University Education

By Isma’il Alkasim

Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today— Malcolm X

Unequivocally, the educational sector requires critical and colossal funding from various stakeholders, whether civil society or a particular individual, not only the government. The intervention programs, which are basically designed to address the critical challenges bedevilling the sector, contribute a greater percentage to the educational sector’s wellbeing. 

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has recommended that 20—25% of the country’s budget be allocated to the educational sector to ensure the sector’s effectiveness. 

Notwithstanding, Benjamin Franklin, asserted that an investment in education pays the best interest. This has been a rejoinder to the elites who had no clue what would guide them through, thereby emanating a cohesive plan towards the educational reform.

A concert series of strikes, declared by the Academic Staff Union of the Universities (ASUU), leave a deep scar in the memory of the students whose interest and ambitions were solely dependent upon their studies. And this is a serious threat to the nation where insecurity and poverty threaten the lives of its citizens. The ASUU and the government should understand the gravity of the tension this strike may accelerate.

Furthermore, the last industrial action in 2020 through 2021, which ASUU has spent almost a year striking, led to a gigantic imbroglio to university education. Meanwhile, nearly every university could not fulfil its academic calendar in a duly prescribed time. This strike, all despite a whole year spent due to the outbreak of the Covid—19 pandemic, but both parties, the government and ASUU, had failed to get rid of the strike before the lift of lockdown. This indicates how lackadaisical the government is to prevent the ASUU from continuing an indefinite, elongated, and pervasive strike.

Are we really serious?

Probably, not; we are not serious at all. If the government and ASUU can’t sit and share the same cup of tea to find the lasting solution to this horrendously, repulsive and awful strike, as citizens of conscience can’t hold both parties accountable? Why can’t to come out en mass and protest against the lackadaisical of both parties? It worked in an EndSARS protest, so we need to borrow and use the same language as a last resort.

The worst part of this ASUU—FG drama is that those at the centre of the controversy do not value the Nigerias’ education system. Perhaps, their sons and daughters aren’t the victims of the elongated strikes since they spent or are spending their educational journey abroad; the great countries that have done everything possible to redefine and standardise their educational sectors.

The United Kingdom, for example, had spent at least 900 solid years revitalising and meliorating their educational sector before it came to fruition and privatised the industry. This indicated that the suggestions and recommendations made to the government of Lugards’ amalgamation in 1914 to take a bold step towards commercialising the sector would not yield any positive result. Instead, it’s a giant stride to uplift, breed and enhance corruption in the educational sector. More so, privatising the sector is unbecoming. The reason is that the educational sector is a system that is a babysitter that has weaned and breastfed every individual in the Nigerias’ domain.

How should it be?

On a lighter note, we should embrace ourselves collectively. As a whole entity, we shouldn’t lie to ourselves; there’s a limit to what government can achieve within its capacity about the economic status. This deserves no clarification to any discerning individual, but that shouldn’t be an excuse to circumvent and leave our educational sector (not only universities) in the stage of mediocre. We must value the system to make progress.

The education we are supposed to give our utmost priority is the basic education as the foundation ground and necessary stage for all citizens. But, until we resolve the odds vexing the UBE, the thirst to get rid of our universities’ problems can’t be quenched. So, at this juncture, the clamour to refine and redefine the universities system in Nigeria by ASUU is graceless and unbecoming.

May Nigeria prosper.

Isma’il Alkasim writes from Garki, Jigawa State. He can be reached via kogasgarki@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Jobseekers in Nigeria have narrated harrowing tales of how job offer sale decimates their chances of securing jobs in a country where the national economy has remained increasingly stagnant.

According to a recent report by Bloomberg, unemployment in Nigeria has surged to the second-highest on the global list, jumping to 33.3%.

Graduates, who took to social media to condemn the menace, decried how bribery, corruption and politics militate against the growth of institutions in the country.

They argued that buying and selling of job offers are affecting almost all the institutions in the country, as it will be at the expanse of merit and skills

Fraud in employment is believed to be the reason the standard of education in the country continues to witness a fatal decline, and unemployment rises at child’s Christmas wishes.

Graduates narrate harrowing experiences

Every year Nigerian institutions produce thousands of graduates who come out to compete for the few available job opportunities.

A graduate, Usman Bello Balarabe, said that he was once asked to pay N1.2 million for a lecturing job offer.

Immediately he returned to Nigeria from India after bagging his Master’s degree. He was greeted with an outrageous N1.2 million job offer to teach at a Federal University in northern Nigeria.

Balarabe, who was initially over-excited, said his hope was dashed upon learning that it was a give-and-take offer, as he had to break the bank if he indeed wanted to land the job. 

He said, “I was all smiling when I was told, until when I heard him saying that I have to pay N1.2 million to get that offer. The amount shocked me to the marrow”.

Auwal Mukhtar Usman, a university lecturer, said recently someone shopped her job offer for N3.5 million.

He said, “A lady recently confided in me that she bought her offer for about N3.5 million to teach in one federal government agency. It’s equally disheartening how these politicians connive with the university administrators by allocating slots for them. In the end, it is the University that suffers.”

A.S Mohammed also shared his experience, saying that a lecturing offer was advertised to him for N1.5 million in June last year.

He added, “I was asked to bring a potential buyer for a lecturing job offer at the Federal University, Dutsen-Ma, for N1.5 million; no discount whatsoever.

“And it didn’t matter what course the buyer studied or what class of degree he graduated with. That incident stroke me dumb with surprises and left me paralyzed. It took me almost a month to recover from that shock.”

Pay, get promoted

From job offer sale things are worsening to ‘promotion’ for sale, as workers at various institutions in the country pay to get promoted. 

Sa’idu Mustapha Buhari argued that it is not only job offer that is sold, but also promotions are purchased.

He said, “It is not only job offers that are sold.  Promotion, advancement, transfer, release for training, among others, have their prices in some sectors.

“Though fixing Nigeria must be a collective effort, people as individuals must change.

“The bitter part of the story is that: everyone works for himself, not for the people. The sense of nationalism is totally absent among us. That’s why I support the mantra: CHANGE BEGINS WITH ME…If any Nigerian applies this, Nigeria will be fixed,” he added.

Also commenting, a media consultant, Yahya Abdurrahman, stated that the fraud is not only rocking not only the education sector.

He said, “The deeper you dig, the more worrisome information you would come across. Unfortunately, the rot is also prevalent in the Nigerian Police, Customs Service and other Security affiliated Agencies.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has stormed Kano State roads to protest against the ongoing nationwide strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The association that has frowned upon the incessant strike in the country is protesting to tell the world the situation they are facing in the country regarding their education.

The students who converged on the Kofar Nassarawa bridge in Kano City decried over delays in academics.

Singing solidarity songs against ASUU’s action with their hands clinking placards, the students said the menacing issue of the strike should by now be put to an end.

They also called on the federal government to intervene and call off the strike.

Recall that the Vice President of the Union, Comrade Yazid Tanko Muhammad, disclosed their intention to protest on Monday.

Comrade Yazid added, “So, it is a protest which, if we start, will not stop until the issues are resolved, and the lecturers resume work.

By Ahmadu Shehu, PhD

Once again, there is a total blackout in Nigerian public universities. Last week, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the umbrella Union of academics working in Nigerian public universities, declared a one-month warning strike to remind the government of their promises signed just a year or two ago. 

It has been decades since the rift between ASUU and the Federal Government of Nigeria took the lives and progress of Nigerian students to ransom without a foreseeable end to the debacle.

ASUU was a child of necessity born out of the precarious situation Nigerian lecturers found themselves in the 70s under the various military juntas bent on killing the tertiary education in Nigeria as they did basic education. 

Thanks to radical scholars and the rise of socialism as an alternative economic and political ideology to capitalism the government prefers, ASUU got a deep ideological rooting. It also gets a wide acceptance among diverse social domains of the Nigerian society, who, like ASUU, were disenfranchised by and dissatisfied with the tyranny of successive regimes. 

The confrontations between ASUU and the military junta of Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha made the association a front-wheel of social activism in Africa and gave it a legitimate voice that is believed to stand for the masses not just on education but also human rights and socioeconomic advancement. 

Over the decades, ASUU became very wealthy and stubbornly anti-establishment, which had assisted in its success against the government and lost popularity among Nigerians. But, these are topics for another day. 

While there are physical successes credited to ASUU struggles, the incessant strikes have killed many, delayed millions and subverted trillions of aspirations, destinies and successes of millions of Nigerians. Thus, one of the emergencies facing Nigerian university education today is this endless and worthless rift between ASUU and the Federal Government. 

A serious-minded government in Nigeria should have education as a priority. Any education policy that does not consider the solution to this rift is not comprehensive enough and may not solve the quagmire of education in Nigeria. 

How do we end this decades-old problem that has defied most solutions? Some people have advocated for the privatisation of Nigerian universities to have a purely money-driven university system reminiscent of the US-style, where citizens have to pay through their noses to acquire tertiary education. 

An opposite idea is one the one ASUU pursues. It is a totally free, accessible, and one hundred per cent public university education where all willing and qualified citizens can enrol and acquire tertiary education in fields of their choices and mental capabilities. 

ASUU’s idea is noble and ideal of a functional socialist society where education is an inalienable right of citizens. However, the situation in Nigeria and our economic ideology doesn’t allow for either of these ideas to work. It is why ASUU and the government have been going around the same hole of self-deceit and conscious pretence. 

To provide a lasting solution to this endless crisis that have killed our education and our economy,  I believe that privatisation is not the right solution, just as a costless education is not. We’re not America that the insensitive capitalists admire without reason nor the defunct Soviet Union that ASUU loves to imitate. These approaches do not fit our realities.

The alternative is for the government to collect and allocate special taxes to fund education. Again, we can see the models in Western and Central Europe, even in Asia, where citizens pay special taxes to fund education. In this regime, a specific percentage of all taxations will be allocated to education, and citizens will access this service which has been paid for in a different way, supposedly free of charge. 

Then, all federal universities shall submit and defend their budgets at the national assembly, effectively giving universities financial autonomy and removing them from the shackles of the ministry of education and, by extension, the cumbersome nature of mainstream Nigerian civil service. 

That means that each university will be an independent government entity responsible for 100% of its affairs without recourse to other government agencies. This equally requires that we abolish bottlenecks such as Tetfund or limit their capacity to specific funds. The ministry of education will only be a regulatory body in collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC). 

That way, the university management can be charged with the responsibilities of funds generation and management to the extent that lecturers no longer need ASUU as an association as all employees of a given university are totally within the purview of the university that employs them. The Federal Government doesn’t need to deal with the basic needs of university academics, such as salary and allowances.

In this model, academics take up their jobs knowing that their remuneration and social welfare are subject to their immediate employers, which is the university management. In turn, they submit their budgets yearly to the national budget and planning office, which will be debated and approved by the national assembly. Whatever they get is their own cup of tea. 

That effectively means that ASUU as an association will cease to exist because each of its members will be totally and absolutely under the purview of their immediate employers  – their home universities. There won’t be the federal government to fight. The common enemy will be gone, and there won’t be the basis for a national strike because each is on their own. 

This, as simple as it is in words, is a herculean task that cannot be easy to achieve. It requires a huge political will, legislative and administrative changes. 

No matter how long it takes, making universities entirely independent and autonomous while subjecting them to the same accountability measures prevalent on other government agencies is the surest, if not the only way to achieve a stable, qualitative and functional university system.

That way, there won’t be ASUU talk more of strikes, and the quality and quantity of education will be solely a responsibility of the universities and, therefore, the academics. 

Dr Ahmadu Shehu writes from Kaduna and can be reached via ahmadsheehu@gmail.com.

By Salihu Sulaiman

Hard work and appreciation are part of human existence at the individual or government level. Appreciations for deeds that are more than worthy of commendation is a form of motivation to spur the individual that is so much appreciated to do even more. And as I will demonstrate it today in this little tribute, I will celebrate this epitome of hope with this accolade. He’s someone whose humanity transcends his friends, families, community members, and even adversaries. 

Alhaji Musa Majia is the subject of my glowing tribute. A seasoned-cum philanthropist born in poverty in the slums of Majia town of Taura local government in Jigawa state but strived and succeeded in business by venturing into his productive money-making schemes. Alhaji Musa, while transiting into that rigorous walks of life and reaching his Eldorado, he has since become a renowned public philanthropist in his unmatched quest to help children born with wooden spoons with whom he shares the same circumstances. 

He’s the modest wealthiest man I know.  He lives a simple life and completely loathes ostentation. Yet, he’s warm around people and always wears his heart on his sleeve. The most self-effacing, in words and action. Someone who always stands through thick and thin, always well-meaning that it always takes him long to lose in anybody. 

Alhaji Musa’s footprints will forever remain in the sand of time and indelible in his hometown of Majia and Jigawa state at large. A man not known to have acquired any conventional tertiary education in any chosen endeavours, by providence, he established the first conventional, integrated, subsidised, well-equipped, highly strategised private University in Jigawa. He named it Khadija University Majia, after his beloved mother. This is a deliberate philanthropic gesture worth commendation. 

However, Alhaji Musa Majia demonstrated the potency of his patriotic favour when he offered automatic scholarships to indigenous Majia candidates who obtained the minimum requirements to gain admission to the university. 50% waiver to Jigawa state indigenous students and 30% waiver to others from Kano state. This commendable initiative will surely encourage and pave the way for willing and determined students who have a passion for furthering their studies but couldn’t afford the tuition due to their various financial constraints. 

Alhaji Musa’s clean-hearted, grass rooted, and inexhaustible philanthropic gestures are too numerous to enumerate extensively. However, he has distinguished life of service to God and humanity in the cause of his life. He continues to reverberate this, especially in his impeccable character, thoroughbred humanity records, and enviable stature.

In all this heroic precedence he has set, he has proved that character, generosity and purpose are the ingredients he needs to deploy in helping back and lending his helping hands to his community. Thus, he provides them with a first-class private institution at their doorsteps to assist the masses in furthering their education and achieving their full potentials in their various life endeavours. Moreover, he displays courage and integrity in contrast to the willingness and opportunism that other equally wealthy people haven’t shown given the similar circumstance. 

An instructive insight on some of his inexhaustible philanthropic gestures would reveal a man who has a consistent and unmatched commitment towards improving the life and well-being of the members of his community. Little wonder how he has distantly distinguished himself from the general culture of the wealthy. On different occasions, he kept his word on the transitions of helping the needy and carried out with utmost transparency with complete blindness to any family lineage or any discrimination. 

Alhaji Musa Majia has overseen the construction and distribution of over 120 houses to people in his community who have no shelter and have sponsored over 40 students to further their studies abroad from 2011 to date. Alhaji Musa has also facilitated the construction of arguably one of Jigawa’s best secondary schools with the tahfiz section known as Adams Science and Tahfizul Quran academy Majia in 2020. It is situated in his hometown of Majia to also aid in realising the full potentials of the willing and talented students of Majia town. 

In job creation, he has facilitated the employment of indigenous youths of Majia town in various professions, especially the bureau de change professions. Many young graduates and non-graduates who have benefitted from his benevolence have excelled in that endeavour and created manpower for other equal contemporaries to curb unemployment in the community. Alhaji Musa has also facilitated the situation of the FRSC division and police division in Majia town to curb the menace of security in the community. 

Additionally, in his generosity, Alhaji Musa has also provided white-collar jobs to numerous Majia youths in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Over a hundred youths were provided with police offers, FRSC civil defence, and other para-military agencies across the country. With also a large farm settlement and a multi-millionaire plaza that employs over 500 workforces.  

This exceptional gesture of establishing a world-class private institution in his hometown of Jigawa earned the commendation of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu. They both describe his efforts as motive born out of patriotism and commend his potency of inherent  Ingenuity, which will be invaluable to the people of Majia, Jigawa and Nigeria. 

From the ongoing and his burgeoning philanthropic trajectories, it is evidently clear that Alhaji Musa Adamu Majia is a man of history. He has left a permanent mark in the annals of his community. He is also a worthy role model and inspiration for many aspiring philanthropists.

Salihu Sulaiman wrote from Dutse. He can be reached via salihusulaiman6540@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

 The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, has said that the federal government is ready to meet with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on all issues they have raised.

Adamu said that he was surprised by the decision of the union to embark on a four-week strike. 

He added that the decision of the university lecturers came abruptly amidst ongoing meetings that aimed at resolving the menace.

The minister stated this on Wednesday while fielding questions from State House reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja. 

However, despite several negotiations, the minister also cleared the government of any fault over failure to reach an agreement with ASUU. 

According to him, “ASUU, unfortunately, they have gone on strike, and I am looking for them because all the issues are being addressed. The last thing that happened was that our committee looked at their demands, but there are renegotiations going on. They submitted a draft agreement which the ministry is looking at.”

Speaking on ASUU’s draft agreement, Adamu said, “A committee is looking at it. Immediately it finishes, the government is meant to announce what it had accepted. Then suddenly, I heard them going on strike.”

Clearing his name over allegations from ASUU about his absence from meetings, the minister said, “ASUU will never say that. I always call the meeting myself. The meetings I didn’t attend were those that happened when I was in hospital in Germany.

“We want a peaceful resolution. The federal government is ready to meet them on all issues they have raised, and if there are so many meetings and the gap is not closing, then I think it’s not the fault of the government.

Asked about the possibilities of reconciliation between the FG and ASUU  before the end of the 30-day strike, he said, “I can’t give you time. I am ready to reach an agreement with ASUU now, but since I’m not the only one, I can’t give you time, but certainly, we are going to reach an agreement very soon.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

A senior lecturer with the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Dr Ibrahim Siraj, has described the four-week strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as a necessary evil Nigerians must learn to live with.

Siraj said that as we could not stop the strike, we could do whatever we could to minimize the ‘losses’ that come with it while anticipating the benefit.

The academic who disclosed this on his social media platform stated that if only we could use some formulas, we are all winners – driving many benefits from the strike.

The writing he titled, “How to Make the Month-Long ASUU Strike a Win-Win Situation”, provided some formulas which he married them up with the benefits worth driving if put into practice.

Dr Siraj wrote, “Federal Government is given an ample opportunity to study ASUU demands, engage in serious and sincere negotiation and finally seal a deal. This will save the system from further disruption and damage.

“And with the countdown to 2023 general elections just starting and political activities expected to reach their peak later in the year, no better time than now to do it. They can resolve this one and concentrate on their politicking. Win.”

He added that “for lecturers, this is a time to sort out all issues relating to continuous assessment (CA), have some rest, finish writing that paper, gain some renewed energy and hope for the best from the struggle. In-sha-Allah it will usher into a better university system: better teaching and learning conditions, better remuneration, and more productive scholarship. Win.”

Moreover, Siraj stated that this is also an opportunity for the students to prepare for the coming exams “eat up the notes, ‘cram’ the handouts and do additional reading and consultation on the topics. This could translate into better performance and ultimately higher grades. Win”.

“Final year students could use the window to invest more time in writing their projects. So, in addition to aiding timely completion, it could also enhance the quality of the output. Win,” he stated.

The lecturer stated that the adjustment in the calendar means that BUK students will spend a better part of the blessed month of Ramadan at home. Thus, he said, “this means students and teachers will have more time to devote to seeking Allah’s pleasure in the holy month. Win.”

By Hussaina Sufyan Ahmed

Following up on the meeting between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the federal government in the early morning of February 14, 2022, has declared a four week comprehensive and total strike.

On Monday, the President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, announced the strike at a press conference.

The strike takes effect from Monday, February 14, 2022.

He said, “The union tried to avoid the strike, but the Federal Government was unresponsive to the union’s demands.”

Prof. Osodeke also said that ASUU NEC faulted the creation of new universities.

“NEC resolved to embark on the four-week roll-over total, and comprehensive strike as the government has failed to implement the Memorandum of Action it signed with ASUU since December 2020.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Kogi State University, Anyigba (KSU), has officially changed its name to Prince Abubakar Audu University.

The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Kogi State Governor, Onogwu Muhammad, announced on Friday, January, 28.

In a Facebook post, the CPS wrote, “In honour of one of the State’s illustrious sons, Late Prince ABUBAKAR Audu, Kogi State Governor, His Excellency Yahaya Bello announced in 2019 that the Kogi State University, Anyigba should be re-named ‘Prince ABUBAKAR Audu University, Anyigba’

He made announcement in Anyigba and followed it up. Today, the name of that University has officially been changed to Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba.”

The late Prince Abubakar Audu died while at the verge of winning Kogi gubernatorial election for another tenure in November, 2015.

ByBilyamin Abdulmumin

At the beginning of a new session, usually from this period that many schools release admissions, fresh students often in the euphoria of the admission have their optimistic bar in full scale. Everyone has a plan for a result they want to graduate with, perhaps for what lies ahead: the labour market, scholarships, or any other opportunities.

But at the end of the study, looking back from the beginning, the dreams of a majority cannot be said to have been achieved. Although much potential would have been blown along the journey, few fittest would survive the perilous journey unscathed.

But there’s good news; having orientation at the right time, tutorials, mentorships, attendance, references, and past questions can help the freshers’ yearnings come true.

Fresh students come to meet arrays of tutorials from which one has many to choose. The school associations at the departmental, faculties, or states deem it their responsibility to provide headway for the newcomers. The religious bodies are also offering among the best tutorials on the campus. As a new to the environment, there could be so many areas of distraction, but tutorial venues should always be among the focal points. 

Like tutorials, studying past questions gives the 1-million-dollar idea about courses and the length and breadth the lecturer can go with questions. Past questions accord a student with knowledge for how the same question can be asked. These save a lot of time during the actual exams, even if exact questions are not asked. Past questions help students develop ideas on how to go about answering some questions. With past questions sufficiently studied, the student can deliver a marking scheme.

One should belong to the right group of friends. If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go farther, go with others. Interacting with some coursemates more prepared offers a chance to leverage from them. Many students who attend extra moral studies such as Zaria refresher or similar are friends material. Students who participate in such programs are usually ahead of what lies ahead.

References are another goldmine when it comes to smart study. Reference implies the materials, especially the book (s) a lecturer uses. In class, you hardly get the average gist of a lecture, and you might already jot down a chunk of a mix-up. Reference is the undiluted notes that would allow a comprehensive digest of the lecture. In other words, references are like having the original copy of a story. It helps you go through the story without interfering with anyone else’s opinion.

With regards to exams, references can be the holy grail. One of my undergraduate memories came in 300 Level. One Chemistry course from the Chemistry Department made students decry to high heaven. To make matters worse, the course coincided with a hectic day for us; it was offered after six hours of laboratory work. But this is not to justify the massive failure that followed. One of the notorious test questions that led to the catastrophe happened to be examples from a particular textbook – Castellar, I think – the reference I couldn’t lay my hands on at the right time. I passed the course with credit, but I always remember the scenario with my index finger bitten, hoping in retrospect that I had read the book (reference) just at the right time. Having a lecturer’s references is reassuring because, with it, you have your lecturer on the palm.

The most important tip that a student can take to the bank is attendance. Imagine getting information from chains of narrators. Usually, the integrity of the information fades as it cascades down from one narrator to another. It is safe to compare this scenario with missing a class. Even if one attends a class, it is not plug-and-play. So, the hope of understanding the lecture becomes blurry when a student copies from another who basically writes his side of the story. If you decide to rely on friends’ notes, the chance is that you tell a different story from that of a lecturer. Hence, you shall get ready for angry-looking results. 

Bilyamin Abdulmumin is a PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering at ABU Zaria. He is also an activist for a better, informed society.