Encomium
Covenant University students are at loggerhead with their chancellor, Bishop David Oyedepo deposit over the ban of Samsung tablets, Techno and iPads in Covenant University, Ota, Ogun state. Information available to ENCOMIUM Weekly revealed that the school authority gave the directives on Thursday, March 13, 2014.
According to a statement released by the university’s Student Affairs department, most tablets are sim-enabled which are contradictory to the school’s no-phone rule. This has not gone down well with some of the students who believe it is a barrier to developing and keeping up with IT trends. Their grouse was that it wasn’t part of the prohibited items by the school and why the sudden change.
However, we reliably gathered that the school authority has threatened to suspend any violator of the new rule for four weeks.
A source within the school revealed to us that the issue has thrown the academic community into a state of chaos.
Bishop Oyedepo is reputed to be the richest pastor in Nigeria. Affectionately called Papa by members of his congregation (born September 27, 1954) is a Nigerian Christian author, preacher and the founder and presiding bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners Chapel, and its affiliated international churches known as Winners Chapel International, with headquarters in Ogun State, Nigeria. He is also the senior pastor of Faith Tabernacle, a 50,000 seat church reputed to be the largest church auditorium in the world by the Guinness Book of Records. The Winners Chapel network of churches is in over 300 cities, in all states of Nigeria, as well as in over 63 cities in 32 African nations, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, Oyedepo is seen as one of the pioneers of the Christian charismatic movement in Africa and has been referred to as one of the most powerful preachers in Nigeria. He was named in 2011 by Forbes magazine as the richest pastor in Nigeria, worth around $150 million.
Oyedepo’s socio-economic endeavours include founding over 100 education institutions based on Christian principles for primary, secondary and tertiary stages of formal education to empower the young generation,develop the human capacity and improve the education system in Nigeria and Africa. This has led to the establishment of kingdom heritage model schools in different cities in Nigeria for primary education. Faith Academy, a missionary full boarding secondary school was opened on October 25, 1999. Covenant University was opened on October 21, 2002 and was adjudged the best private university in Nigeria as of 2005. On March 21, 2011, Landmark University, Omuaran, Kwara State (another education institution founded by the ministry) officially opened the doors to her pioneer students.
Landmark University by its founder (Dr. Oyedepo) was said to have been built with over USD $100 million at one of his speaking engagements in 2011. This university will be a top quality to be able to compete with universities such as Harvard.
– FEMI OYEWALE
