Queens College Probe: Group Raises the Alarm over Attempt to Blackmail Former Principal

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The Coalition of Civil Societies on Human Rights and Anti Corruption has expressed dismay over what it described as media blackmail by Queens College Old Girls to tarnish the image and reputation of the former Principal of the College, Dr. Lami Amodu.

The group said the actions of the old girls are not only cruel and malicious but it shows their extent of the organised conspiracy and gang-ups against Amodu, and wondered why they are still desperately trying to push the blame on her.

The group’s Director of Public Affairs, James Ezema, while reacting to a news report in the media on the Public hearing by the Joint Senate Committee on Education and Health regarding the poor living condition of Queens College and circumstances that led to the death of some students, said the report published in some online media was false and lacking integrity.

He said the National Youth Parliament and other Civil Society Leaders were at the public hearing from 12 noon to the end, and no such presentation as published was ever made before the Senate, and queried why reputable people in the society such as the old girls would resort so low to the level of telling lies that are obvious.

Ezema revealed that the old girls always want to have their way in the control of the school which the principal opposed.

The Senate Joint Committee on Basic Education and Health had on Monday began a public inquiry into the living conditions of Queens College students and the death of three secondary students in the college last year.

At the hearing, stakeholders in the educational sector, including members of the civil society presented memoranda at the public hearing at the Senate.

However, emotions rose as the rot in the educational sector, particularly at Federal Government owned unity schools, dominated the presentations without Amodu being blamed for negligence.

In her presentation, Amodu revealed the rot she inherited at the College and efforts made to salvage the situation, stressing that on assumption of duty at the college she quickly assessed the situation and drew up a blue print containing urgently needed items and rehabilitation of the decayed infrastructure she inherited.

Against this background, she said she formally informed the Federal Ministry of Education on the level of decay of the facilities in the college shortly after her deployment to the school.

Ezema noted, “All these issues are because Amodu implemented a government circular evicting the old girls secretariat from the Queens College premises and because she could not meet with the admission requests of the old girls because the facility of the school was overstretched. We are also surprised the rape case is still coming up when two investigative Panels set by the Federal Ministry of Education had exonerated Mr. Olaseni Osifala and the case long buried.”

In a separate reaction, a former Principal of Kings College, Lagos, Mr. Sylvester Onoja observed that from his personal experience, old boys and girls in the unity schools were known in some cases to resist positive change, and stressed that no principal in a government college is an employee of Old Students or PTA.

He recalled how some old boys ganged up against him to frustrate him when he resumed as principal of Kings College Lagos but later had a cordial and good working relationship with them, urging the government to ensure improvement to check over population in the unity colleges.

“In most cases when directors are posted to schools that is not their place of origin they face challenges of acceptability”, Onoja stressed.