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Obafemi Awolowo University At Forty-Five: What Form Of Celebration? By Kola Ibrahim
Fews days ago, the authorities of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife rolled out its drum to "celebrate" the forty-fifth (45th) anniversary of the university via a press parley in Osogbo. Unfortunately, many of the press men failed, either out of commission or ommission, to state the basic things that the university is hinging the celebration upon. At least in this era of the so-called "due process", a university management like that from a foremost institution like OAU must not be found wanting in the use of fund for any purpose whatsoever even if the originator of the due process itself cannot justify its ill-gotten votes, billions being budgeted for defence "and Niger Delta" and the adoption of the neo-liberal IMF-inspired policies of commercialization and privatization that has pauperized the teeming millions in the past two decades.
In actual fact, OAU has a rich history of achievements even in the face of brutal military regimes: sound academic standards and products, good architectural landscape second to none in Nigeria, strong passion for sport and most vital is the rich culture of radical unionism - both workers and students - gone are the days of the Ife Collectives and strong pan-Nigerian students' leadership coming from the university. But, these are histories not associated with the present mediocrity going on in the university thanks to the unfocused and anti-intellectualism, neo-liberal oriented university managements that has run and ruin the university for almost two decades; and the successive anti-poor Nigerian governments - from military to the current civilian set. The University has witnessed continuous attacks on independent unionism with about five sets of union activists of different generations being victimized and most times detained in prison. Currently, fourteen union leaders are under illegal and unjustified rustication for participating in students' unionism which the university management claimed to have banned while three union leaders are languishing in detention for the past three to one month for the same reason. Within five years, school fees have been hiked by more than 2, 500 percent and yet the living standards of students continue to degenerate.
That the university will be resorting to clamp-down on students' unionism also reflect the growing crisis in the university which are manifesting through debilitating living conditions of students and lack of democracy in the administration of the university. For instance, in the past five years, students protested more than twenty five times for better living conditions such as potable water, constant electricity, better sanitary system, release of examination results, review of mass failure,(and even to the extent of protesting for cutting of over-grown lawns!), etc; all of which are rudimentary function of a serious administration. In February, students had to protest for, after all peaceful entreaties failed, a statutory lecture free week which the university management refused and which subsequently led to the clampdown on students' unionism vis-à-vis illegal and undemocratic ban on students' unionism, suspension of fourteen union leaders and detention of three union leaders.
in terms of academic standards, it will be enough to ask: whither OAU? In the outgoing semester, part one science-oriented students (running to over two thousands) complained that most of them did not have access to the microscope that could allow them to observe and draw over two hundred specimen given for Botany 102 because there was only one and half microscope for them therefore they had to result to dubbing. Also, in Chemistry 105 (a practical chemistry course), most of students used the same water that was meant for rinsing hands as distilled water because there was no distilled water aside the fact that there was chronic insufficiency of litmus papers, reagents, etc. for less than forty percent of students, yet, all of them are expected to carry out the practical in two hours. For other students, the monster of overcrowded Ajose, Auditorium, Health Sciences and Biological Sciences Lecture theaters continue to haunt them while mounting practicals, assignments, etc which students hardly understand as a result of lack of care to how students learn by the management. All this has led to mass failure running to seventy percent of the students' population in the last examination generating another round of students-management face-off.
In terms of research, it is easier to just conclude that the university, like others in the country, is living in the sixteen century European culture as most lecturers do not have access to grants or working laboratory while the little research being carried out could be referred to as sheer improvisation of the traditional and archaic means of subsistence. For instance, a department was busy investigating how to use the traditional sponge to purify water in an age where advanced and handy equipment are on hand to purify water to the highest standard. How can any university compete in this way internationally? And it is not as if the lecturers are not ready to research, but lack of facilities has turned their aspirations to frustration and improvisation for living. It is rather unfortunate that some lecturers, mostly the well-to-do ones continue to justify the criminal neglect of the ivory towers. The achievement being announced by OAU management in terms of the university students attending entrepreneurship competition in Europe is similar to a teaching hospital that claimed to have separated Siamese twins while it continue to turn out tens of dead bodies daily as a result of lack of enough medical personnel, adequate drugs and simple equipments. What has entrepreneurship got to do with standard of education? A visit to Aba, Ajegunle or KAduna will reveal millions of talents being wasted due to poverty.
The basic source of the rotten state of the university, which in essence is similar to and even better than what is obtainable in several other campuses in Nigeria, is the anti-poor government of Nigeria which has continued to introduce terrible policies of education commercialization and privatization and cut in social spending while it continues to enrich the rich few through privatization, favourable pro-rich tax system, looting, political favouritism, etc. Is it not funny that while the Yar'Adua government claimed to be committed to education by budgeting just thirteen percent of budget to education (as against 26 percent prescribed by UNESCO for a country that wants to get out of underdevelopment), the same government resolved in a meeting with university administrators to hike fees across campuses. What then will the 13 percent being budgeted for education will be used for because if the burden of running education is still going to be put on students and their parent through hiked fees then the government itself must have concluded that education budget is either insufficient or going to be misused ot both. This will definitely generate crises in many campuses and government will need iron-fist management that will be able to clampdown on students' unionism. This is found in the current OAU management, thus the criminal silence of the Yar'Adua government on brazen abuse of students' rights despite the rhetoric on rule of law.
The OAU management has also planned to end the "celebration with convocation ceremony" by middle of December, but we ask who the management wants to graduate when the final year students have neither finished their lectures and projects talk much less of ending the examination by this time. It is either the management wants to graduate students without final year results or it will rush the examinations on the students thus engendering mass failure for them and ruining their joys in exchange for celebration. It is clear that the university management only wants to create the facade of peace and smooth calendar in the university after generating the current crisis in the university. The fact remains that the university has nothing to celebrate because the administration in collusion with the Nigerian government has killed the joys of Nigerian students. Only social and political justice through massive funding of education by at least 26 percent, and democratic running of education sector including the ivory towers (through involvement of staff and students' unions) that can guarantee peace in our ivory towers. But can the capitalist government in place now that is committed to making the rich few richer at public expense do this? In OAU, justice for students' activists now under attack is the first task of justifying essence of celebration.
Kola Ibrahim Student Activist from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife
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