By Aliu S. Momodu (QS)
The recent decision by Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, to impose an immediate and indefinite ban on final-year students’ participation in examination orchestration known in local parlance as “signing off” or “signing out” is a courageous and commendable step towards preserving academic integrity and ensuring the safety of all campus stakeholders. This decisive action which is driven by recurring incidents of violence, chaos, and disruption, sends a powerful message that the pursuit of education must be grounded in discipline, peace, and respect for institutional regulations.
The university’s firm stance not only protects students but also safeguards staff, university property, and the broader campus community from unnecessary harm and disorder. By threatening severe disciplinary measures such as rustication for offenders and prosecuting unauthorized intruders who incite disorder, Nnamdi Azikiwe University has demonstrated a commitment to an environment conducive to focused learning and personal development.
Such wild celebrations by students have historically led to terrible occurrences within and outside campuses. Instances of violence including tragic deaths have been reported during similar “signing off” ceremonies in Nigerian universities. For example, at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), a student, Marvelous Olanrewaju Babalola, a 300-level Mechanical Engineering student, was fatally shot on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, at the Ultramodern Wazo Market in Ogbomoso during an unauthorized signing-out ceremony banned by the university since 2023 due to safety concerns. Babalola was shot as he attempted to leave on his motorbike, struggled to operate it, collapsed, and was later found unresponsive by the roadside. Despite warnings issued to hotels around Ogbomoso not to host such events and university prohibitions on sign-out ceremonies, a group of students organized the event at the market’s football pitch. The university has pledged full cooperation with law enforcement as investigations continue.
Similarly, the celebratory bacchanalia often associated with these rituals have caused fatal automobile accidents due to careless and reckless driving by some students, putting lives both on and off campus in danger.
We hereby urge all tertiary institutions across Nigeria to emulate this policy by recognizing the urgent need to put an end to examination orchestration which has long been a source of tension, insecurity, and interruptions to academic life in many schools.
Communities hosting tertiary institutions must also play active roles in discouraging such practices to foster peaceful coexistence and mutual progress. Such communities should collaborate with the relevant government agencies to enforce bans on examination orchestrations within the communities, to ensure sanity.
The police and relevant law enforcement agencies should collaborate closely with universities to curtail any external interference on campuses, ensuring offenders are held accountable and that educational sanctuaries remain safe.
Governments at all levels should endorse and support these measures, promoting policies that encourage discipline and responsibility among students. Educational authorities should engage with student bodies to communicate the dangers and consequences of examination orchestration, while also promoting alternative, positive ways to celebrate academic milestones.
Overall, the ban instituted by Nnamdi Azikiwe University is a laudable initiative demanding urgent nationwide adoption. Together, all stakeholders including the academia, communities, law enforcement agencies, and government, must champion this cause to secure the sanctity of Nigeria’s tertiary institutions and the futures of our young scholars. Let this be the dawn of a new era where academic excellence thrives in peace and respect.
Aliu S. Momodu is an advocate of good governance and a professional Quantity Surveyor with over two and a half decades of cost and construction project administration experience which cuts across contracting, consultancy, and the civil service. He currently runs a PhD degree program in Quantity Surveying, with a flare for risk management in infrastructure projects.
