Henry, UI’s longest-serving lecturer dies

 

Nigel Henry

University of Ibadan’s longest-serving lecturer, Nigel Henry, has passed away.

 

Until his passage, Henry was a lecturer in the Department of Classics.

 

News of his death was announced on Sunday in a statement by the Department of Classics in the University.

 

The Public Relations Officer of the university, Olatunji Oladejo, also confirmed Henry’s death.

 

The statement read in part, “With a deep sense of sorrow the Department of Classics announces the passing of Mr. Nigel Henry, which regrettable event occurred on the night of 30 January, 2021, at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.

 

“Mr. Henry, our longest-serving academic member of staff, who spent over four decades nurturing students in the various sub-disciplines of Classics, especially in Greek and Latin languages and literature, was an outstanding student of the highest order.

 

“He took the M.A. (Classics) with First Class Honours (1969 – 73) from the University of St. Andrews, and the B. Phil in Classics (1973 – 75) from the University of Oxford.

 

“Mr. Henry brought to Ibadan the best traditions of Classical scholarship, having been taught by such eminently acclaimed scholars like Sir Kenneth Dover and Prof. Hugh Lloyd- Jones. Every current member of staff of the Department is a former student of Mr. Henry.”

Amaechi on education

I came by a resident of Rivers State on Facebook today who swore that Governor Rotimi Amaechi has outperformed most other governors in the area of education.

He posted a picture of one of the model primary schools the governor is building across the state, and I thought it was unbelievable.

I’ve done a quick search on Google and what it turned up is quite interesting. The New Model Primary schools the governor is building compare very well with any other in any part of the world. They are complete with recreational facilities, some even have internet facilities, and at least one was furnished with  split unit ACs.

Private schools will begin to look and feel inadequate in Rivers State at this rate.  

The governor aims at building 700 and had accomplished 500 as of April when Vanguard reported it. This  is really amazing in a Nigerian environment. I also learnt primary education is free in the state, with provision of books and uniforms.

What this shows is that people with good ideas and ability to transform them to reality can indeed be found in any party. Education is a pivotal sector and the poor have for long received the short end of the stick in this regard in many states of the federation in the years of the locusts supervised by PDP.

These model primary schools afford the children of the masses in Rivers State access to infrastructure that has been the exclusive preserve of the rich. The teachers working in these schools must feel proud turning up at work every day.

Kudos to Amaechi on this one.

 

Police admit watching mob lynch UNIPORT students

The accused UNIPORT students

 

 The Police have unabashedly stated that the team of its men who attempted to rescue the four University of Port Harcourt students killed by a mob at Aluu, Rivers State, were unable to do so because the mob pelted them with stones!

The police also disclosed that their preliminary investigations revealed that they were not robbers afterall. They were allegedly set up by an individual who owed them an undisclosed amount of money.

Four students, Ugunna Obuzor, (18), Lloyd Toku, (19), Tekena Elkanah, (20) and Chiadaka Odinga, (20) were lynched on October 5, 2012 by a mob.

The police named Coxson Lucky, alias Bright, as the mastermind behind the killings.

The Force also said it had arrested 21 other persons, among them Segun Lawal, Felemo Solomon; Cynthia Chinwo; Ozioma Abajuo and Chigozie Samuel Evans said to have played key roles in the killings.

Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, who said Lucky raised the alarm that resulted in the lynching of the students, however, assured that all those found culpable in the killings would be prosecuted.

The victims, Abubakar, who spoke through the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, said had gone to the community that morning to demand money allegedly owed them by Lucky, who raised the alarm that they were armed robbers.

Although, Lucky, the police chief said, had gone underground, detectives were still on his trail.

He said, “Intelligence report implicated the traditional ruler of Omukiri community, Aluu, Alhaji Hassan Welewa, as being the person who incited the mob to unleash terror on the victims. Further investigation conducted by the police indicates that four suspects, namely: Felemo Solomon; Cynthia Chinwo; Ozioma Abajuo and Chigozie Samuel Evans have been closely linked to this barbarous act.”

The IG explained that the police patrol team sent to the scene of the lynching could not rescue the students from the mob as members of the team were pelted with stones.

He said, “Consequently, the patrol team called for reinforcements, but unfortunately, upon the arrival of the reinforcements, the alleged robbery suspects had been stoned and burnt to death, while the mob immediately took to their heels.

“Their corpses were recovered by the Police who by then had been joined by members of the Joint Task Force. The victims were later identified to be students of University of Port Harcourt.”

He said investigation was ongoing and efforts were being intensified to track down others who were involved in the incident.

Abubakar said he had deployed policemen in the area, including detectives to assist the State Police Command.

He said, “Normalcy has been restored, while the situation in the area, especially in the university and other tertiary institutions is being closely monitored with a view to forestalling any untoward reactions.” 

He appealed to Nigerians to see it as their civic obligation to assist security agencies in the discharge of their responsibility.