TRIBUTE TO CHINUA ACHEBE

By Flora Dairo and Ebenezer Akwuruoha

“One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.”- Chinua Achebe

 You are the astute scholar of veritable truths. The man who deploys few words to say many things.

Things Fall Apart envelopes the things to gain in you. In it, we see your bravery, your value for culture and traditions, your interest in humanity and more than our pen can commit to paper.   Your weapon, indeed, is literature and you are truly a man of integrity.  

We see you as the first in the Trinity of the Nigerian literary giants known nationally and internationally.

Your novels addressed issues of traditional or indigenous ways of life affecting the new way of life. Even with the accident that left you wheel-chair bound, you still worked as Professor at Bard College in New York where you moved to. You won several awards including the Commonwealth Poetry prize and the Man booker prize in 2007. 

You are the founding father of Okike, a journal of creative writing and essays, the founding father of UwaNdigbo, another journal whose medium was Igbo while it existed; the acclaimed Father of Nigerian Literature; the founding editor of Nsukka Scope that championed the voice of freedom at the University of Nigeria in the 70’s; the eminent Emeritus Professor of English, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the voice of cultural liberation in Africa.

This is just a part of you we have tried to describe just as you have once said, “Nobody can teach me who I am. You can describe parts of me, but who I am and what I need is something I have to find out myself”

Sleep on while your works speak on.

NIGERIAN ENGLISH FLEXICON

ARMY: It is not unusual to hear Nigerians refer to a single soldier as “army” especially when speaking a local language. Don’t let this confuse you. Nigerians have over the years, as a result of generally harsh economic conditions, mastered the art of economy so that instead of having to say “Army officer” all the meaning is compressed into the first word alone. That practice has been certified as “Climate-compliant”, for the simple reason that it reduces the emission of hot air.

CHAIRMAN: Originally associated with the administration of Local Governments and with social events (which in Nigeria are supposed to have a “High Table” filled with the most important persons present and manned by a “Chairman”), Chairman has suffered massive devaluation in recent years, and is now an informal term of respect used to address young male acquaintances, and strangers. Think of it as the Nigerian equivalent of Britain’s “Mate”. A famous Nigerian beer advert has borrowed this term you will encounter billboards bearing a giant bottle of beer headlined with a single word: “Chairman”. (Note: whatever you do don’t ever hail a young woman “Chairwoman.’ She will not appreciate it)

H-FACTOR: No, this is not a talent show- at least not in this sense. It is the habit, commonly found in south-western Nigeria, of inserting an H-sound in front of every vowel sound, or deleting the H-sound wherever it is found; so that ‘Orange” becomes “Hoh-range” and a House becomes a “Ouse”.

TRANSFORMER: If you hear this word please do not waste your time thinking about Hollywood or the famous movie that goes by the name. “Transformer”- a term you will come across a lot- has a social meaning. It is a piece of machinery found in every neighborhood; it determines whether or not you would have to endure the merciless din of a generator all night long. It helps to have an idea where the ‘transformer’ in your neighborhood is located. “Go and hug a transformer”- as a variation of “Go to Hell!”- is now a popular expressions amongst young Nigerians.

‘K’: Coined from the word OKAY (slang). It is a polite way of ending conversation that you are no longer interested in. it can also be used to shut one up.

‘OF LIFE’: It is not uncommon to hear people use the phrase ‘of life’ when making statements. It is used to lay emphasis on the importance of a thing or person. For example ‘my boo of life’ or ‘meat of life’

GBAGUN: In everyday speaking, to Gbagun is to commit a grammatical atrocity. In other words, a person who says “you didn’t came to my party” will be accused of Gbagun

“WHY ALWAYS ME?’: New trend introduced by the Italian Footballer Mario Balotelli who  after scoring a goal in a match raised his jersey up and beneath it was a shirt with the question inscribed on it. This question was directed at the press who had recently been on Balotelli’s case (criticizing him). It is now commonly used when one has achieved a great feat or when one is being antagonized.

‘ARE YOU A LEARNER?’: It is a slang introduced by a Nigerian musician, Olamide. Usually a statement made when a foolish statement, suggestion or question is raised. It can also be used when someone has done something incredibly stupid.

MY OGA AT THE TOP: it is a slang originated from an interview with an NSDC Commandant who after being asked a question that he couldn’t give an answer to would refer to his Oga at the top. The slang started in March 2013 and is one of the most famous slangs used now. Oga at the top is now also used refer to God during sermons. It is one of the top trending slangs; songs about it have been released by musicians. It is also not uncommon to see young people wear shirts with the inscription or references made to it during comedy shows.  LOL

RUN OBTAINS FULL ACCREDITATION

by Busola Odusola

All the academic programmes of the Redeemer’s University (RUN) have obtained full accreditation status by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

The fourteen programmes visited by the NUC in March 2012 were fully accredited. They include Accounting, Banking and Finance, Business Administration, Marketing, Insurance, Biochemistry, Industrial mathematics, Industrial Chemistry, Computer Science, Statistics, Economics, Political Science, Sociology and Social Works.

The Vice Chancellor, Prof Debo Adeyewa, while breaking the news to members of the university community gave all the glory to God for the full accreditation status granted to all the academic programmes of the university.

Prof Adeyewa also expressed his appreciation to the Visitor to the university, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, members of the Board of Trustees and the Governing council for their support before and during the period of the accreditation exercise.

He also appreciated the staff and students of the university. He commended their roles they played during the accreditation exercise. The other programmes that had obtained full accreditation status before the 2012 exercise include History and International Relations, English, Theatre Arts, Actuarial Science, Microbiology, Physics with Electronics, Psychology and Mass Communication.

Prior to this development as published in RUN Chronicle 2012, only seven programmes had full accreditation while 11 had interim accreditation. The breakdown of the courses and their correct accreditation status in 2010 are as follows : Accounting 73%, Actuarial Science 73%, Banking and Finance 73%, Business Administration 76%, Marketing 76%, Economics 78%, English 92.8%, Theatre Arts 95.9%, Mass Communication 83%, Political Science 74.7%, Psychology 74.7%, Sociology 74%, Biochemistry 79.6%, Industrial Mathematics 78%, Microbiology 82%, Physics  with Electronics 84%, Industrial Chemistry  78%.

However, NUC in October, 2010 had published in the Guardian newspaper that 14 of the university’s programmes were denied accreditation. The publication had generated fear and controversy.

The pioneer VC, Prof Oyewale Tomori revealed that the report NUC gave the university initially was different from what was published in the Guardian. The NUC had written to the school privately but Prof Tomori requested that they should go back to the media to repair the university’s damaged image.

The first step the university management took was to make the true version of the report known to stakeholders who were present at the family forum organized by the university.