…Current Victim demands justice

Tosin Adesile

When Audu Gideon Okpe was offered a part time admission to study Business Administration at the Yaba College of Technology in the 2019/2020 academic session, he probably did not know that his admission would land him sadness, confusion and a forced withdrawal a year later.

As is the hope of every young Nigeria seeking to further their studies, especially those whose education take them through the Polytechnic, everything began well for Gideon. On the 4^th of March, 2020, he was screened and cleared by the school officer, Mr. Ogunbode Tayo and was subsequently asked to proceed to pay the acceptance levy as a confirmation of his acceptance of the admission offered to him by the school. Things went further better when, due to his leadership abilities, he became his class’s representative, standing in-between members of his class and the lecturers until things turned vinegary, unexpectedly.

THE PHONE CALL THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

In the first quarter of the year 2021,trouble started when Gideon received a phone call from a man who identified himself as Tayo Ogunbode,the same man who screened him a year ago and asked for a meeting him at a designated place within the school. On getting to the school, as Gideon told our reporter, he was asked about where he works and he disclosed that he was jobless, having lost his job because his exams for the previous semester were scheduled for weekdays, a timetable that was not acceptable to his employer who had no other choice than to lay him off.

Gideon, who is in the habit  taking all his documents to school was asked by the school officer  to read the third paragraph of his admission letter  if he has which states, in part, that admission can be withdrawn on ground of provision of “false information, forged documents” and failure to meet “any of the conditions” for admission. As he read the paragraph aloud, wondering why he was being made to do so, having had the all-clear to study the course a year ago, he was told by Mr. Tayo to “be a man and quietly withdraw from the school”, an advice he found incomprehensible and suspicious. He became uncomfortable when, according to him, the school officer warned him against disclosing the issue to any other person, as it was meant to be “confidential”, but Gideon declined.

THE SEARCH FOR AN ANSWER

Discontented by the school officer’s explanation that he was being advised to withdraw on the basis that he applied for admission to study Business Administration with public Administration result obtained at the National Diploma level, he informed the school officer of his intention to take the matter to court, as it was, for him, inconceivable that a school which admitted, screened and cleared him to study would, after he had spent a full year, wake up and terminate his admission without an official letter stating his offence. It was at this point that the school officer and his colleagues promised to compensate Gideon, while pleading that the matter be not taken to court, as that would make them lose their jobs. Suspecting foul play, he requested that he be taken to the office of the registrar, but he was asked to wait on the excuse that further investigation was ongoing.

NO FEEDBACK

After been told that further investigation was being carried out on the matter, Gideon left the school and waited for a feedback that never came. This was after he had sent a series of messages of inquiry and also a letter of complaint to the school’s rector, with a copy of his result attached.

DOES HE HAVE ANY REASON TO BE WORRIED, IS HIS ADMISSION FAKE?

The Sparklight News, in a bid to unravel the mystery in this admission saga, dug deeper and found out that the case of Gideon is just one out of many cases. According to one source who pleaded anonymity, Yabatech’s shady admission problems date back to the 90’s when about ten students were sent away over fake admissions reportedly issued by the institution. Aside this, there are a number of individuals who have fallen victim of what they called the Yabatech’s admission scam, a growing monster that does not only specialize in wasting student’s time, but their hard earned monies. 

Speaking with our correspondent, a student of the Department of Business Administration who preferred not to be named accused Yabatech of offering fake admissions, only to turn around to ask students to leave the school, giving various excuses. She further explained that her friend stayed in the hostel and paid school fees, but was asked to leave few months later, after he was told his admission was fake.

Asked whether he feels his admission was fake, Gideon said he believed his admission was genuine because, according to him, he was screened and cleared, having fulfilled all the conditions required for admission into the school. He however feels the school authority have a lot to answer, especially on why the school opened its payment portal and asked the students to pay school fees when many of them were yet to be screened and cleared for admission, as the country was on lockdown as a result of the Covid19 pandemic. That action, he said, was a sign that the school was interested in scamming people.

YABATECH SPEAKS

When Sparklight News visited the Institution, Mrs. Adeola Taiwo, the school deputy Registrar(Admissions), explained that the case was yet to be brought to the knowledge of the School, as no letter of termination of admission was issued by the institution to the victim. While reiterating that the school reserved the right to withdraw student’s admission on the basis of forgery and non-verification of certificate, she said the affected student should approach her office to seek redress.

Meanwhile, one of the department’s officials who spoke with our reporter confirmed the dedication and the unquestionable character of the affected student, but said he was not in the position to speak on what was right or wrong, even though he was aware of the issue. At the time of written this report, the Head of department was unreachable.