Arguing with a few people over the ASUU/FG crises just exposed the ignorance of many issues within Nigerians. These same people who never care to just read backgrounds, purpose, press releases or explanation of issues come here to act experts.
I blame ASUU for a very poor sensitization/PR to the Nigerian people. Simply believing Nigerians will comprehend is not enough. Nigerians always need bombardment of information to realise things. I decided to address this today seeing the lack of understanding everywhere.

The Nigerian tertiary education system is grossly subsidised. In spite of the sense of entitlement among Nigerian tertiary students, tuition does not even generate up to 10% of the costs of running a university. Nigeria is a developing nation & this is why government is involved.

All ASUU has been fighting for all these years is better teaching facilities for Nigerian students. Students need to practice with Bunsen burners not stoves. Students deserve practical media training not a theoretical. Practical writing courses can't happen with classes of 200.

Usage of certain laboratory instrument was an issue in an external defence. Student defended that she had never seen it or been taught with it but had to make do with textbook illustration & 'substitute' as an undergraduate. The professors who knew she was right had to let go.

How many times do we let go of standard because we know we just have to. How many times do we give single CAs in whole semesters cos you cannot repeatedly evaluate classes of 300? Computer science students need access to systems if they are to learn & develop software.

Engineering students need to move from solely finding the value of X to access to enough practical facilities. How will students learn intense mathematical skills choked up like sardines? Most institutions have no Public Address Systems, so lecturers have to scream hoarse in classes of 300.

Universities do not provide lecturers with computers or staff offices. Research & other works are done from personal systems & sometimes printers & projectors. I may go on and on on issues needing attention which every Nigerian youth is also well aware of but choose to be selfish

The university system is on the verge of breaking down. We have reached a point where the fairly wealthy send their kids out of the country or to private ones because of the non-conducive learning environment. Departments are understaffed & overworked while students are unmotivated

A graduate assistant (a first degree holder & academic entry point) is not supposed to teach but to acquire higher degrees. After getting a masters he becomes an Assistant Lecturer & should be attached to a professor to assist & relieve the professor while being mentored.

A university lecturer is only supposed to independently teach & supervise students as a Research Fellow II which is at least 3/5 years after employment. This is hardly practiced because most universities are bottom heavy (majority lower rank lectures) so who teaches the multitude?

Therefore the Graduate Assistants/Assistant Lectures with little experience, also requiring mentoring & with meagre consolidated salaries of 90/120s teach hundreds of students, sponsor themselves in higher degrees & are examination officers because everybody is over burdened.

A 55 year professor with 30 years experience teaches an average of 3 undergraduate classes of 500/20 supervisees students & 3 postgraduate classes of 200 students/10 supervisees. He is on so many commitees & is expected to lead research. He earns only a consolidated 400 thousand.

He is expected to take care of his family, train his kids, research & publish all within the 400k. The professor also accept invitation for visiting because there are so many universities without senior academics who need his expertise & he also needs to make an extra 200k.

This amount may seem much better than what civil servants are paid. Lecturing is a job that leaves no time for any side hustle if it is to be done right. Even when we don't go to work for days, we are researching, writing or grading students files/ assignments sometimes overnight.

The peers of university professors in other Nigerian sectors fare much better. What crime has the Nigerian lecturer committed to be shabbily treated?

No wonder the system is riddled with massive brain drain because most lectures leave once they realise they are in a system where they are not adequately compensated nor appreciated. The system no longer attracts the best because it lacks motivation & inspiration.

It is demoralising that despite being tenure university lecturers/visiting in up to two others for 30 or more years, many professors retire without personal houses & only buy from retirement benefit after evacuation from staff quarters. No wonder nobody wants to be a lecturer.

The solution to the terrible Nigerian academic system may just lie in Privatisation. Government can now let go of what they feel is a strain on their peace of mind. Lecturers will have to be versatile & earn their keep & we may afterall make it to the top global universities too.

I know many of those top global universities will scramble to manage our unutilized universities and turn them into worthy educational establishments. Many of us will survive the privatisation because we have taken time to build our selves under the shitty conditions.

I and many others will also be happy to finally be paid our true dues, teach manageable classes and have international standard facilities.

Some one like me has taught communication/media to many students, a lot of them now successful in local & international media agencies putting our teaching into practice. I may therefore just throw the baby with the bath water & go into media. It's time we all make our own millions & allow government do what it likes with its institutions.

With a lot of understanding of all the shit you go through, it's with pleasure I inform Nigerian students that if privatisation happens you'll get the best learning facilities, your parents won't have to worry about strikes anymore, ASUU will also disappear from the headlines too.

Here comes the most important information, your schools will be able to lead in teaching & research but ehm... you'll have to pay tuition as big as the top global universities so that lecturers will be adequately paid & research sponsored, you know our government has no money.

If you are from a poor home don't panic, our banks will be engaged & very happy to give you student loans that you'll only spend half your lifetime paying & the other half planning for retirement. You see when privatisation happens everybody will be happy & progress will be made.

By -Binta Kassim Mohammed

cc mynd44, lalasticlala

An anonymous lecturer wrote the article below.

You know the saying that you should never judge someone until you walk in their shoes? That was the case for me years ago. The name ASUU was synonymous with Iraq and Iran for me. The perceived similarity laid in the fact that I came into this world and heard of Iraq and Iran's incessant wars as well as ASUU's incessant strikes.

I had elder siblings and relatives in the university who always lamented about ASUU strike and how selfish members of the said organization were. In my little mind I conceived of ASUU as a paramilitary organization that had uniforms and were sent to deal with university students. As a primary school pupil, I started loosing sleep over what would be my lot when I finally got into the university.

Years later, I got into the university. My childish misconceptions about ASUU had cleared but what I couldn't fathom was why my lecturers looked impoverished. I couldn't reconcile the fact that a mere OMATA man wore better clothes, lived in better houses and neighbourhoods and drove better cars than a 'whole' university lecturer. I decided that the ASUU must have had a meeting where they made it binding on members to look modest. Perhaps it was their way of differentiating themselves from others as intellectuals. After all, I read somewhere that people with very high IQ don't usually bother themselves with looks. I was VERY SURE their renumeration was heavy so financial issues was totally out of it.

Once I was done with my tertiary education, my mind was set. I wanted to become a lecturer. No other job would do. I wasn't keen on other jobs I mean ' good ' jobs that came my way. I am intelligent, I love to read and I write well. More so, I have passion for teaching. I had the quintessential qualities of an academic and I would pursue my dream of being in the academia.

Marriage and kids happened and my career ambitions were placed on the back burner. As soon as I could help it, I purchased master's form and completed my studies in record time and with superb grades. I quickly purchased the PhD form and began my studies in earnest.
Then it happened. My heart desire was granted. I was employed at the prestigious university of Nigeria. To say I was elated would be for lack of any other word to convey what I felt the day I was handed my employment letter.

My disillusionment started thereafter. When I saw the net and gross pay for AL I screamed in shock. I was sure it was a typographical error and I dashed back to Mrs. Asogwa in personnel unit to point out the 'mistake' in my appointment letter. She kindly reassured me that it was no mistake.
I swallowed hard and concluded that maybe this was the one the school paid. Surely there must be some form of payments from the faculty and department. I remembered we paid faculty and departmental dues back in school. You know right? I was dreaming like one with a bad case of malaria.

The first salary came and I fell in to a bad bout of depression. While I was at it, older colleagues advised me to start writing 'papers'. According to them, the earlier the better. I was also advised to attend conferences and contribute to chapters in a book if I wanted to move to higher levels. I quickly beat my master's seminars into two rich journal article. I gave to my senior colleagues to read and correct.

As soon as I was ready, I matched into my HOD's office and handed him the articles well espoused in brown envelope. With a sense of accomplishment, I informed him that those were journal articles ready for publication. He was pleased and advised me to look for reputable journals that would publish it. I quickly sent them and in no distant time some agreed to publish it for a fee.
I went to my HOD, broke the good news to him and asked him if the publication fee would be directly paid by 'them' or if they would give me the money to make the payment myself. He looked at me like I was wearing my dress inside out. When he saw I was serious, he broke the sad news to me. I am to pay for my journal publications and any other publications for that matter and it is also up to me to pay for conferences.
My one month salary couldn't foot the bills for two publications and one conference attendance. Meanwhile I have three children to cater for, my school fees to pay, house rent to pay, my gas cylinder to refill, to mention but the basics. It dawned on me that I am done for.

Family and friends called on their 'a whole lecturer in UNN for that matter' to assist them once in awhile and she's not forthcoming. I'm labelled stingy. One day one stumbles upon my payslip and pities me. She asked me to resign that the job isn't worth it. I smile and tell her that our union is working on it and that God will pay me. Another came to Nsukka and I invited her to the cubicle where I am entitled to only a plastic chair without table. She repeatedly said tufiakwa! until she left.

I'm a member of ASUU, the union I once judged and condemned, the most misconceived union, the messaiahnic union that would rather it's members receive peanuts than allow children of the poor masses pay tuition fee. Everyday I come online I see those for whom we slave for condemn us. If only they know.... If only they realize that but for us, most of them won't be in school in the first place because their parents won't be able to afford the cost of university education for them.

It is well. Sooner than later, they would understand. Let me stop here before my data runs out, DORIME IS NOT FOR LECTURERS.

nigerianrevolut:
An anonymous lecturer wrote the article below.

You know the saying that you should never judge someone until you walk in their shoes? That was the case for me years ago. The name ASUU was synonymous with Iraq and Iran for me. The perceived similarity laid in the fact that I came into this world and heard of Iraq and Iran's incessant wars as well as ASUU's incessant strikes.

I had elder siblings and relatives in the university who always lamented about ASUU strike and how selfish members of the said organization were. In my little mind I conceived of ASUU as a paramilitary organization that had uniforms and were sent to deal with university students. As a primary school pupil, I started loosing sleep over what would be my lot when I finally got into the university.

Years later, I got into the university. My childish misconceptions about ASUU had cleared but what I couldn't fathom was why my lecturers looked impoverished. I couldn't reconcile the fact that a mere OMATA man wore better clothes, lived in better houses and neighbourhoods and drove better cars than a 'whole' university lecturer. I decided that the ASUU must have had a meeting where they made it binding on members to look modest. Perhaps it was their way of differentiating themselves from others as intellectuals. After all, I read somewhere that people with very high IQ don't usually bother themselves with looks. I was VERY SURE their renumeration was heavy so financial issues was totally out of it.

Once I was done with my tertiary education, my mind was set. I wanted to become a lecturer. No other job would do. I wasn't keen on other jobs I mean ' good ' jobs that came my way. I am intelligent, I love to read and I write well. More so, I have passion for teaching. I had the quintessential qualities of an academic and I would pursue my dream of being in the academia.

Marriage and kids happened and my career ambitions were placed on the back burner. As soon as I could help it, I purchased master's form and completed my studies in record time and with superb grades. I quickly purchased the PhD form and began my studies in earnest.
Then it happened. My heart desire was granted. I was employed at the prestigious university of Nigeria. To say I was elated would be for lack of any other word to convey what I felt the day I was handed my employment letter.

My disillusionment started thereafter. When I saw the net and gross pay for AL I screamed in shock. I was sure it was a typographical error and I dashed back to Mrs. Asogwa in personnel unit to point out the 'mistake' in my appointment letter. She kindly reassured me that it was no mistake.
I swallowed hard and concluded that maybe this was the one the school paid. Surely there must be some form of payments from the faculty and department. I remembered we paid faculty and departmental dues back in school. You know right? I was dreaming like one with a bad case of malaria.

The first salary came and I fell in to a bad bout of depression. While I was at it, older colleagues advised me to start writing 'papers'. According to them, the earlier the better. I was also advised to attend conferences and contribute to chapters in a book if I wanted to move to higher levels. I quickly beat my master's seminars into two rich journal article. I gave to my senior colleagues to read and correct.

As soon as I was ready, I matched into my HOD's office and handed him the articles well espoused in brown envelope. With a sense of accomplishment, I informed him that those were journal articles ready for publication. He was pleased and advised me to look for reputable journals that would publish it. I quickly sent them and in no distant time some agreed to publish it for a fee.
I went to my HOD, broke the good news to him and asked him if the publication fee would be directly paid by 'them' or if they would give me the money to make the payment myself. He looked at me like I was wearing my dress inside out. When he saw I was serious, he broke the sad news to me. I am to pay for my journal publications and any other publications for that matter and it is also up to me to pay for conferences.
My one month salary couldn't foot the bills for two publications and one conference attendance. Meanwhile I have three children to cater for, my school fees to pay, house rent to pay, my gas cylinder to refill, to mention but the basics. It dawned on me that I am done for.

Family and friends called on their 'a whole lecturer in UNN for that matter' to assist them once in awhile and she's not forthcoming. I'm labelled stingy. One day one stumbles upon my payslip and pities me. She asked me to resign that the job isn't worth it. I smile and tell her that our union is working on it and that God will pay me. Another came to Nsukka and I invited her to the cubicle where I am entitled to only a plastic chair without table. She repeatedly said tufiakwa! until she left.

I'm a member of ASUU, the union I once judged and condemned, the most misconceived union, the messaiahnic union that would rather it's members receive peanuts than allow children of the poor masses pay tuition fee. Everyday I come online I see those for whom we slave for condemn us. If only they know.... If only they realize that but for us, most of them won't be in school in the first place because their parents won't be able to afford the cost of university education for them.

It is well. Sooner than later, they would understand. Let me stop here before my data runs out, DORIME IS NOT FOR LECTURERS.

Sad story beautifully narrated story, me and marriage don fight, it's not easy being guys. Greater heights sir