From Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja
The Rector of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, Prof. Usman Ogbo, has revealed how the installation of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) has helped curb the endemic problems of cultism and examination malpractices in the institution.
Kogi Polytechnic was hitherto known as a hotbed of cultism and notorious for its exam malpractices, such that cultists killed and maimed students and staff at will without any challenge.
Prof. Ogbo said when he was appointed as the Rector of the Polytechnic four years ago, he met a near-lawless institution where lecturers and staff were terrified by cultists’ activities. However, he took aggressive steps to restore normalcy, including the installation of CCTV and a total overhaul of the institution’s security apparatus.
Ogbo stated this at a press conference on Tuesday as part of activities marking the end of his first term and the commencement of his second four-year term.
He said CCTV cameras have been installed in strategic areas of the institution, including lecture halls, bush paths, and the neighbourhood, ensuring that no incident of a breakdown of law and order goes unmonitored or untracked.
This, he said, has paid off, as over 107 security threats were prevented in the first four years of his administration.
He also highlighted some of his achievements, stating that he had succeeded in restoring the Polytechnic’s reputation among higher institutions in Nigeria.
He said, “It would be a great disservice to the Chief Servant of the state, His Excellency Ahmed Usman Ododo, if I fail to outline some of the achievements of the last four years while assuring His Excellency of our commitment to taking the Polytechnic to the next level.”
He also mentioned improvements in the guidelines for producing textbooks, including central pricing and voluntary purchase by students.
Ogbo noted that the introduction of the Academic Board Central Results Verification Committee—headed by the Deputy Rector and including Deans and representatives from each School—had significantly improved the verification process of students’ results.
“The committee carefully and thoroughly checks results submitted by Departments and Schools before making recommendations to the Academic Board for final approval. This process has greatly reduced errors in approved results, as the committee takes sufficient time to review them. It has also saved time and resources previously spent by the Board on result verification,” he added.
He also revealed that before his administration, the Polytechnic had never produced an annual report since its establishment.
He stated, “Shortly after we assumed office, we discovered that no annual report had ever been produced to document the Polytechnic’s past, assess its present, and plan for the future. This meant there was no single archive of records covering the institution’s activities over the years.
“This was not a good reflection on an institution that had existed for almost three decades. We, therefore, took it as a challenge to ensure that the activities of each academic session are documented in an annual report.”
He stated that the first-ever annual report for the Polytechnic was produced for the 2018/2019 session, making history for the institution.
“The production of annual reports has now become a tradition. We have already completed the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 editions, and we are now in the final stages of producing the 2021/2022, 2022/2023, and 2023/2024 editions.”
Prof. Ogbo said when he came on board, most of the programmes offered in the institution were not accredited. However, he disclosed that the over 59 programmes offered in the institution have now been fully accredited, including dozens of new programmes he introduced.