₦airaland Forum

It is an age-old truism that mankind has three basic needs, that is food, clothing and shelter. However, with the industrial revolution and globalisation, the fact has become irrefutable that without electricity, neither of these things can be in place to its optimum. Or can we imagine fast foods without the gentle touch of the electric cooker? Can we have designer shirts without sophisticated and electricity-driven machineries? Neither would a place be fit for habitation if there is no power to facilitate ventilation, relaxation and intellectualisation. It cannot be gainsaid that this reality is in fact most apt in a 21st century environment of learning – an environment where students desperately depend on power to pore over learning materials; an environment where studying is not deemed complete without access to the internet’s endless resources; and an environment where vital implements such as pressing irons, photocopying machines, mobile phones, personal computers, projectors, reading lamps etc. are rendered absolutely useless without electricity.
Thus anyone who plays down the place of power in the scheme of things in the Ivory Tower, or even attempts to equate it to the outside world in terms of the significance of electricity(or lack of it), is either merely being mischievous or is ignorant of some salient facts. The nature of the university alongside other citadels of learning is just not comparable to that of the general society because it is fundamentally configured to depend on power. While at home, an individual may not be unnerved to find that there is no light to aid such activities as reading and cooking; that same individual would be frustrated to find the same scenario in the school. The reason for this is not farfetched. One, he/she can easily find alternatives at home. And then, these activities are not sine qua non to his immediate success in life.
It is from the foregoing that the Union of Campus Journalists, University of Ibadan feels greatly concerned about the sudden and sharp drop in the supply of power in Nigeria's premier university. It is not news that before the termination of the previous session, students in the university enjoyed up to (if not more than) 12 hours of power supply. Sadly however, not long after many students dispersed to their respective homes, the situation took a nosedive. At the time, many assumed that this was an ephemeral turn of events since the regular programme of the school had reached a hiatus and most students were not around to benefit from it. It was believed that the power situation when students were away was a ploy by the University management to cut the cost of power maintenance as power supply was not only inadequate but also erratic. Then, the university has sunk more than two weeks into a new session, yet no positive change has been proportionally recorded.
Students now have to grapple with an unbearable shortage of supply, and sometimes no supply at all. Consequently, the supply of water has equally been insufficient especially in female halls of residence. Also, students (and other stakeholders alike) have to put up with high rates of printing and photocopying services as the service providers readily give the excuse of power outage. Additionally, the process of course registration has also suffered setbacks as the bulk of it ultimately requires access to the internet and primarily the availability of powered internet-compliant tools. Furthermore, we cannot overlook the increase in frivolities and the presence of reasonable apprehension of harm all over campus. This is as a result of the darkness which permeates the nooks and crannies of the campus, and which those with evil intents have readily exploited. Gone are the days when our only fear was the absence of streetlights in some parts of the school. Now, even those which are present and functional are no different from those which are faulty and unavailable as they have no power to work.
Moreover, because of the lack of stable power supply, there has been an increase in the fortitude of mosquitoes on campus especially in the halls of residence. The resultant effect is the increase in the cases of malaria. We should not wait to have recorded cases of death from malaria before we arrest the situation.
OUR DEMANDS
1. The terrible and unbefitting state pictured above is not bothering the Union of Campus Journalists, University of Ibadan as much as the silence of the university management on the issue. It makes us wonder the place where the students occupy in the management's scale of preference - the roundtable of focal relevancy or the backseat of negligible redundancy. Does the situation of things not justify the claims in some quarters that the University management places higher priority on staff than students who makes the University a citadel of learning and not a research institute? In the light of this, our primary demand is for the management to publicly address the matter in issue detailing the steps already taken to surmount the challenge and the plans on ground to ensure a lasting solution. It can be done possibly through the school bulletin or a town hall meeting. This would help to rightfully establish that the student body is relevant in the institution. Aside this, it would also help to douse unnecessary tension in the event that convincing arguments are furnished to the students who are on the receiving end of the hardship.

2. Based on unpalatable experiences and narrations from the past, we also feel compelled to recommend an intensive overhaul of the Works and Maintenance Department. It is more than evident that the performance of that department has been persistently unsatisfactory. Both students and staff have an endless list of complaints about them. For instance, we have had sundry instances wherein complaints of irregularities are always met with untenable and elusive excuses such as the unavailability of vehicles to convey workers and implements.

3. As we understand that nationally, there is less money in circulation and consequently the university is underfunded, we wish to advise the management to devise innovative ways of funding her needs. At this juncture, it is pertinent that we add that these ‘ways’ are not projected to include the extortion of students. We are however confident that the student body would be willing to voluntarily assist if given the opportunity by providing contacts of and reaching out to philanthropists and other well-meaning individuals who are capable of lessening the monetary burden on the management.
These are our demands as a union and we anticipate prompt responsive reaction from the management.

Signed
Union of Campus Journalists, University of Ibadan

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livingstoneony: where is Nigeria heading to?

Unknown Destination

In a rare show of power she constitutionally doesn't have, Nigeria's First Lady Patience Jonathan has reportedly ordered the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, to release the armed thugs of her close political allies, Senator George Sekibo and Evans Bipi.

The six men were arrested on Friday by the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in Ogu, the hometown of the two politicians, and they were handed over to the police for prosecution.

But SaharaReporters has authoritatively learned that Mrs. Jonathan ordered Mr. Mbu to release the suspects as well as return to them the arms and ammunition that were found in their possession. It is as yet unclear if Mbu has complied with the order, but Mr. Bipi, a former domestic aide of Mrs. Jonathan, is understood to be actively trying to ensure the release.

Meanwhile a crisis of confidence seems to have erupted between the JTF/Army and the police in Rivers State concerning how the story, which was broken by Saharareporters, leaked to the media. Mbu is said to have complained loudly that the Army/JTF must have leaked the story to the media.

The police commissioner is further said to have lamented that the other security agencies (Army, Navy, Airforce, SSS) in the State are not helping him and the police at all in the fight against Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi. According to our source, he is citing the arrest of the six men and the subsequent leakage of the story as an example of such lack of cooperation, arguing that had the arrest been made by the Rivers State police command, the media would not have heard about it.

A source within the JTF/Army has however dismissed Mbu's claims, describing them as ridiculous and preposterous. The source maintained that the army does not get involved in politics and certainly does not take sides in political fights, calling Mbu a joker if he expects the army to do otherwise.

The source further stated that Mbu should look inside the police concerning how the story got to the media, saying that it was after the Army handed over the suspects to the police for prosecution that the story went public.

It would be recalled that the six armed youths were arrested by the JTF on Friday on their way to Ogu in Ogu Bolo Local Government Area. They had on them several AK-47 rifles arrested six youths bearing seven AK47, 146 rounds of 7.62mm Special life ammunition and 10 life magazines.

Their names were given as Daniel Ibito-Anga, Sunday Elisha, Uche Jenikachi, Ibinabo Lawson, and Okechukwu Okoro. Their leader, Ibito-Anga, is known to present himself as Security Adviser/PA to both Senator George Sekibo as well as State Assemblyman Bipi.

Sekibo and Bipi hail from Ogu and are known to be very close allies of Mrs. Jonathan.

Source : http://saharareporters.com/news-page/first-lady-patience-jonathan-orders-rivers-police-commissioner-mbu-release-arrested-armed-

Must they continue to kill for power? That was how his father too did when he was alive (2011) killing innocent people under the guise of some paltry gifts...

check it out here...the matter has already been swept under the carpet now...now this again...

http://saharareporters.com/press-release/kwara-stampede-deaths-acn-writes-kwara-govt-seeks-probe-deaths-pdp-office

Olumidzti: Obama wanted to unite Americans but has only succeeded in dividing them thanks to the republicans...

Hail him...

The US Congress has passed a bill to reopen the government and raise the federal debt limit, with hours to spare before the nation risked default.

The Democratic-controlled Senate's bipartisan compromise won approval by 81 votes to 18.

The deal was then passed by 285-144 in the House of Representatives, whose Republican leadership begrudgingly agreed to support the measure.

It came hours before the deadline to raise the $16.7tn (£10.5tn) limit.

The bill yanked the US back from the brink of a budgetary abyss by extending the treasury's borrowing authority until 7 February.

It also funds the government to 15 January, reopening closed federal agencies and bringing hundreds of thousands of furloughed employees back to work.


The deal, however, offers only a temporary solution and does not resolve the budgetary issues that fiercely divide Republicans and Democrats.

President Obama warned that US lawmakers must "earn back the trust of the American people".

"We've got to get out of the habit of governing by crisis," the Democratic president added, speaking after the Senate vote on Wednesday evening.

"My hope and expectation is everybody has learned there's no reason why we can't work on the issues at hand, why we can't disagree between the parties without still being agreeable and make sure that we're not inflicting harm on the American people when we do have disagreements."

Also speaking after the first vote, Senate Democratic Majority leader Harry Reid said: "Let's be honest, this is pain inflicted on a nation for no good reason and we cannot, cannot make the same mistake again."

Los Angeles views on the political crisis: "I thought it was ridiculous"

The US Treasury has been using what it called "extraordinary measures" to pay its bills since the nation reached its current debt limit in May.

It said those methods would be exhausted by 17 October, leaving the US unable to meet all of its debt and other fiscal obligations.

Politicians, bankers and economists had warned of dire global economic consequences unless an agreement to raise the US government's borrowing limit was reached.

Meanwhile, ratings firm Standard & Poor's said on Wednesday that the partial US government shutdown, the first in 17 years, had already shaved $24bn from the American economy and would cut growth significantly in the fourth quarter.

Spurred on by hardline conservatives, congressional Republicans forced the standoff on 1 October by demanding that President Obama defund or delay his signature healthcare overhaul.
'Shameful'

But they have emerged with little to show for it - under the bill just passed, the law commonly known as Obamacare escapes relatively unscathed.

Senator Chuck Schumer rails against "gun to your head" politics

Congressional Republicans, who have borne the brunt of blame in opinion polls for the budget row, conceded defeat on Wednesday.

"We fought the good fight," Republican House Speaker John Boehner said as lawmakers lined up to vote on the bill. "We just didn't win."

Amid warnings that the debacle could damage the party's prospects in next year's midterm elections, the political autopsy has already begun.

"This has been a really bad two weeks for the Republican Party," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said.

Senator John McCain, who was the party's 2008 presidential nominee, told the upper chamber it had been "one of the more shameful chapters I have seen in the years I have spent here in the Senate.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24559869