How Gabriel Igbinedion Greed For Dollars Led To Admission
Of Ex Militants To His University
The clashes and death involving students of prestigious Igbinedion
university Okada,Edo State would have been avoided but for the greed of the
founder of the school,multi billionaire and Esama of Benin,Sir Gabriel
Igbinedion.
According to CKN Nigeria investigation, the highbrow and
one of the most expensive University in Nigeria has everything going for it as
it was a heaven for the children of the affluent in Nigeria who do not minding
bulging and expensive nature .
Parents saw the institution as a better alternative to the
government owned institutions which have become an academic disaster in the
past ten years.
Apart from the quality of its teaching and end products,
the school has the reputation of not getting involved in the periodical and
incessant academic disruption that has become a hallmark of the various States
and Federal Universities in Nigeria due to incessant strike by members of the Academic
Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
When the idea of the amnesty programme was initiated by
the federal government to rehabilitate ex militants through academics and vocational
trainings abroad, attempt were made to train most of the ex militants in
various institutions abroad especially in America, Europe and South Africa.
While some of the militants have lived up to the billings
by turning out as agents of change, others have also been deported from those
foreign lands due to unruly behaviours.
Most Nigerian institutions were not considered for these
mind bulging dollar wind fall for reasons better known to the organizers.
During the course of our probe, it was realized that
Igbinedion Universitry was not in the picture from the on-set, but in order to
make quick money and grab as much money that it could get from the amnesty program,
the proprietor of the School, Sir Gabriel Igbinedion,an indigene of the South
South part of Nigeria, made contacts with the amnesty office requesting that
some of the militants be sent to his school too.
He used his close contact with the Presidency which is
also occupied by his kinsman from the South South, President Goodluck Jonathan
and the deal was sealed .
Agreement was reached, dollars paid and some of the ex
militants sent to the school as freshers.
It was to be seen how militants, some as old as 40 years
could fit into a highbrow University with the children of the affluent.
Most of them have lived all their lives in the creeks and bush.
The transformation wasn’t going to be easy.
The resultant effect of that unwholesome marriage played
itself out yesterday when the ex militants went on rampage in the school, for
hours it held the entire University hostage, several students received several
categories of injury and it was reported that two of them were beheaded.
That was a huge price to pay for greed in deed….CKN