Encomium
This is definitely not the best of season for the management of Caleb University, Lagos as properties worth over N100 million were damaged as the students went on rampage on Wednesday, May 14, 2014.
Pandemonium was let loose at the privately-owned university in Lagos. Students of Caleb University took the law into their hands, destroying properties of the institution.
It was gathered that a male staff of the school identified as Osunbo, allegedly stopped a Muslim student from praying in his religious way, which sparked violent reactions from the students.
Osunbo, who works in the student affairs department of the Christian-based institution, was said to have also beaten the Muslim student to a pulp.
The students later damaged properties in the school, including vehicles. They also reportedly torched their hostels, lecture rooms, cafeteria, porters offices and others. Policemen were reportedly brought in to douse the tension.
Meanwhile, the school has been shut for two weeks by the management. Parents have been advised to recall their wards.
A student who spoke under anonymity confirmed the details:
“The unfortunate incident occurred on Wednesday and if not for the timely intervention of the security operatives the damage would have exceeded that.”
Caleb’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ayo Olukoju announced today the temporary shutdown of the school which he said will re-open on June 2, 2014. Prof. Olukoju said: “We have rules and regulations in the school and all the students agreed to abide by them. These rules are in the student handout. Before now, we have been applying appropriate sanctions against students who default in any of these rules. We wanted to enforce one of such sanctions on Wednesday before this crisis escalated.”
The systematic history of Caleb University dates back to 1986, when Prince Oladega Adebogun planted the initial seed for a nursery and primary school in the Mainland Lagos. The seemingly intractable falling standard in public sector education and the demand amongst parents for schools with high academic standards, as well as the inculcation of true Christian values served as the necessary impetus for the creation of Caleb Nursery and Primary School.
The high academic attainment of the school, coupled with the exemplary moral behaviour of the students increased demand for places in the school. Parents also began to yearn for a secondary institution that emphasizes the same objectives, ambitions, values and teaching methods. This, logically, paved the way for the establishment of Caleb International College in Magodo GRA, Lagos, in 1995.
The college served as a natural transition path for many pupils who had attended Caleb Primary School. Within a few years of establishment, the performances of the college students at the Junior and Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (JSCE/SSCE) quickly established Caleb amongst the ranks of high flying secondary schools in the country. The college expanded its extra-curricular programme, expanded its music band, and included overseas study tours for its students from 1999.
In 1999, application for places at the college reached unprecedented level, with full applications to every available place. Such positive interest agitated the need for a bigger location. Caleb International College continued the rich tradition of moral and academic excellence and sometime in 2003, a branch of the college was established in Lekki, Lagos to cater for students residing in the Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki axis of Lagos. To maintain its position as a prime provider of qualitative education and respond to the industrial demands for staff of true international calibre, the establishment initiated the necessary process for the introduction of a Cambridge O’level programme and International General Certificate of Education (IGCSE) in 2004. Caleb’s position as an international organization was truly recognized in 2004, when it was admitted as a full member of the International School’s Association (ISA).
Prince Adebogun also felt deeply inspired to establish a university that will do for tertiary education, what Caleb has creditably done for primary and secondary education and in response to the invitation of the Federal Government of Nigeria through Act no. 9 of 1993 to allow Private Corporate bodies or individual Nigerian citizens to establish and run universities, subject to meeting approved guidelines such as having an approved academic brief, master plan, university law and proven ability to finance such a project.
By 2005, much progress had been recorded with the production of the draft academic brief, draft university law and purchase of over 100 acres of land in Imota, Lagos State. By November of the same year, the first NUC- SCOPU verification visit took place while the final NUC-SCOPU verification was held in May, 2006. The Federal Government granted probational operational license for Caleb University to operate as a private university, on May 17, 2007. The university started full academic program with admission of its first set of students, a total of 83 male and 58 female students on Monday, January 7, 2008.
– FEMI OYEWALE
