A lecturer is in a hall that ordinarily should take 100 or 200 students, but during a lecture, you have 500 to 1,000 students.
One has to do with students having no seats to sit down. Some are hanging on windows. Some are sharing seats; and most importantly, there are no teaching aids or audios so that students would hear what you are saying” – Professor Emmanuel Osadeke, National President, Academic Staff Union of Universities.
The sad fate of Nigerian university education was sealed about 52 years ago when General Gowon (rtd), after the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970, seized all existing Nigerian universities, at gunpoint, and made the Federal Government property. As every precedent always embalms a principle, that military government asserted several principles which would eventually ruin university education for good.
Might is right was the first; because the owners of the universities were neither consulted nor compensated for the grand larceny. The second was the collectivisation of universities and their assets. The FG thereafter would decide how the human, financial, intellectual and physical assets of all universities would be deployed. The third, and most important, was the worst. Ultimate decisions concerning the fate of our universities would be made by the military Head of State, called Visitor to the university.
That Gowon, who was the first Visitor to all Nigerian universities at the time, was a School Certificate holder and had not stepped into any university in his life, was the cruel joke in the particular Decree self-empowering Gowon to head all Nigerian universities.
THE EVILS OF VISITORSHIP
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely” – Lord Acton, 1834-1902 Perhaps, the present catastrophe might have been avoided if the military rule was short-lived and the four regions – Eastern, Mid-Western, Northern and Western – existing before the war, allowed to regroup.
Instead, four regions gave way to 12 states, then 19 states, then 21, 30 and finally 36. Along the way, the following became Visitors to Nigerian universities: Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Obasanjo, Shagari, Buhari, Babangida, Abacha, Abubakar, Obasanjo again, Yar’Adua, Jonathan and Buhari again. Until Yar’Adua became President in 2007, Nigerian universities had been under Visitors for 37 years – none of whom attended any university at home or abroad
Even the emergence of Yar’Adua and Jonathan as Visitors could not stop the drift towards calamity. By then, the Visitor had about 40 universities under his control; all of which they had to squeeze into the same administrative straight jacket.
Thus the Vice-Chancellor of a university, with 3,000 students, was paid the same as one with 24,000; the same was true of the academic and non-academic staff. A lecturer in Lagos, where three-bedroom flats rented for N450,000 per annum, was paid the same as one in Bauchi where a self-contained three-bedroom bungalow with boys quarters, garage and a large compound will set him back by only N100,000. It makes no sense; and that is one of the unintended consequences of creating Visitors.
There is no equivalent of Nigeria’s Visitor anywhere else in the world. It has unleashed on universities somebody with absolute powers – which inevitably corrupts everything it touches absolutely. Even those who enjoyed the power, if they are honest, must admit, now that they are out of power, that it was a massive blunder for which the country is paying dearly now.
It has been asserted by some leading authorities on social and economic development that there are two surest ways to destroy a nation and its economy. The first is to destroy its education; the second is to destroy its currency.
Nigeria, in 2022, might have inadvertently undertaken the two demolition jobs. Meanwhile, the national leader, the President, is globe-trotting while there is smoke – suggesting fires everywhere. Certainly, future generations of Nigerians will be wondering if there was intelligent life in this country during this period.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result” – Chinese proverb
ASUU is again poised to embark on another strike. Invariably, the Federal Government would issue threats, call the strike illegal, declare a policy of “no work, no pay”, ASUU will ignore them and proceed on the strike anyway.
I have witnessed at least ten of these charades since 1974 when I returned from the US. If ever a nation had repeated itself on one issue for more than 30 years, while expecting a different result, perpetual ASUU strike in Nigeria is it. It is doubtful if any other country, including certified Banana Republics, have experienced as many university closures as the ‘Giant of Africa’. If the Chinese definition of lunacy is accepted, then something must definitely be wrong with those who have led us into this dreadful corner – because there is apparently no way out. This was made quite clear by Dr Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour, Employment and Productivity. Here was how he summarized the situation.. FG has no funds to meet ASUU demands – Ngige” – Report, March 3, 2022.
After years and months of denial of the worst kind, Ngige, on a Channels current affairs programme, finally confessed that the FG does not have the funds to pay what is owed to ASUU from as far back as 2013. We now have a Mexican stand-off. FG cannot pay; ASUU wants to be paid and threatens another strike; the students are in limbo. The Minister’s confession portends some horrible repercussions – including making next year’s elections a hostage to civil unrest.
Let me pause here this week in order to touch briefly on how chaos in public universities is inducing impunity in some private universities.
PRIVATE SECTOR IMPUNITY AT LANDMARK UNIVERSITY?
NOTE: Seldom do I find myself bringing a matter to the public domain without doing some background investigation. The one following is no exception; except for the fact that being partially physically challenged, I cannot drive around as before. There is one person I would have loved to interview. I hope the meeting can still take place after this.
“Sir, this issue may not be your business, but, I feel, as an affairs analyst, you can add your voice to 200 families who are in pains. Our wards graduated from LANDMARK UNIVERSITY, Omu-Aran, owned by Oyedepo.
About 200 graduates were absent when Bishop David Oyedepo came to pray over them and he then instructed that their NYSC CALL LETTER should be withheld.
“Delegates and letters of appeal have been sent with no response until yesterday when I heard that call-letters will be released in August 2022.
“It means our children will stay at home with us after graduation till August according to almighty Oyedepo. This is rather draconian and height of impunity.
“Sorry to bother you. Thanks and God bless. “
I will like to inform the sender of this text message and other readers of our paper that one of our cardinal responsibilities as the Fourth Estate of the Realm, or Media for short, is to give voice to the voiceless; to empower the powerless when their rights are trampled upon by the powerful. We cannot shy away from giving support to the weak.
So, it is my business when 200 graduates of any university are being allegedly badly treated by their university.
Granted all my six daughters have graduated from Nigerian universities; but, that has not removed my duty to all Nigerian university students – whoever and wherever they are.
Furthermore, I have the impression that the parents and their kids waited until it is too late to fight for their rights – if they were violated. One NYSC group is just passing out now. Obviously, another cannot start immediately. All we can have now are explanations regarding the decision to withhold the call-up letters of the 200.
I sincerely hope that the university will offer an explanation to the public on this matter as soon as possible.
FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS
“Dear Dele, one of your brothers, a human wreck, has been going around traditional rulers with bullion van. He wants to be President. Can’t you advise him that he is too damaged for this job?”
Well, Mr., if the man can stop by my house and offload a bullion van, I will examine him and tell you whether he is a human wreck or a prospective Olympic Decathlon gold medalist. Otherwise, leave me alone.
P.S. Messages like this one make me wish I can go to Ukraine and have peace of mind.
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