Land of paradoxes
We live in a land of paradoxes no doubt, and the more one reminisces about it the more confounded one becomes. Otherwise how can we claim to be fighting an unpopular sect that proclaims that education is evil and find it so difficult to meet the agreed upon demands of those who insist that education is a virtue that must be sustained with the barest of minimum standards in the universities. Fighting the sect believably placed a swoop on the national treasury that the apex bank had to warn of the consequences of such a massive spending on the economy. Unknown to many, the emergency that is prevailing in the universities is far beyond the enormity of the efforts to crush the sect. The only difference perhaps is that the emergency in the universities is devoid of bloodshed, destruction of life and property and does not threaten the corporate existence of Nigeria. Demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities are sufficiently patriotic and modest enough that they were agreed upon by the two parties in the overall interest of students, parents, all stakeholders and the Nigerian State. It is an irony that the demands are yet to be implemented. This is not an isolated case of oxymoron for we produce crude oil and import the finished products even though hundreds of unregistered refineries are believed to be operating sine qua non and littering the landscape in obscurity. Or does it mean we don’t have a functional standards setting organ of government nor professional chemists to be consulted about the quality or otherwise of their products? Who will set the criteria for legalising the operations of low quantity and willing refiners of crude oil? For petroleum engineers will tell you that refining technology is sufficiently very simple and all that it takes is a down-to-earth distillation facility, no more. Or do we need mighty structures as seen in the nation’s refineries or simple a structure, at least as seen on TV of the private refinery recently commissioned in Anambra State by President Jonathan. Then how come we still import refined petroleum products, or are there no incentives for small-holding refiners in order to meet local demand, may be just another paradox. The educational sector is not without it’s own paradoxes as it were, for with the take off of National Open University of Nigeria, there has been a proliferation of private open universities across the country. This shows the quest for Nigerian and foreign resident students to acquire university education through the open system. The paradox is that the names of these private open universities have only been listed as illegal. So, will some of them ever be legalized or Nigeria has not ‘’reached’’ the stage of private open universities as some parts of the country once toyed with the idea of state universities only to fall over themselves in competition later for the project.The infrastructural dilemma of the universities and the ASUU strike itself presents a deluge of contradictions. Many would argue that if the universities are in such a dire comatose state, how come the National Universities Commission (NUC) has been accrediting various courses and giving clean slates of bill while the churning out of graduates continue Don’t ask me whether they are fully baked or half-baked, I don’t know, the graduates themselves know best how they feel. It is very doubtful if any single unit or department in public universities across the country would boast of having a 100% minimum facilities on ground, for there is always one, two or more surmountable challenges that are ‘’wisely’’ ignored. NUC by its mandate would appear indicted for being aloof of the standards in the universities by going ahead to give pass marks ,but this does not by any means show that they are outsiders to the challenge being faced by universities. For the standards they set takes into consideration local realities once the units perform well in other areas and as such promissory assurances are usually given to meet those requirements in the next available opportunity upon availability of funds, in which case the buck finally rests on the table of the Federal Government to meet those demands which ironically ASUU has consistently being reminding the powers-that-be. However NUC is in a better position to explain the criteria and why they accredit when there is a claim of paucity of infrastructure .Graduating students would rather hurriedly leave the system than be caught up in the mesh of industrial imbroglio to improve the system. This has made many employers to aver that our graduates are unemployable, but why? This is a very unfortunate assertion because even the starkest illiterate has his own positive usefulness and employable skills in society. This indelible aspersions cast on products of our own system leaves outsiders with no other option than to castigate them using other criteria beyond the control of these hapless graduates. This is why graduate trainee programs of various corporate and governmental organizations are commendable to put the graduates at the point of needs of these organizations. If the Nigerian graduates are arguably unemployable, it is because the infrastructural facilities ASUU and other stakeholders want to be put in place in the universities are lacking and only theoretical knowledge is imparted. So, why cry wolf when you cannot support the chasing away of the enemy of the chickens by supporting the implementation of ASUU-FGN agreement. Again, many would argue that the industrial attachment undertaken by students while in the university should be sufficient to offer them the requisite employable skills. Unfortunately not all students go on industrial attachment and the few that do face daunting challenges too numerous mention, and with limited coverage of each discipline’s very wide scope given the short time allocated to the program. In Zoology for instance, a student who was exposed to the areas of practical clinical parasitology, animal husbandry or zoological garden while using the tools of these divergent fields during his or her industrial training would only use basic knowledge to confront the needs of an environmental impact assessment team in an oil company should the need arise. Some employers are in fact too parochial in their understanding of some fields of study and would rather assess students based on their own warped understanding of the disciplines and that is why some would believe that theatre arts graduates are nothing more than good dancers and that zoology graduates only work in a zoo, amongst others. Unfortunately these unscrupulous employers hold the ace and refuse to update their knowledge about current trends in some disciplines seeking employment in their organizations.Be that as it may, Nigerian graduates are the ones sustaining and uplifting the public and private sectors of the economy as well as demanding for the downgrading of expatriate quota in some companies to accommodate indigenous graduates. These are not outsiders manning those vital duty posts, so Nigerian graduates remain relevant and employable .This also shows that ASUU members are as well interested about the fate of their students in the labour market when they graduate as any other person or agency monitoring such trends for some of these students return to support various departments and units with funds, books, opportunities and equipments.Unfortunately, most students squeal at the mere suggestion of them returning to becoming lecturers. Some take this as a ‘’curse’’ not as a blessing and would rather you rescind your vituperation on them. To this, it is most thankful that Men of God and their diverse congregations have invested heavily in the formation and sustenance of universities in the country as a positive venture. Needless to say only the hardy ones with the calling to teach return for higher degrees and into lecturing. Herein lies another paradox, for some would rather earn the degrees from the vineyard of the universities than nurture and tend it whether at present or in the future. Such is the fate of the future of Nigerian Universities, that without sufficient reason, ASUU members are labelled as the worst sadists and conservatives mankind has ever unleashed on Nigeria, even though most have progressive tendencies as a calling. By the way, ASUU members are also good and practising Christians, Muslims, and others. Therefore students, parents and all stakeholders should be encouraged to make this little sacrifice of inconvenience for the overall good of the system in the long run and for posterity. Many would argue that ASUU has always pleaded with the students, parents and stakeholders in times of strike only to return to the faceoff not long after. To this it behoves on the FGN to implement all outstanding agreements and to kick-start the process of renegotiation of a modern and e-compliant truss in order to forestall a recurrence of these avoidable strikes. Obviously, when the minimum requirements as has been proposed are on ground, there would be no need for unnecessary strikes. For strikes are truly boring and uncertain and nobody wants it, but sadly it would seem that government understands no language better than it. It is heart warming that student bodies across the country have realized the essence of this aspiration and have lent their credence for an improved system with basic standards of infrastructure and funding which is believably in their overall interest. Nobody wants any strikes, especially this avoidable one which should not be prolonged any further through an act of honour by the FGN.One area which the Federal Government must take an extra step to implement is the issue of research councils whether as national science foundation, national humanities foundation or whichever name it might assume. It is such a vital and crucial aspect of the agreement and no doubt capital-intensive which means the goodwill of President Jonathan must be utilized in this regard for the benefit of the university system. Factors on ground show that our leader holds education dear to his heart, and that may perhaps explain his calling to this profession in the first instance, why policy makers decided to engage him indirectly by locating a varsity in his home town and lately on fundraising to support youths with his local church as the custodians of the fund. Therefore, President Jonathan has sufficient goodwill to launch a national research council to support teaching and research infrastructure in the universities. It is possible to positively harness this goodwill for the benefit of the universities. Similar goodwill projects have been launched in critical sectors by some state governments like Oyo and Lagos who knowing the import of investing in security, launched and attracted donations from individuals and corporate bodies to uplift their security outfits. There is no doubt that if such an initiative is applied to research councils, it would generate a positive response at home and abroad.In conclusion, the government should honourably and positively engage with university lecturers on the agreed upon demands and start a process of renegotiation. Government should also back down on the hard-line approaches being mapped out by its strategists and tread softly on the fate of millions of Nigerians and posterity which the agreement seeks to redress. A half-hearted approach and arm-twisting tactics would not help the system and Nigeria in general at this time. Government’s spiteful reluctance can only make the system worse off for it if resumptions become mandatory. The argument that if you pamper ASUU too much by meeting their demands, other unions will also rise up does not arise because these demands are at most duty-bound and others can articulate theirs based on their job peculiarities. So ASUU members are not pampered in anyway by fulfilling these modest demands. These are not unilateral, outrageous nor unrealistic demands, they were agreed upon by government as the minimum, why the renege? So, what is government’s ‘’minimum’’ for the universities? Or is it the minimum being dictated by parallel interests that what we deserve as a people is no more than a basic education? Therefore, students, parents and other stakeholders must positively prevail on government to act proactively to arrest the decay in this vital sector.
After the ASUU strike
For everything that has a beginning must definitely have an end, for so has providence destined all events. ASUU strike will also come to an end, whether there is a stalemate in negotiations with government or not. Somehow, it will come to an end. For in as much as all stakeholders want the strike to be over at the soonest possible time, none would like to stand the stench of rot in the educational system especially at the cradle of the universities. Therefore the demands of the agreed upon criterion ought to be implemented by the powers-that- be. For the government to come out and proclaim that it cannot implement the demands because it was signed by another regime smacks of one-man show in governance even though deputies proclaim daily on rooftops that they are not mere spare tyres in administrative and bureaucratic affairs .For the avoidance of doubt, it is instructive enough that governance is a continuous process and all decisions reached by previous governments remain morally binding on the succeeding clique. It therefore becomes a moral burden for any regime to hurriedly discard positive people-oriented policies and agreements that were laid down by dint of hard work. If President Jonathan as Vice President when the ASUU agreements were reached can be proclaimed as an outsider to it, then that tells how backward we have gone again and besides how come he has not being equally distanced from other ‘’inherited’’ programs like amnesty and other international agreements that Nigeria is signatory to or is education not a priority?. May be it is one lesson that ASUU would learn after this strike never to enter into long-term agreements with the Federal Government again, but to adopt the approaches of other sectors of government that hold on the neck or jugular for immediate payoffs. Unfortunately, what ASUU seeks is of long-term benefit to the system that will be sustainable which cannot be sacrificed on the altar of do-or-die approaches that abound in the polity. The discountenance only shows that government is not interested in the educational sector and by extension the future of millions of Nigerians and posterity. This is because as the dance steps of the big Egwugwu can be predicted by the guide who is directing it so is the temperament of the President towards ASUU assumed to be readable from the vituperations of the Labour Minister over renegotiating what has already been concluded in 2009 and again rekindled in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in 2012.One then is forced to wonder the kind of ethical values that the fellows we have in government practise, to wit reaching an agreement with unions only to reject it later as a nullity. Therefore President Jonathan must not allow absolutism and impunity to be his watchword in engaging the union to uplift the universities and educational sector in general from the present quagmire. We are dealing with the future of Nigerians and no foreign government or international agency will accept to shoulder that responsibility on our behalf, only our own government has the moral responsibility to do so.Be that as it may, what does stakeholders in the universities and educational sector in general expect after the ASUU strike? To start with, there is the viable postulation that universities should be shut for at least two- three years to fix the problems as was the case in Ghana when they had similar challenges which they surmounted proactively to become a destination point for Nigerian students, with a price of close to a hundred billion naira annually in tuition alone, subsistence and other costs not included. Not many stakeholders will be favourably disposed to this idea even if it is a year off the campus, especially the parents and their wards, some of whom already have spent an extra semester or year as well as the cost involved and boredom while waiting. Again, the factor of expediency is there and the pride of Nigeria not to copy from other ‘’mere’’ African countries. For instance at a time when Ghana had completely mopped up its bogus currency through revaluation and minting of lesser denominations, Nigerians were served with an excessive note of a bill of 5000 naira by the apex bank, nobody cared to ask why the Ghanaians were recently on the reverse gear while we were busy attempting to engage a near triple forward gear in the same direction. Despite a peer review mechanism in place on the continent we prefer to selectively look up to western countries for our standards. Unfortunately, government too has a penchant for suffocating local ideas, innovations and institutions through unpopular and contradictory policies, otherwise how can one explain for instance, low production levels of our refineries. We still import refined petroleum products and illegal refineries are uncovered almost every day. Can’t government set up a petroleum refining commission in the oil sector to set modalities and standards for private ownership of refineries and regulate it. Local refineries are acclaimed to be producing at 70% capacity, perhaps privately owned refineries will make up the remaining 30% when the necessary framework is there to bring them on board and hopefully boost the elusive exports to other countries. May be we are waiting for another South African team to come on board to teach us some of the game as they did in the telecoms sector before we will wake up to the challenge of small-holding private refineries. I am sure some universities baring any restrictions would source there internally generated revenues (IGR) from refining crude oil on a small-holding basis using the skills of its faculty members. So, if pundits are of the opinion that public universities have lost the ability to generate some of their funds, diverse avenues exist, but for restrictions. However our issue of the moment is a revitalised and reinvigorated university system as a responsibility of the government.At the end of this ASUU strike also, stakeholders must expect the Federal Government to have put in place a new salary structure for academics in Nigerian public universities as well as a set of earned allowances that would continue to retain the best brains and possibly attract foreign scholars to our universities. It has always been argued that all that the strike is about is for salary increase. This is far from it, and would not deter any reasonable thinker to root for a good remuneration for the academics. Even academics from Africa shun our system and this is disheartening, for it should be a place where even some of our serving ministers should be proud to return to after their national assignments. Instead what you have is brain drain as can be seen in Dr Pate formerly as Minister of State for Health returning as a US-based professor instead of a Nigerian-based professor simply because the comparable opportunities are simply not here to come by. Similarly, Dr Iweala would have returned to the US but for high-powered interests controlling the World Bank. Who is deceiving who? Everybody wants greener pastures and what ASUU is asking for is the barest minimum.Even smaller countries like Gambia have research councils just like the UK that has many universities. Similarly, federally-funded research foundations are there in the US and other countries. To add salt to injury, these foreign research councils and foundations often throw open some of their opportunities in order to mop up our best that are remaining, but it’s a free world and a global village at that, while others restrict most of their opportunities to their own nationals .Who can blame them for trying to develop their own countries in the best way that is suited to them before passing the ‘’crumbs to the dogs’’. Rarely, when eventually they give you the opportunity as a foreign national, they decide the kind of research they want for you to do that is usually within their own borders, so why can’t we have our own federally-funded research councils or foundation in order to have our own voice about the type of research that we want to do on our shores. We need this institution to stimulate research and infrastructure especially in the laboratories in our public universities. Additionally, government should encourage companies operating in Nigeria to set up research and development units in collaboration with universities. Such units are not ASUU-centred but an avenue for student-based opportunities such as industrial training attachment, internship and house job. These are amongst other issues in the agreement with ASUU.Increased funding to universities and education in general is most vital to the agreement and the minimum benchmark used is 26% of budgetary allocation as recommended by UNESCO. Ghana’s allocation to education is 31% and it is not without results as our students troop in there year-in, year-out, while ours is a paltry 8.5%, not even up to 50% of the UNESCO benchmark. This is not encouraging and is putting the public universities in dire financial and infrastructural straits. This affects all facets of academic life, for instance, most laboratory equipment manufacturers do not have factories, regional offices nor after sales service nor technicians in the country simply because the funding of the sector is not convincing enough to warrant their taking the business risk to invest here. They say the sector is a desert. As a result some hardy departments and researchers that managed to import sophisticated equipment often run into the troubled waters of maintaining the facility, spare parts and even steady electricity supply. Local contractors supplying these equipments most often do not have the expertise to service these equipments nor do the departments with paucity of funds capable of training staff in these new technologies abroad. In the US, Defence and Educational contractors are major drivers in the innovation of these sectors due largely to adequate funding which they also stimulate through new ideas and technologies. Unfortunately, our local contractors in the educational sector are yet to have a vibrant human capital development approach or maybe the policy makers are too downbeat to come to terms with the reality to uplift the sector. We must aspire to be the best that can be found anywhere in the world, after all our own scholars are also excelling in those developed places. These are things that should engage for instance ,the young mind of the minister of state for education, rather all that one gets to hear seems he is easily distracted by state politics while serving out at the federal level or better still he is most fit for the Justice Ministry where his professional acumen lies. Educational ministerial port folios should be reserved for a senior and junior-middle level career educationist as is the case in the health ministry and not just for all comers; education is a very serious business.Expectedly, a Nigerian Universities Pension Management Company (NUPEMCO) should be in place at the end of the strike. Pension matters are very serious affairs about the future of people who have selflessly served their fatherland in order to have an assured financial security during the retirement years. The seriousness that is attached to pension issues have been asserted by the National Assembly in seeking for pensions for its principal officers even though some of them already have well secured pensions in public service before becoming lawmakers without any provision to pass their existing ones to charity. Indeed, pension is a lifeline which cannot be toyed with.In conclusion, after the ASUU strike, it is expected that government would have fully implemented the 2009 agreement it reached with the union for the benefit of the universities. Obviously, state universities would have been supported through federal grants, funding requirements met, contentious landed property transfer to universities resolved, issue of retirement age of professors at 70 and university autonomy laid to rest, governing councils of the new universities put in place and budget monitoring committee (BMC) which shall monitor the effective use of these funds in each university put in place. Government should act honourably by implementing the agreement without further delay in order to forestall the wastage of time and resources of stakeholders in the universities and educational sector in general which the current strike portends. ASUU agreement with government is not an intellectual nemesis to the authorities as the members have continued to articulate their views on the impasse and engaged the leaders at any available and given opportunity. It remains to be seen how positively government will respond to the demands earlier agreed upon by both parties.
ASUU and Oliver Twist?
Recently, the Federal Government released N130 Billion to fund the infrastructural challenge and contribute to the earned allowances with a directive to ASUU to go back to the classroom. While this is a demonstrated commitment to uplifting the system, analysts in ASUU and without are of the opinion that this amount is grossly inadequate to stem the rot in the varsities. For one, where will the individual universities source for funds to augment the shortfall in the amount released for earned allowances? The result is that ASUU is adamant on continuing the strike until all outstanding issues in the 2009 agreements are implemented. The immediate question on the lips of other stakeholders is that: Is ASUU again playing Oliver Twist by asking for more? This is far from it as the level of rot in the universities had earlier been assessed by the individual members of the union with projections into the future that would have been accommodated by the FG-ASUU 2009 agreement in contention. ASUU is not unappreciative as most members appreciate the efforts of Benue State Governor in accepting to serve on the government team despite his tight schedule. However, he who wears the shoe knows best where it pinches most whenever a nail is stuck in there, which makes ASUU members to be in a better position as whistleblowers of the challenge in the universities. ASUU is therefore not the greedy child that wants more than its fair share of human and infrastructural development for the university system. Suffice it to say that the issues had been painstakingly agreed upon over a three year period and penned down in a bilateral accord with government for the good of the educational system. The inadequacy of the funds made available recently by government for 61 universities to share the 100 billion made ASUU to plan to opt out of further negotiation with government which it alleged was unserious about the plight of the universities .Not long ago, the Senate Committee on FCT turned down requests to upgrade the residence of the Vice President with about 9 billion from 7 billion naira, whatever the figure, if such whooping amount of 7 billion can be expended on one house with facilities, it means the money is there and 1.639 billion per university or thereabout is grossly inadequate and could well mean that ASUU is not unaware of such similar exorbitant expenditures. While urging ASUU to keep their negotiating doors open for government on how best to implement the 2009 agreement, the members must be encouraged to remain steadfast on their patriotic mission for insisting on better funding for the universities. Other stakeholders especially students and parents must be sensitized and updated on the developments in improving the universities.The threat by the government to apply no-work-no pay rule is to say the least abhorring, outdated and inhuman. This is because it will indirectly punish family members and dependants of ASUU members who are expected to in turn mount pressure on their ASUU principals to return to the classroom for an assured regularity in income.
Impressum
Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
Texte: Emmanuel Tyokumbur
Bildmaterialien: Emmanuel Tyokumbur
Lektorat: Emmanuel Tyokumbur
Übersetzung: Emmanuel Tyokumbur
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 23.09.2015
ISBN: 978-3-7396-1526-4
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Widmung:
The book ''Countrywide'' was inspired by the need to aggregate essays and articles written on topical issues in education, health, economy, population, science communication and electoral umpiring with the aim of improving human and social welfare. It is recommended for everyone to read it. This book is a very useful guide and tool to improve the welfare of many.