| Obasanjo writes semester
exam
... Says I’ll learn till I die
By MOSHOOD ADEBAYO,
Abeokuta
Monday, August 6, 2007
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•Olusegun
Obasanjo
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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Apparently reacting to public criticism, former President
Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta , Ogun State capital on Sunday, said he would not
receive preferential treatment in the course of his studies at the National Open
University (NOUN).
Obasanjo spoke with journalists shortly before
he wrote his semester examination at the Egba High School along with other candidates
who for one reason or the other could not write the initial examination.
“I
am not a special student. I am an ordinary student just like others here,”
he told inquisitive journalists, who had laid siege to the secondary school after
getting hint that he would write his papers.
Asked whether he was well
prepared for the examination, Obasanjo, armed with mathematical set, rulers and
pencils, responded: “You hang around and see whether I am prepared or not.
Wait and see whether I am ready for it or not. I have my maths set, I have ruler,
I have my pen, I also make provision for eventuality in case one stops working,
I have already prepared very well for the examination.”
He also told
journalists why he had chosen to study Christian Theology, adding that he was
just acquiring knowledge. “I have chosen a line of study in which I want
to acquire knowledge not for a meal ticket. It is not for a profession, not for
a job, but to know more about my God, my Creator and I have chosen that line,
Christian Theology.
So, I don’t know what your problem is, so, I
want to learn more about God. And if that is the problem for you, too bad. It
is not because I do not know something, but there is always something about particular
line of knowledge that you can acquire. I have never studied the Bible and all
that go a long with it in the way I am studying it now.
“I have told
you that you I am not a pastor, I am just acquiring knowledge. I don’t know
what you mean by evangelist. All Christians are evangelists, all Christians are
evangelists. If you are a good Christian, you are an evangelist.”
The
ex-president appealed to Nigerians to always strive for knowledge, saying, “there
is no end to learning. No end, no age limit, no position limit, no question of
I am too busy to learn. You can always learn something. For instance, you can
learn about Agriculture, you come to me and I teach you how to do it.”
Assessing
the NOUN programme, Obasanjo, who spoke in the presence of Professor Olugbemiro
Jegede, the Vice Chancellor of NOUN, said: “Well, first I have found teachers
that are knowledgeable of their subject with the tutorials I have had. I have
found the course materials really very good.”
really extremely good
and I believe they compare favourably with any course materials of any universities
and that is what I have done.”
Professor Jegede described the former
President’s examination as supplementary “that we are running for
other students who could not take the first one we had a couple of months ago.
Student Obj has come to take his exam just like any other student as
you could see in here today.
“For every student that registers in the
university, he must go through this. He has to study at a distance you know what
to do. He has six other examination to take and he is going to do that between
now and the 19th of August.
“No preferential treatment. Our former
president has come to the secondary school we are doing it, he went, he sat with
others just like others. He, in fact, has said it right from day one that he does
not want to be given preferential treatment and that is what we are keeping to.
“Let me tell you, it is not the question of anybody is failing somebody
or passing somebody. It is the student that will decide he/she is failing or passing
depending on what he has written. What is going to happen and what is happening
is that every exam script has got his numbers there.
“They are not identified
by name and when they finished, the lecturer or whoever is marking, they are not
here they will pack everything take them to Lagos and in Lagos they will distribute
it to the various centres where they will be marked.
"It may even
happen that his paper will be marked in Sokoto or Maiduguri . So, nobody knows
and there is no reason why any student whatsoever should be given preferential
treatment because if you do that you are lowering the quality. It means that your
education is being tailored towards a certain view and yet you know the open is
meant for everybody.
“He has fulfilled all conditions necessary for
this examination. That is why we have allowed him. He has done all tutors assignments.
He has studied within the limited time, 16 weeks. He has told us he is ready to
do the exam, according to the books. He has also arrived on time, as you see,
otherwise we would have asked him to go back.”
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