17/05/2025
UEE Registrar, Amb. Dr. Gabriel Egbe, Urges Legislative Ban on Mobile Phone Use in Secondary Schools
By Imoke Etorti, Ph.D
May 16, 2025 | Okpoma, Yala L.G.A, Cross River State
In a powerful address heavily loaded with concern, foresight, and patriotic fervor, the Registrar of the University of Education and Entrepreneurship (UEE), Akamkpa, Ambassador Dr. Gabriel Egbe, has called for urgent legislative action to ban the use of mobile phones by secondary school students across Cross River State.
Delivering his message as a guest speaker during the unveiling of the Chief Patrick Odo's Public Library in Okpoma, Yala Local Government Area, Dr. Egbe lamented the deteriorating reading culture among Nigerian youths—an alarming trend he attributes largely to the abuse and over dependence on mobile technology.
“In some WAEC centers, teachers shamelessly assist students with answers,” he decried. “Artificial Intelligence now gives students instant solutions, robbing them of critical thinking. Look at the recently released JAMB results—take the phones away as usually done by JAMB and our students are left empty or hollow.”
The Registrar passionately appealed to the Cross River State House of Assembly to act with urgency by enacting a law prohibiting mobile phone use in secondary schools, insisting such a measure would rekindle the fading flame of reading culture and academic discipline.
Beyond the academic sphere, Dr. Egbe painted a sobering picture of Nigeria's economic challenges, spotlighting the high rate of youth unemployment. He bemoaned a reality where graduates are increasingly turning to commercial minibus driving, POS business ventures, and in dire cases, internet fraud, in a desperate bid to survive.
“Our youths are wandering from state capital to state capital, chasing shadows. We must redirect this generation before we lose it completely.”
He therefore called on political leaders and stakeholders to channel investments into entrepreneurial development and skill acquisition programs that foster job creation and self-reliance. An effort that he said would go beyond classrooms—to initiatives that will empower youths to become job creators, not seekers.
In this light, Dr. Egbe commended the Cross River State Governor, His Excellency Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu, for the visionary transformation of the defunct College of Education Akamkpa into the University of Education and Entrepreneurship, a trailblazing institution designed to groom educators, innovators, and leaders with entrepreneurial flair.
He also paid a glowing tribute to Chief Patrick Odey Odo, the revered elder statesman and educationist, whose legacy as a teacher, Permanent Secretary, and Commissioner culminated in the construction of an ultra-modern public library—an edifice Dr. Egbe described as a “symbol of knowledge” in the heart of Yala.
The momentous event drew an impressive constellation of dignitaries, including:
HRH Ogamode Eje Ipuole, Acting Paramount Ruler of Yala, Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, represented by Engr. Egar Montul, Hon. Sylvanus Akra, Barr. Susan Odo, Mrs. Gladys Odo (GLADO), and several other prominent sons and daughters of the land.
The event was not merely the launch of a library—it was a clarion call for a return to learning, integrity, and innovation. With leaders like Dr. Egbe and visionaries like Chief Odo, hope flickers anew for the youths of Cross River State.
