Have Nigerian academics lost it? -By ’Tunji Ajibade

Public institutions in Nigeria have lost it to the extent that once rot starts in them, they are unable to reverse it. They are too lame to do a thing about it. The police are one example, as recent events show. The public universities are another. Yet academics are supposed to be beacons, symbol of hope, the guiding light. It’s what they are in most climes where they’ve made significant contributions to the development of their nations. From among them ideas, innovations and breakthroughs have emerged that have helped nations. Is this what academics here are to Nigeria?

My focus here isn’t to castigate Nigeria’s academics, rather it’s to look at some of the negatives that emanate from their citadels and state that we cannot afford to continue on the same path. Some of the things we see at the moment don’t make the academics themselves look good (and they should be the first to want to strive to follow a better path), just as they’re not in the best interest of the nation. There’s got to be a turnaround.  Many readers know better than I do regarding strange things that continue to be attributed to our academics and the environment in which they operate from. It may be argued that whatever may be happening in the academic environment is a reflection of what happens in the larger society. But I don’t think any parent argues that because the society is bad he has given up on teaching his children regarding the right path to follow. No parents give up on the task of raising children that they will be proud of.  How many Nigerians are proud of the current state of our citadel of learning?

We may also ask: Is a degenerated society an excuse for condoning what is wrong in a profession and environment that should ever remain proud of its position in the society, in the same manner lawyers say they’re a unique specie? So many things have gone overboard in the university system to the embarrassment of some, a reason I think some among the nation’s academics say they’re forming a breakaway association which they called Congress of University Academics. The members held a meeting with the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige, the other day. They said they wanted the government to give them recognition as an association representing academics in Nigerian universities.

The fact that the Congress is formed calls attention to the state of the existing arrangement. The first thing that occurs to me about this new body is that there are academics who feel things could be done better; it feels the present umbrella body for academics in Nigerian universities has for too long either turned its back on anomalies, pretending they don’t happen, or it is complicit. I’m in agreement with any of these scenarios. Why? In the past, the point was made on this page that it is when Nigerian academics want to receive from the government they form a common front. When it has to do with taking firm stance to turn around some negative developments among themselves in the university environment they aren’t keen. In fact, a majority uses the strength to ensure that, no one who wants to check excesses that shouldn’t be found in academic environments, is allowed to get to where they can push changes through.

This now happens in every setting in our nation, in what I would refer to as oppression by the majority. Those who want what is wrong and inimical to the larger interest to continue are in the majority. People who want a turnaround are few. I’ve heard enough from people in the academic environment to make this assertion without any equivocation. As a matter of fact, the way to become the head of any major association isn’t by saying you want to check excesses, it’s by pretending the excesses aren’t there and you wouldn’t even go there. In fact, you campaign for a post on the platform of curbing excesses within the academic system, and you’ve lost before you start. Yet strong voice from within, against negative trends that have crept into the academic environment in Nigeria, is what our universities need at the moment. Academics themselves are the ones who understand the intricacies, the gimmicks used to circumvent the system, and they are in the best position to ensure such are curbed. Does the new Congress represent this thinking, a reason they might want to support the government in its bid to curb what it sees as corrupt tendencies in the area of payments to academics? If they are, then they deserve the support of those of us who would like to see that academic environment is rid of some of the strange stories we hear.

Few days ago, someone was telling me of his experiences with regard to one of our more prominent universities. Once the name of this university was mentioned, the person said its entire admission system was cash and carry. Another person talked about the staff in the Admission Office of another university offering position to applicants, calling on phone to ask for the payment of 150k as discussed. On TV the day Congress members met with the minister, a Nigerian complained that academics wanted to have a payment portal that would ensure that one lecturer was on the payroll of sometimes more than three universities, thus keeping qualified Nigerians from entering the system.

The recruitment process into the system is shocking. The head of a department was saying higher authorities regularly sent people to his department who were misfits. He complained to those who sent these guys and he was told, “Take him to the class and show him how to go about it; he’ll learn.” There was also that occasion when the lady fronting for a new private university said 200k had to be paid by anyone seeking to submit their application for the post of lecturer in the university. This lady added that she wouldn’t advise anyone to submit their application if they didn’t pay the money demanded. These stated patterns and many more are prevalent in some university settings, a reason I once stated here that there were some universities so notorious for dishonest practices that I would be embarrassed to collect their certificate and present it anywhere. Dishonourable practices are destructive, they’re rampant, but nothing concrete seems to be done by the academics themselves to stop it. Meanwhile, they’re best placed to stop it. They’re the ones who should be eager to protect the integrity of the certificates they award, the ones to ensure they gain the respect of the society, the nation, and the international community for the excellence they represent. Yet, some among them continue to desecrate those hallowed ivory towers while others keep silent. Does Congress of University Academics stand as a new face prepared to deal with the rot, standing with the  government that wants to tackle deplorable practices in its effort targeted at sanitizing the payroll system? If this is what the Congress stands for, it has my applause.

It’s baffling that a profession and its reputation are being dragged into the mud and academics themselves aren’t at the forefront of combating the trend. Nevertheless, we know there’re fantastic people in this profession who continue to abide by what is in the best of tradition as far as academics are concerned. I know because I passed through the hands of such respectable gentlemen and ladies in three different universities. Where they’re concerned, I don’t see academics as anything else but the best role models that they should be. These are dedicated people who proudly boast about the integrity of the certificates they offer. With such people it’s hard to imagine that the case is lost. But the same confidence doesn’t apply in every Nigerian university. The concern here is that where malpractices have set in, they fester faster than any attempt to curb them. In the event, the excellence which the ivory tower stands for suffers; Nigeria doesn’t benefit as do nations where academic excellence remains uncompromised. Honourable academics should jealously guard the territory that belongs to them against unscrupulous elements.  Is the Congress keen to do anything about this, or is it just another face of the same?

’Tunji Ajibade;   tunjioa@yahoo.com;  08036683657