MAPoly
Nigeria Limited
By
Kola Ibrahim
When the Ogun State Polytechnic was renamed after
the philantrophist, the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993
presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola, not a few thought that the
polytechnic will manifest people's yearnings for better educational
system that is accessible to all upon which they massively voted the
late politicians, but the body movement of the Ogun State government and
the authorities of the polytechnic have thrown to the Atlantic ocean any
illusion that the polytechnic was established for the commoners in the
society.
According to the Vanguard newspapers of 15 January,
2008 "new intakes into the
Moshood Abiola
Polytechnic, Abeokuta, (MAPOLY) for the 2007/2008 academic session are
refusing to take up their offer of admission as new students are to pay
as much as N80, 000 for an Ordinary Diploma course. The Ogun State
Government-owned polytechnic in recently announcing newly approved
school fees said that acceptance fee alone would be N20,500 which is
non-refundable." This perhaps state it all. Note, it is not as if
the students are not admitted but they could not process the admission
because of the madness in governance in this country. This means that
the students will either go to roam the street for the next one year or
forget about education completely! In a country where over seventy
percent of the population are languishing in abject poverty, where
workers are paid less than N11, 000 minimum wage, where thousands of
pensioners are unpaid their poverty pension (save for the grandstanding
of the Yar'Adua government on military pension to the already rich few
like the senate president), where petty traders can hardly meet their
daily needs; such increment is nothing short of brazen wickedness and
criminal cum gross misgovernance. In a country where less than ten
percent of the tertiary institution aged youth are in schools, such
increment is nothing but an expression of irresponsibility within the
capitalist polity of
Nigeria. Charging over N20, 000 for "acceptance" fee in a country
where government ought to be giving bursary to students and parents as
incentive to encourage them to school shows high level of
irresponsibility in governance. Nigerian (and definitely Ogun State) is
one of the countries (or state) where there is the least enrolment in
schools all over the world.
Ogun State is one of the few state in the south
west that get huge billions as monthly revenue from the crude oil money,
yet the state government could not fund the schools to standards. This
has given opportunity to tertiary institutions' authorities to mismanage
the meagre resources of their respective schools while blaming the
problem on under funding by students and their poor parents. It should
also be stated that aside the fact that fees are increased, as a result
of the under funding, many of the schools are grossly lacking in basic
facilities like laboratory, hostel facilities, enough classrooms, etc.
all of which has made nonsense out of public tertiary education. The
most ridiculous aspect of it all is that as more fees are charged so the
facilities are degraded and the education value reduced. This goes to
show that the no amount of fees charged can solve a single of the
problems facing education in the country, it will only deprive tens of
millions of youth basic education.
What is happening in Mapoly is not different from
what is happening in other tertiary institutions in Ogun State. For
instance, students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) were asked some
few weeks ago to prepare for a new regime of cut-throat, obnoxious fees
ranging from about N70, 000 to around N200, 000, yet the university
lacks basic amenities like hostel and teaching facilities. The basic
argument of the university managment was that the university is grossly
under funded by the state government. Also, students of Tai Solarin
University of Education are being asked to pay up to N50, 000 as fees in
a school that is lacking in basic facilities for even a college of
education. The attacks on education in Ogun State are not limited to
tertiary education alone. For instance, just recently, thousands of poor
teachers were redeployed to far-away schools where there are no
facilities such as potable water, accomodation, transport system,
communication, etc for survival, yet the teachers are barely paid their
poverty salaries as and when due. But it should be recalled that last
year, the state government claimed to have budgeted 26 percent of the
budget to education, yet it could hardly fund the schools. The reality
is that the funds budgeted are only conduit pipes for looting the state
resources. It is funny that the NANS JCC Ogun State that praised the
Ogun State government to high heavens (after their hands have being
oiled) then has not commented on the recent attacks on basic right of
students to free, functional education.
What is happening in Mapoly and OOU is not strange,
it is a reflection of the obnoxious, capitalist neoliberal ideology
which prioritises the interests of the already rich fews in the society
at the expense of the toiling millions such that the resources of the
country rather than being used for the poeple are being looted by the
ruling cabal and their business colleagues. Already, the Yar'Adua's
government in collaboration with state government has resolved to
commercialise education and hike fees in our schools. From UniOsun to
Lautech to FUTO to Unilag to UI to ABU, fees are bieng increased. Yet,
the resources of the country (running to hundreds of billions of
dollars, aside the mineral and human resources) if judiciously used
could fund free, functional and qualitative education at all levels
without hindrance. Just recently,
the Plateau State government, in an action that smack off high level of
irresponsibility, closed down a just established Plateau State
University on a flimsy excuse that the government cannot fund it, yet
the same government award millions of salaries to public officers
monthly. Just recently, the university received over N900 million from
the Dariye loot while billions are being given to the state as excess
crude oil fund aside the monthly revenue, yet the state government
claim it could not fund the school. This action has dislocated the lives
of hundreds of students who do not know what next to do. this is after
over N80, 000 has been extorted from them as fees in just three
months of resumption! This show the gross lack of focus by our
politicians in power. If
Nigeria can put
over $50 billion in foreign account and the nation's economy didnot
collapse, funding free education cannot be a probelm for the country. A
genuine government that want to develop a nation must know that
providing access to millions of youth in the educational system is sine
qua non to development. But, it is unfortunate that Yar'Adua's budget
for debt payment is more than the combined budget for education (less
than 13 percent) and health while
UNESCO recommend 26
percent for developing economies. Even, the billions being budgeted for
national and state assembly members, federal and state officials running
into billions of naira can provide some facilities in our schools but
the government of th day under the tutelage of IMF/ World Bank will
never do this.
The sell outs and treacherous elements under the
guise of NANS are prepared not to see or hear any evil. Not a single
statement, or press conference (not to menion organising mass action)
has been issued or organised respectively by the NANS Zone D (south
west). however, the recent activities, especially the press campaign of
the MAPOLY students is commendable. it is also neccesary to build mass
movement that will oppose this policy on the campus, if the management
and the government continu on this ruinous path. Nigerian students, the
genuine students' organizations and activists must organise a genuine
platform, in conjunction with labour movement, to resist these onslaught
on education. Genuine students' activists must join other students in
affected campuses to fight against the attack on education. If we allow
this in one school it will spread like wild fire to other schools. For
us in ERC, we shall not hesitate to join force with such organization.
Free education is a right and not privilege.
Kola Ibrahim
Education Rights Campaign (ERC)
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife
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