Post-Independence; Education in Nigeria

Post- Speak Up Nigeria

Hello, my fellow compatriots. Happy belated 47th independence anniversary to our dear Nigeria. It pains me that I could not be with you all, by putting up a D-Day post in commemoration of that grand occasion. Needless to say, the campaign went on smoothly and my fellow compatriots did a great job in helping our dear country feel loved and at the same time, not ignoring and bringing to the fore, a lot of issues that need addressing. I went through the letters submitted by contestants on the Speak Up Nigeria Campaign, amongst other personal posts on different blogs and I must say i got goosebumps, you know, good goosebumps, the type you get when something is just sooooo sweet. Butterflies twirled in my tummy as I read each of these auspicious messages. Congratulations Omotaylor on coming out as the winner of the competition. I am proud to be Nigerian. There are a lot of us out there who make us proud and if not for anything else, it helps divert attention from the ills plaguing our society, but directs positive energy toward looking for solutions to each and everyone of these national issues. No doubt, we are getting there. Baby steps is all that is needed but we surely will get there. Amen.

University Education

A lot has happened, personally and secularly and while most isn't funny, I try to ride through it. It's the spirit, eh? But in the midst of those events, I have been itching to air my views on this very disturbing issue. The issue in question is about (Turin) Tomi, the UniLag student who reportedly offed himself due to pressure from 'school' and all that went with it. The issue struck a wrong cord in me and I have been very bitter ever since. The suicide rate in Nigeria is not as much as countries such as Japan and there's a joke that Nigerians love life so much that they'd rather live with their head way in doodie than kill themselves. Yes, life is good, and a lot of us are good at handling stress. Whatever prompted this young man to take his life must have been so aggravating, and no doubt it was. I'm not saying schooling does not go with some measure of stress. Nothing good comes easy and all the pressures that go with meeting deadlines are part of what makes the effort worthwhile in the end, because it prepares one for the busy post-education life. What I'm talking about here is unnecessary stress from sadist lecturers. supervisors and people in positions of authority in our higher institutions. Stress that shouldn't be there in first place. Stress that one can and should avert.

Of course, (Turin) Tomi's suicide has not solved the issue and that is where my angst comes in. The underlying problem is still there and a lot of other students are out there going through the same shit, over and over. All the issues our older siblings go through replicates itself when the younger generation get into the educational system. If nothing is done, our kids would also be victims of the same anomaly. They will have to go through an issue they shouldn't have faced in the first place, simply because we have let these things slip through our hands unsolved.

A lot of people are discouraged because of all these. Our institutes of higher learning are looked at in askance, with dread. This is a malfunction and should be corrected because this fear skewers the intention for wanting to go into a university for education. Now the worry isn't just about how I would see myself through my schooling but also WHY DO I HAVE TO undergo such unnecessary rigors? The system in our universities is dysfunctional. Education is a right! Education should be enjoyable and every effort should be made to present things in this light. With the right educated minds running things, most maladies in society can be kept at a reasonable balance. But what happens when things are the opposite? Now I'm talking about where to get the right treatment. Does it mean my kid cannot be sure of a proper and enabling study environment if I cannot get him/her into Covenant, Babcock, Igbinedion or whatever other private universities are out there? Is the system in Federal & state universities so warped and frustrating that things cannot just be done the right way? Lecturers are expected to be good custodians, but why do they have to hurt students in their custody? Why do most of them choose to be sadists? The system in turn churns out students who are out on a vengeance. It is common to hear people saying they will not go through all of that mess for nothing. They will take out their anger on others who they find in subordinate positions. It's a vicious cycle!

A few lecturers I've spoken to say most students are unserious and they do not know why they are in school. Granted, he has a point! Just like there are a few good male and female lecturers in the school system, there are also serious-minded students out there. There's no justification for lobbing all students together as unserious, dishing out collective punishment. If there is an unserious child in your tutelage, approach him/her and take the necessary corrective measures, instead of maltreating everyone.

You hear lecturers telling students they are doomed to failure, without any reasonable point given as to such an eventuality. Students walk about in fear, attend classes in fear, take tests in fear, expect their results in fear. You cannot be confident in your ability because those who should be there to help you are willing to tap into this undue fret and take advantage.

Another reason why some students are scared of standing up in the face of this vice is this nonchalance on the part of lecturers towards their students' needs has been entrenched in the schools for a long time that it is hard to root it out. It is more like the mafia, some lecturers and students alike are known cultists, so it's a standoff. Who makes the first hit and does it right. Students are afraid to voice their concerns and when they do, it is never orderly; no dialog, just downright chaos. You hear of riots and the eventual shut down of schools for MONTHS. The lecturers shouldn't feel threatened or else they threaten your career future, if not life. So the cycle of fear gets passed down from one academic session to the other, from one graduating class to the next.

Fear is still the enemy. These bad lecturers thrive on the pretext that they are untouchables. Their corruption will keep going unchecked and they will keep getting fattened up in the expense of someone else' child. They know they can get away with being someone else's worst nightmare. But the problem is it shouldn't be in a school environment. As long as we are timid to speak up, there will be no way to act against seeing an end to this menace in our society.

When under attack, it is natural to run. But the problem is running away from the problem does not fix it, instead it's going to keep creeping on you, it will keep haunting you until it overtakes you. But when you find yourself cornered with nowhere else to run, and your attacker keeping up behind, unrelenting in his resolve to hurt you, you have to turn and face your attacker to fend him off, until he no longer poses a threat. That is how this issue should be tackled. This problem where lecturers ride roughshod, and feel they cannot be touched. That is so wrong!

I am not scared of anyone. I don't owe my existence to anyone. How many more would bleed, how many more would have to go the same way as Tomi before we say "No more!"? How many female students would have to lose their self-esteem by sleeping with the lecturers before we say "No More!". How many futures will have to be jeopardized and scarred before the people in the right places would be notified so they can take the right, long-lasting action against these injustices? Laide here mentioned that most of these lecturers have blogs so students can submit assignments online (good stuff). At the same time, there's the fear of repercussion for speaking out against any kind of misdemeanors, since the lecturers could find out which student is behind a particular blog and thus blackmail such student (bad stuff).

Nigerian youth are a tough lot. I believe if we want to do something, with the right attitude, it can be done. We are more informed now than our peers back in the late eighties. There is no need to suffer in silence. We are more motivated now because our eyes are open and we know our rights. It is about taking it. There is power in number. With a great majority of students taking up pickets in protest, or taking the necessary measures, things can be done right. We can start somewhere, no matter how small, or as the case may be, how big we accomplish. This is a big issue that has been malignantly extant for a long time now, and it still is a threat if not checked. There is no need pretending like this problem is not there just because you are not currently affected. Sooner or later, you would probably see yourself singing the blues ki'n se epe - (it's not a curse) - well, that is as long as you have a child, nephew, niece, sister, brother, uncle, aunt, mother, father studying/working or intending to do so in either of these shit holes we call our universities. Enough is enough! It is time to bring these guys to book! I'm quasi-part of the system, so I can only work from the outside. Those of you in the schools, there should be people you can talk to, so they'd get the word out and a first line of action can be thought out. If it's a picket protest, I'd be out with my tees, shots and sneakers sweating my butt off with y'all.

Students of UniLag, UI, Great Ife, OSU, Great UI, all Nigerian students out there, others used to be part or still are quasi-part of the system; do you read me?! Hola if you do!

Aluta, continua!