The Federal College of Land Resources Technology, Owerri (formerly Federal Soil Conservation College), is an institution that has existed since 1980 in the Eastern Part of Nigeria.
The institute has been home to thousands of graduates, leading agriculture and land resources research in the zone.
However, insecurities and other communal challenges lead to a decline in school performance, fueling corruption and unseriousness amongst staff and students alike. As such, sex for marks, payment for grades, and other anomalies became the order of the day. In turn, activities in and around the school reduced drastically affecting the number of students.
A Ray of Hope
Between April and May 2023, a new set of employees from the Federal Government came to FECOLART. On their first visit, these employees were not happy with the bushy area and lack of activities within the college. This brought mixed feelings — some were inspired to make a change, while others tried to follow the already corrupt system. Regardless, the new staff couldn’t make any change, and instead, they were outsmarted financially by some of the old staff who received them.
After a while, a new entity emerged in the College in person of the Acting Registrar, Ajibola Olusola. He wasn’t a new employee to the federal system, but it was one of the smart moves made by the Provost to revive the school. Known for his doggedness and discipline, the Provost found a way to lure him to the college to bring a form of discipline to the school throwing his full weight behind him.
Slowly But Steadily
Ajibola’s emergence into the college system wasn’t an easy one, but it wasn’t one he didn’t expect due to the already corrupt system. A lot of the cabals of the old staff believed he was only a mere new staff, unaware that he was a Deputy Director in the Federal System. However, he started his development with the new intakes, ensuring that corruption doesn’t get into them.
Soon enough, the old staff started getting a hang of the events. With the Provost and other management staff in support, Ajibola began to reset the whole institution from scratch. In less than four months, He ensured full accreditation of nine courses to the institution for National Diploma and Higher National Diploma. Prior to that, the institution had only one accredited course, Soil Science Technology. The news of the accreditation of these courses brought joy to the students and community at large.
After that, Ajibola started reshuffling the heads of departments in the college – some of which had spent close to a decade in the position. This was met with a lot of revolt from the old staff who had believed the position to be their birthright. This pushed the Registrar to go through the smarter route of deciphering a “corrupt act” from the HODs, making them surrender their positions willingly. As of today, the right people are in the best positions based on their academic qualifications and experience.
Today, contrary to the norms, the Administrative Department is not looking to exorbitantly charge innocent staff and students. Likewise, the admission process of the institution is now fully digital, with Ajibola introducing an e-portal— reducing the possibility of bribes and settlements collected by the old admission department.
In another development, the works department is more dynamic than ever. Ajibola constituted a team of construction professionals ranging from architects to engineers, quantity surveyors, and other experienced experts. Led by Joshua Ajayi, a new staff member, this committee has brought new developments to the college. The college which used to be home to stubborn elephant grasses welcoming you from the gate is now neat and properly kept. Working closely with the Provost, this committee has been overseeing capital projects and other renovations within the College.
Students Not Left Out
The management aimed to bring total discipline to the college among the staff and students. While the majority of the staff were already used to the developments introduced by the new management, the students hadn’t gotten the memo. A lot of them stayed in their houses facing other businesses knowing that the usual payment or sex would cut out the good grades for them. On the other hand, others relied on the usual exam malpractice with phones and other sources. This was the norm, as all students used to write exams at the only available ICT centre for the exams.
However, with the new works committee in full force, about 10 lecture theatres were made available for academic purposes.
The Academic Planning Secretary capitalized on this and scheduled the First Semester Examinations in these lecture theatres with the approval of the Provost. This took the students by surprise— as they always believed they’d stay together in a single lecture hall. As such, it was easier for all invigilators to catch exam malpractice by the students.
The academic arm led by the Registrar ensured that all invigilators and students abided by the approved student handbook rules. This led to a revolt by the students, who expected a normal “chatGPT” exam.
Phones were seized by the invigilators, which led to reactions by the students. While some students pushed to go and read their books, others developed other tactics. A significant event took place when an ND1 Horticultural Student, Confidence Mbonu, brought a knife from the school hostel to the administrative block claiming to want to “kill herself”. Unmoved by the funny attempt, the acting Registrar re-emphasized that he was only acting on the rules of their student handbook.
It’ll be interesting to note that this handbook was given to the new students during the matriculation day for new students to understand the rules of the college. Being a new student, she could not say she was not aware of the rules.
Moments after this, the same student came up with another tactic of fainting towards the administrative block due to underlying health issues. Luckily, one of the developments brought by the management was a functional college health centre. Hence, she was immediately rushed there and given medical attention.
Going Forward
It’s worthy of note that the college is aware that Rome cannot be built in one day. But in the case of the Federal College of Land Resources Technology, the team downplaying the building is disguised as staff and students alike. But it should be known that the management is ready and prepared to keep writing the history books and restore development to the college!
