By DAYO ADESULU
Mr. Okeme Idris, 200 level student of Criminology and Penology at Salem University,    Lokoja, Kogi State over the weekend during a special programme organised by the institution for students to reflect on their past and present life, testified to how he was enslaved to drug addiction for 17 years.

The thirty year old student said that though the habit was hurting and killing him, however was powerless to get out of it. He noted that he had sought solutions in many places including orthodox and unorthodox before his admission into Salem University without success.

He said: “‘From my youth I had been in this mess and though I knew drugs were harmful, I was really hooked on them. At a point, he stated that he paid for a rehabilitation programme that also failed to rescue him.

Idris reiterated that when he came on campus,  he observed that the institution combines strong spiritual orientation with academic excellence, a development he noted changed   him morally and academically, adding ‘’ I am not only being academically trained, I also receive spiritual helps that contribute to my total make-up.”

But he is not only. Many students who spoke at the event reeled out amazing stories of transformation since they joined SU.

His words: ‘’Being in the school delivered me from drug addiction. This school is a transformational ground. The messages I heard helped me to publicly relinquish the act. The atmosphere in the campus fostered my recovery and I am totally free from drugs today.”

Also, Joseph Adaudi, 300 level Micro Biology male student, on his part  was trapped in examination malpractices until he gained admission to Salem University.  ‘’I have always depended on others to pass. I always waited for people to round up before copying their works. But when I came here, I learnt to depend on myself. I have learnt to use my initiative and not compromise while standing on the path of truth, he said.”

Samaila Samaila, 400 level Criminology and Penology student in her testimonial pointed out that her life had taken a well-defined course since she came to Salem University. ‘’I was lost with no sense of direction until I came here.

I was just wandering along in life, expecting just anything. But she said seminars in the school have changed her outlook to life. I am now a transformed global leader, an agent for social change determined to combine academics, integrity and hard work, said she.”

Moreover,  Akpabio Vanessa (400 level Regional Integration/Diplomacy) said she has discovered and developed her leadership traits since she joined the school.

‘’There is an aura of leadership and sense of responsibility that announces me wherever I go. People have learnt to entrust me with leadership positions and responsibilities and I have always delivered dues to what I learnt here,” she stated.

Justice Akowe (300 level Geology) said the leadership seminars organised by the school has made him imbibe vital skills. ‘’I have learnt the art of team work and everyone treats me with more respect now, including my parents.”

Akowe started The Reformational Youth (TRY), an advocacy group, through lessons and values he learnt from the school. According to him, ‘’There is no placer where I would have been for such transformation. Salem University is the place for me”.

The institution’s chancellor, Archbishop Sam Amaga, said the school was deliberately structured to endanger transformation. ‘’We are passionate about transformation of lives and situations. We are moved when we see people and things changing for good. It thrills us that you are partaking in the transformation that God is helping you to create at this time,” he said.

He urged the students not to rest on their oars. Amaga said much lies ahead in their personal lives. ‘’You have not seen anything yet. God has promised us to do much more with you. I urge you to be more committed to what you learn here. The more you act on these things, the more you become transformed. The more there will be improvement in your lives and the more guaranteed your future is”.