Recently, there was a mass outcry in Kaduna State of Nigeria by the state's primary school teachers due to there dismissal by their boss and Governor of the state, Governor Nasir El Rufai. His reasons for dismissal were clear, according to him, he had mandated his teachers to sit for an exam to determine their competency, in the examinations, he had set them questions a primary 4 student was expected to be able to answer, and to his dismay thousands of them had failed, and thus, lost their jobs. In the time since, there has been numerous articles defaming the governor and calling his actions despicable and heartless, and perhaps it is, but I would like to first examine the facts and look at it objectively before I take a stand. 1st, it was alleged that the governor had not conformed to waec standard in grading his teachers. 2nd, that the governor's markers themselves had made computational errors in the cumulative scores of each candidate. And 3rd, that if indeed some failed, the governor should have paid for their training rather than sack them outright. Now I will look at these grievances in order and then decide upon where I stand. 1st, the matter of WAEC standards, if the governor was to use waec standards then any teacher who scored at least 50% should have passed, but I wonder, if a primary 4 teacher understands only 50% of what he's teaching the student, how much is the child himself supposed to Retain? Furthermore, WAEC standards are for waec students not their Teachers! Claiming that the governor should have used waec standards to grade his teachers is akin to claiming that no firm should conduct aptitude tests in hiring new workers, the certificates are enough, but not so, anyone can pass school, bunch of Es are all you need and you have a degree, but an aptitude test will determine exactly what you know, therefore I see no fault by the governor in his attempt to raise the bar and the standard he requires from his teachers. 2nd, the matter of computational errors, well, it is certainly possible, and something the governor should look into if there is any proof, but thus far I have been unable to find any proof of this, and to further highlight my doubt, not everyone failed, hundreds passed, so how come the errors didn't affect Them? I think it far more likely that this was just a claim made in the bitterness of the pill handed by the governor for his staff to swallow. Now 3rd, the matter of training old staff who failed to the standard the state needs them to be so they can resume work, this too, I'm afraid to say, baffles me. Why on earth should the governor spend hard earned tax payer's money to improve individuals who have not improved Themselves? When there are many out there qualified to carry out these jobs without extra cost on the government? The governor is not their parents so how is he responsible for their personal qualifications and Betterment? I do not think he is obliged to train anyone, I think he is obliged to ensure those who are teaching our children are qualified to do so, and he is trying to do that. So where do I Stand? It seems pretty clear, I stand with the governor, as the leader of a state who's slogan is "Center of Knowledge" and whose pride is education, it's a shameful thing to say our teachers cannot pass primary 4 examinations. It is the responsibility of the governor to remove said teachers and replace them with those who are qualified to teach. And although many have tried to make it seem personal, it really isn't. The governor doesn't know them all face to face, he doesn't really care who you are, this is just about him trying to discharge the responsibility placed upon him by the people of his state. And for a man on his first tenure, it was a brave thing to do, to risk the wrath of thousands of potential voters in the pursuit of doing what is right. I commend you Mr. Governor. So are you heartless? Why yes, you are, and incidentally, it is the exact kind of heartlessness that we need more of in this state and in our country as a whole.