JAMB WILL NOT RELENT IN ITS EFFORTS TO SANITIZE THE NATION’S PUBLIC EXAMINATION SECTOR
The report of the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Anambra State Government, an independent and unbiased body, as demanded by some Nigerians to look into the Mmesoma saga, has vindicated not and cannot be compromised.
It is to be noted that the Board has built a reputation in terms of the conduct of credible examinations over the years and cannot afford to fail the nation at this critical juncture of its development.
Therefore, we will not despair in spite of the painful realization that some Nigerians would do anything to cast aspersions on the good name of the Board.
However, in spite of all the posturing of its detractors, the Board remains resolute and uncompromising in its commitment to give Nigeria the best as far as credible and fair assessment is concerned.
In fact, the Board is, more than ever, determined to continue to forge ahead unmindful of the shenanigan of those who desire its fall. For the benefit of those who are still doubting the capacity of Ms. Mmesoma to commit this egregious crime and those who are pushing the narrative that the girl is just 16 years old even against all available data that indicate her age as an adult of 19 years, Ms. Mmesoma has owned up to committing the heinous infraction, which was carefully crafted to destroy the very foundation of one of the nation’s agencies charged with the critical role of apportioning the limited educational resource of the nation based on fairness equity and integrity.
It is, therefore, highly regrettable that some Nigerians, who do not believe in the strength and resourcefulness of their nation’s institutions, would latch on to any opportunity to pull the Board down to their level of perfidy.
One vital lesson that Nigerians should learn from the imbroglio, is to learn to appreciate the genuine efforts of their critical national institutions to chart the course of national rebirth. Hence, this attitude of attacking everything that makes the nation proud even by people who should know better, is disheartening.
The flip side of this is to infer that some ethnic jingoists had perhaps been elevated to public office and recognition beyond their mental and emotional capacity.
The Board would continue to be guided by the principles of inclusiveness and fairness as demonstrated by its seamless and unprompted deployment of a dedicated software called the Central Admission Processing System (CAPS), which not only eliminates human interference in the admission process, but also engenders equity, fairness, transparency to all as we do not know tribe or religion.
The public is assured of our unwavering commitment to upholding sanctity of the fabric of the nation’s educational system hence our resolve to always deliver credible and fair assessment remains unshaken. We appeal to all those well – meaning Nigerians, who may wish to support and encourage healthy competition by awarding scholarships and other honours to deserving candidates not to be discouraged but should always endeavour to verify from us any claim, no matter how innocuous, put forward by candidates Candidates, on their part, are warned to stay away from fraudulent Apps that promise to enhance their scores as the end result would always be anguish and misery.
The Mmesoma case should serve as an eye-opener especially to those who hold the view that anything goes in Nigeria.
Ours is a great agency with great potential, which requires everybody’s collective and patriotic support as no nation develops beyond the wishes and trust of its people.
The Board, on its part, will continue to appreciate the unalloyed support of those who even risked being attacked by the social media mob to stand on the side of truth. Your trust in us would never be taken for granted as we also appeal to our detractors to sheathe their swords and be part of the movement to build a greater Nigeria.
To those who have sent apologies after seeing the truth, we call on them to continue to believe in the capacity of the Board to deliver. Let us all put our hands together to build the Nigeria of our dreams as we congratulate Miss Umeh Kamsiyochukwu Nkechinyere as the best scorer in the 2023 UTME exercise.
2023 COREVIP CONFERENCE: OLOYEDE MAKES CASE FOR ROBUST HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM IN AFRICA
The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and former Chairman of Association of African Universities (AAU), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has made a case for a robust higher education sector in Africa. Prof. Oloyede in his paper titled “Breaking Barriers and Building Strategies for Advancing Excellence in African Higher Education”, presented at the just-concluded 22nd Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors and Presidents of African Universities (COREVIP 2023) in Windhoek, Namibia, charged African countries to build bridges as a way of changing the narrative of higher education on the continent through proactive measures, technology and innovation that would enable it to take its rightful place on the world stage. He pointed out that higher education was critical to and a catalyst for economic development and social progress which together could play crucial roles in shaping the future of any nation.
“We must develop policies and programmes that promote inclusivity and equity in higher education, providing equal opportunities for all regardless of their background, as well as mainstreaming gender or socioeconomic status,” he said.
He also advocated the need to ensure that higher education is not only affordable and accessible to all, but also capable of promoting research and innovation. He regretted a situation whereby African Universities often operate in isolation, which limits their ability to tap from the expertise and resources of their well-endowed counterparts in other parts of the world.
“Let us create a brighter future for the generations to come by expanding access, enhancing quality, promoting relevance and building bridges. We can create a higher education system that is truly transformative for our continent and our people” The former Vice-Chancellor of University of Ilorin, while enumerating the factors militating against the development of higher education in Africa listed inadequate funding, limited access to quality education, brain drain and outdated curricula as some of the challenges and barriers bedeviling higher education in Africa.
Other factors according to him, included poor governance structures, and lack of academic freedom, among others.
He added that to overcome these challenges, robust linkages, appropriate policies and governance structures should be the norm rather than the exception.
Prof. Oloyede noted with concern that despite progress made in recent years to expand access to quality tertiary education across the continent, millions of young people still lack access to higher education owing to poverty, distance, gender, disability and other factors.
To find lasting solutions to the problems militating against higher education in Africa, he recommended expanding capacity of existing institutions, establishing new ones, providing robust scholarships and bursaries, as well as leveraging on relevant technology to reach remote and marginalised communities.
“We must develop policies and programmes that promote inclusivity and equity in higher education, providing equal opportunities for all regardless of their background, gender or socioeconomic status.” “Let us create a brighter future for the generations to come by expanding access, enhancing quality, promoting relevance and building bridges.
We can create a higher education system that is truly transformative for our continent and our people,” he advised. Prof. Oloyede also canvassed for the coming together of governments, private sector and philanthropists to find sustainable solutions to the funding challenges facing higher education in Africa. Commenting on the issue of brain drain, which is negatively affecting developmental aspirations of many African countries, Prof. Oloyede identified the phenomenon as another barrier militating against advancing excellence in higher education in Africa. He said there is need to create opportunities that would keep the talented students and educators in Africa by offering competitive salaries and improve working conditions.
He stressed that it is also important to turn brain drain to brain gain and create opportunities for career advancement for staff as well as use technology to transform higher education by making it more accessible, affordable as well as flexible to accommodate changing needs and times.
The five -day brain storming conference, which has as its theme: “Advancing Excellence in African Higher Education”, was attended by no fewer than 600 participants which included Rectors, Vice Chancellors, Researchers and other stakeholders in attendance.
JAMB IS VITAL TO NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT – EMIR OF DUTSE
The Emir of Dutse, Jigawa State, Alhaji Muhammad Hameem Sunusi, has stated that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is playing an important role in national development.
The Royal Father disclosed this when he received a delegation from the State Office, Dutse, led by the Board’s Jigawa State Coordinator, Mr. Bello H. Aminu, at his Palace on Wednesday, 5th July, 2023. Speaking against the backdrop of negative aspersions on the image of the Board by some vested interests, the Emir stated that JAMB as an agency, that regulates the admission process in the nation, should and is expected to jealously guard the integrity of its operations.
The State Coordinator, in his address, stated that the purpose of the visit was to congratulate the Royal Father on his installation as the New Emir of Dutse after the demise of his father, Alhaji Muhammad Nuhu Sunusi, earlier in the year. He sought the support of the Emir in the area of public enlightenment so as to improve on the poor record of UTME candidates’ registration in the State. The Royal Father, in his response, thanked the Board’s delegation for the visit and assured them that he would give his maximum support to the Board whenever the need arises.
AAU HONOURS PROF. OKEBUKOLA WITH GOODWILL AMBASSADOR AWARD
The Association of African Universities (AAU) has conferred the prestigious award of Goodwill Ambassador of Higher Education in Africa on Professor Emeritus Peter Okebukola.
The award was conferred on Prof. Okebukola on Tuesday, 4th July 2023, at the opening ceremony of the 22nd Conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors, and Presidents of African Universities (COREVIP) held at the University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.
The brainstorming event, that had in attendance eminent academics and critical stakeholders in the education sector, was witnessed by Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, Registrar, JAMB, many Vice-Chancellors from Nigeria including Prof. Wahab Egbewole of the University of Ilorin; Prof. Adebayo Bamire, VC, OAU; Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, LASU; among several other stakeholders including the representative of Hon. (Dr. ) Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abdur-Rahman Balogun, among others. Other dignitaries in attendance included Ministers of Education across Africa, academics, researchers, development partners, policy makers and higher education networks.
In a statement made available to JAMBulletin, the opening remarks were delivered by Prof. Kenneth Matengu, Vice Chancellor, University of Namibia; Prof. Olusola Oyewole, Secretary-General of AAU; Prof. Saeed Osman, President of AAU; and Prof. Jean Koulidiati, Rector of the Pan African University on behalf of the African Union Commission.
The five-day biennial conference whose theme is “Advancing Excellence in African Higher Education” provided a unique platform for stakeholders to interact and come up with practical policies on fostering higher education across Africa.
CHRISLAND UNIVERSITY HOLDS FIRST INAUGURAL LECTURE
The maiden inaugural lecture of Chrisland University, Owode, Abeokuta, by Prof. Babafemi Badejo Adesina, was held on Thursday, 5th July, 2023, at the school auditorium. In the lecture titled: “Interests”, the presenter discussed levels of interest, which according to him, ranged from collective, race/ethnicity, national and global, to mention but a few.
He went on to discuss how the interests are related and cannot be separated because human beings are not lone ranging but social animals living in communities.
According to Prof. Badejo, the purpose of man is pursuit of uttermost freedom adding that the right to clean air, water and food are fundamental interests to human beings as living entities. “The strive towards utmost freedom is fundamentally an endogenous effort of a purposefully mobilised critical mass under an incorruptible leadership imbued with the deftness of leveraging on favorable external dynamics when the right opportunity presents itself especially within the context of the conscious plans of predatorial and adversarial external interests hell-bent on keeping Africa underdeveloped.” The Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede was represented at the event by the Ogun State Coordinator, Mr. Hakeem Abdul Hameed.
ABIA STATE COORDINATOR HOLDS INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP FOR STAFF
As part of its ongoing efforts to Are position its outstation offices for greater productivity, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has approved a one-day capacity building workshop on Data Management Skills for the staff of the Abia State Office.
The training would equip participants with requisite skills for improved productivity, among others. This was disclosed by the Abia State Coordinator, Mr. Johnson Adebiyi, who conceived the idea of organising the workshop as well as securing the necessary clearance for same.
Mr. Adebiyi, also informed the participants that at the end of the training, they would be equipped with requisite Data Management Skills and Competences to enable them effectively manage and use information at their disposal.
According to him, Data Management is the practice of collecting, organising, storing and accessing data to support productivity, efficiency, and decision-making. He added that since the Board is both a creator and consumer of humongous amount of data, the workshop becomes highly relevant for the realisation of the operational mandate of the Board.
While declaring the workshop open, Mr. Adebiyi disclosed that the exceptional feats achieved by the Board in recent times could be traced directly to its deployment of relevant technology in almost every aspect of its operations.
He added that the remote work environment and paperless communication policy being operated by the Board, especially as obtained between the National Headquarters, Abuja, and its Outstations, made it expedient for the State Office to organise the workshop.
He stated that the training was meant to activate better engagement among the different Units in the State Office as well as acquaint staff with the amazing opportunities offered by data management solutions tailored towards enhancing their on the-job performance.
During the training exercise, participants were exposed to the use of relevant Apps and platforms for storing and sharing large files such as Google Drive, Microsoft One Drive, Binfer, AirDroid Personal, among others. Participants were also tutored on how to store data such as documents, large files, photos, and others, from iOS and macOS devices and backed them up to iCloud wirelessly.
He disclosed that the data so transferred is not done through any intermediate server but is rather effected directly between the sender and recipient devices. He added that Binter can also be used to share large videos without waiting for the large video files to upload in order to send them.
In his concluding remarks, Mr. Adebiyi disclosed that the State Office was passionate about the career development of its staff and would strive to continually develop their skills and abilities to render quality service to the Board.
JAMB TRAINS TOP MANAGEMENT STAFF ON PROCUREMENT PROCESS
As part of efforts to protect its officials from running foul of government regulations, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has trained its top management and other staff of the Board on the nation’s procurement processes.
The training exercise afforded the participants the opportunity to apprise themselves of the rudiments of the nation’s procurement laws as ignorance is not an excuse in the eye of the law.
This warning became necessar y as any infrac tion committed under the Procurement Act attracts a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment without an option of fine.
The 3-day training, which was held between Wednesday, 5th and Friday, 7th July, 2023, at the Board’s Auditorium, was declared open by the Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, who represented on the occasion by the Director of Finance and Accounts, Mr. Mufutau Bello.
The Registrar, in his opening address, welcomed the participants to the training and stated that they should consider themselves lucky to be among the chosen few to attend the training, which was to prepare them for the demands of their new offices.
According to the Registrar, in the past procurements were done in line with the regulation of each institution.
He, however, noted that the status quo changed with the coming of President Olusegun Obasanjo, who streamlined the process to what is in place now.
He also added that the institution of the new procurement regime was not unconnected with the endemic corruption in the country and the genuine desire to tackle the situation headlong.
He pointed out that, as part of the efforts to entrench good governance, transparency and accountability, the former President had brought in experts from the World Bank, who had recommended the formation of a Budget Monitoring and Price Control Unit (BMPIU) that gave birth to the term “Due Process” under the leadership of the former Minister of Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili. Therefore, in 2007, the National Assembly passed the Procurement Act to stem the tide of endemic corruption in the country and stipulated a jail term of ten years for any violation of the Act with no option of fine. Prof.
Oloyede also recalled that all universities then had to take their procurement documents to the National Universities Commission (NUC) for processing leading to the agency being overwhelmed before the new law gave each agency the power to procure on their own.
A team of eminent and procurement experts headed by Mr.Tajudeen Oyawoye, Dr. Samuel Ibrahim and Engr. AbuIbrahim took the participants through such topics as “Overview of the Implementation of the Public Procurement Act, 2007”; “Negotiation with Contractors and Consultants”; as well as “Solicitation and Tender Documentation in Procurement.”
Other topics discussed included: “Procurement Planning, Strategy, Financial Bid Evaluation for Goods, Works and Services”; “Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Conflict Management in Public Procurement and Audit”; “Record Keeping and Procurement Audit”.
The training also highlighted such cardinal areas in routine procurement processes such as quotations, tendering, bidding, evaluation, emergency procurement, payment, offences and penalties, among others.` Giving his remarks, the Director, Human Resources, Mr. Muhammed Shehu thanked the Registrar and management for approving the training.
EJIKEME JOY MMESOMA: IN DEFENCE OF JAMB EJIKEME JOY MMESOMA: WE HAVE NEVER BEEN PROVEN WRONG – JAMB By Ahmed Rufai Shehu
From 2013 to date, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has made tremendous progress in terms of delivering credible examinations.
This is evident in its movement away from Paper-Pencil Test (PPT) and the adoption of Computer-Based Test (CBT) for the conduct of its examinations into the nation’s tertiary institutions.
From 2013, the Board had never rested on it oars as it continually sought out ways to perfect the CBT mode for delivering credible and fair assessment as embodied in its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The trend continues under the present management of the Board under the leadership of Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, who had been unrelenting in leveraging on state-of-the-art technology to take the Board’s CBT mode to even greater heights. However, as with any good thing, the advent of Information and Communication Technology has come with its own set of challenges, chief among which is the emergence of cybercrimes. Unsurprisingly, JAMB, as an end-user of technology and a vital agency of government, is one of the prime targets of cyber warlords.
Expectedly, the Board has not remained docile and has mounted its own array of defensive mechanisms to counteract these attacks.
In fact, each attack serves as aspring board for new innovations aimed not only at perfecting its system but also safeguard its operational processes against future attacks. It is, therefore, a welcome development when a candidate, in 2021 altered his UTME result to one in tune with his desires and turned around to demand undue benefits for the infraction, thereby forcing the Board to up its game by introducing new novel security features on its UTME result slip.
Hence, with the redesigned slip, the Board was easily able to detect the fraudulent act of Ms. Ejikeme in 2023.
The list of lessons learnt and deployed to further perfect the system is endless! Currently, the trending issue on social media is that pertaining to the alleged case of result forgery by a candidate, Ms. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, who sat the 2023 UTME and scored 249 but went ahead to concoct a fake UTME result of 362.
This has, however, served to bring the issue of JAMB integrity to the limelight. The Board, in its spirited defence, made it abundantly clear to its detractors that it is not out to truncate the ambition of any of its prospective candidates in any way as its main concern is the integrity of the system.
The veracity of the Board’s position was further bolstered from unexpected quarters as public spirited Nigerians had come to the Defence of the Board.
Hence, I had stumbled on a Facebook post which had detailed the capabilities of an App called “Jamb fun-fake Jamb Result Maker” on the Google Play store through which users can fabricate any UTME result even without sitting the examination! I was perplexed and my curiosity made me to immediately download the App simply to confirm the veracity of the claims of the developer.
Thereafter, I was able to fabricate a 2023 UTME result with my name, a JAMB registration number, and a UTME score and even the examination year all by myself. In essence, you can easily forge a UTME result and inflate your scores using the said App.
However, you can never tamper with your original result lodged securely in the Board’s database. As a technical staff, I know that the Board had done its homework creditably well and would never allow its integrity to be compromised. The foregoing is not all as JAMB, under Prof. Oloyede, has become a hall mark of discipline and dedication in the nation’s public service sector, making JAMB, under Prof. Oloyede, a minefield for corrupt public officials.
EJIKEME JOY MMESOMA: WE HAVE NEVER BEEN PROVEN WRONG – JAMB
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is, hereby, restating its earlier position that the UTME result being paraded by Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma is patently fake. Consequently, the Board would like to reassure Nigerians that its system was neither tampered with nor compromised as the candidate simply falsified a copy of a result slip of a candidate named “Asimiyu Mariam Omobolanle”, who sat the UTME in 2021 and scored 138. It is also instructive to note that the candidate, in her statement, has inadvertently revealed the rightful owner of the result she is parading when she pointed out that the QR code on the result slip showed the actual owner of the said result before she peddled a lie in an attempt to obfuscate the truth.
To witness the unassailable position of the Board regarding this obvious falsehood, the general public is, therefore, urged to endeavour to scan the QR code on the result slip to see its actual owner before it was mutilated. It is to be noted that the QR code encapsulates the UTME result of each candidate, hence, what is on the result sheet is nothing other than the interpretation of the information on this QR code. Furthermore, the public is also to note that the Board stopped issuing Notification of Result slips in 2021 for the simple reason that candidates were falsifying them.
Consequently, the Board had resorted to issuing actual UTME RESULT Slip (not its notification) since 2022 complete with the photograph of candidates. Similarly, the public is also invited to ponder on the fact that out of all the candidates that sat the 2023 UTME, only Ms. Ejikeme Mmesoma parades the obsolete ‘Notification of Result.’
The Board remains unperturbed by this unfortunate development as this is not the first time such fraudulent claims have been made. As such, Nigerians are urged to recall numerous occasions where the Board was sued for billions of naira only for the lawyers to later apologize profusely for their clients’ misadventure.
Prominent among these is the case of a candidate, John Chinedu Ifesinachi, who, in 2021, sued the Board for N2b only for him and his counsel to tender unreserved apology when the candidate eventually confessed his crime in the face of incontrovertible facts. This case has, therefore, being rightly handed over to relevant security agencies for thorough investigation to unravel the masterminds of yet another unfortunate scam.
The Board is not averse to public scrutiny and hereby suggests a public session with relevant security agencies, representatives of Ms. Ejikeme and civil society organisations in attendance without delay. This is on account of the Board’s experience over the years, which showed that these wily candidates confessed to their ignoble acts only when confronted with incontestable facts.
Another frightening dimension to the unfolding drama is the unwholesome interest of some nefarious elements, who to all intents and purposes, are determined to goad the candidate on this unproductive path as any casual observer would observe with the obviously stage-managed video aired by Ms. Ejikeme.
The Board urges these confusionists to have a rethink as their evil machinations would soon come to light. Again, the Board restates its readiness for genuine scrutiny as this case would not be the first time and might not even be the last of such shenanigans. At the end of the day, the truth would manifest and the Board vindicated.
In the meantime, the management of the Board, after considering the weighty infraction committed by Ms. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, and in line with it’s established procedures, has withdrawn her 2023 UTME result and also barred her from sitting the Board’s examination for the next three years.
OLOYEDE’S JAMB: COMING TO EQUITY WITH CLEAN HANDS By Kunle Akogun
The attempt by agents of revisionism to rubbish the reputation of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which it has assiduously built in the past seven years under the watch of Mr. Integrity, Prof. Is’haq Olanrewaju Oloyede, with the needless controversy over Miss Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme’s alleged result forgery saga, has fallen flat on its face! Watching and reading about the rigmarole on the matter that has dominated the media space in the past one week reminds me of a Yoruba adage that rough l y translates, “If one is sure of one’s deity, one would enthusiastically swear by it without any fear of untoward repercussion” (“Bi Ogun eni ba da’ni l’oju, a maa nfi gba’ri ni”).
Indeed, JAMB is very sure of the inviolability of its system and the unassailability of the integrity of its examinations and so it remains unshaken in the face of the barrage of mud being slung at the Board from very many mischievous quarters.
As is often the case in this country, the Ejikeme controversy has thrown up many emergency “girl rights activists”, legal jobbers, hypocritical sympathisers and others angling to cash in on the matter to make cheap names and cool money for themselves.
Some others simply saw in the matter an opportunity to tarnish the highly reputable image of JAMB and its Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, the delectable Prof. Is’haq Oloyede, for daring to be different, like the rare breed public servant that he is, in running an almost corruption-free public institution.
But how wrong they all are! The Board has, by dint of its openness and incorruptibility, been able to shake off all the darts thrown at it and come out even cleaner! Indeed, the Ejikeme controversy has turned to a huge public relations bonus for JAMB, as it has afforded even the most adamantly virulent of its critics a new insight into Prof. Oloyede’s depth of character, sincerity of purpose, unassailable integrity, managerial profundity, administrative acumen with zero tolerance for double standard and unnecessary duplicity.
The Ejikeme story is too well known now to warrant any detailed repetition here. But even if only for the purpose of putting it in proper context, it will not be totally out of place to highlight some salient points thereof here.
On Sunday, July 2nd, 2023, Nigerians were taken aback when JAMB announced that one of the 2023 UTME candidates, Miss Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme, who has been parading herself as the highest mark scorer in that examination and who has been basking in the euphoria of that false claim with several private and public organisations dishing out favours to her in form of cash gifts, scholarships and all, is in fact an impostor, as its records do not support her claim.
According to JAMB, Miss Ejikeme, who hails from Anambra State, scored 246 in the 2023 UTME, as against her or chestrated 362 mark claim, while the actual highest mark scorer, Miss Nkechinyere Kamsiyochukwu Umeh, another candidate from Anambra State, scored 360 marks.
This sparked off a huge hailstorm of national outcries with some commentators crying blue murder and several others excoriating JAMB for allegedly attempting to deny the poor girl, who was touted as a prodigy, the sweet benefit of her exceptional brilliance, which, they said, she had consistently maintained since her nursery school days. Some unsolicited advocates of the girl even started reading political and tribal meanings into the saga by insinuating that JAMB’s action was a premeditated move to deny Anambra State its well-earned trophy of producing the best candidate in 2023 UTME! Obviously, such people were oblivious of the identity of the authentic best candidate, who incidentally is from the same Anambra State! The girl was even chaperoned to record a video that went viral in which she tried to deny that she forged the result and manipulated the score to which she is laying claim.
In a carefully choreographed attempt to whip up sentiment, Miss Ejikeme claimed in that video that at her age, (variously put at 16, 17 and 19), she is not capable of the result manipulation she is being accused of. She then said she was traumatised and embarrassed by JAMB’s accusation.
To be sure, at her age, the poor girl is not really capable of s ingle-handedly recording that video. Like the proverbial “Iromi”, that proverbial aquatic bird that is dancing atop the river, its drummer must be lurking somewhere in the nearby bush or even probably under the water! The drummers are unmistakably those who have one axe or the other to grind with JAMB and/or its Registrar who have now donned the garb of girl rights activists and legal jobbers of various hues.
But when JAMB pinched their balloon of lies with just a strike of a needle, they all recoiled in ignominy. Even the lawyer who had been going about boasting and threatening JAMB with a N2 billion character assassination suit couldn’t find his voice after the Board presented its case that invariably showed that Ejikeme actually falsified her result.
It is also instructive that Miss Ejikeme has begun to sing a new song, when she admitted on Channels TV Sunrise programme on Wednesday this morning of 5 July that “after all said and done, I now saw that I got 249”! Earlier in a no-holds-barred the statement on Tuesday, 4 July, 2023, the examination body had exposed the unholy antics of Miss Ejikeme and those goading her on, stating with a tone of pontifical finality that the girl had committed a high grade cyber fraud of monumental dimension.
The Board pointed out that it had discontinued the issuance of ‘Notification of Results’ to UTME candidates since 2021 and has since been issuing actual Result Slips on which each candidate’s photograph is embossed.
But incidentally, the result being paraded by Miss Ejikeme is that same obsolete ‘Notification of Result. It should be noted that this is not the first time that such fraudulent claims have been made by unscrupulous UTME candidates.
Some of them even went to the extent of suing the Board for accusing them of such frauds. But at the end, the litigants always came running to JAMB to apologize for their clients’ misadventure.
This, to say the least, is a clear vindication of a government parastatal whose unmistakable hallmark is service excellence and uncommon institutional integrity.
Meanwhile, security agencies are already on the Ejikeme girl’s case for thorough investigation to unravel the masterminds. That this matter involves this little girl is unfortunate, as her future career is now at stake.
For now, her dream of studying in any Nigerian university would be put on hold for the next three years while the embargo on her lasts. Such is the collateral punishment she has to serve for the indiscretion of some selfish adults scheming to make quick money or just bent on rubbishing JAMB’s jealously guarded record of service excellence. However, I am of the honest belief that Miss Ejikeme is a mere victim in this whole saga.
I think she couldn’t have perpetrated the forgery on her own, considering her age and her humble background. But as the principal beneficiary of the condemnable crime, she is complicit and therefore culpable! When forensic investigation begins into the matter, she should be able to lead the investigators to the cybercafé where the deed was done as well as/or the hacker that did it for her. This, hopefully, would unravel the motive behind the whole saga.
Akogun is the Director of Corporate Affairs, University of Ilorin.