Academia

By Dikko Muhammad, PhD

I read the justifiable frustration of many people affected by ASUU strikes, most of them undergraduates with a few months to graduate but were stalled by the strike. Some have already missed the chance to attend law school this year. This is quite unfortunate. It is a waste that saddens every sensible person.

However, there are other victims of the strike who are mainly forgotten. Many people talk as if the strike does not harm ASUU members. They say that ASUU members will get their withheld salaries back at the end of the strike. That’s largely true. But there are other implications for many of these members.

First, the younger ones in the profession — Graduate Assistants and Assistant Lecturers, their progress is truncated by strikes. These are people enrolled in our universities for their master’s and PhDs, respectively. A few of them get the chance to study abroad. Majority study at home. Every strike means an indefinite pause to their studies, careers, promotions etc.

Before you say that the strike is their choice, please understand how ASUU goes to strike: each chapter (or university) will hold a meeting to decide whether to embark on strike or not. Every member present has one vote, whether a Professor or Graduate Assistant. A simple majority carries the day. That means a Graduate Assistant may vote against the strike, but those in favour could win by a single vote. At the national level, the results from the chapters are collated and studied. If there are 100 chapters, the decision of a simple majority will be the final verdict. So if 51 universities vote for the strike against 49, that’s the end.

These strikes inevitably affect the professional development of every academic staff. Some couldn’t start and/or finish masters and PhDs on time. That delay will manifest up to their retirement. Strike halts promotion exercises of many universities. People who aspire to be professors in their forties might be delayed into their fifties despite their conferences, publications, etc.

Thus, the strike is not as viable an action as many people seem to think. The lecturer you insult for being an ASUU member might have voted against the strike from the beginning. They might have been equally affected by the strike in terms of studies or promotion.

And these are people who don’t even talk about their predicament. Instead, they simply suffer in silence.

Dikko Muhammad wrote from Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina. He can be reached via dikko.muhammad@umyu.edu.ng.

By Abdelghaffar Amoka Abdelmalik

I love ABU and the used-to-be lovely Zaria; But is it time to run away?

After submitting the final copies of my PhD thesis in March 2012, a friend and I conversed about my plans after the PhD program. “I am leaving back to Nigeria in few days, resume my job, get married, and start living the Nigerian life”, I told her. And she was like, it appeared I had got everything planned out. And I said I couldn’t find anything to keep me back in the UK. Then about a year later, I got a postdoc research fellowship in Norway.

Immediately after my postdoc in 2015, I was looking forward to coming back home. I had this picture of a laboratory I want to set up in my university to perform impactful research from this part of the world. Maybe I was crazy. But for the five years three months that I spent in Europe, I never saw myself living there for long, but how I could use the experience of the few years to add value to the world of research from my country.

But after the kidnapping of my friend’s family last month, for the first, I started to ask myself if my decision to return to the country was the right one. And last night, I heard gunshots from my room before midnight. I knew something was wrong, but I could not figure out what it was and where. So I could not sleep well. Then, after waking up in the morning, I got a call that the same terrorists they choose to call bandits strike in Zaria again, but this time at Zango-Shanu and went away with four victims.

Criminals use to operate while hidden. But these terrorists take their time to break into houses and abduct their victims unchallenged. The police can’t dare do anything to them because they have superior arms and unlimited ammunition. One would expect special forces capable of repelling these terrorists to be put in Zaria due to these frequent occurrences, but nothing like that.

The government seems to have given up, and we are left on our own. The Governor insists no one should pay a ransom but no provision to prevent the kidnapping of anyone. So you have two choices when you have a victim with them; either you pay ransom to get them released after torture, or you leave the victim to die with them.

I closed my eyes, and I still see the picture of the state of my friend’s wife and kids when the bandits released them, and I cried. I am still wondering why these innocent young children and their mother should pass through that horrible experience. The system has failed them. The country has failed them. Now we live in fear. The government has failed us.

A distant cousin in Canada called me a few weeks ago and asked about my plans for my family with this insecurity that is getting worse by the day. I was dribbling around, and he said: how can you make an impact in an environment you are not safe? You can only make an impact if you are alive and free. That statement refused to leave my head.

You can’t sleep well at night for fear of the terrorists. So, how do you concentrate during the day to be productive to make your dream impact? Our children can’t go to school. The state government has closed down all the state-controlled schools for fear of kidnapping but no structure to prevent kidnapping the same children from their houses. So, what has he done?

The kids are living a caged life. You can’t even allow them to play outside talk less of sending them on an errand outside the house for fear of insecurity. We got President Goodluck Jonathan out for Boko Haram; President Buhari came in, and kidnapping was added to the list of the insecurity challenges. It has become a big business. The business CEOs sit in their houses while getting sophisticated arms for their boys for the kidnapping operation. They are ruthless, and of course, the informants are among us. There seems to be no much intelligent service to get rid of this challenge. At least not from the kidnapping of my friend’s wife and kids.

With all these challenges, the political leaders, including those claiming to be fighting corruption, are getting richer while the people are getting poorer. For example, a former recharge card seller, now an aide, has billions of naira in his accounts that he claimed are “gifts” from people. But he didn’t get such “gifts” when he was a  recharge card seller. Aside from workers at CBN, NNPC, DPR, etc., other workers struggle to survive with that thing called salary. And unfortunately, most of the victims are from families struggling to survive, but the informants perceive them as rich.

People are shouting why the Doctors that the country spent a lot to train are leaving. But, with the level of unemployment, economic hardship, and insecurity, will you stay and submit your life to banditry if you have a choice to leave the country?

The political leaders surround themselves with security personnel. They can run to any country of their choice if they think their lives and immediate family are unsafe while we are left for the bandits.

I had so much optimism in this country, but I am not sure any longer. Should we continue to live this life of fear and uncertainty? I never thought of the idea of relocating to another country till last month when those poor little kids and their mother were abducted for 40 days.

I had two chances and came back because I believed in Nigeria and wanted to make an impact. Will I return if I have the 3rd chance?

I still remember that prominent MKO Abiola’s interview on TV during the June 12 crisis, where he stated this famous quote: he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day.

Don’t hesitate to run if you have the slightest opportunity.

Abdelghaffar Amoka Abdelmalik writes from Zaria and can be reached through aaabdelmalik@gmail.com.

By Abdelghaffar Amoka, PhD.

Have you ever wondered why I blink rapidly while talking to you sometimes? Welcome to my world, the world of stammerers. I realised I was a stammerer while growing up, and I tried to devise ways to handle it. It is there, but I think mine is not very chronic. I tried to adopt some steps to cope with it. For example, while in primary and secondary schools, I avoided asking questions in class. Though, considered a good student, I avoided getting involved in school debate competitions, etc. Until recently, I do not ask questions in large meetings and gatherings; I instead keep quiet. Sometimes, I wondered how my voice sounds to the hearing of the people. I was afraid of listening to my voice for fear of losing my words while talking, I tried to talk fast, and I got used to it.

I was in a lecture theatre teaching Physics sometime in 2007 or so and trying to explain a concept. Then I observed something strange after talking for a while, and I stopped. Everyone was looking at me. I was like, what is the problem? Then, one of the students said, “Sir! You can rap.” And, the students and I started laughing. I honestly didn’t realise I was talking that fast, and I was glad the student was bold enough to point that out.

I didn’t realise the challenges of stammering till sometime in 1986 (I was in Primary 6) when I had an issue with my classmate, who was also a family friend. We were called to narrate what happened, and I was so angry that I lost my words. The words got stuck and refused to come, so I could not tell my own side of the story. I opened my mouth several times, and the words refused to come. I find myself smiling each time I thought of that incident. I still find it unbelievable.

Stammerers in childhood are very concerned with other people’s opinions about them. In some cases, they fight to free themselves from bullying. They have difficulty in letting go of their speech. That introduces emotion into their character. Emotional responses to situations and events exist in most humans, but they are triggered more easily in stammerers. They have a great deal of misinformation about what constitutes acceptable speaking behaviour. It is seen as okay for someone else to speak forcefully and dynamically. Still, when the stammerer speaks with any aliveness in their voice, they are perceived as coming off too strong and too overpowering.

I have this colleague who always judges me before listening to me. He is always like: “Abdel, your problem is that you are too emotional”. To him, it is always my fault even though he was not there and emotions were not involved. Even at this, the passionate ones fight the frustrations and still want to be heard at all costs. 

Stammerers see life as a performance. This is related to their need to please others. They are afraid to make mistakes because of how they might be judged. That made it difficult for them to take up responsibility. Just like me, they run away from it. Even with all the emotions surrounding stammering, I hate to pick up a fight. Not for fear of getting beaten but as a child, I don’t want to get into a fight because I do not want to get into my dad’s trouble. As an adult, I don’t want to get into a row being a bodybuilder. I am not sure of what the built arm could do! So I express the way I feel, air my opinion, and it ends there.

Academia is a place that brings about all classes of people, and among them are stammerers. It is one unique society that brings together great minds. The beauty of academia is that there is always an idea to discuss with the great minds around you. While I was at NTNU, Trondheim as a research fellow, the research group members (Elkraft) come out to eat together during (lunch) break. The Professors, Research Fellows, and the PhD students of the research group eat together at the same table.

I initially don’t join them because I was not used to having lunch by 11 am, their lunch break. They expressed their displeasure not seeing me at the table, and I had to join their 11 am lunch. I use to make pancakes that I take out for lunch. I found eating together fun. That is the only time they discuss topics outside academic and research. And there is always something new to take away after lunch. That is the power of associating with great minds.

This quote is commonly attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt: “Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, and small minds discuss people. While the academia in Nigeria is blessed with some great minds, small minds also found their way to that society meant for great minds. Rather than discussing ideas, they make their colleagues their subjects of discussion.

For example, I know I am a stammerer, and I know I am naturally emotional. I know I talk forcefully with an accompanied facial expression. It is OK if you don’t like it. As a matter of fact, you don’t have to like it. But we should talk about it as colleagues if you don’t like it rather than making it a subject of discussion elsewhere. We also have cases of lecturers blackmailing their colleagues to younger colleagues and students. They find reasons to demonise them. Why getting involved in character assassination when you can easily reach out to the colleague to engage him. Your perception and what you heard about him maybe a misconception.

Dear colleagues in academia, you are working with people of various backgrounds and characteristics to pursue truth. We don’t have to like each other. We don’t have to be friends. But we must respect each other and work together to achieve the mission and vision of the university. That is the ultimate goal. Let’s engage ourselves with an open mind; society looks up to us to shape the world. Try to know a bit about your colleagues. Stammerers have difficulty in letting go, not just in their words but across the board. They have difficulty in letting go of what they feel and in what they are willing to risk. There are other people around you with other specific characteristics. You need to understand them.

To colleagues and friends with unique characteristics like stammerers, don’t give in to bullying and blackmailing at the workplace and everywhere. Believe in yourself and your capabilities. Side talks in a place like academia are disappointing, but never let it bother you. Please take it as a part of life. Don’t join words with small minds. Be the great mind that you are supposed to be.

Dr Abdelghaffar Amoka is a lecturer from the Department of Physics, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.