In a bid to tackle the menace of cultism, kidnapping and other social vices in the Kogi State University, the Alumni Association has embarked on the construction of a multi million naira Guidance and Counseling/ information and communication center.
According to the National president of the state varsity Alumni Mr. Obaje Matthias Kelvin, the project when completed will house Alumni office, ICT center to be used by the students, and a counselor’s office, which will serve as a molding pad for the reformation of the students.
The president disclosed this during the reunion and fund raising dinner held on Saturday in lokoja, the state capital.
He stated that the Alumni has worked relentlessly with the student union body to stem the tide of social pervasiveness among the students, stressed that they have employed a desk officer to attend to the needs of students.
Kelvin noted that the alumni under his watch had renovated the university’s main gate, presented certificates of merit to nineteen best graduating students and designed a website to boost its revenue base.
He therefore called on the entire alumnus and the good people who love education to contribute their quota to the development of the budding university.
In a lecture titled the role of Alumni in the Socio Economic Development of the society, the guest lecturer, Dr. Stella Adejoh lambasted the past leaders of this country whose development plans have rather than solve Nigeria’ s problems, kept plunging the nation deeper into poverty.
She disclosed that the united Nations Development report 2015 ranked the country with the highest number of poor people, called for concerted effort by government at all levels to embark on projects that have direct correlation to the standard of living of the citizenry.
According to her, it was ironic for the nation with abundant natural and human resources to continue to wallow in abject poverty urged the Alumni of tertiary institutions in the country to educate their members and students on the need to embark on economic endeavors that will reduce over dependence on white collar jobs.
“Development in the socio Economic context is the improvement of the people’ s lifestyles through improved education, Incomes, Skills development and employment.
“It is the process of economic and social transformation based on cultural and environmental factors, which is measured by the country’s life expectancy, which unfortunately was on the decline.
“Successive governments have attempted to define suitable frameworks for socio economic development through series of national development plans such as NEEDS, Seven Point Agenda, Operation Feed the nation and change mantra among others.
“I wonder why all these development plans have not been able to solve the problems of the nation. I therefore challenge the Alumni to serve as powerful voice in influencing policy direction of government to reform education, network among themselves and career mentoring for the students.” She advised.
Adejoh added that the quality of education that a nation gives to its citizenry can lead to a quick transformation of the country stressing that any nation that does not pay attention to the future generation would be doomed.
She attributed cultism and other social deviance in the educational institutions across the country to unemployment, weak educational resources and lack of adequate plans by government for her citizens.
She commended the Kogi State University Alumni Association for their efforts at bridging the skill needs of students through fund raising and other ventures that generate revenues for the body urging them to reach out to other associations for inter change of ideas.
