How safe is NIJ ?

PHOTO CREDIT : NMA PICTURES

“I keep asking if this school is very safe security-wise?, as the unstoppable stealing of things among the students cannot be underestimated despite the amount of fees paid, does it mean that we cannot be secured in this institution?,” this were the questions raised from the interviews with students, reacting to the security state of the first Premier Monotechnic in Nigeria, the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba Lagos.

With the unexpected and untraceable misplacements and stealing of mobile phones, laptops, bags, not excluding academic materials amongst others in the school premises, have placed paramount and tantamount questions on the lips of students of the institution, raising doubts on the safety of the school.

Although, it is almost an acceptable dogma that things are expected to get missing at any academic gathering of youths, due to ‘youthful exuberance’ as some interviewees describe it, but the rate at which things get irretrievably missing in the school premises have continued to be a major source of concern for students of the institution as has continued to raise dust.

Speaking on insecurity in the school, the Chairman, Students Representative Council, NIJ,

 AdeFolarin Badejo, says “ looking at the way things have been going since my inception into this institution I have experienced theft, theft , theft all the way sometimes if we should sit back and calculate worth of the items stolen someone might just faint . This kind of incident in classes whereby you find students misplacing their money, phones, laptops etc. and at times not everyone has the money to purchase that same item they misplaced.  We earnestly hope for this issue to get resolved, but we truly can’t say it would be totally stopped but can be curbed to a large extent thereby making the institute secure for the students.”

Also speaking in the same vein, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the institution, under the security Agency of Alpha Forte, Thomas Ibor described the misplacement of items as a result of carelessness in a statement that reads. "

Conclusively, Thomas urged the students to also play their part in the struggle to enhance maximum security. He also advised the students to stop stealing items because the habit will keep on following them till they graduate from the institute which would later disgrace and dent their reputation as a journalist.

Folarin, also used this opportunity to advice students to be more vigilant and further appealed to the management to encourage the use of installed Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in all classes and other important places in the institution,

“so as to keep records of what happens around the school and also store those information as it would be of relevance in solving security and theft related issues as it will also make the job much easier for the security officials.”