By BLESSING JAMES & IJEOMA OKEREKE
“The late Assoc. Prof. John Danladi Galadima was a great lecturer and as such was saddled with many responsibilities, one of which included to serve as the lecturer of MAC 310- Magazine Production to the current 300 level students of Mass Communication”.
This statement was made by the new course lecturer, Mr. Akila Mabas, who added that he ‘is not capable in whatever respect to fit into the shoes of the late Professor as his replacement for the MAC 304 – Magazine Production Class and would not commence his class without paying due respect to him’.
As the originator of the idea that a class presentation be held in honour of the late Prof. John Galadima, Mr. Akila secured the consent and co-operation of the 300 level students.
The class presentation was anchored by a 300 level student, Sandra Ubak and chaired by Ijeoma Okereke.
Taking the opening speech, Mr. Akila labeled the day Prof. Galadima died as a “Black Wednesday”, stating that life is full of ironies and that we will definitely get to meet with the late Prof. someday.
In his words, “whatever we do, we should remember that we will give an account of all we’ve done on Earth. His life has taught us lessons. Whatever we do, we should remember his legacies. I can write a book about the late Prof. because he has affected us in different ways”.
He further added that the presentation is not for the fun of it but to help us nurture the legacies of the late Professor.
Miss Dorothy Maimako, a lecturer assisting Mr. Akila on MAC 310 gave a speech about her experiences with the late Professor and explained how he would go out of his way to improve the lives of people he came across through the books he gave out.
“He had plans for everybody and even on his sick bed, he was full of cheers” were her words.
Laying emphasis on the significance of the class presentation, Miss Maimako said the event is not about someone distinct but about someone that was part of us as he was bent on ‘punctuality, humility and good cheer’.
One thing she learnt from the late Professor is to be hopeful and she added that upon her visit to him in the hospital, she was more saddened than Professor Galadima while on his sick bed.
According to her, “the best way to honour him was to keep the rules he wanted us to keep.
‘As we honour him this morning, it would be heart breaking to forget about him in a hurry and I pray that the thought of our leaving this Earth at any time will not depart from us.
Utilizing the opportunity given to him to say something about the late Prof. Galadima, the President of the Association of Mass Communication Students (AMCOMS), Simon Jang Itse, said “Baba Galadima was a father to all, a friend to many and a lecturer to us all. He was the kind of person that sought nothing but the best from his students and pushes you to the limit until the best is brewed out of you”.
Mr. Itse, a 400 level student of Mass Communication, added that the late Professor never missed an opportunity to scold his students whenever they went wrong.
In part of his address to the students, he said “Baba Galadima is no more today but the best way we can honour him is to behave ourselves as his departure has left a vacuum in our lives”.
He counseled the 300 level students to deeply reflect on the realities of life.
“We live today, tomorrow we are no more, what will be said of us when we leave this world?” were his concluding words.
Highlights of the event were presentations of spoken word poetry, songs, drama and a profile feature about the late Professor by different groups of the class that was split into five groups and named Team Lwahas, Team Enahoro, Team D.D.Y Garba, Team Ayedun-Aluma and Team Darlington.
The new course lecturer, Mr. Mabas Akila, talking with UniJos Echo appreciated the creativity in the presentations of all the teams that participated.
“I think all the teams were able to come out with something spectacular. It went in line with what I envisaged when the idea came to me. All the component parts, from the committee to the students, performed wonderfully” he said.
He added that the event was necessary especially for 300 level students offering MAC 310 because although they will never get to be lectured by him, this event would be a reminder of him by the students.
