By peter uzoma
The popular Igbo axiom that a “toad does not run around in the afternoon for nothing sake” is seriously playing out in Imo state. Barely a week after an ominous sign debuted at the Imo State Polytechnic Umuagwo-Ohaji, where a snake swallowed another and later died, confusion is reigning at the only state owned polytechnic as the graduating students are threatening fire and brimstone over the approach of the management to their mobilization by National Youth Service Corps, NYSC.
It would be recalled that Trumpeta exclusively reported with pictures of the forbidden snake-swallowing-snake incident that occurred inside the Polytechnic premises a week ago.
While the State Governor yesterday gathered his new commissioners and appointees for swearing-in exercise and inauguration of new exco respectively at the Exco Chamber and Ahiajoku Centre, fresh graduates of the institution who were disgraced out of the ongoing orientation camp of Batch C of NYSC, took to the streets and stopped staff and management of Imopoly from resuming work on Monday.
The aggrieved graduates are HND holders of the institution who were sent packing out of the various orientation camps nationwide few days after they were mobilized for the Batch C of 2013/14 service year.
Trumpeta findings indicated that the affected victims were 2012 graduates of the institution who would have gone to NYSC service since last year but for accreditation problems faced by the institution.
It was learnt that to make up for the year lost for graduates of the institution in NYSC programme, the management allegedly devised another option to fix the graduates in the mandatory one-year programme by giving their affected HND statements of results, that are at variance with their courses and departments.
Details available to Trumpeta state that since courses/departments in the school of Agriculture remain the only NBTC accredited courses and allowed to provide HND graduates for NYSC programme in Imopoly beginning from 2012, the management devised a deceitful modus operandi to “fix” the languishing graduates by giving HND holders of science related and other disciplines statement of results from the Agric school and not that of their respective courses.
When the mobilized prospective corpers reported with fake results and were allowed to participate in registration and activities at the various orientation camps, the bubble burst last Thursday when eagle-eyed NYSC officials in Edo State observed discrepancies in the statement of results diposed to the NYSC that were initially made available before mobilization. About 17 prospective intakes from Imopoly were asked to leave the Edo camp immediately and sent packing after they were demobilized.
The fake result scandal further spread to other Orientation Camps where NYSC officials detected the fraud and subsequently forced the Imopoly graduates out of the Orientation Camps across the federation. The abrupt camp dismissal did not go down well with all as some were even arrested by security agencies for cheating, perjury and illegal act.
Irked by the development, the angered graduates sent packing from the Orientation Camps who have been in tears arrived the school premises on Monday to vent their anger on the Management. After taking hold of the school gate, top officials escaped and took cover including the Rector, Rev Fr Dr Wence Madu, who remained incommunicado while the students took hold of the school.
However, a combined team of armed policemen were later drafted in to provide security and calm the rioting HND holders.
Addressing the students, the Management assured them that negotiations are on top gear to settle the matter with NYSC, adding that it would be settled within a week in registration and activities.
Most of the students who spoke during the demonstration blamed incompetence and ineptitude on the part of the Director of Students’ Affairs department, one Rev Fr John Eze Nwankwo from Anambra State for the misfortune that befell them.
Apart from being a novice in handling NYSC and Imopoly School relationship, the students alleged that Rev Fr Nwankwo is the architect of their misfortune as he does not have the prerequisite qualifications to be the Dean of Student Affairs of the school.
According to John Anyanwu, one of the affected students “The Rector appointed Fr Nwankwo because he is a fellow priest when he is not qualified to have the position if experience, pedigree and qualification is a yardstick to select the director. This is not a seminary school where priesthood sentiments are shared. Now we are suffering because of a mediocre. The Director of Students Affair position is for an academic staff not less than that of a senior lecturer but Fr Nwankwo is a mere lecturer II whose appointment was only confirmed this year, two years after he was employed. It is this type of aberration that has put us in this mess at Imopoly”.
Efforts to reach Imo Poly Management for comments proved abortive as the phone lines of the Rector, Registrar and Public Relations Officer were switched off.
