MAPOLY Faults Columnist Claim of Calling College As Notorious
Omooba Risawe
The Authorities of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic,(MAPOLY), Abeokuta on Tuesday faulted a write-up of media columnist who described the institution as one of six notorious tertiary institution in Africa.
The writer with byline Soonest Nathaniel had in an article online,titled ‘6 Notorious Tertiary Institutions in Africa,your Nigerian Child must Never Attend’ mentioned the polytechnic as one of them.
However,the polytechnic in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, Sulaiman Adebiyi said the write-up by the writer was a deliberate act to damage reputation of the institution.
The polytechnic in the statement,however, warned the columnist and others of his like to desist or face prosecution for concorting falsehood to damage the institution.
‘The attention of the authorities of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, has been drawn to an on-line opinion of a writer by the name Soonest Nathaniel, titled “6 Notorious Tertiary Institutions in Africa, your Nigerian child must never attend”
‘Soonest (believed to be a Pseudoname) described our Institution as one with a reputation for unintelligence; qualifying our students as being unserious. He claimed further that a “survey” revealed that “many of our female students get to leave school, and head back to trade their bodies in the neighbouring Lagos State”. Cultism, he said is on the rise at the institution, adding that “many fear that the development is getting out of hand”.
The management posited that,’while not trying to join issues with a nameless and faceless “opinionist”, this publication becomes imperative so as to set the records straight and disabuse the minds of few readers who may have considered the write-up.
The polytechnic noted that,it was laughable that,the writer could not provide the yardstick with which he concluded that the students of the institution are unintelligent.
‘To describe students of a Tertiary Institution as “unintelligent” is tantamount to blasphemy. It is indeed laughable that “Mr. Soonest” could not provide the yardstick with which he concluded that our students are “Unintelligent”. In the same vein to describe the students as “Unserious” is equally shocking because even at National Diploma level, the students have shown brilliance and attained academic excellence on many fronts (ICAN and APCON are a few examples).’
‘Many patentable products, such as Solar Power Street Lamps, Fueless Generator, a Kerosene- Petrol Generator, Electronic Ballot Box to list but a few, produced by the students are testimonies to how well our students are engaged.
‘Also of importance is the spurious manner in which “Soonest” described the female students. Such utterances are not only baseless but unbecoming of any responsible individual. Surprisingly, the write-up touched on cultism as getting out of hand, a claim which is now completely alien to the Institution’.
Adebiyi said,academic activities on the campus have not been suspended or truncated in any way in several academic sessions attesting to the peaceful environment on the campus.
‘The fact that the Polytechnic is in the process of transiting into a university lays credence to the standard of the Institution.The management of the Institution therefore wished to advise “Mr. Soonest Nathaniel” and his likes to desist from attempting to damage the reputation of the Institution or be ready to face legal consequences’,the statement emphasised
