₦airaland Forum

Scammer... say anything you wish to say here.

Memyselfu2009: Well i now understand that ASUU re selfish ASUU, saying that most of their demands are not applicable in any part of the world. “You can tell the future of a nation by the state of the schools, and the state of schools in the country is pathetic,” he said. “Where else in the world do you pay for examination allowance?  Is that not the job of the lecturers? You pay for postgraduate project supervision: is that not the job of the professors?”
Indeed they re greedy

I appreciate those statements pal. In as much i wouldn't want to take side in this imbroglio because i believe the two sides have their blames, i will not also fail to say ASUU's demands are very questionable. If truly the current strike is really targetted at what they make Nigerians believe it is as against their sole benefit, i think there are lots of things that should have preceeded the strike even if at all they will go on strike.

You are telling us your primary fight is to find solution to the rot in the education sector. Are Universities the only section of the education sector that you want 50% of their allocation to go to universities??

@Lord Babs; Your choice of words are too strong... You can make your positions known without insulting anyone. Please try and work on that.

BTW, As per your question on the current ASUU strike, the article is neither justifying the FGN or ASUU but rather trying to explain why strike is not a good approach to our educational problems.

Another option to strike? I guess you didn't read the whole 'voluminous' write-up. I suggested two ways;
1. Strategic Dialogue
2. Court Action

The strategic dialogue i mean here is trying to carry some necessary groups along. In a situation whereby we realize we have a stubborn government in power, there is a need to be more smart in dialogues. I believe involving the lawmakers of our land in such crucial matter will be helpful. They are in charge of the budget allocation verification and approval. I believe once they are successfully integrated in such dialogue, they will have to let the FG be aware of their commitements whenever a budget is passed before the house thereby compulsorily ensuring that provision is made for such agreement in the budget plan. Also, the masses should not only get to know what is going on only when a strike has been initiated. They too need to be carried along.

Anyi.:
I hate to burst your bubbles mehn, but me thinks it's the same Federal Scholarship Board that's handling this as well but maybe Commonwealth go still supervise am sha

Really? I thought once the applicants are nominated by their organisations, the nominations go directly to the Commonwealth team... Or how does FSB come into play?

BushyA55.Banger:
I knw where u are coming from.

yea

@Richiez & Bionicdude; Like i stated in that piece, strike is an archaic method that hardly moves our leaders anymore, most especially the African leaders. If not so, how can a nation's tertiarry institutions be down for close to four good months now and yet, no headway?

I also mentioned there that i believe in the power of dialogue. Yes! you can say dialogue has not been effective, but i tell you, if dialogue is initiated and engaged in a 'very strategic' manner, it will be productive. The wonderful results the power of dialogue has achieved around the globe particularly in Africa over time cannot under-estimate its viability.

Hmmm... so you knew about the e-protest? Anyway, my insecurity is not unconnected to the perculiarity of my environment. How do i mean? There are times you see somethings that are not supposed to be happening like oppression, bullying and so many other social vices and your not comfortable with it. When you move against such act, you'll get attacked by some elements that don't really appreciate your move or perhaps ignorant to it.

This actually leaves one at danger not until those ones get to realize the benefit and sanctity you have injected. I don't know if you grab my story?

BushyA55.Banger:
i see

hehe.. you see??

princess chloe: This is because most people hardly view other pages asides front page.

hope this makes u happy.

Answered!

I think my insecurity actually lies in my inability to be quiet to happenings around me...

I just hope this is handled with fairness. Infact, i believe it will since the main duties of the processing are not done by the Nigerian government. The BEA Award Processing done earlier this year was crap!

Those internally generated revenues are been expended unjustifiably as far as i am concern. This is one of those reasons i will not support ASUU on this strike, you are clinging to one agreement which is hinged solely on funding,,, what are they doing with those money they generate internally? Acceptance fees, huge predegree programme fees, all kinds of fees paid by students, grants and aids from corporate bodies, NGOs, individual and many more.

Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) management is a prime suspect in this kind of accusation...

Tus.h!!! some comments here are just too ludicrous for my comprehension... there was a security report, instead of a mod should help launch investigation into it if possible and get to the admin of the site on the matter, a mod came out and start debunking the claim without verification and proposing a ban for the OP. Too bad!

Why not resign?? and face the probe panel proper. Nigerians are watching...

I have put them together please. Check @ http://nairaland.com/1489254/strike-wrong-approach-nigerias-educational#19025465

Fynestboi: Davos check your email....

Got it. Alright Thanks Sir... I'll do that now.

Fynestboi: you can break it maybe into three part....

Sorry, i am not getting you right.. can you explain what you mean by 3 parts... BTW here is the first part of the piece https://www.nairaland.com/1489254/strike-wrong-approach-nigerias-educational

Lead by example... kindly let us see them declare their supports for female guber candidates in their respective states first.

Having talked about the expensive effects of strikes on our educational system in Nigeria, i won't shy away from also discussing the benefits these incessant strikes may accrue ONLY if successfully geared towards its intention that masses were made to believe. Amongst the benefits are better infrastructures in our schools, improved welfare packages for the workers in the academia thereby making teaching pleasureable to the teaching staffs and also indirectly help in impacting the desired and required knowledge on the students but what most people don't understand is that there are other better ways to address the educational problems in Nigeria other than the popular strikes.

The major protagonists of strikes in our schools, the government workers in the schools are not just multi-directional in their approach. They are always mono-strategic in their mechanism to articulate their demands, a strategy that is not only impotently archaic but also has been found not effective in our black continent to a very large extent. Not even only that, the touted genuineness of their agitations and action is quite questionable. If truly strikes could rescue the Nigerian educational system, then our institutions should by now be one of the best in the world. If the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been on strike for about thirty(30) months in the past ten years and we are still where we are today, then it obviously means it is a wrong approach to Nigeria's educational problems.

Permit me to digress a little please, i keep asking myself that if our fore-fathers could achieve independence for our dear Nigeria without bloodshed as it was the case in many countries, then, why is it so difficult for this generation to try another better method to approach our educational problems other than the incessant strikes which is the popular and non-effective usual way? Srike is just been counter-productive and unhealthy for our education!


At this point, i am more than sure without mincing words that it is now very conspicuous that the dangers incessant strike actions pose to our education and even on the economic life of our nation both in the short-run and long-run outweigh its benefits. I hereby plead with the stakeholders of this sector; the workers, governments, students and others to let us come to this realization that strike is not the right approach to our problems. I want us to engage more practicable and effective ways to tackle the problems in our education that will ensure the much anticipated better face for it rather than the accumulating damages the sector suffer.

Dialogue remains a very viable and effective tool in this instance. The successful progression recorded in many areas of life today cannot be applauded without stating that they were achieved through dialogue, round table conferences and other diplomatic avenues. More importantly, sueing the erring government to a law court is another viable way i am sure will diplomatically curtail the aggravating danger of strike in our educational system if given a trial.

I implore the governments at all level to also try as much as possible to help realize this feat; quality education. A very good policy has been 'prescribed' by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation(UNESCO) to help address the problems we are facing in our education sector most especially in Africa. This allows at least 26% of the nations annual budgetary allocation go to the education sector as against the 9% currently committed to it in Nigeria. {2}

Adoption of this will go a very long way in salvaging the current disposition and also help to achieve the greatness we crave for. This is very possible in Nigeria if our leaders are truly dedicated to the transformation project. Not also leaving out the work forces in the sector, the likes of ASUU, ASUP, COEASU, NASU, SSANU and so many others, i want to charge them to be more dedicated to their duties, proving critics wrong and being sincere in their constructive and preventive demands.

The students have over the years shown resilience and even solidarity to struggles that were aimed at solely benefitting the workers, same gesture should be reciprocated in hard times when the students are faced with oppression and problems beyond their limit. I therefore plead with the work forces not to repay the students' patriotism at this time with damaging strike actions.

I therefore reinstate that strike is a wrong approach to Nigeria's educational problems.



References:

1. DailyPost Nigeria online Newspaper,
ASUU strike: ‘Unplanned breaks affect students’
11th December, 2011
[http://dailypost.com.ng/2011/12/11/ASUU-strike-‘unplanned-breaks-affect-students’/]

2. FinIntell News,
2013 Budget Analysis
[http://www.myfinancialintelligence.com/banking-and-finance/2013-budget-analysis]

Special Acknowledgement:

★ 2013 Nairaland Educational Debate Competition Judges

Ghana Edu-fair in Nigeria?? See what Nigeria has reduced to... Ghana Edu-fair? Same 'Ghana Must Go!' #SMH

Fynestboi: oya go ahead

I sent you a mail but no response yet. Sorry, i don't know if i can put the piece in two topics because its a very lengthy one and i wouldn't want the reader get bored reading it at once. Is that ok please?

STRIKE: A WRONG APPROACH TO NIGERIA'S EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS

By Adetula David

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said and i quote; "The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that"


Strike is defined by Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary as the refusal to work as a protest. The online free encyclopedia, Wikipedia put it in a more refined way by saying, strike action is work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. It goes further to say, a strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. The strike discussed in this piece is not different from the afore-mentioned. Its just that it is restrained to the educational sector of Nigeria. Some Nigerians however described strike as an annual festival whereby students are not allowed to go to school. To a very large extent, the defination is right as it has become a 'norm' for the occurence of work halt in at least once in a section in the education sector in the country within the twelve months in a calendar year.


Strike action definately has its pros and cons which i am going to critically analyse in course of this piece. However, this write-up is intended to show reasons and logically conclude that strike is a wrong approach to the educational problems in our dear nation Nigeria as it is widely belived by many.


When a strike is initiated by the work force, it is always known to be a fierce battle between the employer and the employees; the government and the association under which the workers are registered. The 'suffering grass' whenever these two elephants clash are the students who are directly at the receiving end of the imbroglio. Thus, leaving several damages on the students whenever such occurs.


Among several effects of strike include time wastage and unnecessary delays. The most saddening aspect of the strike action atimes is that the reason why it is being initiated is not really worth it. Thereby, leading to a battered academic calendar. A disrupted academic calendar definately gives birth to the shrinking of activities when the school resumes in order to meet the set target for that session. This affects the students adversely in terms of their performances in tests and exams since they never expected such changes. Not only this, unemployment is a 'time-bomb' for graduates that were repeatedly affected by strike during their student days. This is caused by their inability to meet up with the set requirements. Most jobs these days are tied to age limit, so graduates that have overstayed mostly owing to no fault of theirs, become too old for jobs of their dream. This is quite pathetic!


Students engagement in non-fruitful and criminal activities have been the case during strikes. Like the popular adage says "an idle mind is the devil's workshop" some students are drawn into nefarious acts during this period which are capable of destroying them and unleashing terror on the peace of the nation. Aside this, some students become social network veterans, some turn into statues of idleness, bunch of parrots, backbitters, gossipers and busy bodies while some turn themselves into sleeping bags as if been bitten by tse-tse fly. They eat as if life is all about eating. This set of students you see in schools after the strike with voluminous body mass blessed with unnecessary fats(perhaps with no shape), all these against their wishes.


The Loss of credibility is a grave danger applicable to our schools as a result of incessant strikes. Its quite unfortunate these days that only few foreigners will prefer to send their wards to study here in Nigeria as a result of the back drops from strikes while we move our children en-mass to schools abroad thereby exporting the fund that is supposed to be expended locally to economically add values to our system. What about the psychological effects of strike on students? A psychologist and lecturer, Department of Educational Foundation, University of Lagos, Dr Sola Aletan explained that the unplanned breaks definately affect students negatively. He compared this scenario to when an athlete running a 400metres race is abruptly stopped when he started the race, he said such situation affects the athlete greatly and will take time for him/her to regain his/her speed and confidence as it was levelled before. Same thing applies to students that are sent away from schools due to strike.{1} These and many other damping effects of strike are what students are exposed to.


Funny enough, the bad effects of strikes are not 'enjoyed' only by students that have been deprived of their right to education, the striking workers too share part of the experience. Workers feel the nostalgia with a tinge of guilt, arising from shrinked responsibilities. Though thesame work force called for the strike, but i can tell you that not all its members are always in full support of the action. Also, academic workers who are still in their 'evolving process' too get affected during strikes. Example of this are the postgraduate students that lecture in universities. ASUU strike also grounds their study.


Unfortunately, no one is talking about the poor masses that worked in the closed environment. I mean the motocyclists, drivers, traders, tailors, capenters and others that make ends meet by their activities in the academia. Most of these people are below-average Nigerians that have family members who look up to them to survive owing to the penny they get from their toil in the now closed academic community. Now subjected to unemployment and poverty that will not even be make-up for when the strike is over unlike in the case of the academic workers that get paid even when they refuse to work. Too bad!


Unknowingly, even the erring government that has failed to accede to the demands of these workers is not safe too from the impasse. Prof. Umukoro of Department of Theartre Arts, University of Ibadan wrote in one of his articles that was featured in The Guardian Newspaper dated Wed. Oct. 21, 2009 that "no nation anywhere in the world can rise above the quality of its tertiary education. Show me your universities, and I shall tell you what type of nation you are", this clearly emphasizes the importance of an academic calendar devoid of unnecessary breaks. All sectors of our national life are largely dependent on education. The future of the nation are the young sharps currently in schools and as such, the kind of education policies put in place now dictate the quality of life experienced and their performances later on when they spread to all sectors of the economy thereby re-affirming the centrality of education to national development. The effects of strike will obviously jeopardize the dream of having a great posterity who will be better leaders. This long-term effect on the nation is unfortunately not critically assessed.

Fynestboi: oya go ahead

Alright. Let me do a kind of editing before putting up. By tomorrow God willing. Thanks.

Fynestboi: and for what purpose?

lolz... Seems your sceptical about that? Anyway, i just felt since the topic addresses the current ASUU strike on ground, topics of such could grace the front page. Nevertheless, its not necessary mine is taken up there, preferrably that of the topic winner could be moved up. Its just that the winner supported the strike

Fynestboi: you mean your essay, the one you used for the debate

Yes

@Mr Fynestboi, hope you're good today? I want to ask if i can create a topic for my essay and get it featured on the front page?

Promhize: God punish this idiots. I was almost supporting them but on a second thought, this guys are greedy old men, destroying students lives with no sense of regret.

Why can't they just sue the FG since it was an agreement, wait let me guess, they don't want to spend their money, but they can waste students lives without twitching an eye.
We always blame FG, but these lecturers are as worse as the politicians themselves, I can bet that over 40% (esp Professors, Dr) are not in Nigeria as we are speaking, we complain that our politicians children aren't schooling in Nigeria but these greedy men are not different, even the son of Ondo state's deputy governor schools at OAU - tell me why he would want to send any of his children to FG universities later.

I just don't understand, this idiots are fighting for their pockets - for bigger offices, ac fitted - not students. I school in OAU and I'm not complaining, in-fact, no student is complaining. OAU increased Acceptance fee from 2000naira to 20,000naira, a whooping 1000% increase, when we students protested they advised us to stop and called us all sorts.

No lecturer supported students. For Pre-degree programme, the fee is over 150thousand naira, to write post utme, you'd have to pay over 3000naira, to check you'd have to pay over 3000naira, pls where do you think all these money is going to. Its not like we are given free food or learning materials.

This lecturers sit in AC tight offices, travel anyhow even during school semesters all in the name of research, the same lecturers fighting for students will come back from trips in the middle of semesters and give students only course outline and ask us to go learn ourselves.

Same lecturers demanded more than once that their retirement age be extended when millions of graduates are out of work. They want allowance because they are teaching more than 1 course, these same men and women of no reputable standard went to school on scholarship, with free food, books, and so on.

Damn ASUU and their sympathisers. They sit in AC tight offices with numerous gadgets when ordinary ceiling fans in students room aren't working.

They collect hundreds of millions in different fees but must new classrooms in OAU are built by Private companies and individuals such as first bank, I bet the rest are from FG funds.


I WILL STOP UNTIL EVERYONE KNOWS THAT EVEN THOUGH FG IS CORRUPT, THESE LECTURERS ARE NOT ANY BETTER.

Hmmm... I laud your views friend. I just hope all other Nigerian students realize strike is nothing more than a wrong approach to Nigeria's educational problems. The highlighted is a very wonderful way ASUU could have pressed home for their alledged demands.

I don't seems to understand what they mean 'we are going to pay ASUU'. Are they talking about the earned allowance of ASUU, UNIABUJA Branch or just pay the lecturers to break the rule enforcing the strike right from her national secretariat?

Hmmmm... Though i haven't had an encounter with her before, but what i have read about her suggests she's a nice fellow. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

First and foremost, let me congratulate my fellow contestants that were lucky enough to make it through to the next round, you guys are great!

I also felicitate with those of us that were not able to move beyond this stage, we tried our best but its just that everyone cannot be a winner. It will go down history lane that we are the pioneer contestants. Most of us were still able to bring up a nice piece despite a lot of unfavourable factors that were highlighted to have affected our input. Let us cheer ourselves!

The clean jobs done by the Judges cannot be left out without been appreciated. You created time for yourself to scrutinize our large write-ups and assessed it appropriately. I say thank you!

The organisers too rock especially Mr Fynestboi, the brain behind this project.

I want to charge all contestants to try as much as possible to build on the successes and challenges recorded in this edition to build self. I personally have learnt a lot from the Judges' reports on my work especially on how referencing should be applied in articles. I want to implore the rest of us to do thesame.

I wish the last four friends the very best of luck and looking forward to next year's edition if God permits. Thanks.

uj_sizzle: Davo93 and Mazi_Omenuko
You two deserve a standing ovation. I found your essays very educative and on point. You did an intensive research on your subject, and went further to familiarise yourself with some of your opponents argument which you debunked flawlessly...beautiful!

Davo, you however need to watch those spellings and paragraphs.

Mazi_Omenuko, watch those tenses.

Thanks so much ma. I must sincerely say i have learnt, i am still learning and i hope to learn more from the reproofs so far. I appreciate you for your time.