If the Government of Nigeria is Insensitive

If the Government of Nigeria is Insensitive, How intellectual is ASSU?

Baba Shehu Umar Ibn Abubakar

Education in Nigeria has been passing at a cross road. Yet the society is not well prepared to consider both education and the operators of our institution as a National treasure. Currently, neither the primary nor secondary schools produce qualitative product which can be trained in our universities. Although, our universities are also not well positioned to receive those half trained students both from our primary and secondary schools, yet they are the central engine house of training future leaders and prime movers of our country. Therefore, it is the duty of those in authority as well as those who are entrusted to train them to find ways to solve lingering problems.

Supposing someone introduce a discussion, first by creating a virtual Nigerian citizens’ population which are studying in certain country abroad. The hypothetical populations are not what can be found recorded, but to create a sense of reality in the mind of the reader. Supposing a country A is receiving every year, a total of 20,000 students from Nigeria and each student pays about 10,000USD as tuition fee excluding living cost, book allowance, air tickets etc. Income in form of direct foreign investment to this hypothetical country will amount to a whopping sum of 200,000,000USD (at N159=31,800,000,000). This might be an over or under estimation, however data shows that about 3,000 Nigerian students are currently studying in Malaysia alone. One may of course argue that they are paying for training which may not be obtainable in Nigeria. However, each student’s experience in terms of nostalgia of family, serenity of one’s country cannot be substituted with lives in the foreign land. Nonetheless, this is what our country might be loosing given that hypothetical students as well as the country were real. It isn’t worth while to pose a little and think for the benefit of our father land?

Secondly, the discussion will divert from hypothetical students’ population to a virtual Nigerian University, this is just a propositional scenario where a University of 30,000 undergraduate students’ population is funded by the government. This hypothetical University sell application forms for remedial, diploma, degree, postgraduate diploma, masters and doctorate degree programmes. Every session it sells new remedial students’ application forms totalling 6000 at the rate of N3,500 and recording income of N21,000,000 and these are just application fees which are non refundable and at the end only may be 1000 or 1200 students will be admitted. Next the 30,000 continuing students will also pay on average about N12,000 as certain amount defined by the University, not as tuition fee but itemised on different list as; medicals, games, hostels, laboratories etc, amounting to N360,000,000. The amount of forms selling for the postgraduate programmes is also quite amazing. Consequently, every session the hypothetical University generates nearly N700, 000,000.00. This University does not pay its staff nor fund any research or research equipments and has no plans of critical expansion in the areas of crucial needs, however crying for the piper to pay more. Some one listening beside cut in and asked were there any record of how these income were spend? Another person saying neither the lecturers have ever wondered how those internally generated income are spent. The scenario seems the same; neither the government nor the ASSU has ever spoken about those funds which are generated internally in most of the Nigerian Universities.

In the area of struggle to arrest the lingering educational problems in our country, ASSU might be behaving not like the intellectuals. Throughout the history of industrial revolution, strikes are never weapons of the intellectuals but preferential tools of labourers fighting wage increase. Why then ASSU should not understand that Nigerians are ruled by politicians who cannot extract intellectually simple cost benefit analysis while making decisions. They are bunch of educated fools and sitting down to have dialogue with them while they “prefer ignorance as a companion” as Dr. Tide puts it, will be illogical. People who always choose mediocre than good performer and willingly down playing the simple dialogue which will be built base on “say what you want to say and let me say what I want to say”. Consequently understand each other for the benefit of the society at large. Therefore, ASSU is wrong by opting for strike which has devastating effect on the society. Other wise it is difficult believe looking at the calibre of members of the senate, we have in them Prof. Jibril Aminu former Minister, Vice Chancellor, Prof Yaya Abubakar, former Vice Chancellor, current Minister of Education former active member of ASSU and so many of our higher institutions movers within the government and yet they could not contribute to solve the problems. Calling ASSU to call off their strike without concretely reaching a conclusive end is tantamount to further escalating the problems which all Nigerians are aware of.

As for the students, you are completely ungrateful. Sitting just at home looking, without participating on the current struggle in either educating the general public or promoting dialogue between the government and ASSU, and you choosing only to call ASSU to call off their strike. Last time we were having discussion with one newly admitted student in one of the Nigerian University, he said on their first lecture, their lecturer slumps and fell down because of the heat generated by the crowded lecture room, and as a result the lecture was called off. Many developing countries using IT facilities, good laboratories, and many demonstrating models for making teaching and learning simple and effective, while in Nigerian Universities one microscope per 30 students (this is a case where there is a microscope). There are no functional laboratories for research, teaching and learning activities yet the students are so selfish that they cannot go out and stage a peaceful demonstration to compel their parents to solve the problem. If you say ASSU is just asking for wage increase of which it has right to, but the lingering educational problems are more than just salary increase. After all, ASSU’s population is not up to the number of students in the Universities. Therefore, reposition the university system to be conducive, effective and productive learning environment should be a collective responsibility not of ASSU but Nigerians at large.

In many countries, larger societies contribute a lot of money to fund research and development. In Nigeria, simple association such as Alumni is not promoted. How many of our higher institutions graduates who have excel in their different endeavours to come back to their institution and contribute. In the recent ranking Harvard University was rated 100% in terms of alumni contributions. It was only recently to our knowledge that First Bank of Nigeria Plc sponsored funded research programme in University of Maiduguri ,on desertification control in the semi- arid region of the country. How many of our industries, wealthy individuals, professional bodies, interest groups, non-governmental organisations, traditional institutions etc have ever funded or encourage funding research projects. That’s why our industries are never innovative, if they are, may be only cover of their product might be changing. Why should we in Nigeria even lament on power failure, can’t we challenge our institutions, professional bodies with enormous experienced to look for options. If the said 16 billion USD spent by Obasanjo administration were injected into our institutions, many African countries will start seeking educating their children in Nigeria and consequently increase our direct foreign investment. In addition, how many of our tourist institutions fund creative and tourist attractive programme to be carried out by our institutions. In as much as Nigeria and Nigerians will not imbibe a culture of knowledge based society, we will never progress.

Therefore, education development should be the collective responsibility of all. I as much as closing the Universities has devastating effect on our national development, government should have predicted the consequences than to experienced it and for the ASSU they should look at another option than stike next time they struggling for the change up lifting the standard of education. The general public should also look at this problem as national tragedy and participate in bringing total solution to problem by encourage both government and ASSU to come back to the round table and solve this problem once and for all.