Monday, November 24, 2008

"Vamp" is for Vampire


On one of my numerous travels around this country of ours. I met two pretty decent girls from the premier private university in the south of Nigeria - Madonna University.

Madonna university is owned by the popular catholic priest who in the early 1990's lead the way for charismatic Catholics. Rev father Edeh, or Father as he is fondly called by his devout followers had an encounter in Rome with Mary the mother of Jesus that changed his life, and a little sleepy town of Elele in the back waters of Rivers State, Nigeria would never be the same again.

Shortly after his encounter in Rome, he was perfuming miracles - healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, curing all sorts of disorders, even raising the dead! (My emphasis) By 1991, his Elele seminary had turned to a Mecca of sort, changing the little sleepy village to a bustling town, full of peoples from all works of life, from all corners of the world looking for solutions to their diverse problems. Beggars, Governors, Priest and even presidents sought after his council or blessings. This, in no small measure saw to a leap in socio economic growth of the area.

As you may have concluded by now, the Catholic church in Rome did not find the business of miracle working in the name of Mary ethical, and quickly asked that the father discontinue or be excommunicated. At the tempo Father Edeh was running at, no threat could stop him, not even the church. The local Elele community moved swiftly by providing him with land to continue his work in their community. Father Edeh of Elele was back in business.

As the educational system in Nigeria continued in its endless, downward plunge, Father Edeh diversified into establishing a private university, aptly named "Madonna University" in remembrance of the ultimate source of the gift that opened up the world of economics to him. At the time it was instituted, the concept of a private and religious Madonna University easily learnt itself as the solution to the prevailing teachers strikes and violent cult and gang warfare in other Nigerian universities. Little wonder why, in only few years of existence it had opened up 3 campuses (one in Okija, Enugu and Elele campuses) with well equipped infrastructure.

Having not had anything to do with the school all these years, but trusting that the Father would have carried on with what he knows best, the art of healing and teaching. I was excited to meet with two of her students. I was amazed to hear what they had to say about how their their university was run. I was however not prepared for what I heard, I was more surprised to hear what they had to say about their VC, Father Edeh and his cult-like antics to keep students on their toes. the worst of all, was the fact that parents and wards were as usual, aloof and clearly ignorant of how to go about solving the problems. This is why I am starting this article to highlight the problems I heard with a view to solving them. I am also sure the same is happening in other private universities in Nigeria.

No doubt this will need several posts to do justice to the problems so we will start by listing the charges and then solicit your help to discuss the issues at length.


Charges.



  1. Students are treated like babies and have to account for their whereabouts on an hourly basis

  2. Out of campus movements are entered into a journal and passes issued

  3. Students who attempt to speak up against anything in the university is dismissed with any explanation.

  4. Every staff or student who has challenged the authorities has been shown the way out.

  5. Boarding facilities shows an average of 10 students to a room in gross violation of public and government regulations.

  6. That the university extorts money from students through lecturers. When lecturers are reported, the money goes into the university system but never back to the students

  7. A well instituted informant ring of loyalist tagged "Vamps" by other student is financed and run by Father Edeh. Vamps rule and run the show in their departments, hostels, social circles.

  8. Disloyal "Vamps" have been killed if they choose not to remain in the university system , even after graduation.

  9. In the era of publicising the risk of AIDS and other related issues, the Madonna University have dismissed several students for testing positive. This has continued even after Government authorities approached the university to stop.

One major challenge here is hearing from people. I hear people are so scared of "Vamps" that they do not wish to speak. I would like to find graduated students who can corroborate the charges and we will spread the word and bring this university to book. The floor is open, lets talk.

24 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just stumbled on an old discussion forum about the school at http://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-26599.0.html

    Where a certain George D who sounded like a Vamp eloquently expressed the mind or moral behind the motto of the university, http://madonnauniversityportal.com To my mind, though the objectives was been achieved by the authorities, peoples civil rights are been broken.

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  3. Fuck Madonna U.Unfortunately,I'm still there.

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  4. wat shakabula said is completely true,cos i'm a living witness:i just graduated 4rm there

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  5. o boy na for that skool i see 1st time for ma life ,wicked and lying reverend sisters

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  6. I ma surprised that 2 years on, people still find this topic interesting, but notice how no old student is willing to put his name down?

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  7. my fellow people.. i hav experienced madonna university for 6 yrs...its a terrible nd horrible place to school.. my fellow Nigerian why waste money by subjecting your children to absolute slavery..i hate my parents today for takin me to dat school.its better u send a child to a regular school nd find out who ur child truely is , than sendin ur child to d so called madonna nd ur child wil turn out to b living a double life..I could hav left madonna but gat no other alternative to school..their standard of education is so low..their degree is not even recognised outside Nigeria, even some companies in Nigeria wont take a madonna university degree...dont waste ur time, age nd life.. time wastes for no man..

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  8. The most disorganised and frustrating school i have ever went to.and frustrating school i have ever went to.

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  9. The criticisms are not objective, therefore, irrelevant as far as I am concerned. Not every Madonna student have the same opinion. Most parents send their outlawed children to be fixed at Madonna. Imagine if absolute freedom were guaranteed how many people will join the cult and kill innocent students as we see in Nigerian secular universities. Discipline is part of academic formation.

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  10. Guy u b vamP?u sabi how many cult members we be 4 inside dis madonna we're we deY.u dey talk lyk say u no no say we just nid d certificate mek we just comot leave d skool?

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  11. The prestigious and noble Madonna university; an institution with a difference is the best school a parent can send his child/ward to. Like the motto says "decency in education and morals", brings out the best in you. You can criticize it now but in future, you'll be highly grateful to Fr. E. M. P. Edeh. I'm proud to be a Madonnite yesterday, today and tomorrow. Quote me anywhere, anytime...I said so and my name is Ezeanya Edwin C.

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  12. The question Eddy remains, how come others are screed to leave their names. I studied at University of Nigeria, I am at liberty to say whatever I deem fit without prejudice... The caution most of your other school mates display stikes a chord with the fear of Vamps I wrote about 3 years on.

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  13. Exactly; @ Eddie , uve jux said it all,.. Most of dem commentin are nt even students of our great skul MADONNA,. Madonna remains a good skul,.. Yestaday, today, and tomoro,. Vamp or no vamp,.. Am proud to be a madonnite,.. Education witout morals is rubbish,.. And madonna gives both education and good morals,.. Parents who want dia kids to b some wher tomoro wuld send dia kids to MADONNA UNIVERSITY,....

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  14. So funny how whenever these discussions about madonna come up we have a camp that actually tries to tell u the truth about the campus while there is another camp that blatantly and blindly supports the school; just like how the elite of Nigeria will continue to tell us Nigeria is a great nation and can be regarded as the giant of Africa while we, the masses, know the bitter truth. Shakabula, to be quite frank, madonna university reminds me of our nation, Nigeria. They say one thing but do the other. The school might have succeeded in keeping the wards of the rich safe in Nigeria but at what cost to the parent and child in question? when school fees are unnecessarily spiked up at will, fines( ranging from 10k-50k or more) are dished out for reasons ranging from not going out for Wednesday 'compulsory sports' to you trying to beg the so called dean of student affairs to sign an "exit" paper so u can leave school and cus she is not in a good mood, she fines u?. Lets not forget, yes education and morale is the motto of the "prestigious university" but what does all that mean when sorting lecturers with cash or kind is becoming the order of the day? When it becomes so clear that even the dean of students encourages you to lie to NUC officials so that the school can be accredited in courses that are far from being up to standard? Lets also not forget the weekly orientations called "jogging" where the students are continually indoctrinated with both good advice and advice of the manner of, and i quote "madonna is the best school in the world and all other universities in Nigeria are uni-com com (or useless)". Is that what morale and education is all about? feeding young minds with perpetual lies and forcing them to actually listen to those lies. Try to do some research Shakabula into the amount of missing scripts and carry overs students continue to get from this "prestigious" school yearly therefore making them to spend for example, 8 years to read a course of 4 yrs. Common, lets stop being deceived by either our corrupt politicians or our cunning school administrators and the legion of supporters. madonna university is suffering for blatant stagnation and a lack of fresh ideas to propel it to where it should be; considering the likes of convernant and babcock are far ahead of it both in terms of development and prospects after school. My fellow countrymen and/or madonnites, remove the scale from your eyes and try to stand up for yourselves and fight for what you deserve. Enough is enough.

    ReplyDelete
  15. So funny how whenever these discussions about madonna come up we have a camp that actually tries to tell u the truth about the campus while there is another camp that blatantly and blindly supports the school; just like how the elite of Nigeria will continue to tell us Nigeria is a great nation and can be regarded as the giant of Africa while we, the masses, know the bitter truth. Shakabula, to be quite frank, madonna university reminds me of our nation, Nigeria. They say one thing but do the other. The school might have succeeded in keeping the wards of the rich safe in Nigeria but at what cost to the parent and child in question? when school fees are unnecessarily spiked up at will, fines( ranging from 10k-50k or more) are dished out for reasons ranging from not going out for Wednesday 'compulsory sports' to you trying to beg the so called dean of student affairs to sign an "exit" paper so u can leave school and cus she is not in a good mood, she fines u?. Lets not forget, yes education and morale is the motto of the "prestigious university" but what does all that mean when sorting lecturers with cash or kind is becoming the order of the day? When it becomes so clear that even the dean of students encourages you to lie to NUC officials so that the school can be accredited in courses that are far from being up to standard? Lets also not forget the weekly orientations called "jogging" where the students are continually indoctrinated with both good advice and advice of the manner of, and i quote "madonna is the best school in the world and all other universities in Nigeria are uni-com com (or useless)". Is that what morale and education is all about? feeding young minds with perpetual lies and forcing them to actually listen to those lies. Try to do some research Shakabula into the amount of missing scripts and carry overs students continue to get from this "prestigious" school yearly therefore making them to spend for example, 8 years to read a course of 4 yrs. Common, lets stop being deceived by either our corrupt politicians or our cunning school administrators and the legion of supporters. madonna university is suffering for blatant stagnation and a lack of fresh ideas to propel it to where it should be; considering the likes of convernant and babcock are far ahead of it both in terms of development and prospects after school. My fellow countrymen and/or madonnites, remove the scale from your eyes and try to stand up for yourselves and fight for what you deserve. Enough is enough.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Look I am not a Catholic and not even a Christian. Above all, I hv no affiliation with the management of Madonna University, but I graduated from there. As a Muslim I want to tell you before God and man that Madonna is one of the best Universities you can think of this country. The problem is that our youths want unlimited freedom which Madonna does not give. All those stories are fake. if the school is that bad why are people still going there? Do you know that the school has a population that goes very close to some of the Federal Gv Universities.

      Delete
  16. Iwuchukwu OnyemaechiAugust 1, 2013 at 7:25 PM

    I don't see the reason for all this rubbish talks.Thank God that everybody knows Madonna university is a PRIVATE school.Nobody forced anybody to come there.I'm a student of Madonna University and I can defend my school anytime or any day.We are thought things that will benefit us in life.
    You Idiots are just talking nonsense because the school is STRICT.We don't even pay the highest school fees and we prefer the treatment in Madonna than that of Covenant where students are expelled just because they didn't "go to church with bible".If the certificate is not recognised,why then are you idiots in the school that is if you are in the school?
    My family has a history with that school.We have and know many graduates who are doing well even outside the shores of Africa.Thank you.

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  17. Iwuchukwu OnyemaechiAugust 1, 2013 at 7:35 PM

    And before they crucify me for my diction,I'd like to correct a few typographical errors;
    I mistaked "taught" for "thought"
    I also wrote "prefer....than" instead of "prefer....to"

    ReplyDelete
  18. Dats a gud example of madonna product. U must hv ur head examined first. If u cn look at wht is happnin in madonna nd support it, den u must b a wicked leader. And even mre wicked dan d management. I pray dt ure kind person doesn't handle any position in dis country.

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  19. Just came across dis now....Decency in education nd morals ma ass....I remember vividly in ma 2nd year "A reverend Father raped a girl",wat happnd 2 him he was transffered 2 anoda campus nd case closed...I can neva advice my enemy 2 go there.....imagine tellin pple 2 "pay fine of 50thousand" coz of onion dat got missing in a room where 6pple are meant 2 sleep instead itz 12pple....nd their so called VAMPS setting pple up just 2 find favor.....who doesn't know d Ultimate Reverend Sister Purisima,who never smile for no reason d only language she understands is "Late clearance reciept"....From d Head of dat school to d least dey'r all corrupt...who says in private school no bribe from student 2 lecturer...imagine a student goin back for extra year failing a course wit just one mark 2 pass dat course just coz of a lecturer....y coz of bribe.......HATED everytin bout dat school..."Do not talk 2 girls nd vice-versa 2 boys or u'l pay 50k fine wen caught both of u.....Hostels ar nt even conducive 4 students......Everytin bout dat school is money money.... Nd they ar all thieves

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  20. Pls guys I'm still a student of madonna university and I must say its a nice school surrounded by heartless and local people our officials and staff have decided to make school a leaving hell for us they think they are protecting us which they aren't how can you be a dean of students when I haven't gone to school and experience the hard life of students in school the only graduate that understands us because she once schooled in madonna is susu of elele dean for girls not pascal that one only cares for himself he sizes student phones so they can pay for their phones imagine their own phones using the hall reps to take the money so nobody will suspect he is the one most of the time pascal will even sell the phone is not fair has it ever occurred to them that could be the only source for student to communicate with their parents in case of allowance as for the vamps please I don't know how much they pay you to do their dirty job but do your parents want to you to do that put your life in danger .remember that is one life you have and your fellow student could kill to make sure that you don't report him/her right now school is big danger now cult boys are everywhere and they are fighting inside our school one almost got killed they searched for d boys at night in the most unacceptable manner treating everyone like thieves just because u are looking for cult boys made the boys stay up all night without reading and we had exams the next day please, please and please if u complian from now to whenever madonna university will not change just pray you leave their unharmed as for the new comers going to the school don't you ever listen to what is happening in our school anyway is your choice I respect that I'm almost done in school that's why I'm anonymous CNT play with my education here have good day all.

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  21. Just saw this on the internet http://sunnewsonline.com/new/our-torture-story-madonna-varsity-students-narrate-ordeal-in-hands-of-institutions-officials/ looks like the Madonna authorities have gradually lost grip... Their evil acts are beginning to surface.

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  22. The secrets of the Madonna management are beginning to come up. http://sunnewsonline.com/new/our-torture-story-madonna-varsity-students-narrate-ordeal-in-hands-of-institutions-officials/

    ReplyDelete
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