NUC splits various varsity programmes – TheNigerialawyer

The National Universities Commission (NUC) has unbundled some
academic programmes being offered at Nigerian universities to
purportedly allow for the production of more professionals.

The Commission said that it had concluded unbundling work on
Architecture, Mass Communication, Agriculture, Creative Arts and
several other programmes, the changes said to take effect from next
year.

NUC Executive Secretary Prof Abubakar Rasheed, who made the in
Abuja on Monday, added that some of the courses were split into
seven new programmes.

He disclosed that, besides ongoing moves to unbundle the
programmes, the Commission in the last three years has carried out
other massive reforms such as curriculum re-engineering and
introduction of new programmes.

In his words: “We have almost concluded the unbundling of Mass
Communication. At the end of first quarter next year, Mass
Communication will not be existing as a stand-alone degree
programme because it is too wide.

“We are unbundling the programme into seven different
programmes: Bachelors Degrees in Public Relations, Marketing
Communications, Media studies, Film studies, Cinematography or
photography, Strategic Communication, and so many others.

“This is in line with trends all over the world. We will retain
the Mass Communication for those universities that have not yet
developed the full competencies in the areas.”

He added: “We have also unbundled Agriculture. Instead of just
one degree in Agriculture, we now want Bachelor’s degree in
Forestry, Soil science, Plant science, Agronomy, Animal Science, so
also for Creative Arts. We want to see two streams of agriculture
in the country.”

Rasheed, who raised concerns over the irrelevance of Nigerian
research into issues bedevilling the country, revealed that the
Commission was partnering with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund
(TETFund) and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) to produce
the Nigeria National Research Agenda in order to ensure all areas
of research solve an existing problem.

While noting that the Commission has developed a research
policy, he requested that every university operating in the country
develop its own research policy and research direction.

Buhari’s Government, Not Sheikh Zakzaky Deserves
Criminal Trial- Shiite Group

We vehemently and in the most unequivocal terms condemn the
recent purported statement attributed to the Minister of
Information, Mr. Lai Muhammed, that the leader of the Islamic
Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, is being held in
detention for what he termed crimes and not religion. Indeed, if
anyone deserves to be held and tried for crimes, it would be the
top officials of the Buhari government, who killed over a thousand
unarmed citizens extrajudicially and buried in mass graves, and
have used all the might of governance to hide the truth and
obstruct the course of justice.

The Nigerian government’s legendary disregard of the rule of law
and the further acts of continuing persecution of members of the
Islamic Movement, especially the impunity being constantly
exhibited is well known to the International community. It is a
subject of preliminary investigation by the International Criminal
Court (ICC) at The Hague. Furthermore, many local and international
Human Rights organizations like Amnesty International, Human Rights
Watch and the Islamic Human Rights Commission have all investigated
and documented the atrocities meted on members of the Islamic
Movement and its leadership, purely based on their religious
beliefs. That the ongoing persecution of the Islamic Movement has
drawn the attention of the world, especially very lately, the
United States government is a reality that no forms of lies by Mr.
Lai can obliterate.

The world is not deceived by the false charges levied against
the Sheikh, even when the about a hundred persons he was alleged to
have aided and abetted were all discharged and acquitted by
competent courts of law. That these charges were brought against
him only after more than two years of incommunicado detention and
also more than a year and half after a Federal High Court had
ordered his unconditional release is enough to show the government
has been looking for an alibi to further keep him in perpetual
detention.

Not so long ago, the same Minister of Information had told
Nigerians that the leader of the Movement was being detained for
his own protection, not that he committed any crime. In an effort
to justify the contemptuous detention, the Minister Lai had told
Nigerians that the Sheikh was being still detained because no one
wants to be his neighbor. Mr. Lai had once told a television
feature program that the courts don’t have the full picture, and so
will not abide by the ruling of the Court with regards to Sheikh
Zakzaky. This same Mr. Lai had also atrociously lied about how much
the government spends to feed Sheikh Zakzaky.

These constant changes in position as to the reason for the
illegal detention of Sheikh Zakzaky betray a government pursuing
some ulterior religious motives, which even Honorable Gabriel
Kolawole, then of the Federal High Court acknowledged while
delivering his judgment when he said: “Invidious unobtrusive acts
of intolerance by majority Muslims who follow the Sunni school of
thought against the minority Muslims who follow the Shiah school of
thought is an important factor escalating the current crisis
leading to the continued detention of the leader of the Islamic
Movement in Nigeria and the continued incessant persecution of its
members.” This is now also the official position of the US
government and no amount of lies, blackmail or intimidation can
change this.

We, the members of the Islamic Movement and our leader, Sheikh
Zakzaky, are entitled to freedom of religion, association and
expression like every Nigerian citizen, all of which the Buhari
regime is denying us and perpetually persecuting us because of our
faith and beliefs. Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky is, undoubtedly, a
prisoner of faith.

We therefore call on the general public not to relent in their
efforts at denouncing the tyrannical trends of the Buhari regime.
The government must be called to order to respect the rule of law
and release Sheikh Zakzaky immediately and unconditionally.

SIGNED BY
IBRAHIM MUSA
PRESIDENT MEDIA FORUM
ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN NIGERIA