Covenant University has made history by sending its final year Mass Communication students of Public Relations to the Nigeria-Benin Republic border at Idi-Iroko, Ogun State, for the current semester’s lectures and the examination.

The students were trained and examined by the heads and public relations directors of government agencies at the border on the subject of International Public Relations, according to a statement from the Mass Communication Department of the university.

The Head of Department, Dr Kehinde Oyesomi, represented by Dr Oscar Odiboh, said the out-of-classroom lectures and examination exposed the students to the reality of two communities of the two different countries and how they co-exist peacefully.

He said, “This is the first time ever anywhere in the world that a university would conduct semester lectures and examination for its students at an international border. This is a historical achievement for Covenant University, Nigeria’s academic system and Public Relations education in the country.”

The course lecturer, Dr Thelma Ekanem, said that the students received lectures, studied the environment, officers’ operations and equipment, adding that they were examined by their assigned international government agency at the international border.

She also said, “The field activation serves as part of the international training process that will equip the students as future global public relations experts, capable of managing multinational image, generate diplomatic goodwill and build mutually beneficial organizational and communal coexistence.”

The mass communication lecturer listed the agencies that conducted the lecture and examination as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS), State Security Services, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) as well as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Others are the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigeria Quarantine Services (NQS) and the Nigeria Port Health Services (NPHS).

She added that men of the 192 Battalion of the Battalion of the Nigerian Army, Owode, Ogun State and the Nigeria Police (Idi-Iroko Border Patrol Unit) provided security during the field activation.

The statement also noted that students of Mass Communication Department at the Covenant University is ranked number one in Nigeria are made to undergo practical field experiences and multiple professional certifications in public relations, advertising, broadcasting and print journalism.