11th December, 2014
Eromosele Ebhomele
The Vice Chancellor of the Lagos State University, LASU, Professor John Obafunwa, has heaped the major blame for the prevalence of cult activities on Nigerian campuses on politicians.
Obafunwa, who spoke as guest lecturer at the 40th anniversary celebration of the Epe Club in Lagos, western Nigeria, said cultism and its activities on campuses have persisted because politicians have continued to use members of the groups to execute political activities.
According to him, the politicians arm and “use them, dump them and go for them again” whenever the need arises.
He disclosed that cultism now transcends Nigeria’s tertiary institutions as it is now more of street gangsterism.
Obafunwa urged students to desist from cult activities.
He also pleaded with students and youths across the nation to stop demanding for money from politicians and instead concentrate on asking them questions on accountability and holding them responsible where possible as this would make them sit up.
He told the guests, mostly made up of students from different tertiary institutions, that the state government was planning to re-introduce the pre-degree science students programme in Epe area of the state as well as securing approved assessment for the Agriculture programme of the institution.
He told students to also study different vocations jand advised prospective students of higher institutions to be careful when choosing courses of study as some courses would make them perpetual job seekers.
“We need to be careful when choosing careers. The class of people who make the money are not those who have white collar jobs, but the artisans.
“In the medical school at Ikeja, I have two students who make clothes. One of them recently produced a pant trouser for me and I was happy to pay. He now has a clothing line and I know he may not practise as a doctor when he graduates.
“Does it make sense to go to the institution to study Business Administration? What business are you managing? Public Administration and Psychology?
“Does it make sense only to go to school and depend on government for employment?
“If you are going to school just for the certificate, then fine. But you have to think of a course that would make you independent of government,” he advised.
He appealed the government to come to the aid of Epe people concerning electricity as, according to him, power remains the bane of development in the area.
Before presenting cheques of N25,000 each to 53 students of tertiary institutions who are from Epe, the President of Epe Club and former Commissioner in Lagos, Chief Lanre Razak, described the club as one aimed at unifying the Epe people and bringing peace to the community.
Some of the beneficiaries thanked the club and promised to carry on with humanitarian activities in the future.