Indiana university honours Obasanjo

Valparaiso University in Indiana, United States has established an African Institute in honour of Nigeria’s former leader, Olusegun Obasanjo. The institute, which was inaugurated Saturday would would serve as a cultural exchange centre between it and Nigeria in particular and Africa at large. It will also serve as an exchange and resource centre for professional studies of Nigerian/African commerce and culture among students, artists, writers, educators and politicians. At the ceremony, Obasanjo identified corruption, insecurity, and infrastructure decay as major problems confronting the Africa. Obasanjo said that almost every country in Africa had one form of security problem or the other, pointing out that insecurity would not allow development to thrive. On the security challenges facing Nigeria, Obasanjo said that government must properly identify the remote causes of the activities of the Boko Haram sect. Obasanjo stressed the need for more attention to be placed on the improvement of infrastructure within the continent. He said the issue of human development should not be such that the individuals were allowed to leave the continent and be servicing other land. The former president, however, called on Nigerians living abroad to return home where their knowledge would best be utilised. “We must develop people and retain them, we must encourage most of them that are in Diaspora, to move back home,’’ Obasanjo said. The former Nigerian leader said that corruption was very serious that should not be underestimated, adding that it was virtually in every aspect of life. “If you pretend that there is no corruption, the world already knows there is corruption,’’ he said. Earlier, the President of the 154 year old university, Dr. Mark Heckler, said the exemplary leadership of Obasanjo in Africa and in Nigeria was a driving force for the choice of honouring him. Heckler said that the university was established in 1859, stressing that the establishment of the Africa Institute was a dream fulfilled. Prof. Ade Adefuye, the Nigeria Ambassador to the U.S, also commended the University “for giving honour to whom honour is due’’. Adefuye described Obasanjo as someone who had contributed greatly to the development of Nigeria. Present at the event were Dr. Ewa Ewa, Chief Financing Officer, Ilinois Human Rights Commission, Chief Bayo Ojo, former Attorney General of the Federation and Mr Frank Nweke, Director-General, Nigerian Economic Summit Group. Others were Prof. Julius Okojie, Executive Secretary, National University Commission and Nigeria Consul-General in New York, Habib Habu. source pmnewsnigeria.com

NUC Awards Six Universities

National Universities Commission (NUC) has awarded six Nigerian universities drawn from each geopolitical zone of the country for their high performance in the administration of their counseling centres. Director Student Support Services of NUC, Hajiya Uwani Yahya, said on Tuesday that after an assessment of guidance and counseling units in all universities, the commission decided to reward the best to encourage others to improve. The universities that were presented two computers each by the Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i, are University of Lagos which beat the University of Ibadan for Southwest; Bayero University Kano which beat Ahmadu Bello University for Northwest; University of Ilorin for North Central; Nnamdi Azikiwe University for Southeast; University of Maiduguri for Northeast; and University of Benin for South-south. Hajiya Uwani said all the universities recognized were federal universities because they are more established and that most of the other universities were operating their guidance and counseling centres within the Faculty of Education which is an unacceptable practice. Source www.allafrica.com

Nigerian student kills self in India

Lagos - A 28-year-old Nigerian student allegedly committed suicide after jumping off the second floor of his rented accommodation in India, Linda Ikeji reports. Police authorities in India suggests that the late student, Kelvin Lakoju, was suffering from depression. Kelvin had been living in India since 2009 and was pursuing a photography course from an institute in Film City. source http://nigeria.news24.com

Bees disrupt exam at Adamawa Poly

Adamawa - A swarm of bees on Wednesday disrupted the on-going second semester examination at Adamawa State Polytechnic, Yola. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that students of the polytechnic, who were seated for the morning papers at 8.30 a.m., scrambled out when the bees flew into the examination hall. ``We were sent packing by bees this morning and we have to abandon the examination hall," one of the affected students, who identified himself as Jacob, told NAN. When NAN correspondent visited the campus, the students were seen in groups holding leaves which they wave around their body to keep away the invading insects. Reacting to the development, the Rector of the institution, Prof. Bobboi Umar, said that the incident had been brought under control. ``So far, things are okay and there is no case of serious injury to the students from the attack of the bees," Umar said. He said that the morning papers had been suspended till afternoon. NAN http://www.nigeria.news24.com

Coca-Cola Celebrates Campus Journalists

It was a memorable night for students and patrons of Coca Cola as the global brand rolled out the drum to celebrate the 2012 edition of the Campuslife Dinner and Awards night; an annual celebration of student writers from various Nigerian universities, recently in Lagos. Campuslife Student Writers' Workshop and Awards is an adopted platform by Coca-Cola Nigeria and Nigeria Bottling Company to advance the course of youth empowerment and development by empowering student writers to tell their own stories and constructively engage society using mainstream media. Over the years, student journalists have always been encouraged to send in clippings of their published articles to be able to qualify for the awards. In this year's edition a total of eight prizes were up for grabs. An Executive Director at the Institute of Communication and Corporate Studies (ICCS), Lagos, Dr Austin Tam George, who made a presentation at the event, emphasised the need for investigative journalism to be made compulsory for students of Journalism and Mass Communication. He said; "Not every information gotten from the media represents the totality of the truth; which gives rise to the fact that media literacy skills requires that we question whatever information we receive to get the hidden motives behind the news," In a seeming validation of George's point, the award for the Best Reporter of the Year went to Gerald Nwokocha, an Information Technology graduate of Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), who recently completed his National Youth Service Corps in Abuja and whose article 'Outrage Over Corp Members' Death, Mistaken for Boko Haram Member', generated a lot of debate and controversy. Nwokocha, who earlier won the Best Report in the Politics Category, was overwhelmed with joy that the article written to uncover the truth behind a Corp member's death had made a lasting impression on the judges. The winning report was picked for the prize because of its depth and accuracy. Public Affairs and Communications Manager at Coca-Cola Nigeria, Peter Muriuki, said the workshop was put together in a quest by the company to continually develop, and invest in youths who are the country's most important resource. "Our aim is to provide them with a platform to air their views and engage in meaningful dialogue with society on various issues in a logical and analytical manner. Coca-Cola Nigeria has been sponsoring this initiative since 2007 and we plan to continue this partnership because of our firm belief that the sustainability of our business lies in our empowering the youth who are critical to the success of our business," he stated. Source www.allafrica.com