DENNIS OGU
That our professors and academics are regularly on the street protesting over unpaid entitlements and agreements not met by the government of the day is enough to worry every right-thinking Nigerian and the government.
Is it not a sign that the wheel of development in Nigeria is now making a retrogressive movement? Education is the bedrock of development in every society. Our government officials are rather busy arguing whether ASUU’s claim that they reached an agreement with the government is true or not. Is it not the same agreement that late former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government acknowledged but failed to implement?
Come to think of it, aren’t these agreements documented? There is no agreement without signatories to it. What exactly is it that the government officials are trying to tell us? That our university dons will just come out and be making empty claims? Are we still in the stone age?
What exactly is the plan of this government on education? Every day, what we see are lofty promises that are never fulfilled or denial of the ones already made or agreements reached.
To what level is this government taking our education sector? We have not even recovered from the eight months strike that Buhari’s government dragged our universities through because of its total disregard to education.
Now Tinubu’s government is claiming that they don’t know anything about the agreement ASUU is talking about, and another strike is looming. Even SSANU and NASU are threatening to also go on strike. Is this the hope this government is giving our teeming youths whose education should be its priority? Yet the mantra of Renewed Hope is hitting everybody’s ears.
As if it is only our tertiary institutions that are battling with neglect. A visit to our primary and secondary schools across the nation will definitely flood one’s eyes with tears unless the person does not understand the importance of education or does not care. What is left in what were once known as government primary and secondary schools today are dilapidated buildings which have turned hideouts for criminals and den for dangerous animals. Some have even turned to ghost lands. Any facelift seen in some of them today comes from the efforts of Old Boys and Old Girls associations of the the concerned schools. What is the future of education in Nigeria?
It is a universal maxim that “no country develops above its standard of education.” And Nigeria is currently ranked among the poorest countries in the world, yet our government officials don’t budge. Some economists have even used the phrase “multidimensional poverty” to describe Nigeria’s situation, and our government officials are happily discussing next election when no significant thing has been done about the development of the country. Does it mean that the efforts of our heroes past, like Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr Michael Okpara, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and others who went as far as giving free education to the citizens within their respective constituencies, which most of the people in government today benefited from, was an effort in futility? Men whose policies on education and other sectors produced world-class intellectuals and academics from Nigeria. Is this how this government and its officials will appreciate their efforts? By neglecting the education sector and engaging in mindless politicking?
Just a few days ago, one intelligent girl known as Nafisa Abdullahi Aminu a Nigerian student from Yobe State who took the first position in an international contest on English Language received a reward from the federal government that made mockery of the victory that she came home with. A paltry N200, 000! Not even a scholarship for having achieved such feat? A kind of reward that makes her winning and global recognition look unimportant, and her efforts appear useless. In spite of all the praises that Dr Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, showered on her , the amount they gave her as a reward is a true reflection of the value this government places on education considering the economic realities in the country today and the amount they spend on less important things. How many textbooks will it afford her? Can it afford her accommodation or even tuition fee? How can this encourage other young people to engage in intellectual competitions in the near future? Will it even encourage them to study at all?
This equally reminds us of what JAMB did to Nigerian children in the last examination they conducted. The whole of South East region and major part of Lagos recorded massive failures, yet the only explanation that the registrar could offer was “a glitch”, which he came up with only after the candidates and their parents had raised alarm. Only a belated apologies! And afterwards, they had to stress the children to come back to retake the exams instead of correcting it from the system.
It is now clear that whatever happens in Nigeria is blamed on “glitch”. And on the part of the federal government, there has been nothing to show that the whole thing that happened affected Nigerian children or that at least it happened in Nigeria in the first place. There was no effort to investigate it in order to forestall similar occurrences. Everything has been taken as normal. When will we ever be serious in this country? Does our government even care about funding the research of our university scholars and other researchers and educationists?
This is what government of other countries that care about their growth and educational development do. Most Nigerian scholars who have made their marks in research in recent times have had their researches funded outside Nigeria, yet we have government in Nigeria.
The tortoise asked his children how many times something will happen to them before they become wise. How many years will it take Nigeria to sit up? How long will we remain at the third-world level before we wake up? How long will we be treated with levity at the comity of nations before we rise to build a nation we all will be proud of? How long do we want to keep answering underdeveloped before we do something about our education?
