ASUU defied the court order to go back to work. I must admit that ASUU has no equal whenever it comes to fearlessly facing the government with its demands. If they give in now it could mean that the long strike was for nothing and the worse part is that they would lose their six months pay. On the other hand, the government may be thinking that if they pay ASUU members now for the period of the strike they may be laying a foundation for future strikes as well. The arguments on both sides are plausible but then the loss encountered so far is unqualifiable. Now that is not what scares me the most. What scares me the most is when I look at the future of Nigerian universities vis-a-vis the dwindling resources of the country. I regret to say this, but as long as Nigeria continues to fund universities and as long as they keep establishing new universities to score political goals then we must expect more ASUU strikes in future.
Some of us only got to hear stories of Nigerian universities in the 60s and 70s, where expatriates abound and the standards were comparable to reputable universities around the globe. Those were times when graduates would secure jobs upon graduation. If one attempts to compare stories of the past with current realities now, one would think the people of old were simply telling tall tales. ABU Zaria for example, in her heydays, enjoyed funding from all northern states of the federation following the abolition of regional governments by Gen. Yakubu Gowon. Now there are 19 states in the north and each state has at least 1 federal university and 1 state university. We are still talking about the same country with finite resources which hardly creates means of generating income. The 2023 budget runs a deficit of about 11 trillion naira and we are almost out of our borrowing capacity. Is anyone looking at our children in the future?
I guess with the establishment of more universities, the goal has tacitly shifted from impacting the society to awarding certificates. Perhaps that's why the quality of a graduate with a second-class (lower division) in the past might just be the same with that of a graduate with a second-class (upper division) in the present, if not a first-class. Why then will someone in his senses declare that his receptionist has a better degree than someone who had obtained his in 1984? Yes, I am talking about Reno O'mockery's mocking of Peter Obi's certificate bachelor degree certificate. Any sane person must understand that one's class of degree is not a function of one's current output else President Buhari would have been enjoying the counsel of one of his daughters who bagged a first-class degree in the UK. Most recently, his daughter-in-law graduated with a first-class degree in architecture. Aisha Buhari had the courage to share the graduation photos on social media while her husband had been unable resolve the lingering crisis between his government and Nigerian universities.
I think having a first-class degree is not as important as having wisdom. One may be as brilliant as Dr. Shehu Mahdi and still lack the wisdom to understand that Peter Obi's interest is not Biafra. Now that we are on the verge of another round of election, Mahdi chose to remind northern Christians and the Muslims that they are one. I can't remember hearing that voice of his when a young girl was murdered in Sokoto earlier in the year. For the avoidance of doubt, Mahdi is right, northern Christians and Muslims should be one just like all Nigerians should be one. I am sure by now Mahdi has had sufficient rejoinders to rewire his thinking about the southerner being the enemy of the northerner. Last time I checked, BH and the bandits were all not from the south.
It is evident that Mahdi was just a mouthpiece for the so-called "unifier", Atiku Abubakar, yet he has succeeded in tearing Nigeria further apart with his inciting comments. While damage controllers are trying to patch Mahdi's mess up, another tearing occured with some party chieftains withdrawing their support for Atiku and pitching their tents with Wike. One of such is people Jonah Jang. Wike and his camp have insisted that Ayu must forfeit the Chairmanship of the PDP. Apparently, this didn't go down well with party stalwarts in Plateau State who declared, "We stand by the National Chairman and our Presidential candidate. Sen Jang is not the face of the party in the state. He is not our spokesman and he cannot decide for us.” From Jang's camp of the PDP, Ayu/Atiku's loyalists were addressed as an “unknown” group, saying Jang’s decision to pull out of Atiku’s campaign team was right, and he did that in the interest of justice, equity and fairness. My w own na to dey look o! I hope this internal fracas opens doors for some people sha.
Last Sunday was for John Lyon, the prayer warrior by day and kidnapper by night. He just confirmed that once again, all that glitters is not gold. If all the people who show off their wealth on social media display their sources of wealth, especially the young girls, many people will just be content with what they have. John Lyon was just an example.
See you next week!
#FreeLeahSharibu
#SecureNigeria
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