The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is working round the clock to make the Fountain University, Osogbo, Osun State, a centre where Nigerian youths will be reformed through entrepreneurship.
Vice-chancellor of the university, Professor Amidu Olalekan Sanni made the revelation on Wednesday during an interactive session with members of the South-West Group of Online Publishers (SWEGOP) in his office in Osogbo.
The scholar, for effect, disclosed his meeting with Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the anti-drug agency, General Buba Marwa (retd), saying the school is concerned more about reforming erring youths other than throwing them out to degenerate to social evil.
He stated, “I have met General Buba Maruwa, Chairman of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency. He wants to make our university the South-West hub of Reform and Entrepreneurial Centre. The Country Representative, United Nations for Drugs Control has agreed to train our staff members.
“A member of our Board is the Director General of the Nigerian Medical Research Institute, Prof. Salako Makinde. What I am trying to say is that we don’t just take care of the good students only. If we don’t take care of the ones with moral issues too, they are the ones who would destroy the good ones. That is why we take them on and engage them.”
Sanni further clarified that the university is not operated on regimented rule against rights of students and staff. Rather, he said, the owners had given the management freedom to run it based on confidence reposed in his team as tested professionals.
He said, “Even if you are the son of the President of the Society and you are found wanting, the appropriate sanction would be applied. They know that the VC would not tolerate (bad behaviours). This has helped us a lot. When a child realizes that there is no one who would plead on his or her behalf, he won’t misbehave. That has kept them in check without anybody policing them. You can’t police students, no way.”
What he called religious stigmatization, the VC maintained, had no room in the institution, pointing out that identity of the school on religion is never in doubt. However, he stressed that belief is a personal matter which shouldn’t be imposed on other people.
“As I am talking, the head of our security here is a Christian. The Dean of our Post Graduate School is a Christian, the head of our Technical (Works) Department is also a Christian. He was a pioneer staff member of this university.
“We allow Christian students to go for church services of their choice on Sunday which we monitor anyway. You don’t tell us you are going to Redeem Church and you go to your boyfriend’s house. Once you are here, you are under our custody,” he said.
Leave a Reply