I’ve forgiven my kidnappers – UNICAL’s Esuambuk

President of University of Calabar Staff Cooperative Society, Elder Esuambuk, has said he had forgiven those who masterminded his kidnapping.
He made the declaration during the just concluded cooperative society`s elections which ushered him into office as president.
He recounted his ordeal in the hands of kidnappers who held him hostage at the climax of the election campaign for the position of the society’s president.
The cooperative society`s helmsman said that his kidnappers alerted him that they were instructed by certain individuals to take him hostage until the elections were concluded before he could be released to join his loved ones.
Esuambuk said: “The kidnappers told me that they were sponsored to ensure that I don’t take part in the elections, that theynwere only asked to keep me after the election and they took my phones

Speculation abounds ahead of Nobel Literature Prize

Literary circles are abuzz with speculation ahead of Thursday’s Nobel Literature Prize announcement, with award watchers suggesting this year’s honours could go to a controversial writer such as Syrian-born poet Adonis.
The Academy is known for its cloak-and-dagger methods to prevent any leaks about its choice, resorting to codenames for authors and fake book covers when reading in public.
The list of nominees is never revealed and the jury’s deliberations are kept secret for half a century.
The suspense will come to an end on Thursday at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT) when the winner is announced, ending an unusually long wait: it comes a week later than usual “for calendar reasons”, the Academy said in late September.
“That leaves a little more time to speculate” about the 2016 laureate, joked Swedish Academy member Per Wastberg, interviewed by AFP.
While perfectly in line with Academy statutes according to Wastberg, some Nobel watchers have interpreted the late date as a sign of discord over this year’s choice.
“If you ask me, it’s absolutely not a ‘calendar’ issue,” said Bjorn Wiman, cultural pages editor at

Illegal polytechnic uncovered in Ekiti

The Ibadan Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Monday arraigned in a Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti an illegal polytechnic operator.
The alleged illegal operator, Johnson Babatola, was arraigned before Justice Taiwo Taiwo on a seven-count charge bordering on Advance Fee Fraud and operation of illegal Polytechnic.
Babatola, a former Principal Manager of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Ado-Ekiti branch, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The EFCC said that the suspect was arrested following a petition from the National Board for Technical Education in Kaduna, alleging that he was operating an illegal Polytechnic named Teedek Polytechnic at Ilogbo, Ekiti State.
The board said that the accused had allegedly extorted gullible students, who were not aware of the status of the institution.

World Teachers’ Day: NUT warns against members’ retrenchment

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has warned state governments against retrenchment of teachers and reduction of their emoluments due to economic recession.
National President of the union, Comrade Michael Olukoya, gave the warning yesterday at the celebration of the 2016 World Teachers’ Day in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the theme for this year’s celebration is “Valuing Teachers, Improving their Status”.
The union honoured teachers for their role in development and described the plan to retrench teachers as misplaced.
He said that said such act would jeopardise the progress of public education and the future of the Nigerian child.
He also advised state governments to be alive to their responsibility of managing basic education.
“We demand that state governments should appreciate and take up their constitutional

Obasanjo, others harp on girl-child education

The significance of girl-child education to the socio-economic and political development of the country, was brought to the fore recently as stakeholders, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and members of the academia, gathered in Lagos to launch a book, “Nigerian Women: Pioneers and Icons,” written by Prof. Bolanle Awe.
The book, which dwells on pioneers and icons among the country’s womenfolk, x-rays the pioneering efforts of women who “despite the odds in a male-dominated environment,” broke barriers and explored new frontiers to become historical figures in Nigeria’s contemporary history.
According to the author, a professor of history, former Director of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, and former Commissioner for Education in the old Western State, “The book is meant to inspire young girls to brave all odds and reach the top of their chosen careers.”
In the first part of a three-volume compendium, 33 women who ventured into otherwise

Imo teachers ask Okorocha to fulfil promises

Teachers in Imo State, yesterday called on the State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, to fulfill all the promises he made to them, just as they alleged that they have not been paid their salaries since January 2016.
Chairman of the Imo State Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, Comrade Napoleon Emenike Aniche stated this in his address presented at the 2016 World Teachers Day in the State.
He said: “It is indeed worrisome to note that despite the 70 percent salaries paid to your hardworking teachers, some have not been paid their January, or February, or March 2016 salaries. Some have been waiting for two months, some one month.We have a compilation of the teachers

Bankole wants criteria for admission into COEs re-evaluated

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, has called on the Federal Government to urgently re-evaluate the criteria for admission into colleges of education to ensure that the best and brightest students are attracted into the profession.
According to him, it is only in so doing that the manpower deficit in that sector would be addressed, while the country would have also set itself on the path to raising 21st century compliant teachers.
Bankole spoke while delivering a lecture titled, “Teachers’ Quality, Competitiveness, And Employability: Defining The Roles For College Administrators And Academics,” at the 2nd Distinguished Guest Lecture, organised by the Registry Department of the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The erstwhile lawmaker, who lamented that the current system pre-disposed us as a nation to select poorer academic performers to train as teachers for our children stressed, “If we are selecting poorer academic performers to train and teach our students, how can we expect our students to be high achievers, if all through their formative academic years, they are separated

Yabatech’s rector Ladipo seeks corporate help to produce globally-competitive graduates

Against the backdrop of obsolete teaching aids and equipment in some Nigerian tertiary institutions, and the compelling need to produce top-notch graduates that would fit into the increasingly advanced world of work, Rector, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Dr. Margaret Kudirat Ladipo, is appealing to corporate bodies to come to the aid of tertiary institutions.
According to her, corporate organisations and industrialists should endeavour to assist these institutions, through direct investments and donation of equipment, which she said would go a long way in bolstering teaching and learning.
Ladipo made the appeal at the commissioning of equipment worth N8m donated to the institution by the Flour Milling Association of Nigeria (FMAN).“As an institution, YABATECH has continued to forge ahead in improving skills development, through the adoption of best practices and teaching methodologies in advanced economies. We need the support of well-meaning people at a critical time like this so that our goal to produce graduates for the global market and entrepreneurs would be realised fully.”