16112017 - FG revokes Intels' expatriate permits

42 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2017
UI first Professor of
Pharmacy becomes
Chrisland varsity V-C
From left: Vice-Chancellor, Lead City University, Ibadan, Prof. ‘Remi Adeyemo; Oyo State
Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, Chancellor, Prof. Gabriel Ogunmola; Vice President and
Guest Speaker, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, SAN and Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of Council,
Prof. Jide Owoeye at the 10th convocation of Lead City University on Thursday.
UBEC N380BN FUND:
20% yet unaccessed
— Executive Secretary
•Stakeholders should takeover basic primary education funding— NUT
•Admission seekers go for education after failure- Prof. Osarenren
By Dayo Adesulu
Executive Secretary, Universal
Basic Education Commission,
UBEC, Dr. Hammid Bobboyi, has
disclosed that Federal Government
statutorily released more than
three hundred and eighty billion
naira (N380bn) as the FGN-
Universal Basic Education grant as
at 31st October 2017.
This was contained in his speech
delivered at the 2017 Annual
National Education Summit
organised by Education Writers’
Association of Nigeria, tagged
Whither Basic Education in
Nigeria?
Bobboyi, however, stated that a
total of N303, 933, 462 representing
80 per cent of the funds had been
disbursed to 36 states and Federal
Capital Territory, Abuja, leaving a
balance 20 per cent unaccessed.
He said the Commission had
always ensured that the money
disbursed was well utilised
through rigorous monitoring.
Speaking on challenges faced by
the Commission, Bobboyi
lamented that some states were
exhibiting non-challant attitude
towards basic education, adding
that they needed to buckle up.
He also stated that the
Commission was faced with
challenges posed by over 10.5
million out-of-school children and
youths including the Almajiri and
children with special needs and
getting them into basic
education schools.
Other challenges mentioned
include: low level of budgetary
allocation to basic education at
state and local government
levels, low quality and
inadequacy of teaching staff
amongst others.
The Executive Director urged
parents and guardians not to
neglect or take proper education
of their children for granted.
In his conclusion, Dr. Hammid
Bobboyi, said that education for
all is the responsibility of all.
“Therefore, we must rise up to
the occasion to recommend and
institute positive turnaround
strategies that will improve the
basic education sub-sector.
Meanwhile, at the summit,
stakeholders in Basic Education
were urged to come together to
fund education in the primary
school level in order to make it
work.
National Chairman, Nigerian
Union of Teachers, Michael
Alogba who was represented by
the Union’s deputy chairman in
Lagos, Adedoyin Adeshina, said
education was the bedrock of
learning.
He also said the funding of
basic primary education should
be taken over from local
government by stakeholders to
accelerate national
development.
Speaking earlier, former Edo
State Commissioner for Education,
Professor Ngozi Osarenren,
commended the association’s
members for coming up with the
programme saying the theme
was apt at this point in time.
She said until stakeholders
decided to give children the best
education standard, the country
would not be able to meet up
No provision
for desks, we
write with books
on our thighs;
we are over 700
and the seats
available are
barely 500
with global practices.
According to her, admission
seekers jumped into studying
education because they could
not meet up with cut-off marks
of the initial courses of choice.
However, the professor said
that mass failure in Mathematics
is a result of teachers skipping
some topics they don’t know.
“You cannot give what you
don’t have. Teachers that are not
versatile enough cannot teach
our children,” she added.
By Joseph Erunke
Her ascendancy to the
head of Chrisland
University, one of the newly
established vision-driven
private universities in
Nigeria, located in Abeokuta,
Ogun State,after approval by
the federal government, did
not come to many as surprise,
given her academic
pedigree.
Yes, no doubt, Professor
Chinedum Peace Babalola,
has been appointed the first
female Vice Chancellor of the
Chrisland University,
Abeokuta, thus taking her
away from the Presitious
University of Ibadan, where
she had remained to practice
her trained career after
emerging equally as the first
female Professor of
Pharmacy.
It is often said that the
reward of hardwork is in
heaven, but looking at what
has befallen Professor
Babalola Chinedum Peace,
following her hardwork, one
cannot but conclude that that
belief is no longer
fashionable.
Babalola proved her mettle
in both her professional
career and leadership at her
alma mater, when she did not
only lecture but also serve as
Dean of the Faculty of
Pharmacy, respectively,
While holding sway as the
Dean of the Faculty of
Pharmacy, she was also the
principal investigator of the
University of Ibadan Centre
for Drug discovery,
development and production,
founded by MacArthur
Foundation ,Faculty of
Pharmacy , University of
Ibadan.
Apart from emerging as the
first female Professor of
Pharmaceutical Chemistry
and Pharmacokinetics from
the prestigious University of
Ibadan, Babalola Chinedum
Peace (née Anyabuike)
traversed the length and
breadth of academic world
beyond the shores of Africa
where she bagged other
certificates to her credit.
Prof.Chinedum obtained a
Bachelor of Pharmacy
(B.Pharm.) degree in 1983
from the University of Ife, now
ObafemiAwolowo University
and a doctorate degree
(Ph.D.) in Pharmaceutical
Chemistry from the same
University in 1997. She
completed her pre-doctoral
fellowship at the University of
British Columbia in 1995, and
a PG Diploma in Industrial
Pharmacy Advanced Training
(IPAT) in 2012 jointly from
Kilimanjaro School of
Pharmacy, Tanzania and
Purdue University, USA.
Professor Babalola rose
through the ranks as a
Graduate Assistant at OAU,
Ile-Ife in 1985 to a Lecturer.
In 1998, she was appointed a
Senior Lecturer at University
of Ibadan, became a Reader in
2003 and a Professor in
2006.She has served the
Faculty and university in
various capacities. She was
the Director of General Studies
Unit (GSP) UI (2005-2010)
where she brought
innovations currently being
used for processing of POST-
UME in University of Ibadan
till date.She has served as
Head of department (twice)
and sub-dean in Faculty of
Pharmacy.
Professor Babalola has had
an incredibly productive
career. Her research has
continuously helped to
provide novel results
contributing to important drug
information by an African
scientist.Shehas focused her
research on pharmacokinetics/
pharmacodynamics (PK/PD),
pharmaceutical analysis,
pharmacogenetics and
bioethics as tools to study the
disposition of several
antimalarials, anti-infectives
and other drugs in Nigerians
as a guide to optimizing
therapy in Blacks. Her
research has revealed
significant reduction in (40-
90%) levels of antimicrobials
by antimalarial in human
calling for urgent dose
regimen adjustment.The
outcome of her research has
revealed wide ethnic/racial in
drug disposition and
treatment outcome which
further generated her interest
in pharmacogenetic studies in
African population.
Peace is one of the scientists
that reported the first
pharmacogeneticstudy in
healthy and sickle cell patients
in Nigerians with proguanil
as a probe. The report
revealed that some Nigerians
are carriers of mutant poor
metabolizer genes CYP2C19,
as well as marked differences
between sickle cell patients
and healthy population on this
gene disposition.