Why ABU tolerated Dino –Schoolmate

From Noah Ebije, Kaduna

As controversy simmers down on the true status of Senator Melaye as a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, one of his former schoolmates, Mr. Vincent Akinbami said Dino was more into students’ unionism, fighting injustice against students by the school authority at the expense of his academic pursuit.
Mr. Akinbami who graduated as an accountant from ABU in 1998, told Sunday Sun that the legislator actually had carry-overs which prevented him from graduating on time.
Akinbami added that as a unionist, Dino became so popular among the students that the school authority had to tolerate him and made him to serve as mediator in the school whenever there was any crisis in Students’ Union Government even many years after he had left the university.
“I came to know Dino Melaye in ABU, and he was always into unionism. Dino was very much into unionism, and that made him so popular among students. He was very active, and he always wanted the right things done, he wanted justice in every situation.
“Apart from unionism, we used to meet at the football pitch during training. He was always coming to train with us under Coach Segun Olulomedeji. The coach is now late.
“So, just as I said earlier, as a student, Dino was such a person that wanted justice wherever he found himself. I left ABU in 1998, but Dino was still in school as at the time I left the school. I left him in Zaria in 1998.
“I think he had carry-overs, and then he passed out through what we called third semester. After the normal two semesters he had to write another exam in the third semester, and moved to the next level after he passed the third semester.
“I was in the Department of Economics, and Dino was in Geography, and during our time, we had the largest number of students’ admission. Some of us were divided into B.Sc Economics, others into other degree programmes. We were so many, but I still remember that Dino was in Geography department.
“I think after he left the university, the school authority was still using him as an external mediator during crises between students union and the school management because of his frankness in resolving issues between the students and the school authority.
“I was one of his Men-in-Suits during his wedding in 2003, and that was when I came back to Kaduna, and we met once again because I did my NYSC in Lagos, after which I returned to Kaduna.
“Dino had then floated an NGO called National Association of Democratic Youths (NADY). Of course, I worked closely with him, and that was when I knew some of his qualities. He is somebody who is very proactive. Once there is a problem on ground, he attends to it immediately. He always looks out for people who are being cheated so that he could enforce justice in such situation.
“He doesn’t hide his feelings. He says things as he sees them, once he makes his finding, he voices it out as it is. I think this is one of the reasons why he is always having problem with people. He tells you to your face if you are wrong or right on an issue. He speaks angrily, shouting whenever he is addressing an issue, and maybe that is why some people don’t really like him. He may be making some good points, but his style of approach, may offend people.
“He is known with this nickname, Dino, right from the University days, and some people don’t even know him as Daniel. They called him Dino”.

Share

from The Sun News http://ift.tt/2nJSn2b
via IFTTT