Education

By Mukhtar Jarmajo 

The state of education in Bauchi state is in disarray as over 1.4 million children remain out of school, according to recent reports. This crisis manifests itself in the acute shortage of qualified teachers, inadequate infrastructure, and poor funding for education. The Gabchyari community in Darazo local government is a classic example of the sorry state of our education system.

The only primary and junior secondary school in this area, which has approximately 350 students, has just three teachers, as reported by The Nation Newspaper last Monday. This is a gross inadequacy, as it means that each teacher will be responsible for teaching over 100 students. This will invariably lead to overcrowding, poor quality of learning, and the inability of individual students to receive adequate attention and care.

The continual neglect and unwillingness of the government to provide quality education for our children is evident in the rising number of out-of-school children in the state. This growing trend should be of concern to well-meaning citizens of the state, as it poses a threat to our future and that of the nation.

The consequences of the education crisis in Bauchi state are far-reaching and multifaceted. The inability of these children to access quality education could lead to a high rate of poverty, unemployment, and a general lack of development in the state. We cannot continue to ignore the plight of these children, as they represent the future of our society, and their education is a fundamental human right.

It is, therefore, imperative that the government takes urgent steps to address this crisis. The government must invest more in education by providing adequate funding, training and recruiting qualified teachers and building more schools in rural areas where the majority of these children live.

The education crisis in Bauchi state is a ticking time bomb that needs to be diffused as soon as possible. As stakeholders and well-meaning citizens, we must continue to put pressure on the government at all levels to take education seriously as an essential tool for development and nation-building. The time to act is now before it is too late.

Jarmajo can be reached via dattuwamanga@gmail.com.

By Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu

Frankfurt, Germany. 3rd July 2013

The German immigration officer looked at me and gave the usual clenched-mouth smile. I did the same. I am used to it. He flipped through my passport and then looked up.

“How many days are you staying THIS time.” Emphasis on THIS.

“Two days in Cologne”, I replied. “Today, tomorrow, and the day after that, I am off.”

He stamped the passport without asking for the usual – return ticket, invitation, hotel booking – all of which I had. He wished me a pleasant say and waved to the next person behind me.

I was then in Cologne to attend the valedictory retirement conference held in honour of the woman who mentored me and virtually adopted me as her son – Heike Behrend, who was retiring from the Institute of African Studies, University of Cologne, Germany, where she was the Director. She created the research category of “Media and Cultural Communication”, and I was the first African to be invited to deliver a lecture at the cluster. The Immigration Officer’s reference to the length of my stay was in response to the numerous times I had been to Germany – and never stayed beyond the time necessary for whatever it was that brought me.

The week from Tuesday, 30th May to Sunday, 4th June 2023, I returned after ten years. This time, the occasion was to attend ECAS2023: 9th European Conference on African Studies, with the theme of “African Futures.” It was hosted by the University of Cologne. “African Futures” explores the continent’s critical engagements with the past, present, and future of Africa’s global entanglements. ECAS is the largest and most visible single event under the AEGIS umbrella. AEGIS is an expression of a much wider and dynamic set of African Studies connections, collaborations, activities and opportunities within and beyond Europe. The conference, lasting four days, had over 70 panels involving hundreds of papers and speakers. All were efficiently coordinated through the various classes at the University of Cologne.

Earlier in the year, I and colleagues from Germany and US had submitted a panel, “Digital/social media and Afrophone literature”, for consideration at ECAS 9. It was accepted.  The conveners were me (BUK), Uta Reuster-Jahn, Umma Aliyu (Hamburg) and Stephanie Bosch Santana (UCLA). Before submitting our panel to ECAS, we first held an online symposium which was preceded by a call for papers. Despite sending the CfP to various universities and the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL), the response was pretty poor. The symposium was titled Social Media as New Canvas, Space and Channel for Afrophone Literatures. It was eventually held online at the University of Hamburg, Germany, on 22-23 February 2023. The participants then were from Germany (Uta Reuster-Jahn, Umma Aliyu Musa), Nigeria (Abdalla Uba Adamu, Zaynab Ango, Ado Ahmad Gidan Dabino, Nura Ibrahim, Asabe Kabir Usman, Isyaku Bala Ibrahim), Tanzania (Hussein Issa Tuwa, Zamda Geuza), Ghana (Nikitta Dede Adjirakor), Stephen Ney (Canada), US (Stephanie Bosch Santana).

After the symposium, we submitted a panel for the ECAS 9th edition. Our panel was accepted, and all the participants of the online seminar were issued official letters of invitation to process their funding for the conference in Cologne in June 2023. As a panelist, I was fully funded to attend by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG). Umma and Uta were able to sponsor themselves from Hamburg. Unfortunately, only Nikita from Ghana was able to come from the others who could not get any funding. As a result, our panel, held on Wednesday, 31st May 2023, had only four speakers. It was déjà vu all over again – after almost 24 hours of flying and waiting at airports (Kano, Abuja, Doha), I was given only 20 minutes for the presentation.

My paper was “From Kano Market Literature to Kano Social Media Literature: The Reincarnation of an Afrophone Literary Genre.” The paper traces the trajectory of the genre from print media to its liberation in online media, with a specific focus on Facebook, Wattpad and APK files on Google Play. The paper uses netnographic methodology to harvest the dominance of and reaction to the newly reincarnated genre, which, far from being dead and buried, is more than ever before, alive and kicking in other spaces – beyond censorship or any form of criticism. In the process, the paper explores the freedom gained by the authors in unrestricted storylines that cross boundaries of identity, gender and alternative sexualities.  The Journal of African Literature Association (curated by Taylor and Francis Group) has agreed to publish the papers of the Symposium in 2024. We will have to ask for more contributors.

Another dividend for me was that I was approached by a representative of Lexington Books in the US for the possibility of publishing my paper as part of a book on Hausa media cultures if I have something like that. As it happened, I have almost completed such a project titled “Hausa Cinema” (to complement Jonathan Haynes’s book, “Nollywood”) which was to be published by the Ohio University Press in 2010, but things went southwards! Now Lexington Books is providing an opportunity, and I am excited about it.  

Our panel was lively, though, and I even met a fan! He was Jos Damen, Head of the Library and ICT Department of the African Studies Centre at the University of Leiden. While I was making my presentation, he took my picture with his phone and uploaded it to my Wikipedia page (itself created by another fan)! Later he told me I needed to have a picture there, and he took that responsibility. So it was kind of him!

The conference attendance was a fantastic homecoming for me because although Heike Behrend had retired back to Berlin, where she came from (and where I visited her in 2015 had a wonderful dinner when I was a guest of the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin), Muhsin Ibrahim is now in the same institute. Both Muhsin and I were from Bayero University Kano. Muhsin was teaching Hausa at the Institute.

I first came to Cologne in 2004 – at the invitation of Heike Behrend when I met her in Kenya. At that time, I had an invitation to participate in an African Literatures project at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz. Heike asked me to reroute my itinerary to stop at Cologne, teach a Postgraduate class and give a public lecture. I did both on Monday 15th November 2004. Since then, I have almost lost count of the times I visited Germany – Berlin, Freiburg, Hamburg, Leipzig, and the wonderful Cologne with its incredible, massive and stupendous cathedral – the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe. It was in Cologne in 2004 that the foundation of my ethnographic foray into critical media studies was laid. Unlike in Nigeria, where many saw me as an ‘interloper’ (as they murmur, ‘After all, he is a Biologist, isn’t he?’), here it is not what you study but what you can contribute to any discipline. I have been to Colone four times and other cities several times – all on the same mission of promoting Hausa media studies.

ECAS 2023 started wonderfully with Muhsin meeting me at the Koln Hauptbahnhof and helping me drag my luggage through various concourses to the trains that would take us to his flat: a very lovely well-furnished, and very spacious space. Upon arriving and freshening up, a massive mountain of uncharacteristically fat masa was waiting for me. Even the masa looks like a ‘Bajamushiya’! The soup alone could feed a family for a week! It was a truly delicious welcome. Once I got rid of the hunger, he took me to my hotel, IBIS Centrum.

Breakfast in the morning at the hotel saw a meeting of Who-is-Who in African studies – both diasporic Africans, home-based Africans and European and American researchers. It was indeed a wonderful gathering. In addition, I had a chance to reconnect with one of the most promising diasporic Hausa African Studies experts – Musa Ibrahim.

Musa is based in Ghana. He travelled there through South Africa and Japan, ending up in Bayreuth, Germany, where he obtained his doctorate. We met at Leipzig in 2018, and I collected his CV with the hope of getting him employed in our Information and Media Studies department, Bayero University Kano. However, the university was not interested. Before you knew it, he was grabbed by the University of Florida, Gainesville, where he spent about three years before getting another appointment at the University of Ghana. Such rich and varied experience would have been valuable to us in Kano, but the parochialism of our university system did not factor in multidisciplinarity.

The following day saw dinner at Muhsin’s house, and this time, Umma Aliyu, originally from Bauchi, joined us. Umma now lives and teaches in Germany at the University of Hamburg (after her studies at Leipzig). Like Muhsin, she also teaches Hausa at Hamburg, where she took over from Joe McIntyre (Malam Gambo), who retired some time ago. During dinner, we brainstormed the idea of two book projects – which, for me, was one of the significant takeaways from ECAS9.

Muhsin, Abdalla and Musa at ECAS9, Cologne

The first book project would be tentatively titled “Hausa Studies in European Diaspora: Experiences and Perspectives.” This will be a collection of chapters written by Hausawa living and working permanently in various European universities, either teaching Hausa or other disciplines.  The objective is to demonstrate how internationalised Hausa scholarship is. We started with about five in Germany alone.

The second book project would be a post-Boko Haram narrative. So far, the Boko Haram literature has focused on the human disaster of the insurgency – virtually all books written were from the governance, security and disaster perspectives. Yet, much success has been and is being recorded in the war against terror in the form of surrenders, deradicalisation and reintegration. Yet, no one is looking at this. Using ethnographic field data, the book project will provide another side of the war on terror in Nigeria. We were excited and promised to work on various draft proposals before embarking on the works, which we hope will be completed by 2025.

The Conference’s overwhelming focus on the multidisciplinarity of African Studies was an eye-opener—no room or time for a narrow perspective on scholarship. No one cares about what your degrees are in – what matters is what you are bringing to the table NOW and how it impacts the knowledge economy of African societies and contribute to the decolonisation narrative.

For me, Cologne is a Return to Forever – the beginning of an endless loop of research and investigation.

My deepest thanks to Muhsin for being such an excellent, graceful host.

By Umar Sani Yakubu

“In a few weeks from now, we shall be done with the junior secondary school certificate examination, and from then on, I am done with Western education.”

Above is what my ears brought to me as it was uttered in the Hausa language after I walked past some probably junior secondary school students in the Bauchi metropolis.

This statement by a young lad disturbed me. It proves to me how true it is that Bauchi State is counted as one of the states in the country with a high rate of out-of-school children.

However, proving that Bauchi State forms part of the state in Nigeria with a high rate of out-of-school children, this development has led to much criticism from concerned citizens as to why the state would join such a demeaning but objective reality. First, some critics blame the decade-long insurgency in the Northeast, where the state emerges. While some blame the root cause on parents’ lackadaisical attitude in enrolling the children in school, political opponents of the government accuse it of not providing the needed atmosphere for learning.

 Albeit, whatever it is that led our dear state into such a situation, the state government must be at its feet to make sure things are done well.

Relatively, it was against that backdrop that I was amazed at the government’s inattentiveness to the course in encouraging the students to do better in their studies. I point out the recent remarkable performance of some students who emerged from and represented the state in a national competition and were victorious above all the remaining participating states in the country.

Those students have been celebrated and recognised by many concerned individuals in Bauchi State and beyond; unfortunately, the state government has yet to say a word about the development.

 Is it this way that the government plans to make their youngsters remain on the course of changing the blackmailing narratives?

 I don’t believe all is right. But, of course, something must be wrong somewhere.

Suffice it to say; we are all witnesses to when the government in the state recognised and rewarded mere social media actors, etc. If political and social media actors can be recognised and even rewarded, why not a best-performing student who earned respect not only for themselves and the school but also for the state in the eyes of the world?

These students from Government College (Special School) Toro who participated in the recent National Inter-secondary Schools Quiz competition organised by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council and came out first must be recognised and celebrated by every serious state government where they emerged, especially as they are trained in a government-owned school as opposed to any proud private schools.

As Bauchi State is in a dangerous situation as its youth quit education for other heinous acts like Sara Suka, the state government must be reminded that giving such recognition and even awarding scholarships is vital in encouraging children to see the light in the path of their education.

Consequently, celebrating students of the state with remarkable performance in school and even rewarding them with scholarships stands to draw the attention of the wayward to education and encourage those already in the system to put in more effort.

Finally, with my confidence in the present administration of His Excellency Governor Bala Abdulkadir Muhammed, I hope the best brains from Government College Toro will be identified and rewarded for making the state proud in the competition above.

Gone were the days in Bauchi when international scholarships were given to the best brains, many of whom are now professionals in their respective careers.

 Sani is a concerned citizen from Bauchi State and can be reached at saniumaryakubu@gmail.com.

By Muhammad Abdurrahman

Near East University, Cyprus, honours three Kano state indigenes, Dr Mubarak Auwal, Dr Zubaida Said Ameen, and Asst Prof Abdullahi Garba Usman, for their outstanding achievement in the research world.

The above was made known in a Facebook post by Dr Sagiru Mati, another Kano indigene and staff of Yusuf Maitama Sule University (formerly North-West University, Kano) doing his postdoc at the same university.

Dr Mati added, “We are thrilled to announce that these brilliant individuals have been recognised as the best researchers by the prestigious Near East University. Their dedication, perseverance, and exceptional contributions to their respective fields have not gone unnoticed.

Mubarak and Zubaida, not only exceptional researchers but also a married couple, have shown us the power of collaboration, support, and shared passion in achieving extraordinary results.”

Asst Prof Abdullahi’s research focuses on analytical chemistry and operational research in healthcare. He has numerous publications in reputable journals and more than 600 citations.

The fantastic couple (Drs Mubarak and Zubaida) work in the same field of Biomedical Engineering and Artificial Intelligence. They also have several publications and hundreds of citations to their credits.

By Dr Shamsuddeen Sani

In my opinion, as a student of knowledge, there might be three reasons why I think everyone interested in Kano should read the 5-volume book Kano Ƙwaryar Ƙira Matattarar Alheri by the late Muhammadu Uba Adamu. May Allah bless his soul, amin.

1. Uncovers hidden narratives: the book offers a treasure trove of untold stories and forgotten or rarely told narratives of Kano history. The author masterfully explored the archives and conducted meticulous research allowing us to have a glimpse of the subtle Kano historical junctures, bringing to light stories of critical contributions, struggles, and resilience.

It is this very academic inclination to the Kano historiography that helps us challenge traditional historical narratives and gain a more inclusive understanding of our community’s past. By infusing creativity and academic rigour into the study of local history, the books unlock their transformative potential, fostering critical thinking, empathy, and an appreciation for the complexities of our community’s past and present.

2. The volume examines the microcosms of Kano’s ancient history: the author skilfully delves into the intricacies of our community’s past, helping us discern the impact of broader historical events, such as religious and economic shifts, social movements, or political changes. This very nuanced perspective enables us to grasp how global temporal processes shaped local realities, fostering a more comprehensive understanding of our interconnected world.

3. Analysis of spatial dynamics: in these volumes, it is discernible how the author uses the Kano history to analyse the spatial dynamics of our community’s development. Each volume uses an important geographical pivot point to relay historical milestones. This analysis provides insights into the social, economic, and cultural factors that have shaped the physical environment and spatial organization of our locality and our overall architectural heritage.

Dr Shamsuddeen Sani wrote from Kano, Nigeria.

By Abdurrazak Mukhtar

Introduction:

In the face of adversity, some individuals find the strength to rise above their challenges and achieve greatness. Such is the remarkable story of one individual who refused to let failure define them. Despite enduring twelve failed attempts at obtaining credit in English for their SSCE, they persevered, eventually mastering the language and becoming a mentor for HND and degree students. This story is a powerful reminder of the transformative power of perseverance and the unyielding spirit that can lead to incredible accomplishments.

The Will to Succeed:

Life has a way of testing our determination; for this individual, the English language became their ultimate hurdle. Year after year, they faced disappointment as the elusive credit seemed just out of reach. But instead of succumbing to despair, they summoned the courage to keep trying. Their unyielding will to succeed became a driving force that fuelled their journey towards mastery.

The Turning Point:

After numerous setbacks, the individual refused to let failure define them. Instead, they embraced the challenge head-on, recognising that actual growth often arises from struggle. So, rather than giving up, they embarked on a relentless pursuit of knowledge and skill, dedicating countless hours to studying and honing their command of the English language.

The Power of Education:

With each setback came a valuable lesson. The individual began to understand that learning is a lifelong journey and that education extends far beyond the walls of a classroom. They sought guidance from mentors, devoured books and resources, and immersed themselves in the intricacies of the English language. Slowly but steadily, their proficiency began to improve.

From Struggle to Mentorship:

The incredible twist in this story lies in the individual’s transformation from a struggling learner to a mentor for others. First, through their perseverance and hard work, they developed a unique insight into the challenges faced by students grappling with English. Then, armed with their own experiences, they became an inspiring guide, supporting and motivating HND and degree students in their pursuit of linguistic excellence.

Inspiring Others:

As this individual continued to impact the lives of others, their story became a beacon of hope for those who had lost faith in their abilities. They showed that failure does not define one’s potential but serves as a catalyst for growth. Furthermore, their remarkable journey instilled in others the belief that success is attainable with unwavering dedication and an unrelenting spirit.

Conclusion:

The story of this extraordinary individual serves as a testament to the power of perseverance. Despite repeated failures, their unwavering determination to conquer the English language transformed their lives and inspired countless others. Furthermore, it teaches us that setbacks are not roadblocks but stepping stones to success. With the right mindset and an unyielding spirit, anyone can triumph over adversity and achieve their goals.

So, let this story remind you never to give up, no matter how challenging the journey may seem. Instead, embrace each failure as an opportunity for growth and keep moving forward. Your struggles today may become the source of inspiration for others tomorrow. Remember, the key to success lies within you.

Dr Shamsuddeen Sani

The modern discourse around housework for wives from the Islamic legal perspective has garnered beyond the adequate level of scholarly attention. It is as old as the marriage institution itself in the Islamic tradition.

The book, Wives and Work: Islamic Law and Ethics Before Modernity, published in 2022 by Columbia University Press, is a compelling and intellectually rigorous work that broadly contributes significantly to Islamic studies and gender studies.

Marion Holmes Katz’s meticulous research and refined analysis dismantle stereotypes and offer a fresh perspective on the complex realities of Muslim women’s lives. By engaging with Islamic legal and ethical traditions, the author not only deepens our understanding of the past but also provides a platform for critical reflections on the contemporary challenges and possibilities surrounding women’s roles as wives and their engagement in the workforce within Muslim-majority societies.

The book adopts a well-structured framework with an elaborate introduction followed by four body chapters and concludes with a thoughtful synthesis. Each chapter is dedicated to the diversity and development of fiqh discussion of domestic labour for the respective periods of the four Sunni schools of law.

The first chapter emphasises the formative period of Islamic law (8th-9th century CE) with a profound exploration of the Islamic literary corpus reflecting the social realities of the early Islamic community, then focusing heavily on wives’ domestic labour in the Maliki legal school. 

Moving into the 10th century CE, the second chapter of the book examined the issue of domestic labour through the lens of Shafii scholar Abul Hasan al-Mawardi using his legal manual, Al-hawi al-Kabir, as a paradigm for deconstruction but at the same provided a captivating contrast through his ethical manual Adab al dunya wal din.

Chapter three navigates into the intellectual realm of the Hanafi school of law, specifically focusing on the legal manual Al-Mabsut by the esteemed Hanafi scholar al-Sarakhsi. This comprehensive investigation illuminates al-Sarakhsi’s profound analysis and interpretations pertaining to domestic labour, offering an in-depth understanding of the Hanafi school’s intricate perspectives.

Geographically and temporally shifting to the post-classical period in Damascus, chapter four directs its attention to the Hanbali school of law. The focal point of analysis lies in a meticulous exploration of Ibn Qudama’s seminal work, which would later face extensive challenges from the visionary scholar Ibn Taymiyyah. Ibn Taymiyyah’s radical approach to the subject matter promotes a ground-breaking and transformative vision of the ethics of marriage, firmly rooted in the Qur’an and hadith traditions.

By Prof. Abdelghaffar Amoka

Colleagues have been sharing their experiences as academics in Nigerian universities with several reactions. The essence is not to discourage people from going into academia but to know what lies ahead of you if you want to go into academia. Like most colleagues, I had no idea of the challenges in Nigeria’s academia when I was so eager to join. For example, I never knew the job is for 24 hours, and that promotion is based on research output you will fund from your pocket.

After graduating in 1999, I looked forward to being part of the academia. During my youth service in Kano, I visited the HoD of Physics, ABU Zaria, Prof I. B. Osazuwa, to discuss my “academic dream”. He directed me to the late Prof. N. I. Hariharan. I met him, and he advised that I should enrol for MSc. So, in 2001 on my way from Kano, I stopped over in Zaria, purchased the PG form, and left for Lagos.

As we were job-hunting in Lagos, I remember my friend and Brother, Yusuf Osafore, saying it appears I was not taking the job hunting seriously but was more concerned with pursuing a Master’s degree. My looking forward to becoming an academic was so apparent to people around me. Then, I eventually got hired in March 2005. It was a dream come true. I have finally joined the group of intellectuals. The “most revered” group in the society. A group of knowledge generators. A group of reservoirs of knowledge.

After a few months in the university, they revealed the reality of Nigerian academia. The fact that I had no prior knowledge of. There are, of course, viable ideas, but they die within the university walls because the political class isn’t interested in them. The ideas are published, but it is just for promotion’s sake. I paid N7,000 or so to publish my first paper in a Nigerian university-based academic journal in preparation for the next promotion to Lecturer II. These made me begin to meditate on “my academic dream”.

In 2007, I had the opportunity to visit ICTP for a two weeks workshop, and my interaction there revived my academic dream. Then, in 2009, I got lucky and left the country for my PhD, strengthening my revived “academic dream”. My joy knew no bounds when I published my first research paper in an Elsevier-indexed Q1 journal in 2011. From then on, the papers kept coming.

There are two publication options. You either publish in close access journals where publishers are paid for access to your research work, or you pay between $1,500 to $3,500 to publish as open access for everyone to have access. I remember spending some dollars in 2014 to publish the last paper from my PhD work in Elsevier’s Sustainable Materials and Products journal as open access. That money came from my salary in Norway.

We were told that research impact is based on the number of citations one has. Something they called h-index was brought to classify our research impact. I began to monitor my citations and h-index on Scopus, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar. I usually wear a smile on my face whenever I receive citation alerts. As the promotion period approached, I counted my number of publications and was excited as my number of citations grew. We began to use Scopus h-index to rate academics. Unfortunately, we get carried away so much that if you talk too much, we ask, “What is your Scopus h-index?”

The irony is that you look for money (either grant or personal fund) to do research and get it published in a reputable journal after rigorous reviews (reviewers work for free) and are excited for an additional paper to your credit. Brag that you have so many articles in indexed journals and get promoted for a peanut added to your salary. In Nigeria, you become a Professor to earn about 440 USD (N325,000) per month. You proudly go around with the title (Prof). Meanwhile, a multi-billion dollars cooperation makes money from your sweat and the knowledge you have laboured to create. And all that we are happy with are citation alerts, a growing h-index, and promotions that come with peanuts.

The best publication time is during our young age. As we grow older, our students take over the writing. Then, the university will ask why you are the paper’s first, second, or last author. They have got no idea how it was funded. The academic dream can truly be defined as spending our entire youth creating knowledge and paying a billion-dollar corporation to take it from us in exchange for career capital that you can then use to buy meaningless promotions from other exploited individuals.

Sometime back, I logged into the university network, and the research output of a senior colleague on Google Scholar was highlighted on the university webpage with thousands of citations and a high h-index. So I decided to follow the link to check mine. Mine was very much below his, but it wasn’t that bad. So then, I sat down and began to question the true impact of my research work beyond what Google Scholar has evaluated.

Do a mere citation of our publications truly translate into research impact? Research is global, but you should see your work impact your immediate environment. We have Professors with thousands of citations that can’t present an inaugural lecture, faculty colloquium, or even a departmental seminar; so, what is the impact of our research on our immediate community?

I tried to reflect on our impact, especially as Professors and Farooq Kperogi came to mind. I remember checking on him on Scopus when he became a Professor in the US. However, when I later reflected on his writeups on Nigeria’s sociopolitical scene and the healthy discussions he had generated towards repositioning the country, I began to realise that Farooq has made much more impact on Nigeria than many of us with a better presence on Google Scholar, Researchgate, and Scopus.

Let me introduce myself properly—a Professor of Physics specialising in dielectrics and high-voltage electrical insulation. I have 33 research documents indexed in Scopus and an h-index of 11, 13, and 14 in Scopus, Reseachgate, and Google Scholar, respectively. In addition, I have about 585 citations on Google Scholar. My published research articles are on high-voltage insulation. Still, the articles and the citations, put together, have not impacted our electricity network in Nigeria, which is on a breakdown spree. So, what, then, is my impact?

Universities are identified as keys to innovation, from developing new ideas to providing state-of-the-art facilities. Industrialists and managers of the countries engage them in keeping the workflow full of new ideas. But in Nigeria, our university system has been made the most insignificant institution that has been reduced to lecture rooms. We only publish to avoid perishing.

Everywhere in the world, academics are respected and heard when they talk. But in Nigeria, especially during the Buhari government, they are tagged as enemies to crush. Our universities were once places where policies evolved. Academics generated ideas that shaped the country. Discussions in academia are used to shape the policy development of our nation. The golden time of Bala Usman can never be forgotten. What happened to those intellectual discussions? Who killed it? We now chase appointments within and outside the universities, especially after we become ‘Professors’.

Nigeria has been messy for the last eight years, and universities are in the worst state ever. But the government of Buhari used eight years to run away from education stakeholders’ engagement. The political class are educated people with no value for the education of the people. The best gift that Buhari gave to the people that so loved him was to strangulate the public universities for the people. Rather than having a public engagement on how to salvage the situation he was well aware of before his appointment, the outgoing Education Minister, Adamu Adamu, described the backwardness that they have imposed on us as “self-imposed backwardness” and their idea of the solution is by approving the establishment of more substandard private universities in the North.

The incoming government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu needs to come in with a clean and open mind to engage the academia with sincerity. They should look at ASUU as partners in progress rather than enemies to crush. The solutions to our problems are right in our hands if we are willing to engage each other. On the other hand, academia needs to start looking beyond publishing, not to perish. We need to start thinking beyond journal publication impact that has no impact on our immediate constituency, Nigeria. We need to wake up and revive the golden days of Bala Usman on our university campuses.

©Amoka

By Mustapha Dauda

People should be screened thoroughly before becoming certified teachers. Now, Colleges of Education are home to lazy and mainly copy-and-paste students. Although there are several academic gurus in the field, a higher percentage of educational students chose to be only there because of their inability to secure admissions in their various intended courses of study.

The alarming nature and downfall of the educational system in this country will be halfway associated with this very problem. So sad. Lack of potential and rigidly talented persons in the academic career is as dangerous as a fire outbreak is to wildlife in a bush to our society. Very dangerous and heart-breaking indeed. 

Teaching is the master of every profession, no doubt. Teachers nurture students in their preferred disciplines. Teachers head and guide and direct in every place of learning. They impact the character and learning of students: they play a vital role in inculcating good moral behaviours, knowledge impassion and impartation. How beautiful and nice of a profession. Moreso, they play a parental role during school hours. 

Though the responsibilities of teachers are beyond that which I have queued and listed here, even with the little above listed, we must agree that this is not a lazy profession. Hence, it should simply be handled by readily authentic, prepared, learned and responsible personalities. A kind of people that shun examination malpractice and any illegalities. Having fully reliable teachers guarantees the production of well-educated students from all levels of education. And, God forbid, vice versa. 

The only effective weapon that will end educational failures is the availability of qualified teachers. Steps in providing qualified teachers include: Demanding higher Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, scores before getting admission into any institution capable of certifying one as a teacher. It also comprises impromptu student-teacher supervision during their Teaching Practice, TP, periods.

And an important aspect is an instalment of a well-paid salary system to newly employed and already teaching teachers the government. This, for sure, will get the educational system many brilliant minds. Most students go for courses they expect can fetch them money. And for already teaching staff, a kind of test of qualification can be given, perhaps, through external bodies, thereby confirming their strength and teaching capabilities, and also changing the unqualified ones to the non-academic part of the institution, to at least help them maintain the source of income and from being unemployed.

A quack doctor can only kill or jeopardise one person at a time. A building engineer endangers a family or a building at a time. For teachers, it is a different case. An unqualified teacher cheats and misleads a whole generation. And the scary part is that what he wrongly misled the current generation is the same thing that will be passed and taught to the upcoming generation by the current ones, for they’re the leaders of tomorrow. And the problem, the misleading, the imperfection will go like that. The whole generation is in vain. Uncontrollably. Unknown to all, where it may stop, just perhaps. And all these, Just a single damage, by a single teacher. Just one person. Ohh! What will a class of unqualified teachers do to our society? Or what do we think all those quack teachers out there have been doing? 

Everything is just as straightforward as everyone can see it, yeah. Students sitting silently and helplessly listening to quack teachers are helpless and hapless and don’t know the misleading they’re in the middle of. The work is ours and the government’s. From our side, we don’t encourage and invite brilliant and vibrant students to teach. Ohh, sad; one will ask that, after graduating as a well-learned and certified teacher, what will I do, as much as a source of income? This question is too head shocking, and one may hardly get an answer to continue further convincing him to go for teaching.

How I wish and how beautiful to see teachers, too, being screened, being made to practice what they were taught, being made to face challenges that make them look every inch equal to their tasks like it’s usually done to qualified engineers and doctors and every other highly regarded course of study. It will make meaning this way. Indeed, there’s a huge need to look at and upgrade our educational system, of which teachers are the backbone.

Mustapha Dauda wrote from Azare, Bauchi State, via mustaphadauda399@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chirist Ngige, has thrown a threat to the striking resident doctors saying that the Federal Government will hire ad-hoc doctors to replace their positions.

The minister stated that the ad-hoc doctors would be paid with the salaries of the striking doctors.

The Daily Reality gathered that the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) began a five-day warning strike Wednesday.

However, Ngige, who in an interview with journalists yesterday said there was nothing like warning strike, disclosed this during Channels Television programme.

It was also learned that the association is demanding increment in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure to the tune of 200 per cent of the current gross salary of doctors; new allowances included in its letter to the Minister of Health on July 7, 2022, on the review of CONMESS; payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund; payment of salary arrears and consequential adjustment of the minimum wage.

Ngige added that the NARD was disrespectful to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), which was already negotiating with the government on its behalf.

“The resident doctors are part of NMA. They are young doctors in training. So if the NMA is negotiating on their behalf as the parent body, what these young people (resident doctors) are doing is disrespecting the NMA. They are crying wolf when there is none,” he said.