Within few week after his appointment as Acting Rector of Kogi State Polytechnic, Dr Salisu Ogbo Usman left no one in doubt that he is on a mission to reform the institution.
He made his cardinal commitment to make the Polytechnic a centre of academic and entrepreneurial excellence. An institution that will produce graduates that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their counterparts anywhere in the world.
He pledged to build an institution that is open, transparent and consultative in decision making; accommodative to all irrespective of ethnic, religious and social affiliations – where every member of staff and students would first and foremost see themselves as Kogites and as staff and students of the Polytechnic before thinking of their background.
Within his first 100 days in office, he has already given the Polytechnic a face lift, embarked on pro-academics infrastructural development and set in motion units and committees that will reform and propel the institution into greater heights. The Acting Rector banned illegal sale of textbooks to students and commenced his anti-cultism policy. These attracted commendations from far and near.
Just like every reformer, the Acting Rector has experienced vicious, systemic reactions from those benefitting from the ‘old order’. Perpetrators will certainly fight back with every strategy and attack.
At a press briefing in Lokoja on Monday, the Acting Rector recounted cases of incitement of students by some staff of the institution. He recounted how a lecturer incited students to embark on protest against the institution’s policy on nonpayment of school fees.
“In any environment where there is systemic and entrenched decay, any step aimed at correcting the anomalies can never enjoy popularity among those profiting from such decay. As I said earlier, I have enjoyed the tremendous cooperation and support of over 90 percent of staff of the institution. I can attest to this based on awesome commitment, sense of responsibilities and dedication with high ethical values at various committee levels and in the discharge of their respective primary responsibilities.
“However, the few whose interests feel threatened by our efforts are not ready give up so easily. They therefore resorted to inciting students to embark on demonstration against our altruistic policy.
“A case in point is one Mr. Stephen Owoleke of the School of General Studies who openly declared that students should embark on demonstration because we wanted to enforce ‘No School Fees, No Examination’. In line with the tone of the comment, students did embark on protest purportedly in reaction to the death of their colleague who was knocked down by vehicle along the highway.
“Curiously, however, the protest that was supposed to be against the killing of students became a protest of ‘No School Fees, No Examination’. This was even when we had extended the grace of payment by extra two weeks.
“Even as we are critically reviewing the conduct of Mr. Stephen Owoleke and his cohort, I deeply and sincerely appreciate the maturity and understanding of our students that have severally resisted and reported the antics of such traducers.
“Another instance was the unwarranted protest and destruction carried out at the School of Engineering, Itakpe.
According to the Deputy Dean of Student Services at the campus, a student who had an undisclosed ‘brought from home’ ailment was reported to have crisis during examination, and he was rushed to the Clinic and attended to. Later in the evening, he had the same crisis again. His colleagues in the bid to rush him to the hospital, claimed that the vehicle to convey the student to the hospital was not readily available and they went on rampage.
“On examination after the said student was taken to the hospital and was receiving treatment, it was discovered that, the administrative building window glasses and a vehicle parked around the security building were damaged.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Clinic at Itakpe campus was built before I assumed duties but was not used because there were no supporting facilities and personnel to function. It was after I assumed duties that staff were redeployed to the campus, drugs were purchased and over a million naira was approved to purchase other needs of the Clinic apart from the four (4) hospital beds and mattress that we have since moved to the place to function.
“Throughout the period the Clinic was not put to use, there was no case of protest on health ground. The question is why now that we identified this gap that we are making appreciable efforts for improved functional facilities that there will be protest?
“Even as we are compiling the reports on the incidence with names of the suspect for necessary disciplinary action, I sincerely appreciate the sober stance of the Student Union leadership especially at Itakpe and their distilling roles against the infected bad elements amongst them,” he said.
The Acting Rector called on students not to allow themselves to be used by people who have their own ulterior motives.
“They should know that whoever is inciting them does not in any way have their interest at heart. They should also know that my primary responsibility is to protect their legitimate interest always, and I am ready to do that within the means at my disposal.”
Aside students’ incitement, the Acting Rector revealed that criminal syndicates has been sabotaging efforts of the institution.
The syndicates have been having a field day stealing receipts and selling same to students who do not wish to pay the institution’s stipulated fees.
“W have also discovered the existence of some fraudulent members of staff who are milking the system dry through stealing and illegal issuing of the Polytechnic receipts.
“When this came to our knowledge, we set up a Committee to investigate the authenticity and possible depth of involvement of the alleged culprits.
“The Committee discovered that the syndicate in question stole the receipt booklets form the Polytechnic Store and have been using same to collect money and issue statement of results and certificates without remitting the money collected to the Polytechnic account. They do this mostly in active connivance with our graduates who evaded paying school fees during the period of their studies.
“The implications of such fraud are in triple fold. The First is that graduates successfully cheat their way through by paying little or no dime to the Polytechnic. The second is that they pay less to collect their certificates and/or statement of results. This is because the fraudulent members of staff charge them less than what they should ideally pay to collect certificate or statement of result. For instance, we charge N7,050 and N3,050 per person for the collection of Certificate and Statement Result respectively.
“The third implication is that the fraudulently collected amount ends up in private pockets thereby causing revenue leakage for the Institution.
“The Committee was able to obtain the identity of one of our graduates who has benefitted from the fraudulent issuance of the stolen receipts. The person in question is a member of staff of a Magistrate Court in Lokoja. He has since disclosed the amount he paid to be issued the certificate but has been evasive in respect of who he paid the money to.
“After concerted efforts to get him to disclose the identity or identities of the persons to no avail, we are considering the ultimate option of writing to the court where he works to notify them of the shady deal involving someone on their payroll.
“We are also considering setting machineries in motion to withdraw the certificate issued to him since he has proven to be no longer worthy in character.”
At the press briefing, the Acting Rector said the institution has discovered an examination fraud syndicate and certificate racketeers operating within and outside the Lokoja campus.
He paraded 12 suspects arrested by the security department of the institution over alleged culpability in the fraud.
He said following intelligence reports about the existence of examination “Magic Centres” both within the campus and in some parts of Lokoja, the management launched an investigation.
“We immediately set investigative machineries in motion to ascertain the authenticity of the report. Lo and behold, the centre being controlled by a syndicate of some disgruntled elements in our system was discovered right in the heart of Lokoja.”
The rector, who projected some pictures of students writing in an obscure place, said: “these are our students at one of the ‘Magic Centres’ writing their examination while examination for the course(s) in question was going on in the approved halls on the campus.
“We were able to unravel this academic decadence with evidence on Thursday, 5th November, 2020.
“Our team of security men was able to burst one of the centres called ‘Champion Lodge’ at ‘Sarkin Norma’ after the primary school.
“Even as the suspects escaped before the arrival of the security team, a total of 32 answer scripts on different courses, with students’ particulars written on each, were retrieved from ‘Carlifonia Lodge’ at the same ‘Sarkin Norma’ where the scripts were kept for onward transmission to their principal(s).
“Today, Monday, 9th November, 2020 we were also able to arrest additional 12 participants of the said ‘Magic centre’ who variously confessed to their involvement,” he added.
The Acting Rector said that the security team had also arrested one Victor Attah, the owner of the room that was used as the “Magic Centre”, alongside one Daniel Ikoja (AKA Progress), the owner of the room where scripts were kept for onward transmission.
“We are currently filtering information that the facilitator of the ‘Magic Centre’ earlier presented above may not have successfully completed the National Diploma Programme in Accountancy but now running a Higher National Diploma programme in the same Department, now at HND II. After our investigation, we will ensure that all the collaborators shall be brought to book in accordance with our laws.
“I want to place on record that Management under my watch would not tolerate any act capable of tarnishing the credibility of our results and certificates. My warning to the deviant students and their collaborators is that they should desist from short – cut practices in their own interest, and in the common interest of all of us.”
