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UNILAG Honours Diri With Book On Leadership, Proposes Professorial Chair Endowment

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Gov Douye Diri of Bayelsa State (middle) Managing Director of the UNILAG Consult,

 

By David Owei,Bayelsa

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has completed a book project on the leadership qualities and governance style of the Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri.

Managing Director of the UNILAG Consult, Prof. John Oyefara, Prof. John Oyefara, who disclosed this on Thursday during a courtesy visit to Government House, Yenagoa, said the institution has also proposed a public lecture as well as endowing of a Professorial Chair in the Department of Political Science in his honour.

The governor’s spokesman, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, in a statement on Friday, quoted Prof. Oyefara as saying that the university had a track record of assessing the performance of various leaders in Nigeria and that the book titled: “Leadership Chronicles of Governor Douye Diri” focuses on the exemplary leadership and achievements of the Bayelsa governor.

He said: “At the University of Lagos, we have a tradition on assessing leaders in Nigeria. We use our own templates and standards that are global to measure the leadership in Nigeria.

“We identified Your Excellency to be a leading star in Nigeria, based on leadership and governance. We decided to put together all your achievements.

“The purpose of our visit was to inform you about our project in three thematic areas. One, is on the publication of the book we have been able to put together about His Excellency’s achievements in the state.

“We also propose a public lecture where renowned leaders in Africa will deliver lecture on leadership and governance to exemplify the achievements of the governor.

“The third one is for the Department of Political Science in the University of Lagos to see the possibility of endowing a professorial chair in the name of His Excellency.”

The Lead Editor of the project, Prof. Hope Eghagha, also stated that the idea was an independent assessment of the governor’s performance in office either in infrastructure or human capacity development through interviews that were conducted.

Eghagha said the project examined the state of security in the state and discovered there had been much improvement under the present administration.

He also said Governor Diri had become a national figure that was well sought after due to his humility and humane disposition.

Responding, the Bayelsa governor said he was pleasantly surprised about the gesture of the University of Lagos.

He welcomed the idea of documenting his achievements, saying he had been nursing the idea of establishing a leadership institute to groom those with interest in politics and political offices.

Governor Diri bemoaned poor preparations for public offices, noting that this had contributed largely to leadership failure across the country.

He said he does not deserve the whole credit for his achievements as he had in place a dedicated team of appointees contributing their quota to the benefit of his government and the state.

His words: “It is really interesting when people, without your prompting, decide to do a thing for the purpose of posterity. A lot of the time we do not document these events and activities as we look at them as not too important. But they are.

“I have toyed with the idea that if I had the resources, can I establish a leadership institution in Bayelsa State? So that before anyone thinks of becoming a councillor, council chairman, commissioner, special adviser or even governor, he knows what he is coming to do in office. If you are not prepared for it, then we are bound to fail as a country and as a state.

“So, I have been pleasantly surprised by the University of Lagos and I think it is a good thing.

“Let me also state that the success in Bayelsa is not all about me. It is actually about our team. We have a dedicated team of commissioners, special advisers, technical advisers and everybody contributing their quota to the whole.

“That is why if anyone says we have done well in infrastructure, it is because down the ladder, those who have been vested with that authority have implemented our policies, projects and programmes to the best of what we expected to be.”

The governor approved the proposals from the delegation and thanked them for recognising him in the midst of others.

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FUT Minna Expands Medical Programme, Commissions New Hostel for Students

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Vice-Chancellor Prof. Faruk Adamu Kuta

BY UTHMAN BABA-NASEER,MINA

The Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna has completed and taken over a newly built male hostel dedicated to medical students, marking another major milestone in its preparation for the commencement of medical programmes.

The Vice-Chancellor Prof. Faruk Adamu Kuta dadisclosed this during an interview with journalists, stating that the hostel project began with a groundbreaking ceremony in 2023 and has now been fully completed. He explained that the hostel is reserved for male medical students, in line with the requirements of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, which mandates dedicated accommodation for medical students.

He added that the second hostel, donated by the Executive Governor of Niger State, is currently undergoing renovation and will serve female medical students. The renovation is expected to be completed before the end of the month to ensure that students resume on December 1, in accordance with the university’s academic calendar.

The Vice-Chancellor further explained that FUT Minna has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Bida, which will serve as the university’s primary teaching hospital. Both institutions have jointly written to the Federal Ministry of Health requesting the upgrade of FMC Bida to a full-fledged teaching hospital to be named the Federal University of Technology Teaching Hospital.

“Once the upgrade is approved, the Federal Ministry of Health will assume responsibility for funding, staffing, salaries, training activities, and the maintenance of hospital facilities” he assured.

He also revealed that the university has begun recruiting qualified academics, including consultants who will support the medical programmes. According to him, FMC Bida has more than 60 consultants with teaching experience who will be engaged in the training of students.

Additionally, the Vice-Chancellor announced that the university has procured medical equipment worth one billion naira to support the smooth take-off of the new programmes. The equipment is currently being prepared for shipment from China.

On student admissions, the university noted that interest in the medical programmes has been overwhelming. Over 850 students applied to transfer into the medical programmes within five days, but FUT Minna can only admit 50 students per programme, as mandated by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

FUT Minna is also expanding its academic offerings. By January, the university will invite the NUC for resource verification of new programmes, including Artificial Intelligence, Intelligence and Security Studies, Nuclear Science, Nuclear Engineering, Mining Engineering, and others.

To accommodate the expected increase in staff, the university is constructing 30 en-suite offices, with another 30 to be built after the next TETFund intervention.

Prof Faruk Adamu said the overall goal is to position FUT Minna as a globally competitive institution known for cutting-edge programmes and world-class facilities.

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NARCISSISM, SUBSTANCE ADDICTION IN HOMES

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Stacey Ukaobasi

By Stacey Ukaobasi

There is a dangerous combination destroying families from the inside: narcissism fueled by addiction. On their own, each one is destructive. But when they meet in one person, the result is a silent war that breaks homes, destroys confidence, damages children, and drains the life out of anyone tied to them.

Narcissists do not care who they hurt as long as they get validation from outsiders. They are masters of image.
To the world, they are saints ,kind, generous, supportive, charming.
At home, behind closed doors, they become something else entirely.cold, cruel, dismissive, manipulative, abusive, and emotionally monstrous.

They can give an outsider their last breath just to be praised. They can cry on command, cook up stories, and twist reality to fool their followers. To the public, they are victims. To their families, they are tormentors.

They do not want anyone close to them to succeed. Your success threatens them. They only feel comfortable around people they consider beneath them. They spend their earnings buying validation drinks, gifts, reckless spending while their family suffers. The moment salary enters their hands, they disappear to the streets. Home only matters when their pockets run dry and they need a base to recharge before their next cycle of destruction.
They lie endlessly,stupid lies, unnecessary lies, shameless lies. They miss very important family events, birthdays, milestones, every single family event and responsibilities nomatter how important they are. They will promise to come, give you hope, make you cancel backup plans, then switch off their phone for days. No explanations. No apologies. No accountability. Your pain just does not register at all. They keep their families waiting while they are chilling somewhere drinking and jumping around unbothered.

They lack empathy of any kind. You can be sick, struggling, drowning they will watch from afar until you drag yourself out alone. They isolate when their loved ones are suffering. They disappear and return only when things are calm again. A narcissist can watch you attempt suicide and not lift a finger instead, they record it with their phone not to save you, but to protect themselves.

They are mentally, emotionally, and physically abusive. When you don’t report their abuse, it empowers them. Something in their mind tells them they are right. They twist every story, manipulate everyone around them, and always position themselves as the innocent one. They defend outsiders over their own family because validation from strangers is more important to them than loyalty to those who see their true face.

Their lack of empathy makes their behavior feel inhuman. It goes beyond personality flaws it feels darker than anything you can explain with normal language. Their actions are spiritually empty, morally cold, and emotionally dead. There is no remorse, no conscience, no recognition of the damage they cause. What they do is the product of brokenness, addiction, pride, and deep spiritual blindness. It’s like dealing with someone whose soul has shut down, whose heart no longer responds to love, pain, or responsibility.

There is something inside their brain a twisted sense of entitlement that tells them they are always right. No matter what they do, no matter how wrong, how violent, how cruel, or how destructive, their mind convinces them that they are the victim. They justify every abuse. They excuse every attack. They rewrite every story to make themselves look innocent.
To them, you are the problem.
Your pain is irrelevant.
Your suffering is invisible.
Your voice is noise they want to silence.

They are always in debt. No business with them ends well. Their greed and recklessness destroy partnerships. No matter how much money they earn, it vanishes quickly on alcohol, on women, on the people they seek validation from, never on their responsibilities. They are habitual debtors who leave destruction wherever they go.
Inside their head is constant chaos. They don’t listen, they don’t reason, they don’t compromise. They only hear themselves. For outsiders, they become excellent listeners and problem solvers. But for their loved ones, they shut down completely. 9 is their 6 they create arguments because arguments are their oxygen. They never tire, never give up, never admit wrong. They twist every word you say and turn every detail of your life even from before you were even born into a weapon.

They keep multiple women outside the marriage to punish their wives into submission.They do not love their children,they use their own children as tools, dumping responsibilities that should be shared. They have no emotional connection with their kids,the children simply become collateral damage in their ongoing war for control.

Their public image is spotless. They hug you in front of people, act like they love and respect you, but once the door closes, the mask drops, and the real mask emerges.

What they do is the product of brokenness, addiction, pride, and deep spiritual blindness.

Your tears or pain cannot change a narcissist. Marriage does not soften them. Children do not mature them. Prayers cannot break their behavior. They can only change if they themselves choose to. They learn only the hard way through consequences, loss, or public embarrassment. Real change begins only when they accept their mistakes and genuinely commit to long-term therapy.

The only hope is in THEM admitting that their behavior is abusive, taking responsibility without excuses, their loved ones refusing to tolerate or cover for them, and the narcissist willingly choosing to do the inner work.

Some of them are not evil,they are wounded people with deeply broken identities. But even then, healing must be THEIR decision and not your sacrifice.

*STACEY UKAOBASI is the founder of the FORUM FOR CHILD RIGHTS PROMOTION and is a Nigerian activist based in the United States of America.

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Mass Abduction at Girls’ Secondary School shows school security agenda of government not working: says HURIWA * *So what was N595 billion budgeted for the Intelligence community in 2024 used for?

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By

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

By George Mgbeleke

The early-morning attack on the Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in the Danko Wasagu Local Government Area (LGA) of Kebbi State, North West Nigeria, and the abduction of scores of students by terrorists has exposed the lies by the federal government that it had invested massively towards school security initiative in the Country just as HURIWA queried the whereabouts of a whooping sum of N595 billion reportedly budgeted for the publicly funded intelligence community.

In a media statement endorsed by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko condemned the bloody attack of the girls Secondary school in Kebbi state by terrorists and blamed it on spectacular intelligence and security failures.

“We call on the heads of the security institutions, the armed forces, the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force, to immediately activate mechanisms to chase these terrorists, rescue the hostages who are our daughters, arrest, neutralise or decimate the terrorists abductors or bring them to saift justice. We urge the government to put foolproof and sustainable security and intelligence gathering initiatives all across the country to prevent reoccurrence of such a dastardly crimes of mass abduction of students. Those who kidnap students are terrorists and must be dealt with in accordance with the extant counter terrorism law of the Federation. Government must realise that the primary duty it owes the citizens is to protect their lives and property from wanton terrorists attacks and mass killings,” HURIWA affirmed.

HURIWA has also charged the government to focus on implementing concrete measures to protect school children all around Nigeria instead of relying on conjecture even as the Rights group blasted the Minister of Education Dr Tunji Alausa, for openly bragging in May of this year that there have been no school abductions in the country over the past 12 months.

Alausa spoke on Arise TV while reviewing the mid-term performance of the government on education and attributed the achievement to the current government’s focused policies and increased security spending.

Alausa stated that the government has implemented a safe school initiative with a central command centre in Abuja, manned by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

“I am the chief education officer of Nigeria now and I would tell you that no abduction has occurred in schools in the last 12 months. This is not coincidence This is due to the clear, focused government policies of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

“The president has spent much on security like no government has done in the last 20 years. We are using both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies. I will leave the other details for the NSA to discuss. But what we have done to make our schools safer…we have a safe school initiative that is in place,” he said.

HURIWA faulted the claims of the Education minister and maintained that the most recent daring and bloody attack on the Kebbi state government girls Secondary school demonstrates that the government relies more in propaganda and empty rhetoric rather than investing in real time substantial resources and deploy the trained manpower to provide security of lives and property of students in their schools.

HURIWA recalled that the Kebbi state terrorists attack took place around 4:00 a.m., shortly before dawn prayers. Local sources say the attackers stormed the school premises, killing a staff member and injuring a security guard before escaping with several girls.

Residents of Maga, a community under the Danko Wasagu LGA, with its headquarters in Ribah, said that the assailants “have not gone far” and are believed to still be within reach. They are calling for urgent intervention from both the Federal and Kebbi State Governments to prevent the terrorists from disappearing with the abducted students.

Security forces have yet to issue any official statement on the latest mass abduction of school children.

HURIWA recalled that in recent years, Kebbi State has witnessed a disturbing surge in school abductions, which is part of a broader pattern of insecurity plaguing the northwestern region.

Historicallyy, the most notorious incident occurred on June 17, 2021, when armed attackers stormed the Federal Government College in Birnin Yauri. The assailants killed a police officer and abducted at least 80 students and five teachers.

The Rights group wondered why these attacks on students have been allowed to continue even when the nation by now should have learnt good enough lessons from the cases of previous incidents in Borno, Kaduna, Yobe and Kebbi states just as HURIWA asserted that preventive law enforcement is much better than letting crimes happen before the security apparatus are activated to go after the terrorists. “We wonder why the National Assembly members go to bed once they approved the massive budgets for security and intelligence community without carrying out efficient oversight functions on the relevant security institutions to compel the mainstreaming of the twin values of accountability and transparency. There is a story making the rounds that the law makers deliberately undermine their oversight functions by compromising with the security heads because of pecuniary benefits.

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