There’s a wave of vengefulness that sets comfortably over the academia that appears to make anyone who is pursuing a degree in Nigerian public universities to dread commenting on matters relating to ASUU-FG imbroglio.
The intolerance among varsity teachers is probably more caustic than the FG’s. This is why students in their overwhelming majority refrain from making comments even though they are the most critical stakeholders.
Now, if learners are so sorely scared about ‘offending’ those who are not only supposed to act in _loco parentis_ where necessary, but as research guides/associates, how then is the nation ever going to produce a body of knowledgeable population that is positively tough enough to lead into the future?
My prescription, on one hand, is that there should be a review of teacher-student relations with a view to consciously ensure mutual respects. Also, a strong mechanism ought to be in place for the prohibition of any form of victimization and vindictiveness that public university students say they face.
This, to my mind, is not farfetched. To achieve this, I believe there are existing well researched models that can be adopted with little to no modifications. Some of these, by the way, are already available in the Confluence State. For instance, Kogi is already setting up a Smart School Initiative, Open Governance Systems etc. where people can have their say in real time.
On the whole, every player in the Nigerian project has a duty to recognize that service comes with the enormous task of listening to stuffs one would rather not hear. This is why I commend the Yahaya Bello administration for his uncanny capacity to stomach the barrage of well-intentioned-but-sometimes-caustic remarks. In the end, it paid off. There lies the glory.
Truth is, no one seems to support ASUU’s refusal to enroll it members on IPPIS. I am actually seeking a credible poll where opinions of Nigerians will be sampled on this matter. I wager that only a few persons would vote in favor of the pressure group.
Nigerians are simply worried that the status quo would only continue to make our universities a hotbed of unabated corruption.
It is time for ASUU to be like Governor Yahaya Bello. It is time it recognizes the centrality of its students in the whole equation.
– Oshaloto Joseph Tade writes from Lokoja.
Written 30th January, 2020 (with slight modification)
