University Education

By Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu

The academic world will never cease to amaze me. Let us look at just one example. Take an invitation to present a paper at an international event, as I was in June 2022. This particular event was the 90th commemoration of the establishment of Oriental Studies at the University of Warsaw, Poland. About 30 of us were invited, mainly from Europe and Asia, to share experiences on our various studies on orientalism from 29th to 30th June 2022. 

The trip was daunting for me, to begin with. It started with an hour flight on Qatar Airways to Abuja from Kano (my base). I spent another hour or so on the ground at Abuja before taking off for the six-hour flight to Doha, Qatar. I spent over four hours meandering around the terminal at Doha, waiting for the connecting flight to Warsaw. Eventually boarded the five-hour flight from Doha to Warsaw. All told, about 17 hours journey time. Arrived at the hotel jetlagged, weary and disoriented.

Off the following day to the University of Warsaw for the two-day conference scheduled at 9.00 p.m. each day. And it was right on the dot, with welcoming remarks by Prof. Piotr Taracha, the Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies UW, followed by an address to the conference by Prof. Alojzy Z. Nowak, the Rector of UW. These were followed by two keynote addresses, then appreciation of retiring members of the university community who had been there for over 50 years, including my host, Prof. dr. hab. Nina Pawlak (that’s how distinguished academic titles are labelled in most Eastern European universities). Let’s see what the letters mean; prof stands for professor, while dr is the doctor. To be a hab, however, requires extra efforts.  

To be awarded the academic degree of doktor habilitowany (habilitation), the candidate must have remarkable scientific or artistic achievements; submit a habilitation book which contributes to the development of a given scientific discipline; receive a favourable assessment of their output, pass a habilitation examination and deliver a favourably assessed habilitation lecture. It is after all this that they become professors.  

Nina Pawlak received her PhD in 1983 (Constructions expressing spatial relations in the Hausa language), habilitation in 1995 (Syntactic Markers in Chadic) and professorship in 2007. Thus entitled to prof. dr. hab. status. The habilitation is a post-doctoral experience that is highly formalized, represented by a separate thesis or a compendium of outstanding work in the area that can be evaluated as making an original contribution to knowledge. It takes between four to ten years to complete. Its public presentation is something like an inaugural lecture before a professorship. In most cases, the habilitation is the qualification needed for someone to supervise doctoral students. So far, in Africa, only Al-Azhar University in Cairo seems to offer this route to university scholarship.  

It is the habilitation qualification that will determine one’s path to professorship, but the publications required for skipping it to become a professor directly have to be more outstanding than the habilitation publication. This process shows rigorous respect for original contribution to knowledge in European scholarship. One can still be referred to as prof. dr. in recognition of their scholarship, without the hab. For instance, I was recognized as so by the European Union award of a grant to teach at the University of Warsaw in 2012. The prof. dr. title, used in mainland Europe and some Asian universities, acknowledges scholarship, even without the region-specific hab.  

Now back to the Conference. No ‘Chairman of the Occasion’, or Lead Paper presenter, nor ‘Royal Father of the Day’, etc. Just presentations. Now that brings me to my wonderment about the academic process. After over 17 hours of flight time (and same hours returning back), like everyone else, I was given 20 minutes (which included being harassed five minutes to the end by the moderator) to present my paper titled The Trans-Oriental Express: Receptivity and Cinematic Contraflows in African Popular Culture, and 10 minutes allowed for discussions – and that’s it! 

Thus, you spend weeks on fieldwork and data synthesis, spend hours being ferried from one location to another, and stay for days cooped up in a dingy hotel room (wistfully thinking about your own spacious personal living space!) eat some unusual and often very expensive food. All for 20 minutes of fame! This has been a recurring pattern in all the conferences I had attended.  

So, what is it about, at least international scholarship, that people would rather read what you wrote than listen to you? In Nigeria, paper presenters tend to ramble way beyond their allocated time. Often, the moderator of your session is worried about stopping you because you are a ‘big’ man, even if you are talking out of point. I remember one case in which the ‘Guest Speaker’ was reminded that his time was up as per the ‘program of event’ (sic). He adamantly refused to heed the time and insisted that since he was the main ‘event’, he would only stop when he finished reading the booklet of his lecture, which was 32 pages! Thank God for Smartphones – people just ignored him and shifted their attention to their WhatsApp messenger and came back to earth only after someone started clapping to signal their relief at the conclusion of the presentation! 

Perhaps it is time for us as Nigerian academics to move from this dense didactic approach to presenting papers – where you are often expected to give ‘theoretical framework’, ‘research questions’, ‘methodology’ (to appear ‘Scientific’ even if there is no Science in your conclusions) before you get to the actual data itself. And most annoying, you are also expected to give totally useless ‘recommendations.’ I had arguments with moderators and participants in Nigeria on the last point where I am asked about my ‘recommendations’ after my presentations. I often reply that I don’t have any recommendations – I present my data and my interpretation. How it goes is up to you. For instance, what can I recommend to a person who based their own narrative creativity on intertextual appropriation, thus creating a meta-narrative? That it has happened is fascinating enough. That I brought it to your attention is sufficient enough in knowledge discourses. In wider international scholarship, participants are more interested in exploring other aspects of your data.  

I think our approach to conference presentations in Nigeria has vestiges of the didactic educational experiences we were grilled through. Under such an academic ecosystem, all research is geared toward policy and governance. It is time for a paradigm shift – cut down the number of minutes on presentation, and focus on the epistemological virtues of the presentation! Oh, and cut-off the prof’s microphone when he seems about to torture his audience beyond his allocated 15 to 20 minutes!

Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu is the former Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). He can be reached via auadamu@yahoo.com.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has been on strike for four months, will call off the industrial action soon, the Federal Government assures through Minister of Labour Chris Ngige.

Dr Chris Ngige revealed this to reporters after the Federal Executive Council, FEC, met for its weekly meeting on Wednesday.

Ngige claimed that efforts were being made to settle the ongoing conflict, which was primarily brought on by payment platforms.

However, he confirmed that the Federal Government has no plans to set up an alternative funding model for institutions.

Dr Ngige was quoted to have said, “Federal Government was indeed engaging with ASUU, despite notions that it has been snubbing the union.”

The university teachers have been insisting on the use of a payment system called University Transparency and Accountability Solution, which the Federal Government opposes, showing no sign of shifting ground on the use of the initial payment platform it came up with, called Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

By Aliyu Idris

The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership. – Chinua Achebe.

It’s exactly four months since universities were shut down due to the lingering ASUU Strike. It’s disheartening for millions of university students like me in Nigeria who are at home idle; their fundamental rights to education are thwarted.

The government and politicians are busy with their political and elections shenanigans and do not bother to look into the menace of these excessive strikes.

None of the aspirants vying for the presidential throne has talked about curtailing the ASUU strike. This is utterly devastating. I always think about who to vote for regarding the issue of education in Nigeria.

To be candid, I don’t know how will this country continue to survive when its education sector is crippled. When the aviation sector wanted to embark on strike, the issue was solved a day before the strike because it’s not the education sector, which is too ironic for Nigeria.

The elections misdemeanour is their concern now. They invest heavily in politics and neglect education and other relevant sectors that will foster the country forward. The strike may be over soon or next year after the elections.

Let’s turn to the Lord (Allah) in prayers to give us the best leaders who have the country at heart, fulfil our vision and mission, and make our country great.

Aliyu Idris is a student of Bayero University Kano and can be reached via his email: aliyuidris063@gmail.com.

By Muhammad Aminu

Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano (YUMSUK), has established a laboratory for screening cervical cancer in women, the first of its kind in northern Nigeria.

The Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Mukhtar Kurawa, said the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) DNA Modular Research Laboratory would greatly help in the research and treatment of cervical cancer in women, especially in North-Western Nigeria.

The laboratory, situated on the Main Campus of the University, was funded by a grant from Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TetFund). Prof. Kurawa further explained that there is a rise in cervical cancer among women in the region hence the university’s efforts to address the problem.

The VC challenged researchers to take advantage of the centre by conducting scientific research to achieve the set objectives. The VC assured continuous support for the centre, saying that “researches are now conducted not only for academic progression but also for economic development”.

He expressed optimism that the centre would excel and achieve its objective due to its state-of-the-art facilities. The Lead Researcher and Dean, Faculty of Clinical Sciences of the university, Dr Iman Usman-Haruna, said, “the centre is established to provide free services to women with cancer problems.”

She said about 1,500 patients are expected to benefit during the first phase of its programme. “This research is a multi-centre study to be conducted in Kano, Katsina and Jigawa and is mainly on cervical cancer screening.

“We will be performing pap smear and HPV test for 1,500 women, samples will be transported to Yusuf Maitama Sule University for processing.” This is through a grant from TETFund and with great support from the university management,” she said.

She applauded the Vice-Chancellor and TETFUND for their support for the actualisation of the project, describing it as a welcome development for the betterment of society.

By Muhammad Sulaiman Abdullahi, PhD

Hello, my dear comrade friends! How are you and your families? I hope we are forging and managing well. I know we are well, but not very well. This is because I know that there are so many challenges in and out there. I know most of us are currently swimming and still smiling in heavy debts, ranging from debts of Maggi, Omo, Bread, Garri, etc. Even the ‘Yan garuwa (water vendors) owe many among us a considerable amount of money due to the brutal nature of our looters. This is not to talk about heavy loans accrued due to a lack of salaries for about four months.

The Maikantis (petty traders) selling raw rice, beans and other groceries no longer want to see us by their doors. Some of us have already forgotten toothpaste and have opted for chewing sticks now to remain clean. Our children have been sent out of school due to non-payment of school fees. Landlords have knocked and banged on the doors of many; we pacified them, and some of them reason with us.

Some of us now live without water and light due to heavy bills accrued. You keep counting the ordeals. I remember how during the whole of Ramadan, with the scorching sun and harsh temperature, lecturers languished with dry pockets and no salaries. Many lecturers didn’t have a chance to sew new Sallah (Eid) dresses for their kids, not even for themselves. Yet, another Sallah is approaching without any remorse or sense from this lousy government and its handlers.

Before I talk about my three solid pieces of advice to ASUU, let me digress and talk a little about and to those who don’t understand ASUU’s struggle. I don’t in any way exonerate ASUU of all blames and problems. No way! We have our defects. Only the Almighty Allah is perfect.

However, in ASUU’s struggle, ASUU is 80 per cent right. If you talk about the decay within the ranks of the university administration and duties, ASUU also fights that. And it is the sole responsibility of the government to put eyes on the universities and punish anyone found wanting and guilty of any offence. Sex for marks, not attending lectures on time, lack of coordination, dedication and supervision, extorting students, etc., to punish and stop all these and more lie in the hands of sensible governments. I know that it is said that these bad attitudes happen in Nigerian universities, but sometimes they are overblown out of proportion.

I have been in the university community for nearly 20 years, engaging with my teachers and, later, my students. Still, I don’t know a single lecturer in my university involved in such indecent acts and is also known without getting punished. In other words, universities don’t condone such wrongdoings. Also, this is not ASUU’s direct responsibility, but rather, it lies in the hands of the university management and the government.

Our government doesn’t punish anyone, which is why bad people do as they wish everywhere, in the military, the police, lawyers, carpenters, bandits and all. So lack of commitment and corruption in whichever cadre is not ASUU’s fault, but rather, the government. Our governments rarely punish, and when it does, it looks selective and sometimes biased.

The government is so powerful that, if it is sincere, ASUU or anyone cannot shut down a single university, just like that – not even to talk of all universities – for one week without the government taking drastic action and winning over anyone! But due to the government’s insincerity, this is ASUU. So here is the whole country’s population – the lecturers, their wives, children and friends, the students, their parents, children and families, Nigerians and all their well-wishers – all in trouble, but the government doesn’t care.

With all the troubles and disputes in their recent party primary elections, North/South and whatever, they managed, brainstormed, came together, and brought a solution in 2 days. But, of course, this is for their selfish agenda,  huh? So anyway, below are my three candid and sincere pieces of advice for ASUU and all.

First, ASUU members are suffering, but ASUU should NOT call off its strike until it reaches a coherent, logical conclusion. Yes! We are suffering, and we need the strike to the end. But we don’t want a situation where a strike can be called off today, and it comes back in 7 months to come, or even less. Let’s push things to the end. I will even advise the government to agree that no strike can be implemented in the next ten years if anything goes as practically implemented. I don’t support any agreement again.

I never heard of NNPC, CBN or the House of Representatives going on strike! This is because all their entitlements, salaries, allowances and more are paid on time. And they receive more than all Nigerian universities receive, with a quarter of what universities do. A kind of monkey dey work, but baboons chop the money. So they have money more than they need. So, ASUU should not call off the strike until everything is settled.

Second, ASUU should change its style concerning research works. Many civilians out there don’t know that apart from class teachings, university lecturers engage in what is called research. Hence, some people feel we are not entitled to our salaries during strikes. And in reality, the impact of our collective research output is very minimal. Some people don’t even know that we do research, and some of us don’t even do any research at all.

To sustain our research line, let us allow the research activities to continue at full capacity. Here I mean, students writing their research (Undergrads, Masters and PhDs) should be allowed to consult their lecturers online or via any other medium possible. Someone may ask about data and other internet facilities. My answer to such a ridiculous question is; how do you read this write-up? Don’t you have a WhatsApp, Facebook or go online? This is all to maintain and sustain our research inputs and keep going. We shouldn’t allow our brains to rust completely. This chance should be conditional, situational and only if a lecturer has a chance to.

Third and finally, ASUU should continue the strike until things are resolved.

Thank you

Muhammad Sulaiman Abdullahi

Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria.

By Muhammad Mahmud

I believe that Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) should join the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in solidarity. An injury to one is an injury to all.

I recall that an affiliate union embarked on industrial action during the military regime. I can’t remember exactly which, but the NLC joined in a solidarity move.

After some time, without a positive response from the government, the labour union directed all other affiliated unions to join. Thus, the PENGASSAN, NUPENG, NURTW etc., joined. Before you can say UTAS or PANTAMI, the nation was halted.

No flights were flying, no taxis or buses plying any road as fuel was absent, etc. This forced the government to give in to the demands of the workers.

I believe this is the only strategy that the politicians will understand. The NLC should initiate the process and start preparing for the mother of all strikes in solidarity with the ASUU.

Malam Muhammad writes from Kano. He can be reached via meinagge@gmail.com.

By Ibrahim Tukur

Communication barrier is one of the major problems holding many deaf people back. Living in an inclusive world—a world that comprises people with differences, one has to know the others better to get along together. We can only achieve that through communication. Unfortunately, however, many people have immensely misunderstood due to the communication barrier. Some see people with hearing impairment as stupid, insane, mad, etcetera.

Communication barrier has brought various challenges that not exclusively affect the personal achievement of the deaf but also their educational, spiritual and economic development.

Due to this barrier, many deaf experience loneliness, depression and isolation at home because they have no one to communicate with as most of the family members don’t know how to communicate with them. In the same vein, their parents often neglect them and find it challenging to communicate with them in their day-to-day interactions and operations. Thus, this makes many deaf children, if not all, grow up morally deficient.

In many tertiary institutions, deaf students face many academic challenges that interfere with their studies. Although all tertiary institutions are inclusive, they are not offering special services like Sign Language interpreters. Consequently, those students often sit in the class watching their lecturers lecturing verbally and their coursemates with no hearing loss drinking from their knowledge flow.

Deaf people face immense challenges when it comes to employment. Many organisations and companies find it difficult to employ deaf people due to this barrier, as good communication is one of the essential requirements in entrepreneurship. This is why many deaf people have automatically been disqualified during job interviews despite meeting all the requirements.

Again, because of this barrier, deaf people are denied from getting jobs as doctors, engineers, journalists, lecturers, lawyers, accountants, etcetera. Many deaf who have studied others fields are forced to become classroom teachers as if teaching is the only profession for the deaf.

Although the current administration has enacted a law that prohibits discrimination against people with disability, thanks to their bid for inclusion, they failed to trench the underlying causes of the discrimination. 

To nip the deaf-based discrimination in the bud, Sign Language should be introduced as a core curriculum in all schools since the communication barrier is its underlying cause.

Sign Language specialists should be employed in all schools and tertiary institutions to teach Sign Language so that everybody will learn to communicate with the deaf and get to know them better.

Teaching Sign Language in schools nationwide will improve this communication gap and end the disparagement, discrimination, and stigmatisation they experience. It will equally create a comfortable environment for the deaf folks to live in this Inclusive world.

Ibrahim Tukur is a 400 level student of Bayero University, Kano. He can be reached via inventorngw@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Nigeria’s Minister of Labour and Employment,  Chris Ngige, is set to declare his intention to contest the 2023 presidential election on Tuesday. 

This is coming amidst the two-month-old strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.

Ngige, who has failed to resolve the lingering impasse between ASUU and the Federal Government, said on Saturday, April 16, 2022, that God has spoken to him regarding the presidency, and he will not disappoint his supporters. 

“The period of Lent ended last night; throughout the period, we communed with God. We did spiritual exercises and fasted. We talked to God and his angels, and God has talked back to us. God has spoken to me. I want to assure the people that I will not disappoint you,” he stated

Ngige added that he has the support of the trio of the APC, PDP and APGA in his ambition. 

“This journey is not for the APC alone. Our brothers and sisters in PDP and APGA  are in support. They know that I am more qualified than any other person from the South East. They will support me,” he said.

However, Ngige’s intended declaration does not go well with many, especially students who have been held at home by ASUU’s strike, which the Labour Minister has failed to resolve.

Maymunat Suleiman, a final year student of Chemistry at Federal University Lokoja, expressed her dismay regarding Ngige’s presidential bid during an interview with The Daily Reality.

“A presidential candidate who doesn’t take education seriously. These politicians only care about themselves and their families. I don’t see myself voting for that kind of candidate,” she said. 

Another student, who preferred to remain anonymous, described Ngige’s presidential bid as a joke that should not be taken seriously.

He further decried the minister’s poor management of the ASUU’s strike, which has kept students in public universities from school.

By Fatima Usman

During their compulsory National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, many people don’t usually ask themselves, “What next after the service year”? Many people know what they want and what to do, but they don’t have any concrete idea of what they want or even what they want to do.

But now, the service year is over. For many, the reality will face them right in the face, NO MORE ALLAWEE (33,000 stipends). As small as this money is, it will become gold to many who could not find a job after some months of completing service.

The scheme’s purpose is primarily to inculcate in Nigerian youths the spirit of selfless service to the community and emphasize the spirit of oneness and brotherhood of all Nigerians, irrespective of cultural or social background. This is because the history of our country since independence has indicated the need for unity amongst all our people and demonstrated the fact that no cultural or geographical entity can exist in isolation.

The Joy of every student is to see that they graduate and serve their father’s land without minding the stress they passed through while in the school, but then what next after the one year of NYSC? This is the question many people ask themselves while still on camp, but when you know the answer to it, you are good to go, and vice versa.

After the service year, you are faced with the next phase of life. Some very lucky ones will get a well-paying job or will further their education, while others may have to start all over again after the 33k allowance must have stopped coming.

Back in the day, when a person graduated from tertiary institutions, there was a high tendency that such a person would get a well-paying job without any stress of going to look for a job, but now the case is different. Many students are scared of even leaving the NYSC because they know that there’s no job.

Millions of graduates with outstanding results out there are looking for white-collar jobs, but the country doesn’t have jobs to give everybody. Thus, you should try as much as possible to acquire one or two skills that can be of help after your service year. Don’t wait to finish NYSC before you start thinking of what to do next. Before you even go into NYSC, ask yourself these questions:

What is life after NYSC?

What am I going to do after NYSC?

How am I going to start with life?

When you know the answers to these questions, you are 50% on the track. Today’s world requires us to do more than going to school or graduate with good grades.

Don’t be carried away by the title “graduate”; get yourself something doing. If you have a skill already, develop it; start from small. Yes, it’s pretty stressful, but you will reach that goal with determination and hard work.

Many people who are now successful today passed through a lot, but today they are doing fine. So if those people can do it, there’s no excuse for you.

Fatima Usman is a 300 level student of mass communication at IBB University, Lapai. She can be reached via usmanfatima499@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has asked Nigerians to hold the Ministry of Communication and Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) responsible for the lingering impasse between ASUU and the Federal Government.

ASUU Zonal Coordinator, Buchi Zone, Professor Lawan Abubakar, briefed reporters on Monday, March 4, 2022, in Jos, where he alleged NITDA is misleading Nigerians on the credibility and acceptability of UTAS which he said has passed the integrity test. 

“Ironically, NITDA, in conjunction with its parent Ministry (The Ministry of Communications where Pantami is minister), is seriously sabotaging the government at resolving the impasse. This is obviously capable of prolonging the current strike, thereby bringing untold hardship on Nigerian University students and the University System.” Prof. Abubakar stated

He further explained that NITDA, who scored UTAS high in the past, can not suddenly say UTAS failed integrity test. 

“After scoring UTAS this high, NITDA went further to contradict itself by making a fallacious statement that UTAS has failed integrity tests. The union wonders how a score of 97.4% will amount to failure.

“The Union still agreed to another Test by NITDA on March 8, 2022, in the presence of observers front the Federal Ministry of Education/National Universities Commission (NUC), Federal Ministry of Finance/OAGF, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.

“This most recent test still scored UTAS 99.3% in all the Tests metrics. ASUU is Therefore surprised that NITDA, having scored UTAS this high on two different occasions, unpatriotically went to the press to deliberately mislead the public into believing that UTAS has failed Integrity tests again.” Prof Abubakar clearly explained.

Therefore, he called on Nigerians and the Federal Government to call the Ministry of Communications and NITDA to order to resolve the labour crisis.