Dear Dr Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
Good day to you madam. I hope you are good?
I have made this letter open, because you guys are up there and can’t be reached. Hopefully someone who knows you will bring this letter to your attention. I addressed this letter to you, and not to perhaps, His Excellency, the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, because you are the coordinating minister for the economy, and the statement accredited to you that ‘FG can’t meet ASUU’s 92b demands’. And also for your statement that the rate of unemployment in Nigeria gives you sleepless nights. Did you really say that? If you did, then I’m comforted with each passing day that I am unemployed that you are feeling my pain, and I pray I get a job soon so you can sleep one extra second.
Madam, you have told ASUU and all the Nigerian youths, the FGN cannot pay what they ask, but you didn’t tell us what the FGN can pay, or what value the FG places on educating the youths vs. say paying the salaries and allowances of the Legislature, or renovating a government building, or changing furniture in official quarters. I am not an economist like you are, I studied Psychology, and so I will not attempt to discuss SCALE OF PREFERENCE with you. After all you are serving in an appointed capacity, and you are not answerable to we the ‘ordinary’ Nigerians, but to those whom you cannot even attempt to deny their salaries and allowances. However, if you did say how much FG can afford, I’m sorry I didn’t hear or read that part, maybe it was on the news when I didn’t have electricity supply, and as such I missed that information.
Is there a conspiracy to keep us young Nigerians uninformed and uneducated? With my little or non-existent knowledge of economics, I think that might actually be a means of checking inflation, ie. limit the cash in circulation to a select few.
Madam, we all are not so ignorant. These strikes are not all ASUU's fault. The federal government also has its share of the blame, if not a greater portion. Madam, when next you meet with ASUU, remember the millions of Nigerian students whose future these lecturers hold in their hands. Maybe it will help in the negotiations.
Madam, it’s not enough for you to come on TV and applaud what ‘the young Nigerians are doing’ as seen in your the Future Awards advert appearance. We need you to think of us when you make budget decisions, and in further negotiations with our lecturers.
Madam, you might think you and the ruling class are exempted from these problems, after all your children are not home because their lecturers are on strike for better working conditions. They don’t or didn’t school in Nigeria. We don’t begrudge you this; I’m sure you have worked for your children to be able to enjoy better standards of living. I can relate to that, my mother teaches in a government secondary school, and has seen her three children through university. But madam I have news for you; the problem remains with you, and every one of us.
These ordinary Nigerians, with or without half-baked education, are presently or will become your domestic staff, your security personnel, etc., people who work for and around you. I hope your actions and decisions today will inspire loyalty in us 'ordinary' Nigerians. I do not support or advocate violence of any sort, but your mother’s kidnap should show that if you and your ilk cannot be reached, people important to you can be. Like the maxim says, ‘the idle hand is the devil’s workshop’, letting the youths idle away leaves room for us to be used as political thugs, hired muscles, etc.
If really the youths are the future, what future are you programming us to have when we have recurring ASUU strikes, and poor fallen standard of education. I graduated in 2011, from a state owned university. A department with less than fifteen lecturers, graduate assistants, resident lecturers, visiting professors all inclusive. Despite that, I saw how these few lecturers struggled to cover up and impact knowledge in us, these are not actions of greedy people. These lecturers just want to be able to live well if not comfortably. I have served my nation Nigeria (after my parent footed all my educational bills), and now I am jobless or job hunting, depends on your perspective.
Madam, permit me to share this story with you. In March this year, while serving in a secondary school in Ibadan in Oyo state as a JSS2 social studies teacher(without any qualifications to teach), I issued an assignment to the students to ask their parents: their state of origin, local government of origin, and their village. I was to mark this assignment on the school’s Open Day, when the students come with their parents. As expected, half the parents didn’t show up, three quarters of the other half that showed up with their parents didn’t do the assignments. And I asked every child to ask his/her parents where they hail from. A shocking number couldn’t answer any of the questions, and those that could answer, couldn’t spell or write it. These children can't read, their parents can't read, the standard of education has fallen. Through my service year, I kept thinking; these children are the future of Nigeria, and what kind of future will they have or create.
Madam, this letter has stretched far; and you are probably shaking your head in denial saying: you are not to blame for Nigeria’s problems. True; a lot of these issues were here before you, we don't expect you to work miracles, but, we need you to make a difference. This letter is not to cast blame. Permit me to close by asking these two questions: how much can the FGN afford? Is that price what the future of Nigeria is worth to you?
Remain blessed, more grease to your elbows.

Jobless Graduate/Ordinary Nigerian.
http://chinmaeke./

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Op before your letter gets to NOI, I want to ask you one simply question.

If you were the NOI how will you handle the situation better?

I wonder if you can help us draft a similar letter to whoever is up there now or even ASUU, make them free us oh!