Politics

Don Advocates Moral Rejuvenation To Reduce Corruption

By Web News 647

The Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Professor Abdulhafiz Oladosu says the nation needs to embark on moral rejuvenation to reduce the act of corruption.

He made the call in Ibadan at a stakeholders’ summit organised by Political Awareness Group, PAG, an association of Muslim professionals and technocrats for good governance.

Professor Oladosu who is a lecturer at the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, noted that morally upright ones with God-consciousness would not embark on corrupt activities.

He admonished the political office holders to fulfill their electioneering promises in order to regain the confidence of the people, noting that the current developments in the country have demoralised many Nigerians. 

 In a remark, the former Governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja emphasized on the unity of Nigeria, warning against secession as being clamoured in some quarters. 

Senator Ladoja who was represented by former Secretary to Oyo State Government, Barrister Sharafadeen Alli decried the idea of tagging a particular tribe with crimes maintaining that every tribe has bad eggs and criminal elements. 

The former governor posited that true federalism would solve the current series of challenges facing the country. 

The former Chairman, Oyo State Universal Basic Education, who is also the chairman on the occasion, Dr Sulaiman Adediran enjoined Muslims to develop themselves politically and be advocates of good governance.

Earlier, the Chairman, Political Awareness Group, Barrister AbdWaheed Olowonjaye, noted that the organisation stands for good governance and was ready to support those who shared PAG’s agenda.

He explained that resolutions at the summit would be transmitted to appropriate quarters and concerned authorities.

Barrister Olowonjaye condemned the call for secession in some quarters stressing that what should be paramount was the need to join hands with the federal government to find lasting solutions to various challenges bedeviling the country.

Ridwan Fasasi

Education

Don Challenges Proprietors to be above Teachers in Knowledge Acquisition

By Web News 754

Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Professor Afeez Oladosu says for school proprietors to gain more respect, they should possess qualifications above their teachers.

Professor Oladosu stated this at the formal opening of the annual Conference of Association of Model Islamic Schools, AMIS, Oyo State Chapter held at the Islamic Centre, University of Ibadan Central Mosque.

He said school proprietors from time to time should acquire more knowledge that would place them above their subjects as this would put them in a vantage position to effectively control their schools. 

“Do we have what it takes to run school? We need to increase our capacity. As the head-teacher, you must be better than your teachers, as the proprietor, you must be better than everybody in the school. You as a proprietor, you employ a Masters degree holder who knows you are an NCE holder, there will be crisis”. 

He also called on associations of proprietors to put in place internal quality assurance mechanisms to ensure that certain standards are met before joining the association. 

One of the award recipients and wife of the Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Professor Amudalat, who also emphasized on regular updating of knowledge of school proprietors, urged them not to compromise quality as such would affect the image of the school. 

She enjoined parents to complement efforts of schools through regular payment as quality services required good money.

“To get quality education, parents must be ready to pay. There is nothing free even in Freetown”.

 Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Barrister Olasunkanmi Olaleye, who was represented by Deputy Director in the Ministry, Alhaji Ibrahim Afeez, said private schools should report cases of parents withdrawing their children after backlog of debts to public schools. 

In an acceptance speech, the new chairman of AMIS, Oyo State Chapter,  Alhaji Tohir Ahmad, who called for the support of the members, promised to take the Association to an enviable height. 

The 3- day conference with the theme “Vision, Creativity and Transformation: moving our schools from good to great” was attended by 465 delegates comprising of 349 school proprietors, 47 head-teachers and 69 teachers. 

Ridwan Fasasi

News Analysis

Ensuring Safety Of Workers In The Workplace

By Web News 1027

Recently, a 300 level student of European Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Richard Gbadebo, lost his life to a soap-making machine at a factory in Oluyole Area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

According to reports, Richard was on a holiday job at the factory due to the closure of schools caused by COVID-19.

The deceased, who was an operator, was on a night shift when he unknowingly slipped into the machine that took his life.

The other workers were not aware until they saw blood coming out through the other side of the machine.

In a swift reaction to the incident, the Oyo State government shut down the factory to pave way for a thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding the sad incident.

In a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Oyo State Governor, Mr Taiwo Adisa, the government had begun a safety audit of the factory and would ensure that necessary sanctions are meted out on the company upon completion of their investigations.

Richard’s death is one out of many of such incidents that has been happening in the country.

In November last year, an employee of an Ikorodu-based firm, Sunday Usenobong, reportedly fell into a melting pot and died while operating the company’s machine.

Several hapless workers had similarly lost their lives to avoidable factory accidents, while others survived but emerged to be confined to using artificial limbs.

Factory workers have one of the highest rates of workplace injury and death as a result of their exposure to heavy machinery, toxic and flammable chemicals, extreme temperatures, and other potential dangers.

As a result of high unemployment rate in the country, the rules of safety in the workplace have been compromised.

Many of the laws governing workplace safety are often violated by employers of labour.

Sadly, people saddled with the responsibility of ensuring safety at work are lacking in their duty while workers’ unions have failed to treat the issue with the required seriousness it deserves.

There are extant laws governing employer/employee relations and the relationship between employers and the government.

Laws such as the Factory Act, the Labour Act and the Workmen’s Compensation Act call on employers to ensure safety and security for workers, among other safety measures, there must always be protective gear and firefighting equipment.

Unfortunately, these laws are not enforced in many of the country’s factories.

The organised labour movement should always be persistent and genuinely demand efficient and transparent regulations from relevant agencies to rid the country of killer factories.

It will be necessary that the ongoing investigations by the federal and Oyo State government beam its searchlight on the extent of compliance with the extant laws by the employer in question.

Irrespective of the outcome of the investigations, the government must ensure that, all factories are equipped with the necessary gadgets for safety of the employees, and observe all the relevant laws.

Concerned authorities must ensure thorough prosecution of defaulters to serve as deterrent to others.

It is pertinent for the government to make workplaces safe for all workers by enforcing rules and regulations.

Workplaces should not be deathtraps for workers if the regulatory authorities are alive to their responsibility by ensuring strict enforcement of laid down rules and regulation.

Fawzeeyah Kasheem