25022021 - Way out of Nigeria’s security problems

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C M Y K 30 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021 Incessant abduction of students: Great disservice to education — Stakeholders By Adesina Wahab HOLDING the unenviable record of being home to the highest number of out-of-school children, OSC, about 15 million, and also regarded as the poverty capital of the world, Nigeria’s quest for economic and social growth will be further hampered if the trend of abduction of school children is not stopped now, stakeholders have said. The mass abduction of school children started with the kidnap of students of Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State on April 14, 2014 and was followed by the abduction of over 110 school girls in Dapchi, Yobe State on February 19, 2018. While over 100 of the Chibok girls are still missing, only Leah Sharibu, is still unaccounted for among the Dapchi girls. However, with the abduction of students in Government Science College, Kankara, Katsina State, last December and a repeat of the incident at the Government Science College, Kagara, Niger State, penultimate Wednesday, it is like the kidnap of students to bargain for certain things has come to stay in the country, a development that will adversely affect education, according to stakeholders. By Adesina Wahab THE Registrar, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, TRCN, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, has said the country needs technologically savvy teachers to be able to cope with developments in the sector and achieve her potential. He noted that though technology will not be able to fully replace teachers in the classroom, teachers who are able to use technology to aid their work will replace those who lack the ability. He described teachers who are not technologically savvy as “Born Before Computer.” Ajiboye stated this while delivering the 48th Inaugural Lecture of the University of Ibadan, titled: Teaching: In the classroom, as a regulator. While emphasizing the importance of teachers in the education sector, Ajiboye noted that while education is a means to better life and uplift the society at large, teachers, being the major operator of the system, have a lot of responsibilities thrust upon them. He added that the modern world requires the kind of education where knowledge is the primary commodity and therefore, teachers must be able to fit into that. “Today’s teacher is therefore, expected to function and fit into this world. It is for this world that today’s educational system and schools have to prepare learners who will contribute to its continued progress. “Teachers are essential players in promoting quality education. They are advocates for and catalysts of •Immediate past Deputy Vice-Chancellor, who is also a Professor of Statistics at the Redeemer's University, Ede, Osun State, Prof. Kayode Adekeye, left, with the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Anthony Akinlo, after Adekeye delivered the Seventh Inaugural Lecture of the university titled: Assignable variation: The unknown that must be known. Psychologist’s view A psychologist, Adeyemi Akinleye, explained that the trauma of being kidnapped is not only felt by the victim, but by many other people too. “To know how such a development would adversely affect people apart from the victim, let me give you this Yoruba proverb that says “one’s child being dead is better than one’s child being missing.” Apart from the victims, the effects on relatives, parents and others are also weighty. The victims would have been seriously traumatized no doubt and that will surely affect their perception of education and going back to school. “Also, the incident may negatively affect other students too, whether in the same school or other schools. They may not feel safe in school. An unfortunate aspect of the Type of teachers Nigeria needs now — Ajiboye, TRCN boss change. This, therefore, means that no education reform is likely to succeed without the active participation and ownership of teachers. “The progress of education is judged mainly by the products (results or outcomes) and these cannot be the desired type and level if the processes go wrong,” he said. While calling for better funding of the sector, he noted that quality education must be provided for the youth and that the image of the teacher be enhanced. On what the TRCN is doing to improve the lot of teachers and the teaching profession, Ajiboye listed the introduction of the Professional Qualifying Examination, PQE, and the Professional Qualifying Examination Integrated, PQEI. “The PQE and PQEI have put the Council on global map and are paradigm shift that introduced teachers to the digital world and make them literate in computer application and manipulation. By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo OVER 27,500 applicants, out of which over 19,000 were female sat for the recently-concluded teachers' recruitment test exercise conducted by the Osun State Government. The Special Adviser to the state Governor on Education, Jamiu Olawumi, in an interview with Vanguard, said the state government deliberately outsourced the computer-based test to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to ensure credibility. “Also, the new career path for teachers recently approved by the National Council on Education, and professional standard for teaching in Nigeria serve as a major stepping stone and introduction of a new path for teachers career programme and growth,” he stated. By Mary Obaebor THE Office of Education Quality Assurance, OEQA, Ministry of Education, Lagos State has commenced safe school clearance visits to public and private schools below tertiary level in the state to ensure they are safe to remain open for academic activities. OEQA had earlier mandated public and private schools in the state to register online on the development is that the schools being targeted are boarding schools that the government set up to be a sort of model schools and take some burdens off the parents. “Now the boarding schools are being shut down, the parents and students are back to square one. The parents of the affected students will be in deep pain. The Chibok girls that are still missing, can one imagine how the parents have been coping for the past seven years? All the Dapchi girls have been freed except Leah Sharibu, let us put ourselves in her parents’ shoes, over three years and the girl is still missing. Unfortunately, all these terrible things are happening in a region where the literacy level is very low. To convince parents to send their wards to school now may be difficult and such will have ripple effects on the country as a whole,” he submitted. Parents’ view The National President of the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN, Haruna Danjuma, described as unfortunate a situation where innocent students have been turned to objects of merchandise by criminals. “How do we want the parents to feel now? Students are now being used by criminals to bargain for freedom or make cheap money through ransom payment. In as much as we sympathise with the government, we want them to take the necessary steps and do the needful. Ugly incidents like this must be nipped in the bud and not allowed to be a recurring decimal in our society. Security in and around our schools must be beefed up and people should also help in intelligence gathering. If we continue to have ugly developments like this happening over and over again, many will lose interest in education," he noted. Teachers’ opinion According to the Lagos State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, Rotunda Adesina Adedoyin, human life is no longer valuable in the country. “What we are seeing is a reflection of the high level of insecurity in the country. Unfortunately, that has translated to the school environment now. It is not only the students that are feeling threatened and unsafe, teachers too are feeling so. How do you get the best out of the teacher if he has to work in a state of fear? "Something urgent must be done about the issue. A nation’s development is tied to its level of educational development. If those in the education sector are now traumatized to the point of not feeling safe in their beat, then we have a big problem on hand,” he said. Students’ perspective The Coordinator, South-West Zone of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Kappo Samuel Olawale, urged the government to put an end to the development as quickly as possible. “Nigerian youths want to be educated and be able to compete with their colleagues anywhere in the world, but that cannot be possible with these abductions of students every now and then. Students should feel safe in schools if we are not to discourage parents from sending their wards to school,” he said. COVID-19: Lagos starts safe school clearance visit agency’s website, develop and upload learning plans which include: operational, communication, environmental and safety & health plans to obtain a clearance for reopening. The process includes schools self-assessment on COVID-19 safety protocols and an online training, a certificate to be issued which ends up with visits from OEQA evaluators for physical assessment of submitted plans to obtain a final clearance to remain Osun teachers' recruitment: 27,500 candidates sit for test He berated those spreading rumour that the state deliberately wanted to fail candidates, saying the questions were such that they met prerequisites for teaching, including questions in Mathematics, English Language, Education Psychology and Education Management. He added that the cut-off mark arrived at by the State Executive Council meeting was 40% for an average graduate teacher and 35% for an average NCE teacher. "A major problem is that some of them couldn't operate computer and scored zero and they want to give Osun students 21st Century education, it is not possible. Don't forget about 32,000 registered for it, 29,000 accessed the internet for the exam, while 27, 000 wrote the exam proper. "Out of this, we have close to 19,000 female candidates and about 8,500 male candidates. There are also candidates from other states of the federation that came. So, if you now say the cut-off mark is this, do they expect an examination not to have a pass mark? So you can't deliberately fail anybody. open. Speaking during the visit to Corona Day Secondary School and Primary School, Lekki, the Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Mrs. Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, disclosed that the OEQA had commenced the physical assessment of schools across the state. This is based on the clearance request of schools received upon successful online submission of all required safety plans. According to her, the state government had put measures in place to ensure compliance to COVID-19 safety protocols which would help reposition the state’s educational system to fulfill the T.H.E.M.E.S. agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on education and technology. OEQA has embarked on a continuous professional development training for its evaluators, private school proprietors, public junior and senior secondary school principals and heads of public primary schools, on what is expected of them this period.
AFCON Qualifiers: Lesotho train in Covid’19 bubble Lesotho have created a Covid’19 bubble for their players to train ahead of next month’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying tie against the Super Eagles. The Likuena were given the green light to train by the country’s National Covid-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC) on Tuesday. Lesotho will play against Sierra Leone before coming down to Lagos to face the Super Eagles in must win games, if they hope to qualify for the AFCON billed for Cameroon February 2022. Lesotho have just two points so far. Last month, LeFA suspended all footballing activities on the back of a spike of Covid-19 cases. The government later declared a national lockdown suspending all sporting activities. Lesotho coach According to Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) secretary general Mokhosi Mohapi, NACOSEC met with cabinet on Eagles suffer blow as Osimhen out until early March Manager Gernot Rohr’s bid to have Victor Osimhen available for Nigeria’s two African Cup of Nations qualifying matches next month, has been dealt a big blow as the Napoli striker’s doctor warns he’ll be out until early March. The forward fell backwards and •Pepsi Football Global Stars: Jadon Sancho, Leo Messi, Shanice Van De Sandem and Paul Pogba Joshua: I’m the boss of Fury Anthony Joshua insists “all options are open” for the location of his fight with Tyson Fury, and has described himself as “the boss” as talks intensify. Joshua and Fury’s teams are locked in negotiations to finalise the generation-defining heavyweight fight that would crown an undisputed champion. IBF, WBA and WBO titleholder Joshua exclusively told Sky News: “[The pandemic] is getting close to things being normal. We’re working on a date for around June. “So if Tyson is serious, which I think he is, he’ll know where to come and find the boss! “I’m ready. I’m really looking forward to competition - all I want to do is fight, fight, fight!” Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn recently told Sky Sports that Saudi Arabia, America, Qatar, Dubai, Singapore and China were all interested in hosting the fight. Joshua told Sky News when asked if it was possible for the fight to remain in the UK: “Any option. Home turf, Middle East, my back garden, your back garden. I don’t mind where it is. “I’m just ready to fight. I want that belt. I want to compete with Fury so all options are open to me.” Man Utd, Arsenal, Leicester in Europa League action tonight Europa League is back today with round of 32 return leg showing matches holding across different venues, with the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Leicester, featuring Eagles duo of Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho all bidding to qualify to the next ound.. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Arsenal will face a tough match against Benfica with the first leg ending in a draw. Marcus Rashford’s Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have less pressure, having won the first leg. Last English club, Leicester City, will have to step up their games if they want to advance in the competition. Monday and tabled LeFA’s proposal for commencement of preparations for the AFCON qualifiers. The proposal was approved. After hard fought victories against South Sudan and Rwanda recently at the 2021 Afrobasket qualifiers, D’Tigers shooting guard, Keith Omoerah says the team should be prepared for more difficult games on the continent. Many expected and predicted a stroll in the park but we were shocked when D’Tigers had to dig deep before pulling off a 75- 70pts win against South Sudan in their first game and another 64- Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021 — 31 Get politicians off our sports – Professor Bademosi By Jacob Ajom surgeon Alfredo Bucciero to Radio Kiss Kiss. “Now the medical tests are showing good results, but we still need to wait for the natural recovery time to be completed. hit his head on the turf during the Serie A match against Atalanta on Sunday and was dropping in and out of consciousness. He was rushed to the local hospital for tests, which fortunately all came back clear, but it has emerged he has no memory of the incident. “He suffered head trauma with memory loss,” explained neuro- “We don’t have signs of a haematoma on the brain, nor damage to the skullcap. We must be cautious, he needs at least a week of complete rest. “I think he could be available again from early March. Osimhen is in a rush, he wants to play and asks me to hurry up the process, but in these situations, rest is necessary. We cannot run any risks.” African opponents tougher than ever- Omoerah Coach Fatai Osho has said Enyimba have a good chance of becoming only the first Nigerian club to win the CAF Confederation Cup. The two-time African champions have been drawn in a tough-looking Group A of the Confederation Cup alongside Orlando Pirates of South Africa, Algeria’s ES Setif and Al Ahli Benghazi from Libya. At the weekend, Enyimba pipped fellow Nigerian club Rivers United 5-4 on penalties after aggregate scores stood at 1-1. ‘The People’s Elephant’ open 51pts victory against Rwanda. The player who is currently with Mykolaiv in Ukraine reckoned that kudos must go to their opponents for putting up a good fight to make them sweat for the wins. “We didn’t have big wins this time around against South Sudan and Rwanda unlike when we met the first time and that’s credit to them. Every time we play a team we are going to get their best effort, especially in Africa and that was apparent in those games. We have to be ready for that and we will be”. Enyimba can win CAF Confederation Cup—Osho their campaign in the group phase at home on March 10 against Ahli Benghazi. “It’s a tough group, I believe none of the teams are comfortable with this pairing,” admitted Osho, who calls his own brand of football as “Sugar Football”. “All four teams are very experienced playing on the continent. “We respect our opponents, but we remain positive and our immediate target is our Former Captain of the Nigerian and West African Cricket teams, Professor Jide Bademosi has called on the federal government to get rid of politicians in the administration of sports in the country. Speaking with our reporter in his Ibadan home early in the week, Professor Bademosi who turned 80 today said it was unfortunate that people who had no business running sports were occupying sensitive positions and taking decisions that affect the everyday life of athletes in the country. “They should get rid of politicians who want to interfere with the administration of sports in the country,” he said at the interview which was part of events lined up to mark his 80th birthday. Continuing, the former Nigerian national cricket team captain said, in place of politicians, they should “get people who are knowledgeable, who have a background in sports whether on academic or on practical basis. “And more importantly, probity. If you cut away all those fringes like Senators, friends and all those who see every sporting event as a jamboree, where you pay one individual estacodes that would be enough to pay the whole team things would be better.” He recalled the step he took to ensure probity, when he was captain of the Oyo State cricket team. “As captain of my team, I was supposed to be on $180 – $250 dollars a day, but as a player, I was supposed to be paid $6 dollars a day. Yet they wanted me to take more officials who would have been paid $180 dollars a day. We asked some of them, why don’t you let go part of your allowances, put it in the kitty, along with mine and we distributed it among the players. But that is on a personal basis as either a captain or a player.” He said the excess money was shared among the players who were all happy to give their best. “If we have such strict adherence to probity and justifiable administration of funds and those who know enough, not because they want to be there for the largess, then there will be a future,” he remarked. He praised the efforts of cricketers both old and young who have invested their time and resources in the development of the sport in the country, heaping encomiums on the present leadership of the first game against Benghazi at home. Osimhen, Ndidi among most expensive stars in world football ...Worth N29 Billion, 26 Billion Naira respectively Napoli striker Victor Osimhen star Paul Pogba and his teammate and Leicester City Kalidou Koulibaly. midfielder Wilfred Ndidi have However, his valuation decreased by 6.8 million Euros since been ranked among the 150 most expensive football stars in the December 2020 an account of personal performance, the world. Top auditing firm KPMG has Coronavirus Pandemic among published its latest market valuation of football stars after it last Defensive midfielder Ndidi is several other variables. did so in December 2020. the 122nd most valued player in Osimhen, 22, who cost Napoli a record-breaking 83 million Euros when he moved from French Ligue 1 club Lille last summer, is the most valued Nigeria star. The report put his market value at 50 million Euros (about 29 Billion Naira) and that places him as the 98th most expensive player in the world. Wilfred Osimhen Ndidi His value is higher than those of the likes of Manchester United The Europa League matches are live on pay television network, StarTimes. Arsenal, who drew 1-1 against Benfica, will play their home game in Greece because of the Covid 19 pandemic, while Leicester City, who played a goalless draw in Slavia Prague, welcome the Czech club to the King Power Stadium. Bademosi Enyimba the world with his price tag now 44.2 million Euros (about 26 Billion Naira) after an increase of a million Euros from December 2020. Genk striker Paul Onuachu is 666th most expensive footballer with a price tag of 14.10 million Euros following a remarkable increase of 8 million Euros from December 2020.
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