field legend, Bolt says only hard earned success will earn him the accolade.
“I am not there yet: year after year, I have to become a champion again and again.” But the smiles and clowning around mask a serious side to Bolt who says he learned the lessons to take his 200m silver from Osaka two years ago and convert it into world championship gold in Berlin.
“When I started out in track and field, I was injured a lot,” he said.”In Osaka I came second and realised my talent, so I sat down with my coach Glen Mills and he explained what I was doing wrong.
“I wasn’t running well off the curve as I wasn’t strong enough, I had problems. “I worked hard on my abdomen and back muscles and did a lot of speed endurance. I have worked on my reactions and my start times are brilliant this year, so I am just getting things right, year after year.
“I am finding out what is wrong and working on it.”His reaction time in the 200m final bears out his hard work he needed just 0.133 of a second to start running compared to 0.179 of his nearest rival.
But while he says there is nothing else he wants to work on, the training will not stop as he looks to future success. “I just want to finish the season injury free, go home and get the vacation, go on the beach and do all the fun things I can’t do now.”
While Bolt admitted it would be “very nice” if Queen Elizabeth ever decided to honour him with a knighthood, the city of Berlin has already honoured him with a giant piece of the Berlin Wall.
The Jamaican, who turned 23 last Friday, was on Sunday presented with an original segment of the Wall weighing nearly three tons by the host city.
The 3.5m high section will be delivered to his training camp in Jamaica and is painted with a life size portrait of him on the Olympic stadium’s blue track and shows his world record of 9.58secs for the 100m and 19.19 for the 200m.
“I will never forget Berlin,” Bolt said at the ceremony. “Ich bin ein Berlino.”
campusflava
Friday, August 28, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
We’ll sustain ASUU strike until FG signs’
National Association of Academic Technologists [NAAT], sister Union of Academic Staff Union of Universities [ASUU] has said that unless the Federal Government signs and implements the re-negotiation of 2001 agreement, it will sustains the current nationwide strike.
NAAT in a communiqué signed by its Vice President, Sani Mohammed and General Secretary, Sani Suleiman at the end of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja and made available to Daily Sun at the weekend accused the FG of being responsible for delay in calling off the on-going strike embarked upon by university lecturers.
N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.
The academic technologists also described as “unacceptable” government’s position of directing them to negotiate their requests with the various university governing councils, insisting that the councils do not fund the universities.
“That the FG’s position not to sign the agreement with NAAT because of state universities is not tenable as both Federal and State governments were duly represented at the re-negotiations,” NAAT said.
The Union, however, berated government’s refusal to sign and commence implementation of the 2001 agreement on collective bargaining as contained in International Labour Organization Convention of 46[1984], 91[1950], 154[1981] and 163[1981] respectively.
The Union argued that government’s blunt refusal to respect an agreement earlier reached was a clear case of breach of contract and collective bargaining against the union and called on government to retract its steps.
The technologists NEC maintained that its negotiations was in conformity with section 91 of the Nation’s Labour Act of 1990, stressing that its negotiating team was also in line with the Udoji Commission of 1974, Kalu Anya Commission of 1981 among others.
“The National Association of Academic Technologists remains committed to the education of our children who are the leaders of tomorrow and would not do anything that would jeopardize their future.
“Having considered submissions from NAAT branches nationwide, NEC resolved to sustain the current strike action until government signs and implements the Re-negotiated 2001 agreement,” it stated.
NAAT in a communiqué signed by its Vice President, Sani Mohammed and General Secretary, Sani Suleiman at the end of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja and made available to Daily Sun at the weekend accused the FG of being responsible for delay in calling off the on-going strike embarked upon by university lecturers.
N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.
The academic technologists also described as “unacceptable” government’s position of directing them to negotiate their requests with the various university governing councils, insisting that the councils do not fund the universities.
“That the FG’s position not to sign the agreement with NAAT because of state universities is not tenable as both Federal and State governments were duly represented at the re-negotiations,” NAAT said.
The Union, however, berated government’s refusal to sign and commence implementation of the 2001 agreement on collective bargaining as contained in International Labour Organization Convention of 46[1984], 91[1950], 154[1981] and 163[1981] respectively.
The Union argued that government’s blunt refusal to respect an agreement earlier reached was a clear case of breach of contract and collective bargaining against the union and called on government to retract its steps.
The technologists NEC maintained that its negotiations was in conformity with section 91 of the Nation’s Labour Act of 1990, stressing that its negotiating team was also in line with the Udoji Commission of 1974, Kalu Anya Commission of 1981 among others.
“The National Association of Academic Technologists remains committed to the education of our children who are the leaders of tomorrow and would not do anything that would jeopardize their future.
“Having considered submissions from NAAT branches nationwide, NEC resolved to sustain the current strike action until government signs and implements the Re-negotiated 2001 agreement,” it stated.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
ASUU Strike Threatens Varsities’ Capital Vote
The ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) may soon take a heavy toll on capital projects in the 27 federal universities, THISDAY has gathered.
The newspaper learnt that only 30 per cent of the over N9 billion allocated for capital projects in the universities in the current financial year has been spent.
By the end of September 2009, all unspent funds will be returned to the federal treasury, in accordance with the public financial rules introduced by the President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua administration.
N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.
Contracts for projects are awarded by the University Senate, comprising mainly of all professors and heads of departments (HoDs) – who are currently on strike.
With another strike by the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), the proposed projects may effectively be unrealisable before the fiscal year for capital projects closes next month.
Concerns are now mounting over how the outstanding 70 per cent will be implemented in the next five weeks before the closure of capital accounts for the fiscal year.
Some of the projects, THISDAY learnt, are infrastructural in nature and are meant to improve the overall conditions of the universities.
“The university system, grossly under-funded over the decades, is in desperate need of cash, and severe consequences await the nation if most of the funds provided for capital development in the 2009 budget are not utilised,” a government official lamented to THISDAY last night.
The strike by university teachers for better conditions of service and improved funding of the education sector is now over two months old, although most of the contentious issues have been resolved.
The Federal Government recently pulled out of negotiation with ASUU, asking the teachers to suspend the strike before it would return to the table.
Efforts to reach the Minister of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu, were unsuccessful but his Technical Assistant, Prof. Stephen Okecha, confirmed that the retirement age for professors had been increased from 65 to 70 years, “as is the case with Supreme Court justices. Only professors can retire at this age so as to encourage other academics to work hard to reach their professional zenith”.
Also, universities are now more autonomous. Okecha said that their councils now recruit both the academic and non-academic staff, in line with the recently amended act of the National Assembly.
“The vice-chancellors of the University of Maiduguri, University of Nigeria, Usmanu Dan Fodiyo University and Nnamdi Azikiwe University have been appointed solely by the respective councils, with the Federal Ministry of Education merely informed for record purposes,” he stated.
The Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, in Anambra State, Prof. Boniface Egboka, said: “The Federal Government made no input whatsoever in my recent appointment.”
The new arrangement makes for greater accountability and transparency, according to a lecturer, Alphonsus Shireku.
“When a vice-chancellor knows he is answerable to the university council, rather than some unseen forces in far-away Abuja, he works hard for the university,” he said, acknowledging ongoing progress at the University of Ibadan.
The 40 per cent increase in the salaries of federal university teachers which will see a professor earn N450,000 per month and a graduate assistant almost N100,000 monthly will take effect from July. Their salaries had also been increased by 15 per cent in 2007.
The Ministries of Education, Finance and Justice as well as the office of the Accountant General of the Federation have worked out the details of the new salary structure captured in the supplementary budget now before the National Assembly.
"I should think the fact that the president and the vice-president as well as both Education Ministers are academics made them escalate this year's Education vote from N210.5 billion to NN224.7 billion, in spite of the global economic meltdown and the profound problems with meeting oil production targets in Nigeria," observed Dr. Ifediora Amobi, Senior Special Assistant to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan on economic matters.
The only outstanding issue is the alleged refusal by the Ministry of Education to endorse an ASUU proposal that it signs an agreement compelling state governments to pay the same enhanced salary to ASUU members in state-owned universities.
ASUU accused the Federal Government of “stifling collective bargaining” for this stance.
But such an agreement will be unconstitutional and a violation of the federalist principle, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and visitor to Lagos State University (LASU), said.
The Education Minister is believed to be working towards charging the ASUU leadership with contempt of court if it fails to call off the strike by August 24 as directed by the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP).
“The charge is part of the strategy to ensure that the over N6 billion yet to be spent on university capital projects is not lost,” a director in the Ministry of Education said.
It is understood that Egwu will in the next few days apply the “no-work, no-pay” policy if the strike continues.
The university authorities will be directed to open attendance registers for lecturers who return to work and provide enough protection for them against ASUU activists who may want to molest them.
The newspaper learnt that only 30 per cent of the over N9 billion allocated for capital projects in the universities in the current financial year has been spent.
By the end of September 2009, all unspent funds will be returned to the federal treasury, in accordance with the public financial rules introduced by the President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua administration.
N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.
Contracts for projects are awarded by the University Senate, comprising mainly of all professors and heads of departments (HoDs) – who are currently on strike.
With another strike by the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), the proposed projects may effectively be unrealisable before the fiscal year for capital projects closes next month.
Concerns are now mounting over how the outstanding 70 per cent will be implemented in the next five weeks before the closure of capital accounts for the fiscal year.
Some of the projects, THISDAY learnt, are infrastructural in nature and are meant to improve the overall conditions of the universities.
“The university system, grossly under-funded over the decades, is in desperate need of cash, and severe consequences await the nation if most of the funds provided for capital development in the 2009 budget are not utilised,” a government official lamented to THISDAY last night.
The strike by university teachers for better conditions of service and improved funding of the education sector is now over two months old, although most of the contentious issues have been resolved.
The Federal Government recently pulled out of negotiation with ASUU, asking the teachers to suspend the strike before it would return to the table.
Efforts to reach the Minister of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu, were unsuccessful but his Technical Assistant, Prof. Stephen Okecha, confirmed that the retirement age for professors had been increased from 65 to 70 years, “as is the case with Supreme Court justices. Only professors can retire at this age so as to encourage other academics to work hard to reach their professional zenith”.
Also, universities are now more autonomous. Okecha said that their councils now recruit both the academic and non-academic staff, in line with the recently amended act of the National Assembly.
“The vice-chancellors of the University of Maiduguri, University of Nigeria, Usmanu Dan Fodiyo University and Nnamdi Azikiwe University have been appointed solely by the respective councils, with the Federal Ministry of Education merely informed for record purposes,” he stated.
The Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, in Anambra State, Prof. Boniface Egboka, said: “The Federal Government made no input whatsoever in my recent appointment.”
The new arrangement makes for greater accountability and transparency, according to a lecturer, Alphonsus Shireku.
“When a vice-chancellor knows he is answerable to the university council, rather than some unseen forces in far-away Abuja, he works hard for the university,” he said, acknowledging ongoing progress at the University of Ibadan.
The 40 per cent increase in the salaries of federal university teachers which will see a professor earn N450,000 per month and a graduate assistant almost N100,000 monthly will take effect from July. Their salaries had also been increased by 15 per cent in 2007.
The Ministries of Education, Finance and Justice as well as the office of the Accountant General of the Federation have worked out the details of the new salary structure captured in the supplementary budget now before the National Assembly.
"I should think the fact that the president and the vice-president as well as both Education Ministers are academics made them escalate this year's Education vote from N210.5 billion to NN224.7 billion, in spite of the global economic meltdown and the profound problems with meeting oil production targets in Nigeria," observed Dr. Ifediora Amobi, Senior Special Assistant to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan on economic matters.
The only outstanding issue is the alleged refusal by the Ministry of Education to endorse an ASUU proposal that it signs an agreement compelling state governments to pay the same enhanced salary to ASUU members in state-owned universities.
ASUU accused the Federal Government of “stifling collective bargaining” for this stance.
But such an agreement will be unconstitutional and a violation of the federalist principle, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and visitor to Lagos State University (LASU), said.
The Education Minister is believed to be working towards charging the ASUU leadership with contempt of court if it fails to call off the strike by August 24 as directed by the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP).
“The charge is part of the strategy to ensure that the over N6 billion yet to be spent on university capital projects is not lost,” a director in the Ministry of Education said.
It is understood that Egwu will in the next few days apply the “no-work, no-pay” policy if the strike continues.
The university authorities will be directed to open attendance registers for lecturers who return to work and provide enough protection for them against ASUU activists who may want to molest them.
Monday, August 10, 2009
America pledges aid for African scientists, help fight hunger
CHRONIC poverty and hunger in Africa have come under the searchlight of the continent's women scientists and the United States (U.S.) government.
Under its new response to the twin problems in Africa, the Barack Obama administration is counting on the continent's women farmers/scientists to bail out millions of Africans from poverty and hunger in the region.
N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.
These were some of the decisions taken in Nairobi, Kenya, during a parley between the African women and visiting American officials led by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
And when she arrives in Nigeria tomorrow, Clinton will discuss security matters and how to foster greater transparency and participatory governance in Nigeria with the Federal Government.
The Guardian learnt at the weekend that the idea of giving democratic power to the people in a more demonstrable way enhanced by reliable public institutions would dominate the bilateral talks.
The American-African women forum agreed that the absence of women in decision-making institutions in agriculture in Africa had contributed to the rising rate of poverty and hunger in Africa.
The women scientists under the aegis of African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), who urged African leaders and the U.S. policymakers to put women at the centre of efforts to address chronic hunger and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, argued that it was only when women could exert more influence on public policies and programmes that sub-Saharan Africa could ward off future food crisis, drought and other impacts of climate change.
Besides Mrs. Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, featured in the talks held during their recent visits to research facilities outside Nairobi.
In her response, Vilsack said: "The outstanding achievements of the women of the AWARD initiative serve as a model and inspiration to women farmers all over Africa. As part of President Barack Obama's international initiative to help millions become food secure, a focus on women farmers will be an important and integral part of this effort."
Women account for about 80 per cent of Africa's food production. But their access to land, vital services, such as credits, and improved technologies, is extremely limited. They receive only five per cent of agricultural extension training and 10 per cent of rural credit.
Also, a few agricultural projects are designed to address women's specific needs. Only a quarter of its researchers and development experts are women and only 14 per cent of the management positions in agricultural research and development are female.
In a statement made available to The Guardian in Abuja by the organisers of the event, Sheila Ommeh, a Kenyan scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), said: "Science is crucial to building a pathway out of poverty. Yet, a few young Africans are pursuing careers in agricultural research and science. We need support in expanding that number."
Measures like the American Global Food Security Act of 2009 are a step in the right direction, the group said. But the impact of this initiative would be limited unless it was reinforced by targeted efforts to provide Africa's women farmers with the technical and financial resources to respond to new economic opportunities, the women stated.
"Investing in women is the smart solution to Africa's hunger. It will help ensure that U.S. development resources yield maximum returns in reducing food insecurity and poverty," Kenyan horticulture, Prof. Mary Abukutsa-Onyango, said.
Co-ordinated by the Gender and Diversity Programme of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), AWARD provides 60 fellowships yearly to boost the female talent pool supporting Africa's farmers, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Diplomatic sources in Abuja confirmed to The Guardian at the weekend that apart from a shared vision of how best to secure Nigeria's prosperity and collective future, the bulk of issues in the envisaged "New U.S.-Nigeria Engagement" presented by the Nigerian delegation to influential groups in the U.S., including the Black Congressional Caucus and the American Centre for International Studies (CSIS) during Obama's inauguration of last January would be appraised.
Responding to The Guardian's inquiry on Clinton's visit in Abuja, American Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Renee Sanders, said: "We do not have that information yet. It's a tour of nations and when we have the timing of her coming to Nigeria, you will be told."
During a press briefing in Abuja, Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, said: "The Secretary of State has called in on phone to say that America is not just working with Nigeria this time around but is going to work more closely with the biggest black nation on earth. And I thought this is very significant for all our efforts in the new time. And with this, we are now going to see multilateralism, a restoration of the shared values of the United Nations (UN), and just as what President Obama represents, which for Nigeria means a triumph of diversity."
Under its new response to the twin problems in Africa, the Barack Obama administration is counting on the continent's women farmers/scientists to bail out millions of Africans from poverty and hunger in the region.
N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.
These were some of the decisions taken in Nairobi, Kenya, during a parley between the African women and visiting American officials led by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
And when she arrives in Nigeria tomorrow, Clinton will discuss security matters and how to foster greater transparency and participatory governance in Nigeria with the Federal Government.
The Guardian learnt at the weekend that the idea of giving democratic power to the people in a more demonstrable way enhanced by reliable public institutions would dominate the bilateral talks.
The American-African women forum agreed that the absence of women in decision-making institutions in agriculture in Africa had contributed to the rising rate of poverty and hunger in Africa.
The women scientists under the aegis of African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), who urged African leaders and the U.S. policymakers to put women at the centre of efforts to address chronic hunger and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, argued that it was only when women could exert more influence on public policies and programmes that sub-Saharan Africa could ward off future food crisis, drought and other impacts of climate change.
Besides Mrs. Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, featured in the talks held during their recent visits to research facilities outside Nairobi.
In her response, Vilsack said: "The outstanding achievements of the women of the AWARD initiative serve as a model and inspiration to women farmers all over Africa. As part of President Barack Obama's international initiative to help millions become food secure, a focus on women farmers will be an important and integral part of this effort."
Women account for about 80 per cent of Africa's food production. But their access to land, vital services, such as credits, and improved technologies, is extremely limited. They receive only five per cent of agricultural extension training and 10 per cent of rural credit.
Also, a few agricultural projects are designed to address women's specific needs. Only a quarter of its researchers and development experts are women and only 14 per cent of the management positions in agricultural research and development are female.
In a statement made available to The Guardian in Abuja by the organisers of the event, Sheila Ommeh, a Kenyan scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), said: "Science is crucial to building a pathway out of poverty. Yet, a few young Africans are pursuing careers in agricultural research and science. We need support in expanding that number."
Measures like the American Global Food Security Act of 2009 are a step in the right direction, the group said. But the impact of this initiative would be limited unless it was reinforced by targeted efforts to provide Africa's women farmers with the technical and financial resources to respond to new economic opportunities, the women stated.
"Investing in women is the smart solution to Africa's hunger. It will help ensure that U.S. development resources yield maximum returns in reducing food insecurity and poverty," Kenyan horticulture, Prof. Mary Abukutsa-Onyango, said.
Co-ordinated by the Gender and Diversity Programme of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), AWARD provides 60 fellowships yearly to boost the female talent pool supporting Africa's farmers, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Diplomatic sources in Abuja confirmed to The Guardian at the weekend that apart from a shared vision of how best to secure Nigeria's prosperity and collective future, the bulk of issues in the envisaged "New U.S.-Nigeria Engagement" presented by the Nigerian delegation to influential groups in the U.S., including the Black Congressional Caucus and the American Centre for International Studies (CSIS) during Obama's inauguration of last January would be appraised.
Responding to The Guardian's inquiry on Clinton's visit in Abuja, American Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Renee Sanders, said: "We do not have that information yet. It's a tour of nations and when we have the timing of her coming to Nigeria, you will be told."
During a press briefing in Abuja, Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, said: "The Secretary of State has called in on phone to say that America is not just working with Nigeria this time around but is going to work more closely with the biggest black nation on earth. And I thought this is very significant for all our efforts in the new time. And with this, we are now going to see multilateralism, a restoration of the shared values of the United Nations (UN), and just as what President Obama represents, which for Nigeria means a triumph of diversity."
Sunday, August 9, 2009
ASUU’s strikes as a game of musical chairs
YET, why is the central government unwilling to implement genuine fiscal federalism to encourage the constituent parts of the country to develop their resources and deploy them to meet the peculiar needs of the people?
The minister should have carried his line of reasoning to its logical conclusion by demanding (a) that the Federal Government should accept what is vaguely known as resource control and (b) permit university councils to stipulate appropriate tuition fees and accommodation charges in the federal universities. Over the years, the federal government has emasculated the constituent geopolitical configurations that make up Nigeria, and made itself a big Santa Claus to the states.
N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.
Thus, it should not complain when the hour of reckoning arrives, since it could as well shed some of its burdens by allowing different parts of the country exploit their human and natural resources and apply them to meet developmental needs. It is simply unrealistic for the government at the centre to greedily corner the bulk of the nation’s resources and then turn around to shirk its responsibility to the states in particular and to Nigerians in general.
Therefore, before the attainment of true federalism there is urgent need to modify the current revenue allocation formula so that more money could accrue to the states. But the most important problem for the federal government is the issue of official corruption and the obscene emoluments of top political office holders, including members of the legislature at the three tiers of government.
On a daily basis, our people are inundated with sordid reports of corruption perpetrated by top government officials. To add insult to injury, high ranking political appointees and legislators award themselves “elephantine salaries” and allowances. Indeed, recently it was reported that about N1.2 trillion are expended annually on slightly over 17,000 political office holders in the country, part which should have been used to improve our universities.
Moreover, the opulent lifestyles of big men and thick madams in government and their families and hangers–on, create the impression that the federal is actually deceiving lecturers when it argues that it does not have adequate resources to meet the demands of ASUU.
If, in truth, the economic meltdown worldwide has adversely affected Nigeria ’s economy, why are members of the executive and legislative arms of government at all levels spending (or rather wasting) money as if they have money– making machines in their bedrooms?
Why the lavish and expensive parties all over the place? Let us face it, Yar’Adua’s government, like all the ones that have emerged since 1970, with the possible exception of the Buhari–Idiagbon regime, is irredeemably corrupt, and has no radical ideas and political will to deal with corruption among “the high and mighty”.
Thus, unless there are visible concerted efforts by government to genuinely fight corruption in high places, unless we began to see frugality and prudence in the lifestyles of our political leaders, we can never accept that government does not have the financial wherewithal to implement agreements it reached with ASUU over the years.
The comments of government officials sometimes do not help in promoting expeditious and quick resolution of the strike problem.
For instance, it was reported that the chairperson of the senate committee on education, Joy Emordi, while commending the federal government for its “understanding in this matter”, stated that “it is unfortunate that the fate of our children is left to hang on the unpatriotic zeal of some individuals”.
In Nigeria , it appears that people lose the sense of decorum in speech when they assume public office either in the executive or the legislature. Power and easy access to a lot of cash make them uncouth and irresponsible in defending government against those they facetiously describe as disgruntled or unpatriotic elements.
Members of the ASUU negotiating team and majority of lecturers may be unpatriotic; but Emordi is not in a position to know this, because she has not investigated the issue properly.
However, I am sure that given the very fat salaries and allowances which members of the National Assembly collect every month, Emordi and her colleagues are in a much better position than most university lecturers, if the failing state called Nigeria collapses under the weight of its leadership–generated anomies, to relocate overseas or send their children to study in better funded and well-organized universities abroad.
Therefore, the logic of the current situation in Nigeria indicates that lecturers are more likely to be patriotic, in the real sense of that word, than senators and other “pigs” in the Animal Farm called Nigeria . In fact, it would be interesting to compare the ratio of children of top government officials in institutions of higher learning abroad with that of lecturers’ children.
I strongly suspect that the former would be higher, since the “pigs” have the financial power to pay tuition fees and other “incidentals” required for university education in foreign institutions. Because top government officials benefit from the skewed emolument system in Nigeria , they do not really appreciate the daunting sacrifices lowly paid Nigerians, including lecturers make daily to keep things going.
If government officials are really serious about the negative impact of the current global economic situation on our fragile economy, why are they still collecting outrageous while at the same time calling for understanding by university teachers?
Why has President Yar’Adua failed to trim down his over–bloated cabinet? Why is Nigeria ’s democracy still among the costliest, if not the costliest, in the world? The fact is that this government is not really serious about the improvement of education at all levels in the country.
If it were, then serious efforts should have been made to drastically reduce the cost of running the system by the “servant–leader”, Yar’Adua, and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party.
There is no reason, apart from corruption and planlessness, why the federal government should not meet the 26 percent of budgetary allocation recommended by UNESCO for education. In the knowledge – driven world in which we live presently, education is the most important ingredient for national development.
The minister should have carried his line of reasoning to its logical conclusion by demanding (a) that the Federal Government should accept what is vaguely known as resource control and (b) permit university councils to stipulate appropriate tuition fees and accommodation charges in the federal universities. Over the years, the federal government has emasculated the constituent geopolitical configurations that make up Nigeria, and made itself a big Santa Claus to the states.
N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.
Thus, it should not complain when the hour of reckoning arrives, since it could as well shed some of its burdens by allowing different parts of the country exploit their human and natural resources and apply them to meet developmental needs. It is simply unrealistic for the government at the centre to greedily corner the bulk of the nation’s resources and then turn around to shirk its responsibility to the states in particular and to Nigerians in general.
Therefore, before the attainment of true federalism there is urgent need to modify the current revenue allocation formula so that more money could accrue to the states. But the most important problem for the federal government is the issue of official corruption and the obscene emoluments of top political office holders, including members of the legislature at the three tiers of government.
On a daily basis, our people are inundated with sordid reports of corruption perpetrated by top government officials. To add insult to injury, high ranking political appointees and legislators award themselves “elephantine salaries” and allowances. Indeed, recently it was reported that about N1.2 trillion are expended annually on slightly over 17,000 political office holders in the country, part which should have been used to improve our universities.
Moreover, the opulent lifestyles of big men and thick madams in government and their families and hangers–on, create the impression that the federal is actually deceiving lecturers when it argues that it does not have adequate resources to meet the demands of ASUU.
If, in truth, the economic meltdown worldwide has adversely affected Nigeria ’s economy, why are members of the executive and legislative arms of government at all levels spending (or rather wasting) money as if they have money– making machines in their bedrooms?
Why the lavish and expensive parties all over the place? Let us face it, Yar’Adua’s government, like all the ones that have emerged since 1970, with the possible exception of the Buhari–Idiagbon regime, is irredeemably corrupt, and has no radical ideas and political will to deal with corruption among “the high and mighty”.
Thus, unless there are visible concerted efforts by government to genuinely fight corruption in high places, unless we began to see frugality and prudence in the lifestyles of our political leaders, we can never accept that government does not have the financial wherewithal to implement agreements it reached with ASUU over the years.
The comments of government officials sometimes do not help in promoting expeditious and quick resolution of the strike problem.
For instance, it was reported that the chairperson of the senate committee on education, Joy Emordi, while commending the federal government for its “understanding in this matter”, stated that “it is unfortunate that the fate of our children is left to hang on the unpatriotic zeal of some individuals”.
In Nigeria , it appears that people lose the sense of decorum in speech when they assume public office either in the executive or the legislature. Power and easy access to a lot of cash make them uncouth and irresponsible in defending government against those they facetiously describe as disgruntled or unpatriotic elements.
Members of the ASUU negotiating team and majority of lecturers may be unpatriotic; but Emordi is not in a position to know this, because she has not investigated the issue properly.
However, I am sure that given the very fat salaries and allowances which members of the National Assembly collect every month, Emordi and her colleagues are in a much better position than most university lecturers, if the failing state called Nigeria collapses under the weight of its leadership–generated anomies, to relocate overseas or send their children to study in better funded and well-organized universities abroad.
Therefore, the logic of the current situation in Nigeria indicates that lecturers are more likely to be patriotic, in the real sense of that word, than senators and other “pigs” in the Animal Farm called Nigeria . In fact, it would be interesting to compare the ratio of children of top government officials in institutions of higher learning abroad with that of lecturers’ children.
I strongly suspect that the former would be higher, since the “pigs” have the financial power to pay tuition fees and other “incidentals” required for university education in foreign institutions. Because top government officials benefit from the skewed emolument system in Nigeria , they do not really appreciate the daunting sacrifices lowly paid Nigerians, including lecturers make daily to keep things going.
If government officials are really serious about the negative impact of the current global economic situation on our fragile economy, why are they still collecting outrageous while at the same time calling for understanding by university teachers?
Why has President Yar’Adua failed to trim down his over–bloated cabinet? Why is Nigeria ’s democracy still among the costliest, if not the costliest, in the world? The fact is that this government is not really serious about the improvement of education at all levels in the country.
If it were, then serious efforts should have been made to drastically reduce the cost of running the system by the “servant–leader”, Yar’Adua, and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party.
There is no reason, apart from corruption and planlessness, why the federal government should not meet the 26 percent of budgetary allocation recommended by UNESCO for education. In the knowledge – driven world in which we live presently, education is the most important ingredient for national development.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Govt has little regard for university teachers, says Egudu
PRESIDENT of the Nigeria Academy of Letters (NAL), Prof. Romanus Egudu, has identified indiscipline as the root cause of the country's numerous woes. According to the university don, the problems of ineffective leadership, inefficiency in public offices and government-owned establishments, lack of concern for others, deception, hypocrisy, fraud and lawlessness point to only one thing: Indiscipline.
Egudu, who spoke on a wide range of issues in an exclusive interview with The Guardian, as the Academy prepares to hold its annual convocation at the University of Lagos next Thursday, also stated that the Academy had, through its public lectures, addressed the issues of governance, morality and materialism. "Indiscipline is the major cause of the country's inability to provide uninterruptible electricity, and without power and energy, how does one wish away unemployment or wish for a healthy economy, except for the sake of hypocrisy and deceit? He queried.
N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.
Asked to rate the Federal Government's budgetary allocation to the Education Sector this year, Egudu was blunt: "It is really not a matter of how one rates the allocation but of the fact that it is characteristically low. The allocation to education is only 7.9 per cent of the total annual budget, as against 26 per cent, which is UNESCO's standard for education. But even more important in our circumstance, is the issue of whether the much allocated will be strictly and judiciously utilized for purely educational purposes. Traditionally speaking, one would say that two major factors of education are the "learner" and the "teacher". It is therefore logical to advise that the allocation be used for providing maximal conducive environment and adequate learning facilities for the learners, as well as just and equitable conditions of service for the teachers.
On the current strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Egudu was unpretentious: "As an academic and Nigerian, I would say that the strike is a moral issue. If, as ASUU has made people understand, there was an agreement between it and the accredited representatives of Government, Government should, in the spirit of justice and fairness, honour that agreement.
"But, if Government has any genuine reason for being unable to honour the agreement, it should, for the sake of respect for human dignity and concern for others, discuss that reason with ASUU. Generally speaking, however, one may say that Government's apparent low rating of the functions and relevance of university teachers in the country is reflected by the abysmally low pay level of these teachers vis-ˆ-vis workers in other public-service establishments and the Civil Service-a phenomenon that is illustrative of the topsy-turvy nature of the society's value system-a system in which the most highly trained and qualified brains are callously rewarded with penury!"
On the contributions of NAL to the country's education sector, Egudu listed several efforts. His words: "The Academy gives Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship Awards to some young lecturers in Nigerian universities. About 10 such lecturers are currently enjoying the award. Furthermore, the Academy is discussing with relevant bodies, the ugly issues of the falling standard of the use of the English language in our education system, and the fate of History as a discipline that is facing extinction in the system. And that is with a view to finding solutions for these problems.
"The entire membership of the Academy is drawn from the academia, for all full professors of not less than five years' standing. Professors in all the disciplines within the Arts/ Humanities are qualified to be members. The Academy provides a forum for continuous interaction among these scholars, which makes for improvement in research and teaching at this level of the education system."
He continued: "The Academy has contributed to and impact on Education, which is listed as the seventh point on the Agenda. And over and above this, the Academy is indispensably relevant to the other six points-power and energy, food security, wealth creation, transport, land reforms, and security. All the points on the Agenda are about development; and, according to Emeritus Professor J. F. Ade Ajayi, a renowned historian and Foundation Fellow of the Academy, in the Academy's early Convocation Lecture, "development is about people."
"While Science and Technology cater for the material needs of man, the Arts/ Humanities of which the Academy consists, will provide the moral and ethical considerations involved in the actualization of the Agenda for the purpose of ensuring that the technical operators of the Agenda cultivate and exercise the virtues of integrity, honesty, judiciousness, and selflessness, and that they eschew the contrary vices of fraud, dishonesty, and hypocrisy. It is the necessary duty of the humanists in the Academy to insist that the operators observe this human and humane principle, in order that the points on the Agenda may yield the desired fruit."
Asked to enumerate the Academy's objectives and role in the country, Egudu's response was swift: "I would say that the objectives culminate in the generation of ideas for the guidance of the leaders and people of this country. And it has been said that ideas rule the world. The Arts/ Humanities are particularly oriented towards the moral/ spiritual, as against the physical dimension of the human being, so that ideas about morality, justice, integrity, ethical behaviour, altruism, which reflect the nature and essence of the Arts/ Humanities as "humane letters", are normally generated by them. These virtues are indispensable for the well-being and development of any nation.
"And one would like to think that Francis Bacon, perhaps, had the Arts/ Humanities particularly in mind when he said: "Abeunt studia in mores" (Studies culminate in manners). All the themes of the Academy's Annual Convocation Lectures since its inception, reflect its consistent concern about high-level morality and ethical standards in public and private life in Nigeria. A few of the themes are "Language and Good Governance", "Is There Not Amongst You A Righteous Man: The Nigerian Factor and the Nigerian Condition", "The Wages of Obsessive Materialism", "Man in Society as Template of Good Governance", and the one for this year's Convocation: "Religion and Morality in Nigeria", which comes up on the 13th of this month of August, 2009, at the University of Lagos."
However, when Egudu was told that the Academy as a body and its activities were not as popular as they should be, and asked to reveal plans to create more awareness about them, he tone squeezed up a little bit. He declared: "The existing activities which include the Annual Public Lectures that take place in different universities all over the country, the Annual Convocation with the Ceremony for Investiture of new Fellows, the production and distribution all over the country of the Academy's publications referred to earlier, interaction with the mass-media such as is taking place between you and me right now, as well as the Academy's plan to organize Academic Conferences from time to time in co-operation with the Learned Societies in the area of the Arts/ Humanities-all these should be enough to make the relevant audience in the society aware of the existence and relevance of the Academy.
"But if the truth must be faced: one has reason to think that in a society permeated by unbridled materialism and anti intellectualism, academic activities cannot gain such popularity as your question implies. Such a society is appropriately represented by that Poundian character who prayed to "Mercury, patron of thieves" to "install (him) in any profession/ Save this damn'd profession of writing/ where one needs one's brains all the time." Such people are not likely to even want to be aware of the existence and relevance of the Academy."
Egudu, who spoke on a wide range of issues in an exclusive interview with The Guardian, as the Academy prepares to hold its annual convocation at the University of Lagos next Thursday, also stated that the Academy had, through its public lectures, addressed the issues of governance, morality and materialism. "Indiscipline is the major cause of the country's inability to provide uninterruptible electricity, and without power and energy, how does one wish away unemployment or wish for a healthy economy, except for the sake of hypocrisy and deceit? He queried.
N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.
Asked to rate the Federal Government's budgetary allocation to the Education Sector this year, Egudu was blunt: "It is really not a matter of how one rates the allocation but of the fact that it is characteristically low. The allocation to education is only 7.9 per cent of the total annual budget, as against 26 per cent, which is UNESCO's standard for education. But even more important in our circumstance, is the issue of whether the much allocated will be strictly and judiciously utilized for purely educational purposes. Traditionally speaking, one would say that two major factors of education are the "learner" and the "teacher". It is therefore logical to advise that the allocation be used for providing maximal conducive environment and adequate learning facilities for the learners, as well as just and equitable conditions of service for the teachers.
On the current strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Egudu was unpretentious: "As an academic and Nigerian, I would say that the strike is a moral issue. If, as ASUU has made people understand, there was an agreement between it and the accredited representatives of Government, Government should, in the spirit of justice and fairness, honour that agreement.
"But, if Government has any genuine reason for being unable to honour the agreement, it should, for the sake of respect for human dignity and concern for others, discuss that reason with ASUU. Generally speaking, however, one may say that Government's apparent low rating of the functions and relevance of university teachers in the country is reflected by the abysmally low pay level of these teachers vis-ˆ-vis workers in other public-service establishments and the Civil Service-a phenomenon that is illustrative of the topsy-turvy nature of the society's value system-a system in which the most highly trained and qualified brains are callously rewarded with penury!"
On the contributions of NAL to the country's education sector, Egudu listed several efforts. His words: "The Academy gives Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship Awards to some young lecturers in Nigerian universities. About 10 such lecturers are currently enjoying the award. Furthermore, the Academy is discussing with relevant bodies, the ugly issues of the falling standard of the use of the English language in our education system, and the fate of History as a discipline that is facing extinction in the system. And that is with a view to finding solutions for these problems.
"The entire membership of the Academy is drawn from the academia, for all full professors of not less than five years' standing. Professors in all the disciplines within the Arts/ Humanities are qualified to be members. The Academy provides a forum for continuous interaction among these scholars, which makes for improvement in research and teaching at this level of the education system."
He continued: "The Academy has contributed to and impact on Education, which is listed as the seventh point on the Agenda. And over and above this, the Academy is indispensably relevant to the other six points-power and energy, food security, wealth creation, transport, land reforms, and security. All the points on the Agenda are about development; and, according to Emeritus Professor J. F. Ade Ajayi, a renowned historian and Foundation Fellow of the Academy, in the Academy's early Convocation Lecture, "development is about people."
"While Science and Technology cater for the material needs of man, the Arts/ Humanities of which the Academy consists, will provide the moral and ethical considerations involved in the actualization of the Agenda for the purpose of ensuring that the technical operators of the Agenda cultivate and exercise the virtues of integrity, honesty, judiciousness, and selflessness, and that they eschew the contrary vices of fraud, dishonesty, and hypocrisy. It is the necessary duty of the humanists in the Academy to insist that the operators observe this human and humane principle, in order that the points on the Agenda may yield the desired fruit."
Asked to enumerate the Academy's objectives and role in the country, Egudu's response was swift: "I would say that the objectives culminate in the generation of ideas for the guidance of the leaders and people of this country. And it has been said that ideas rule the world. The Arts/ Humanities are particularly oriented towards the moral/ spiritual, as against the physical dimension of the human being, so that ideas about morality, justice, integrity, ethical behaviour, altruism, which reflect the nature and essence of the Arts/ Humanities as "humane letters", are normally generated by them. These virtues are indispensable for the well-being and development of any nation.
"And one would like to think that Francis Bacon, perhaps, had the Arts/ Humanities particularly in mind when he said: "Abeunt studia in mores" (Studies culminate in manners). All the themes of the Academy's Annual Convocation Lectures since its inception, reflect its consistent concern about high-level morality and ethical standards in public and private life in Nigeria. A few of the themes are "Language and Good Governance", "Is There Not Amongst You A Righteous Man: The Nigerian Factor and the Nigerian Condition", "The Wages of Obsessive Materialism", "Man in Society as Template of Good Governance", and the one for this year's Convocation: "Religion and Morality in Nigeria", which comes up on the 13th of this month of August, 2009, at the University of Lagos."
However, when Egudu was told that the Academy as a body and its activities were not as popular as they should be, and asked to reveal plans to create more awareness about them, he tone squeezed up a little bit. He declared: "The existing activities which include the Annual Public Lectures that take place in different universities all over the country, the Annual Convocation with the Ceremony for Investiture of new Fellows, the production and distribution all over the country of the Academy's publications referred to earlier, interaction with the mass-media such as is taking place between you and me right now, as well as the Academy's plan to organize Academic Conferences from time to time in co-operation with the Learned Societies in the area of the Arts/ Humanities-all these should be enough to make the relevant audience in the society aware of the existence and relevance of the Academy.
"But if the truth must be faced: one has reason to think that in a society permeated by unbridled materialism and anti intellectualism, academic activities cannot gain such popularity as your question implies. Such a society is appropriately represented by that Poundian character who prayed to "Mercury, patron of thieves" to "install (him) in any profession/ Save this damn'd profession of writing/ where one needs one's brains all the time." Such people are not likely to even want to be aware of the existence and relevance of the Academy."
9 Nigerians Get £35,000 Scholarship
Preparation for Life (PFL) Nigeria, a UK- based career counseling firm has awarded scholarship worth 35,000 Pounds to nine Nigerian students to pursue postgraduate programmes in various universities in the United Kingdom.
The firm also opened another branch of its Nigerian operations at Eric Moore Close, a highbrow area of Surulere, Lagos. This is in addition to its existing offices in Abuja, Ibadan , Port-Harcourt , Victoria Island and Ikeja.
N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.
The nine recipients were selected out of the 24 people that applied for the offer through a draw carried out by guest at the weekend in Lagos. A breakdown of the scholarship fund shows that Miss Michelle Iyalla-Harry received 10,000 pounds, Ayodeji Adelegan, Linda Eseoghene Efetie and Ikenna Ochei received 5,000 pounds each, while five others shared 10,000 pounds.
Presenting the awards, Chairman of the company, Mr. Lawrie Green emphasised the importance of quality education, particularly in these days of global recession. “Education has never been more important, as more and more employers tighten their belts; many are reducing the numbers of staff they are employing. Only those with top quality education and skills behind them can expect to be competitive in today's employment market. So I would urge you and your loved ones to be making your investment for life right now.”
He added that his organisation was committed to assisting students who have excelled in their academics and also give back to the system it was working with. “PFL is demonstrating its commitment to excellent students coming out of Nigeria by putting back into the system and help students who are exceptional. We believe this scholarship will go a long way in assisting the selected students with their education in UK ”, he said
Green noted that his organisation does not intend to contribute to the problems of brain drain, but to encourage students to come back and contribute to the upbringing of their country.
Regional Director, Africa , Mrs. Femi Sangowawa said the organisation offers services such as visa and interview guidance; a comprehensive range of advice on studying in the UK; admission as well as scholarship opportunities in UK universities.
The Human Resources Manager, Mrs. Yinka Yomi-Edun said its expansion to the Lagos Mainland through the new branch in Surulere would further avail its numerous clients of the company's services, which is a sure way to acquire university education in the UK. “Our personnel and first class facilities in the new branch will ensure that we deliver quality services that we are known for.”
While commending the organisation for the initiative, Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Sarah Adebisi Sosan said it was assisting the government in educating the students by offering them scholarships that would enable them become good citizens.
Sosan who was represented by the Director of Higher Education in the Ministry, Mrs. Abimbola Awoyinfa said, “we are aware of the civil disturbances going on in some parts of the country where unemployed youths are burning down properties, PFL is not living everything to the hands of government alone, but helping to educate the students.”
The new office was commissioned shortly after the award ceremony by Green, assisted by the company's Regional Director, Africa, Mrs. Femi Sangowawa, Country Manager Mr. Godson Ideozu, and the Regional Manager Nigeria Mrs. Bukky Awofisayo.
By Uchechukwu Nnaike and Funmi Ogundare
The firm also opened another branch of its Nigerian operations at Eric Moore Close, a highbrow area of Surulere, Lagos. This is in addition to its existing offices in Abuja, Ibadan , Port-Harcourt , Victoria Island and Ikeja.
N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.
The nine recipients were selected out of the 24 people that applied for the offer through a draw carried out by guest at the weekend in Lagos. A breakdown of the scholarship fund shows that Miss Michelle Iyalla-Harry received 10,000 pounds, Ayodeji Adelegan, Linda Eseoghene Efetie and Ikenna Ochei received 5,000 pounds each, while five others shared 10,000 pounds.
Presenting the awards, Chairman of the company, Mr. Lawrie Green emphasised the importance of quality education, particularly in these days of global recession. “Education has never been more important, as more and more employers tighten their belts; many are reducing the numbers of staff they are employing. Only those with top quality education and skills behind them can expect to be competitive in today's employment market. So I would urge you and your loved ones to be making your investment for life right now.”
He added that his organisation was committed to assisting students who have excelled in their academics and also give back to the system it was working with. “PFL is demonstrating its commitment to excellent students coming out of Nigeria by putting back into the system and help students who are exceptional. We believe this scholarship will go a long way in assisting the selected students with their education in UK ”, he said
Green noted that his organisation does not intend to contribute to the problems of brain drain, but to encourage students to come back and contribute to the upbringing of their country.
Regional Director, Africa , Mrs. Femi Sangowawa said the organisation offers services such as visa and interview guidance; a comprehensive range of advice on studying in the UK; admission as well as scholarship opportunities in UK universities.
The Human Resources Manager, Mrs. Yinka Yomi-Edun said its expansion to the Lagos Mainland through the new branch in Surulere would further avail its numerous clients of the company's services, which is a sure way to acquire university education in the UK. “Our personnel and first class facilities in the new branch will ensure that we deliver quality services that we are known for.”
While commending the organisation for the initiative, Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Sarah Adebisi Sosan said it was assisting the government in educating the students by offering them scholarships that would enable them become good citizens.
Sosan who was represented by the Director of Higher Education in the Ministry, Mrs. Abimbola Awoyinfa said, “we are aware of the civil disturbances going on in some parts of the country where unemployed youths are burning down properties, PFL is not living everything to the hands of government alone, but helping to educate the students.”
The new office was commissioned shortly after the award ceremony by Green, assisted by the company's Regional Director, Africa, Mrs. Femi Sangowawa, Country Manager Mr. Godson Ideozu, and the Regional Manager Nigeria Mrs. Bukky Awofisayo.
By Uchechukwu Nnaike and Funmi Ogundare
Thursday, August 6, 2009
‘Our leaders lack a sense of direction’
Professor Idowu Sobowale, former Commissioner for Education in Lagos State has said that Nigeria does not have the infrastructure for the kind of education that can make it compete globally.
In an interview with Daily Sun recently, Professor Sobowale who was a former lecturer in the Department of Mass Communications, University of Lagos lamented that education at all levels in the country is not properly funded.
N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.
He said: “When you have a class of a thousand plus, people are sitting on widows to receive lectures, many people are outside, they don’t even hear what is going on in the class, yet at the end of the semester, are expected to pass...”
He also spoke on the ongoing ASUU strike and why government should adequately fund education.
State of education
The present state of education in Nigeria is a very sad one. God has given us every thing on a platter but we have not utilized those resources to the benefit of our people, rather, our leaders have interest in amassing wealth far in excess of what they and their generation even to the fourth level can use.
Those that are stealing billions and billions, how much of it can they spend, how many people can sleep in two houses at the same time, even in two rooms in one house at the same time, even in two bed in one room at the same time, even the bed you can only occupy a section of it at a given point in time. What is that for?
Most of us who even trained abroad, we see how things are. We see efficiency at its best but the moment we get back here, it is a different thing all together. If it is a curse, I am optimistic that some day the situation will change, God will bring those who will change the situation because I really do not know how to describe our plight.
Poor rating of education
I would say education has not been properly funded at any level, we do not even have the infrastructure: When you have a class of a thousand plus, people are sitting on windows to receive lectures, many people are outside, they do not even hear what is going on in the class and yet at the of the semester they are expected to pass and you are telling me that such product will be the type that will be able to face the challenges of development, no sir, no sir.
Time was in this country when if you went to any university in Nigeria if you get abroad, your certificate will be highly respected.When I went to the US, my certificate was highly respected and many of the things that I did at my undergraduate level were just an advance when I got to the U S. Now, you own a certificate from Nigeria and you want to use it any where, they will have to re-examine you. I do not know if Nigeria is among the first one hundred with our resources, with our exposure, with the number of years of being independent ah ah, that is not good enough.
ASUU’s strike
I am a teacher, I am a parent, the strike like any other one before has put me in a dilemma but I think the time has come for every body to do what is needful in order to get this country moving. Tell me what you can do without education in the twenty first century, virtually nothing. And do we have the infrastructure for the kind of education that can make Nigerian compete favorably with their counterparts else where in the world? My answer is as good as yours. So we need to pay serious attention to education at the primary level, we need to pay attention to education at the secondary level; we need to pay serious attention to education at the tertiary level. Let us resolve the issue once and for all so that when schools resume in the next ten, twenty years, nobody will be thinking of closing or what ever. I do not know any Nigeria university other than the private ones that can boast of a steady calendar, I mean no Nigerian Student can boast of when he/she will pass out. That is not good, that’s not reasonable, that is not desirable, that’s does not make sense that it does not make for growth and development.
How did we get to this bad state
Honestly I wish I knew, I will probably be in a better position to proffer solutions but I think basically greed, ethnicity or tribalism, lack of patriotism, and principally indiscipline are the problems we have and they have militated against our growth and development. In the energy sector for instance, any little money one has will be spent on diesel or petrol to power your generator. As generally known, generators are meant to be stand by but the reverse is case.
It is the PHCN that is the stand by in this area we will be lucky that you have light for two, three hours consecutively usually an hour, one and the half may be two hours and that is it in a whole day. Whereas for about six going to seven years now, Ghana celebrated ten years of uninterrupted power supply. Ghana does not have one tenth of the resources that Nigeria is blessed with. What is our problem? And we are talking about education, we are talking about the Millennium Development Goals or vision 2020, well it will be a mirage until we have people in government who are really dedicated and committed to the improvement of the situation of Nigeria.
For as long as we have people who will not be honest, who will not be committed, who are not disciplined to know that they should not do certain things that they indulge in, people who will only think of themselves and their immediate relations, then we are going know where. For instance, it is not as if our leaders do not know what to do to give us uninterrupted power supply but who will do it? Are they not the same people who will import generators? It amounts to cutting one’s nose to spite his face. We know our problems and if we are sincere, we know how to tackle them.
The way forward
By the time our problems will be turned around for the better, it will be like a miracle. For instance, we know what we should do, but why is it so difficult to do? Simple election we cannot conduct, census we cannot conduct, education we cannot fund. Look at our roads, so bad. If you go from here to Ibadan, Ijebu, Abeokuta anywhere then you will really be sorry for your vehicle. What are we talking about?
There are countries that are far less endowed than we are that are proud of solid roads. Take Swaziland in southern Africa, for instance, it is a very tiny country of 1.7 million, sugarcane is the only thing they have and maybe corn but they have good network of roads, their electricity does not fail, water flows regularly. Last year, when we were there, they had a pipe burst and it was going to take a few days to fix the thing for one week they were advertising apologies in their two newspapers for people that were affected assuring that they were working. They gave a time but before that deadline, they have to inform the people.
I mean we can do the same thing here, we can even do far better. We have people who have the competence, who have knowledge, who have every thing but when comes to doing the right thing here it become a different story. It is the same Nigerians that are making waves in developed countries in their critical sector, you find Nigerians there contributing to the growth of development of those nations but when they come here, even for those who are genuinely motivated, the resources are not there.
Well I have stated this several times, government must rededicate itself to education funding, aside that, government will have to scale down activities in other sectors in order to give education a serious boost unless that happens, we can not achieve vision 2020.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
ASUU/FG Re-negotiating Team Adjourns
The resumed re-negotiation between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government adjourned yesterday to reconvene on Thursday morning.
Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie, who briefed the Minister of Education, Dr Sam Egwu , yesterday, along with the Chairmen of the Federal Government�s negotiating teams with the academic staff unions of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education disclosed this.
N.B Visit www.campusflava.com for updates and information related to other schools.
�We made significant progress today to the extent that the Federal Government�s offer has been presented to the union and we hope to have appropriate response from them by Friday, � he said.
Chairman of ASUU/FG re-negotiating team, Deacon Gamaliel Onosode, said �at the resumed negotiation yesterday, I think the most important single issue that had bothered (ASUU) was what they thought was Federal Government�s repudiation of the principle of collective bargaining. By the time we concluded the meeting, we had, I think, successfully explained that government did not repudiate the principle or the process of collective bargaining. But rather, its position, which, admittedly, was stated outside the negotiation, was that the collective bargaining should be continued and concluded at a different level, the individual university level. That is the employer- employee level. The employers of ASUU are strictly the council.�They did not find this amusing. Because, they feel, if government thought it should be concluded at a different level, it should have started at that level.
In the mean time, the law under which federal universities operate has since been reviewed, reference to the miscellaneous provisions amendment act of 2003, which was gazzeted in 2007.
"At the time the negotiation re-started, university councils did not have the kind of autonomy they now enjoy under the law. In law, the employers of academic and non academic staff are university council. That was the reason why the Federal Government said the negotiation which started in December 2006 should be concluded at the university level. The question that needs to be disposed of is, yes, the law has changed but should it change a process that was almost completed or should it just be noted so that it can apply to future negotiations?
"We hope we can find a definitive response from government. But I think the compromise which they seem to be seeking is that the current process of collective bargaining at the level at which it was started, at the national level, should be allowed to be concluded, provided the agreement makes it clear that in future, negotiations of that sort, collective bargaining would be at the strictly employer � employee level.�We have set up a committee made up of representatives from both sides, to look into the provisional draft agreement to see what adjustments need to be made to make it acceptable to the federal government. We have adjourned till Thursday morning in the hope that between now and tomorrow (Wednesday) night, we might have some development along those lines�, Onosode concluded."When contacted, ASUU President, Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie, referred the reporter to Onosode as the chair of the negotiation. �The discussions are not for daily reporting in the papers. All that we want is a quick resolution of the matter so that children can go back to school, � he said.
Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie, who briefed the Minister of Education, Dr Sam Egwu , yesterday, along with the Chairmen of the Federal Government�s negotiating teams with the academic staff unions of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education disclosed this.
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�We made significant progress today to the extent that the Federal Government�s offer has been presented to the union and we hope to have appropriate response from them by Friday, � he said.
Chairman of ASUU/FG re-negotiating team, Deacon Gamaliel Onosode, said �at the resumed negotiation yesterday, I think the most important single issue that had bothered (ASUU) was what they thought was Federal Government�s repudiation of the principle of collective bargaining. By the time we concluded the meeting, we had, I think, successfully explained that government did not repudiate the principle or the process of collective bargaining. But rather, its position, which, admittedly, was stated outside the negotiation, was that the collective bargaining should be continued and concluded at a different level, the individual university level. That is the employer- employee level. The employers of ASUU are strictly the council.�They did not find this amusing. Because, they feel, if government thought it should be concluded at a different level, it should have started at that level.
In the mean time, the law under which federal universities operate has since been reviewed, reference to the miscellaneous provisions amendment act of 2003, which was gazzeted in 2007.
"At the time the negotiation re-started, university councils did not have the kind of autonomy they now enjoy under the law. In law, the employers of academic and non academic staff are university council. That was the reason why the Federal Government said the negotiation which started in December 2006 should be concluded at the university level. The question that needs to be disposed of is, yes, the law has changed but should it change a process that was almost completed or should it just be noted so that it can apply to future negotiations?
"We hope we can find a definitive response from government. But I think the compromise which they seem to be seeking is that the current process of collective bargaining at the level at which it was started, at the national level, should be allowed to be concluded, provided the agreement makes it clear that in future, negotiations of that sort, collective bargaining would be at the strictly employer � employee level.�We have set up a committee made up of representatives from both sides, to look into the provisional draft agreement to see what adjustments need to be made to make it acceptable to the federal government. We have adjourned till Thursday morning in the hope that between now and tomorrow (Wednesday) night, we might have some development along those lines�, Onosode concluded."When contacted, ASUU President, Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie, referred the reporter to Onosode as the chair of the negotiation. �The discussions are not for daily reporting in the papers. All that we want is a quick resolution of the matter so that children can go back to school, � he said.
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