₦airaland Forum

From NYSC to RIP, the agony of a bloody MOU
By Modiu Olaguro

“In this game of politics, we must understand that match officials, and spectators are not the opponents. We must not direct our anger towards the wrong people.” – Solomon Dalung speaking on the death of Okonta Dumebi Samuel.

The need to re-create INEC, a body hitherto consumed in the shadow of Professor Maurice Iwu into a truly independent body required the erstwhile chairman of the commission, Professor Attahiru Jega to make key changes to its structure from top to bottom. Worth mentioning amongst the changes, which in all fairness proved to be the lifeblood the body needed to regain its lost glory (if there was any) were: the introduction of the Permanent Voters’ Card (PVC) and electronic card readers into the voting process, the employment of the services of heads of tertiary institutions as resident electoral commissioners (REC), and serving youth corps members as presiding officers (PO) and assistant presiding officers (APO) respectively.

With the job of the state collation officers requiring more of administrative and monitoring roles rather than field work especially in urban centres where transportation of logistics and staff are non-issues, there was absolutely no need for a REC to finalise the content of his will before undertaking this national assignment. But the situation becomes different when the roles of the youth corps member are discussed.

Unlike his professor, he sits in a completely different terrain. With one eye on the ballot box, the other on the card reader while at the same time flashes his brain intermittently between the thoughts of the sound of a gunshot and the possibility of him not getting his financial rewards after the poll, the fresh graduates who defy all odds whenever they are called upon to mount polling units across the nation are the ones we owe the most gratitude for the deepening and consolidation of our nascent democracy.

It is thus unfortunate that although these young souls carry on their shoulders the destiny of the nation each time they serve INEC, they are mostly left in the lurch even in communities known to be flashpoints.

In 2011, at least 11 corps members lost their lives in the post-election violence that went on unabatedly in several states of the north mostly targeted at youth corps members whom were thought to have carried out the bidding of the PDP. In Niger state, we lost Ademola Adejoke and Nwali Ifeoma; others like Adeniji Jehleel, Gbenjo Ayotunde, Ukeoma Ikechukwu Chibuzor, and Akonyi Sule, Teidi Olawale, Nkwazema Chukwunonyerem, Okpokiri Obinna Michael, Adowei Elliot, Adewunmi Paul got their bloods scattered across several states up on the Nigerian map.

These people were not only extra-judicially executed; their last moments on earth were the most brutal, painful and agonising as their lives ended with a fate that was underserving of the most insignificant creature under the heaven. While some were clubbed to death, others, according to media reports were dragged out of their lodges, tortured, butchered and burnt right in front of our very eyes – a fate the then president, Goodluck Jonathan perceived as “the supreme sacrifice.”

These names were not the only victims of the ballot as almost 100 youth corps members sustained varying degrees of injuries for daring to participate in the 2011 elections. Speaking on behalf of the scheme at the presentation of cheques to some of the victims, Mrs. Justina Andirya, the NYSC Coordinator in Niger, said “the Federal Government was pained by the death of the corps members and the sufferings of the injured.”

Yet, the NYSC – after losing at least 11 souls put in her care by parents who toiled so hard to send their wards to school – did little to withdraw the services of corps members from INEC’s subsequent activities even as it was clear that the latter, in the build-up to the 2011 poll was well aware of the volatile nature of the north and the impossibility of the fanatical supporters of gladiators to not resort to violence should results not go their way, and more damningly, the feebleness, nay, helplessness of our security agencies to protect themselves not to mention others when war looms.

Let’s read a speech in their honour, invite their families for a crying session, pay their blood monies, set-up a fact-finding committee, and then move on. That is why with almost N80m paid for blood and limb, the country went to sleep – one that would have annihilated more youths corps members in the 2015 elections had the poll not favoured the masses in most parts of the country.

With the Supreme Court affirming Nyesom Wike’s mandate, a man whose brashness and barbarity scares the shit out of the devil, coupled with the hubris and invisibility that comes with becoming a minister of the federal republic which Rotimi Amaechi exemplifies, not forgetting the litany of arms in the hands of the militants, neither INEC nor NYSC would deny that sending youth corps members to mount the poll in Rivers State was a suicide mission.

But due to reasons best known to Professor Mahmud Yakubu and Brigadier General Johnson Bamidele Olawumi, neither the war drum coming out of the Brick House nor Amaechi’s obsession at reclaiming his lost territory was sufficient for NYSC to sit with INEC to excuse youth corps members from the poll.
But with the fatal death of Okonta Dumebi Samuel, a graduate of political science from Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma on Saturday during the re-run elections in Rivers State, the nation has once again failed to protect one of its own. Just as it happened in 2011, youth corps members were singled out for attacks by aggrieved persons. According to THISDAY, “the deceased was trailed and killed after he had submitted the election results to the local government office of INEC in Ahoada West.”

This is why the threat issued by Brigadier General Johnson Bamidele Olawumi over the murder of Samuel that the scheme might be forced to withdraw the services of youth corps members from electoral duties is a welcome one.

“The NYSC as a body may not be able to continue to cope with the gruesome murder of corps members during elections. We may have to review our partnership after this investigation.” He continued: “We may be forced to review our partnership with INEC on the use of corps members as ad hoc workers as we cannot continue to witness the death of our innocent corps members.”

Coming into NYSC should never be a call to answer the angel of death. So it’s instructive to advise the leadership of the NYSC that until sanity prevails in the conducts of Nigerian politicians, the services of youth corps members should be withdrawn in its entirety from INEC. While we eagerly await the report of the findings of the security operatives, no one disagrees that the continued hostility of political gladiators towards defeat will not dissipate soon, hence a need to put an end to this memorandum.

We must never allow anyone else to be killed before taking further action.

It is worth saying that being a serving corps member, I’m well aware that this essay is a breach of protocol – but that’s the least of my worry. It’ll be a miracle if I complete my service year without an extension or at least a query anyway! A few weeks ago, a former colleague informed me that Dr. Karo Ogbinaka, the Deputy Dean of Students’ Affairs II of the University of Lagos once told him that he hoped I was not planning to return to the university for my masters. As a fierce critic of the corrupt acts and human rights violations that go on unchecked in the university, it appears the school still cannot fathom how I managed to graduate in three years.

I would gladly welcome sanctions of any nature from NYSC if that is the sacrifice that needs to be made to put an end to the murder of my serving brothers and sisters.

Modiu Olaguro, a youth corps member teaches mathematics at Jebba.

Email: dprophetpride@gmail.com

Twitter: @ModiuOlaguro

An insightful essay on why ASUU should remove the log in her eyes before removing that on the eyes of the nation. Deserves FRONT-PAGGING.
https://www.nairaland.com/1558400/beyond-ASUU-strike

Beyond The ASUU Strike By Modiu Olaguro
Dec, 14 2013, 1:12PM — siteadmin
By Modiu Olaguro
“Its high time ASUU starts being the change it wants to see in the nation.”
 
I’m writing this piece in anticipation of the call-off to the industrial action by the academic staff union of universities which is evident due to the memorandum of understanding that was signed between the union and the federal government on the 11th of December 2013.
 
The several months’ old strike like any other that has plagued the country was met with diverse reaction from stakeholders across the country. The lecturers on their part reaffirmed their position on the rationale for the strike as one that was needed to revitalize the ailing education sector. The government was quick to point out that the demands of ASUU if met would only signal the end of the country’s economy.
 
The interesting aspect of the strike was that the students who have been the direct victim of the “chalk-down” were divided in opinions as a number of us supported ASUU while others, probably due to the extension of stay in school or the presumed benefit they get from it especially the leadership of the National association of Nigerian students (NANS) decided to take sides with the reneged party that signed an agreement, but failed to honor it.
 
The students that were in support of the strike took that position out of the conviction that in a land filled with abundant human, material and mineral resources such as ours, there should not be a reason why our ivory towers should remain at the very bottom of the Webometrics- below several universities, colleges and polytechnics of other African countries.
 
 
This development brings to fore some burning issues that have been a source of concern, worry and apprehension for undergraduates across the country.
 
First is the fear of rushing students in order to close-in on the lost weeks to accommodate students who take other satellite, part-time and distance learning programs offered by the Universities. Rumors are rife among students that if the strike is called off in December, examinations might be held before the end of the year leaving the students with less than two weeks for lectures and tests though a number of school calendars had at least five weeks to examinations before the strike commenced.
 
It is pertinent to point out that the aim of education far exceeds the “four-walls, teaching-learning process”, it transcends a rigid, hasty completion of an academic calendar; on the contrary, education should aim to focus on those policies and decisions that are geared towards enabling the students achieve both their innate and manifested potentials as against the old ways of letting them be a victim of not only the strike action but also a rushed examination.
 
It would do the students and management of the respective universities much good if the councils sit on a round table to make an in-depth assessment and analysis on the best way to go about adjusting the school calendar in order to ensure that the students are not short-changed by making them the grass in the tussle between two elephants. Such criteria that ought to be considered include but are not limited to the number of weeks to examinations before the strike and the psychological effect of the months old strike on the students and lecturers.
 
It is also imperative for ASUU and the federal government to devise other means to settle their scores because though it appears that the leadership of ASUU is in haste to see that the education sector is revamped (which is a laudable development), the result to incessant strikes do leave a devastating scar on the system. A step in the positive direction was the decision that was reported to have been made that the new agreement be signed by a host of government institutions including the central bank in order not to have a repeat of the 2009 agreement that was not implemented.
 
There is also a need for ASUU to look inward and get its house in order by not compromising standards as regards the unethical conducts of some university teachers. As a way of justifying the financial and intellectual trust put in its care, the university managers should as a matter of necessity ensure that only qualified lecturers not only in terms of certification but also character remain in the system.
 
As an undergraduate, I have been involved in discussions with colleagues from the faculty of engineering and environmental sciences who complain bitterly that a handful of their lecturers do not have an iota of practical experience in the construction industry and field work. They give instance where first class students were retained to teach immediately after their undergraduate or graduate studies which according to them, has been inimical to the passing across of practical concepts to them.
 
The leadership of ASUU while fighting the government on the adequate funding of the sector should not also wait to let others point it out to them that there is an urgent need to put the culture of waste to check by prudent management of scarce resources; the issue of sexual harassment on the part of their colleagues and students still steers right on our faces; there is a need to work with the management of the respective universities in order to provide a clear-cut template for the dos and don’ts binding the conduct of both the lecturers and students.
 
ASUU and the university managements would also do well by providing and sustaining an atmosphere where meritocracy thrives and its members are checked by the students and supervisory bodies and feedback provided to the appropriate authorities on such yardsticks such as attendance to lectures, knowledge of subject matter, discipline and character. Rewards should be handed out to deserving ones while punishment ranging from query, suspension or termination of appointments should be meted out to erring ones irrespective of status.
 
The forced selling of handouts and textbooks is also a bane in our higher institutions as some lecturers do take down names of the students that purchase their materials- this is in contrast to what operates in other neighboring and western nations where lecturers produce course notes for the students to download at no fee at all.
 
It has widely been reported that one of the reasons why cultism remain pervasive in our citadels is because some lecturers and even university managers who were cultists during their undergraduate days still remain apologetic to their secret groups; ASUU would write its name in gold if it sees this as a blemish on its part and fishes out culprits in other to solve this social problem.
 
The issue of leakage of examination papers ought to be seriously looked into as it as widespread and pervasive as a cholera outbreak. There is a need to put in place stringent measures in order to nail this academic disgrace in the bud. There had been allegations that personal assistants to lecturers and secretary to departments are mostly culpable.
 
The voices of some stakeholders who called for the proscription of ASUU were loud but the call was not allowed to hold substance because as a trade union with several members, they have every right to agitate and struggle especially in a democratic setting; it is thus unfortunate that though ASUU remains a viable and formidable union in Nigeria, most of her members including professors, PhD holders and even graduate students occupying various position in our citadels have in one way or another contributed to the weakening, dismantling and even the proscription of student unionism across the country.
 
A good example is the University of Lagos who prides itself as the University of First Choice and nation’s pride but has denied her students the right to participate in a democracy for eight years since the student union government was banned. I wonder what the administrators of UNILAG are afraid of to warrant this abuse of civil rights.
 
The students cannot be absolved from this malice as most of us stay in the university as though we are strangers begging for favors; on the contrary, the university in all its entirety- the buildings, books and members of staff would not have been in place were it not for the students hence, a need to start cultivating the right attitudes of demanding for a better service and quality education from the government and lecturers.
 
I've been a university student for two years, and since then, I have had cause to remain at home for almost a year: two months on the subsidy protests, a month was wasted during the change of the university’s name, five months and still counting on the ASUU strike which totals nine months.
 
This is really not a good time to be a Nigerian.
 
Modiu Olaguro finds “X” at The University of Lagos
Email: dprophetpride@gmail.com

"The blind leading the blind is not so upsetting, more
jarring is the blind leading the sighted"

The academic staff union of universities (ASUU) have
been on strike for the past ninety days; according to
the ASUU chairman- Dr. Issa Fagge, the strike action
became imperative because the federal government
had failed to honour the agreement it made with the
union in 2009.

As it has always been whenever ASUU strikes, the
university students are always at the receiving end of it
as we are left with no other option than to sit idle at our
homes recounting our losses especially the inevitable
extension of our academic years in school.

Though no student in his or her right senses would
want to extend his or her stay in school by even a day,
the situation of things that prompted the strike
embarked upon by ASUU ought to make us have a
rethink and to ponder for a moment on whether we- as
students would rather agree to support ASUU in this
cause on their position that education has to be
adequately funded or succumb to the extra year
pressure in clamoring for an end to the strike.

Among the stakeholders that have been vocal on the
current imbroglio is the National association of Nigerian
Students (NANS) headed by the National president-
Yinka Gbadebo.

Gbadebo while speaking in Lagos recently, said that
NANS was no longer in support of the strike as it has no
moral obligation to do so urging ASUU to drag the
federal government to court.

The National association of Nigerian students is the
umbrella body of students studying in all tertiary
institutions in the country. Thus by implication, every
student studying in a university, polytechnic or college
becomes an automatic member of the body.

Before embarking on this journey, it would only be fair
to give a concise definition of an association in order to
ascertain whether NANS fits in.

The Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary (International
student’s edition) defines an association as “an official
group of people who have joined together for a
particular purpose; a connection or relationship
between people or organization”; Encarta dictionary
defines it as “Coming together and social interaction
between people”.

As it is expected of an organization, we believe that any
statement from the leadership of NANS ought to be the
position of the generality of Nigerian students across
universities; polytechnics and colleges respectively but
a closer look at the antecedents, actions and
statements from the leadership of NANS should make
every Nigerian student wary of this body.

A colleague confided in me that quite a handful
number among the leadership of NANS are either drop
outs or graduates; he further revealed that the smart
ones amongst them enroll for a part time, diploma or
graduate course in an institution before obtaining a
form of contest in order to be recognised as a student.

Clearly, ASUU and NANS are independent bodies; as
Gbadebo pointed out, NANS has no moral obligation
whatsoever to partake in its fights and struggles but as
logical as the statement may sound, the leadership of
NANS fell into a deep fallacy by asking ASUU to accept
the paltry sum of 130 billion to be shared by over 60
universities.

As i wrote earlier in a piece titled “On ASUU strike:
unlike a nation’s pride”, the 2009 agreement consist of
quite a number of things but there are few ones that
ought not to be the fight of ASUU but that of NANS
especially the funding of education. Not a single one
among undergraduates will support ASUU if it had
embarked on this strike because of the increase in the
retirement age of professors or the handing over of
landed properties to federal universities.
No Nigerian student whom NANS claim to represent
and speak on its behalf would line up and sing songs of
praise in support of ASUU if its reason for leaving the
classroom was for an increment in pay and not the call
for a better education for the Nigerian people.

If NANS had been an association that truly seeks to
protect the welfare of the over 60 million Nigerian
students, it would have occurred to its leadership that
the clamour by ASUU on the funding of education
ought not to be ASUU's fight but theirs; or who stands
to benefit from a world class classroom, a standard
laboratory, a 24 hour electricity supply to the hostels, a
reduced teacher - student ratio? The lecturers or the
students?
How would NANS claim to represent 60 million Nigerian
students when it neither owns a website or a blog?

What authority do NANS and its card carrying
executives have when they have not a single presence
on the social media? I searched for ' www.nans.edu.ng,
www.nans.org, www.nans.com and several other
combinations but all i got was “website not available”.

A Facebook search of NANS only shows a page with a
total like of “4654” as at 14th of September 2013; a
scroll to the bottom of the page had a poorly
constructed statement that goes thus:
“I am comrade Adeoye Adelaja, former Ass sec Gen in
Federal poly Bida 2004/2005 set, i searched on
facebook and i did Ŋ¤τ̲̅ see NANS, i decided τ̲̅ȍ create
the page!!! in solidarity and for the sake of passing
information τ̲̅ȍ all concern across all students bodies, i
donate this page τ̲̅ȍ NANS, all the current Excos who
which τ̲̅ȍ Manage this Page should do ♍ƺ an Email
dibigslim@yahoo.com for ♍ƺ τ̲̅ȍ admin dem”.

How on earth is NANS representing students in Nigeria
if it cannot boast of a twitter account in the 21st
century? How can Gbadebo and his colleagues be
speaking on my behalf and on the behalf of all
undergraduates if it does not have a single notice
board in the University of Lagos, the University of
Ibadan, the University of Calabar, Ahmadu Bello
university- Zaria, Federal university of technology-
Akure, Yaba college of technology, Adeniran Ogunsanya
college of education, and all the other tertiary
institutions across Nigeria?

The benefits of the social media as a powerful tool was
most evident during the January 2012 subsidy protests
where the Nigerian people were mobilised via the
online media; NANS absence on the online media
would not have bothered me if other associations such
as the market women, national union of road transport
workers, national union of local government
employees, carpentry associations etcetera were not
online.

Is it not a farce that few individuals have been parading
themselves as the saviours of Nigerian students when
they see nothing wrong in the standard of education in
Nigeria? If Gbadebo was a Nigerian student, will he
claim not to be aware that a four man room in an
average Nigerian university now occupies at least
twenty students?
How can NANS be a body that is concerned about the
welfare of the Nigerian students when our laboratory
taps are dried or is the ailing standard of education not
part of its mandate?

What justification does NANS have to clandestinely
take sides with the federal government (please
convince us otherwise) when it is glaring that this
country have the resources to fund education even
beyond the 26% recommended by UNESCO; this is a
country that feeds a president with 1 billion naira per
annum and changes the spoons and forks in the first
lady's kitchen with 45million naira for the same period.

How does NANS claim to speak for Nigerian students
when it has always taken sides with the government in
power? Speaking at the 11th annual campus life
workshop, the Lagos lawyer- Mr Femi Falana stated his
displeasure over the lack of sincerity on the part of
NANS as the association could not present itself as a
witness in the court to fight the fee hike in the Lagos
state university; yet, they claim to protect the interest
of the Nigerian student.

How does NANS expect Nigerian students to buy the
idea that the country's economy will collapse if
education gets adequate funding when there is
profligacy everywhere? the politicians rides in exotic
cars of the latest model whereas our professors drive
about in a jeep of less than 800 000 that was
manufactured probably in the 70’s; former president
Olusegun Obasanjo owns a university, Atiku Abubakar
owns, David mark earns over N600 million a year,
Dimeji Bankole stole his own, Patricia Etteh stole,
James Ibori laundered, Tafa Balogun stole, Bode George
carted, Sanni Abacha's loot is still hanging, General
Theophilius Danjuma sold an oil block and after paying
all obligations, he asked Nigerians to advise him on
what to do with it because the proceeds was too much;
is NANS still buying the lies of Labaran Maku and Dr.
Okonjo Iweala that the economy will collapse; that
there is no money in Nigeria to educate its masses?

The 20th century physicist- Albert Einstein wrote that
“Education is not the learning of facts but the training
of the mind to think”- so as an individual that have
received little education, I’ve been engaging myself in
some serious thoughts on whether it was possible for
the federal government to declare bankruptcy if it
decides to cough out a paltry 1.5trillion spread over
three years on the education sector when each senator
and member of the house of representatives earn at
least $1.7m and $1.2m respectively amounting to over
N3 trillion per annum in a country where 10 million
children are out of school.

What calibre of student occupies the executive position
of the association? Which school do they attend? What
level are they? What’s their course of study? What are
the criteria for becoming a member or an executive of
NANS? What are the short and long term objectives of
NANS? Who were the Nigerian students that agreed
that the governor of Ondo state- Olusegun Mimiko was
the best governor of the Nigerian students? What were
the criteria involved? How was the conclusion reached?
Was it through a vote? If yes, who voted? Where did the
voting take place? Was it online or offline?

How does NANS organize students for mobilization and
protests if it neither have a website nor a Facebook
account or does it go about it via phone calls or text
messages to all 60 million Nigerian students? As a
student body, who acts as NANS staff adviser(s)?
Politicians or Lecturers? How does NANS get its
funding? How are the funds utilized? Who does NANS
report to? Has there been any case of financial
misappropriation among its members? If yes, who?
When? And what actions were taken against the person
(s) involved? These are begging questions that needs
sincere answers from the leadership of the association.

If the questions above have answers, where are they
and why are they so elusive not to be within the reach
of the Nigerian students?

If Nigerian students pressure ASUU to call off the strike,
i would not want us to forget that since the
establishment of ASUU in 1978, it had embarked on
strikes in 1988, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2007, 2008, 2009,
2013 over similar issues as the present one which
makes it evident that if this problem is not solved once
and for all knowing fully well that the country have got
the resources to heed to its demand, our children will
probably be in our present predicament in a matter of
years.

This is a clarion call to fellow students in all tertiary
institutions across the country to demand for a body
that will serve to protect our interests, speak on our
behalf and sincerely represent us in order to help build
an education for all society.

Until then, our heads are soaked, please NANS, stop the
urine.

Modiu Olaguro finds 'X' at The University of Lagos.

Email:dprophetpride@gmail.com
Twitter: @digits90

Good job guys

Its 50 years since the American civil. Rights movement staged the march on Washinghton.

What can you say about the march? Do we need a version of it in Nigeria? Was the march really "the farce of Washington" as Malcolm X claimed?...let's discuss

Opposition?? This government is sick...terribly sick.

Assalam alaykm brothers nd sisters
I am Modiu olaguro; studyn edu nd. Mat at unilag

Pls share d piece. Its high time we start defending our faith..

Stories and historical accounts of the 20th century
would certainly be incomplete without telling them
along racial and war lines- the world war I and II, the
Korean war, the gulf war, the extant Israel-Palestine
conflict coupled with the fierce acts of racism against
the so called “colored people” in the west especially in
the supposedly “land of the free and home of the
brave”- United State of America.

The ugly trend of the 20th century having retained its
root and form, have been built upon in no small
amount through the advancement in the field of
science and technology into the act of terrorism of the
late 20th and early 21st century- such abhorrent acts,
according to the perpetrators are meant as reprisals to
perceived enemies as a result of injustice, killing and
invasions into their lands.

The aim of this piece is not to address terrorism but to
underline the importance and danger of sharing news
and happenings with bias especially in cases where we
have little or no knowledge about and does not intend
to, as a result of our parochial attitude, religious beliefs
and a deliberate attempt to cause and spread chaos in
the land.

I have to acknowledge the fact that my assessment
and analysis on this topic is subjective because I
recognize the fact that as a human being, I have
certain doctrines and beliefs which might inadvertently
reflect in this piece.
Joining the bandwagon is not a new thing in the world,
on the contrary, people have always acted as
wannabes to others by accepting individuals as role
models or mentors hence beclouding their sense of
judgment and reason to the views and opinions of
others aside their own.

If we excuse an illiterate for being a zombie as the late
Abami Eda (Fela) referred, it would certainly be unwise
to excuse the gullibility of an educated person who
blindly shares thrash, believes in it and join a cause
without questioning the ideals behind it thereby,
causing more damage to the society through actions or
provocative statements as a result of personal
interests, religious inclinations or affiliations.

You do not have to check too deep into history books to
discover that adherents to various religion had in one
way or another hid under the guise of faith to impede
the development of academic scholarship and research
especially in the field of philosophy, medicine and
biology due to its threats of questioning the validity of
scriptural accounts of the earth, what's on it and
human creation especially the theory of evolution and
natural selection.

Religion had at one point or another been an
instrument to instigate violence in the world. The
Christians imprisoned Galilei Galileo for years; when
the book- The Origin Of Species was published by
Charles Darwin, he received several threats from the
Christians of his time even as far as banning the sale of
the book and stifling his researchers and that of
several others.

It is a well-known fact that when the Muslims were
making great progress and discoveries in the field of
science and medicine, it was considered a taboo to use
herbs and drugs in the Christian societies as they only
believed in divine healing. If this was the case, where
on earth did the BokoHaram get the idea that "Western
education is a sin"?

The Pakistani Nobel prize winner Abdul Salam also
indicted the Islamic countries when he argued that the
reason why they still are at the bottom of the scientific
ladder is their inability to rise to the tune of modern
day civilization as they are still held in the shackles of
faith and dogma in this scientific era.

I was listening to a television program on Eid day when
a caller called quoting some extract from the Koran
specifically Ch2 Vs. 191 which instructs the “Muslims
to fight the disbelievers wherever they find them and
turn them out from where they have turned them out”.

The question was not only an act of insincerity but a
deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of Islam as is
typical of religious bigots.

The Guest-Professor Ishaq Akintola while answering the
question asked the caller who identifies himself as John
to check the verse that preceded that which he quoted
I.e. verse 190 which states that “fight in the name of
Allah those who fight you, but transgress not the
limits. Truly Allah likes not the transgressors.

This clearly shows that one is not allowed to even lift a
finger except as a means of SELF-DEFENCE (QUOTE:
Those who fight you, but transgress not the limits)
even in the process of defending yourself, do not
transgress limits.

The same applies to the verse that the so called Boko
haram convert-Nasir Isiaku who is nothing but a self-
righteous devil turned believer, quoted from surah 60
Vs. 1-that “Muslims should not take the enemies of
Allah as friends because they drove the Prophet out
from his homeland as a result of his insistence on his
faith and disbelieve in theirs”.

Hate preachers use that to ridicule Islam without
reading just a bit below to verse 8 of the same chapter
where the Koran states that: “Allah does not forbid you
to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not
against you on account of your religion nor drove you
out of your homes.
Verily Allah loves those who deal with equity”.

Again another verse in self-defence (QUOTE: those who
fought not against you)….
Encarta defines self-defense as: legal right to defend
self; the use of reasonable force to defend yourself,
your family, and your property against physical attack,
or the right to do this.

When has self-defence become a crime? Has any
country of the world ever thought of not having a
standing army to stop aggressors, invaders and to
defend its territories be it a secular one or otherwise?

What would you do if you enter into your home to meet
someone sexually abusing your daughter? What would
be your reaction at the sight of seeing a burglar
ransack your home carting away your hard earned
resources? Why do you seek redress in courts when
you feel cheated by someone?
Will the so called Boko haram convert claim not to be
aware of this verses he quoted out of context?

If Isiaku was a sincere Muslim and not a pawn in the
hands of his paying masters, he would have absolved
the Islamic faith of all the crimes he committed against
humanity and handed himself over for the law to take
due course. Instead, he hides under the guise of “Holy
Ghost” to clean up his mess.

It is only a wicked and selfish person who only intend
to create confusion that would misrepresent and use
religious texts including the Koran as a basis for any
despicable act as we have been witnessing through
bombing, killing, paedophilia, hate preaching and other
vices though the Koran was very clear in surah 5 vs. 32
that “If anyone killed a person, it would be as if he
killed all mankind and if anyone saves a life, it would
be as if he saved the life of all mankind”. So if the
members of the Bokoharam were true Muslims as
Isiaku claimed, is the above verse not part of their
Koran?

Isiaku and his blood sucking devils claimed to have
done the bidding of Islam via forced conversion of non-
Muslims to the Islamic faith and killing those that are
hesitant, this is a blatant lie that contradicts the
fundamentals of Islam as the Koran states in ch2 vs.
256 that “there is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the
right path has become distinct from the wrong path”.

Below is an excerpt from the charter of privileges
granted by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to the monk of
St. Catherine in 628 C.E.:
This is a message from Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, as a
covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far,
we are with them.
Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers
defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and
by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases
them.
No compulsion is to be on them.
Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs
nor their monks from their monasteries.
No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to
damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims'
houses.
Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's
covenant and disobey His Prophet.
Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter
against all that they hate.
No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to
fight.
The Muslims are to fight for them.
If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to
take place without her approval. She is not to be
prevented from visiting her church to pray.
Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to
be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness
of their covenants.
No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the
covenant till the Last Day (end of the world). Source:
cyberistan.org

The question every member of Isiaku and his
Bokoharam counterparts has to answer is this: Is their
Islam and Muhammad different from the one that had
just been quoted?

Even on occasion of extreme provocation, the Koran in
several places always encourage Muslims that
“Sabr” (patience) is better if “you only know”; Surah
41:34 states that “the good deed and the evil deed
cannot be equal; Repel the evil with one that is better-
good deeds (Allah orders the faithful believers to be
patient at the time of anger and to excuse those who
treat them badly) then verily he, between whom and
you there was enmity, will become as though he was a
close friend.

I don’t quote from religious texts because I’m not an
authority on it but I feel obliged to do this because it’s
dangerous to remain mute against lies as it would only
be a blatant display of ignorance for people to continue
attacking and sharing filth in the name of maligning
other people’s faith in other to cover up their crimes.

You do not indict a global faith as a result of erring
behaviour on the part of its adherents; it would be
unfair to label Christianity as a terrorist religion
because of what the American terrorist-Timothy
McVeigh did- carrying out the deadliest act of terrorism
within the United States prior to September 11; neither
can the Methodist nor the Seventh day Adventist be
indicted by the acts Perpetrated by Jim Jones - (founder
of the peoples temple Christian church full gospel);
killing thousands of people making that action top
among the largest mass suicide in history and the
single greatest loss of American civilian life in a non-
natural disaster until September 11. Or even blame
Jesus for the sordid behaviour of the heavy bearded,
self-acclaimed Nigerian God- Reverend King that set
his members ablaze right in his church.

Same applies to Islam that had been synonymously
linked with terror and bombing through the acts
perpetrated by individuals and groups who are
anything but exemplary Muslims be it Al Qaeda,
Taliban or Bokoharam; lest we forget, Hillary Clinton
was once reported to have said that the Taliban was
there creation to fight the Russians. Is the chicken not
coming home to roost?

If a group intends to create chaos in western Nigeria for
instance, he would never think of achieving it through
any religion because it would not work, the same is
applicable to the eastern part of the country- he would
rather seek for other avenues such as “state of origin,
land disputes, territories and boundaries”
because we value those things here; but due to the
staunch religious philosophy and crass ignorance on
the part of a sizeable population in the north,
politicians and other criminals use religion as an
instrument to cause division and chaos in the country.

It is high time we rise to collectively take back our
country from the hands of political hijackers who hides
beneath religion, tribe, oil, and race to kill and rape us
of our commonwealth while at the same time
instigating us against each other.
Let’s put a stop to this sentiments that has done us no
favour because we are all aware of the culprits here.

My advice to everyone is to read about the way of life
(culture, religion and value system) of other people in
other to be tolerant of their views and oppose the
single, one sided story. What stops a Muslim from
reading and writing a review of the bible, or a Christian
from studying the teachings in the Bhagavad-Gita, or a
Buddhist to make enquiries on the teachings of the
Gospel? Or a Hindu to read about atheism?

But alas, we sit on our phones and laptops to rant,
pontificate and share the ignorance and failure of
others while we do not know that it’s only a matter of
time before our sensibilities are called into question.

In July 2009, the renowned author- Chimamanda
Adichie gave an outstanding speech at Oxford on “The
danger of the single story” cautioning that the single
story only ends up causing damage to us hence, a need
to have a balanced opinion on issues by listening to all
sides in an argument.

I end this piece with her closing statements- “When we
reject the single story, when we realize that there is
never a single story about any place, we regain a kind
of paradise”.

Modiu olaguro studies Education and mathematics at the University of Lagos

Mail: dprophetpride@gmail.com
Twitter: @digits90

Stories and historical accounts of the 20th century
would certainly be incomplete without telling them
along racial and war lines- the world war I and II, the
Korean war, the gulf war, the extant Israel-Palestine
conflict coupled with the fierce acts of racism against
the so called “colored people” in the west especially in
the supposedly “land of the free and home of the
brave”- United State of America.

The ugly trend of the 20th century having retained its
root and form, have been built upon in no small
amount through the advancement in the field of
science and technology into the act of terrorism of the
late 20th and early 21st century- such abhorrent acts,
according to the perpetrators are meant as reprisals to
perceived enemies as a result of injustice, killing and
invasions into their lands.

The aim of this piece is not to address terrorism but to
underline the importance and danger of sharing news
and happenings with bias especially in cases where we
have little or no knowledge about and does not intend
to, as a result of our parochial attitude, religious beliefs
and a deliberate attempt to cause and spread chaos in
the land.

I have to acknowledge the fact that my assessment
and analysis on this topic is subjective because I
recognize the fact that as a human being, I have
certain doctrines and beliefs which might inadvertently
reflect in this piece.
Joining the bandwagon is not a new thing in the world,
on the contrary, people have always acted as
wannabes to others by accepting individuals as role
models or mentors hence beclouding their sense of
judgment and reason to the views and opinions of
others aside their own.

If we excuse an illiterate for being a zombie as the late
Abami Eda (Fela) referred, it would certainly be unwise
to excuse the gullibility of an educated person who
blindly shares thrash, believes in it and join a cause
without questioning the ideals behind it thereby,
causing more damage to the society through actions or
provocative statements as a result of personal
interests, religious inclinations or affiliations.

You do not have to check too deep into history books to
discover that adherents to various religion had in one
way or another hid under the guise of faith to impede
the development of academic scholarship and research
especially in the field of philosophy, medicine and
biology due to its threats of questioning the validity of
scriptural accounts of the earth, what's on it and
human creation especially the theory of evolution and
natural selection.

Religion had at one point or another been an
instrument to instigate violence in the world. The
Christians imprisoned Galilei Galileo for years; when
the book- The Origin Of Species was published by
Charles Darwin, he received several threats from the
Christians of his time even as far as banning the sale of
the book and stifling his researchers and that of
several others.

It is a well-known fact that when the Muslims were
making great progress and discoveries in the field of
science and medicine, it was considered a taboo to use
herbs and drugs in the Christian societies as they only
believed in divine healing. If this was the case, where
on earth did the BokoHaram get the idea that "Western
education is a sin"?

The Pakistani Nobel prize winner Abdul Salam also
indicted the Islamic countries when he argued that the
reason why they still are at the bottom of the scientific
ladder is their inability to rise to the tune of modern
day civilization as they are still held in the shackles of
faith and dogma in this scientific era.

I was listening to a television program on Eid day when
a caller called quoting some extract from the Koran
specifically Ch2 Vs. 191 which instructs the “Muslims
to fight the disbelievers wherever they find them and
turn them out from where they have turned them out”.

The question was not only an act of insincerity but a
deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of Islam as is
typical of religious bigots.

The Guest-Professor Ishaq Akintola while answering the
question asked the caller who identifies himself as John
to check the verse that preceded that which he quoted
I.e. verse 190 which states that “fight in the name of
Allah those who fight you, but transgress not the
limits. Truly Allah likes not the transgressors.

This clearly shows that one is not allowed to even lift a
finger except as a means of SELF-DEFENCE (QUOTE:
Those who fight you, but transgress not the limits)
even in the process of defending yourself, do not
transgress limits.

The same applies to the verse that the so called Boko
haram convert-Nasir Isiaku who is nothing but a self-
righteous devil turned believer, quoted from surah 60
Vs. 1-that “Muslims should not take the enemies of
Allah as friends because they drove the Prophet out
from his homeland as a result of his insistence on his
faith and disbelieve in theirs”.

Hate preachers use that to ridicule Islam without
reading just a bit below to verse 8 of the same chapter
where the Koran states that: “Allah does not forbid you
to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not
against you on account of your religion nor drove you
out of your homes.
Verily Allah loves those who deal with equity”.

Again another verse in self-defence (QUOTE: those who
fought not against you)….
Encarta defines self-defense as: legal right to defend
self; the use of reasonable force to defend yourself,
your family, and your property against physical attack,
or the right to do this.

When has self-defence become a crime? Has any
country of the world ever thought of not having a
standing army to stop aggressors, invaders and to
defend its territories be it a secular one or otherwise?

What would you do if you enter into your home to meet
someone sexually abusing your daughter? What would
be your reaction at the sight of seeing a burglar
ransack your home carting away your hard earned
resources? Why do you seek redress in courts when
you feel cheated by someone?
Will the so called Boko haram convert claim not to be
aware of this verses he quoted out of context?

If Isiaku was a sincere Muslim and not a pawn in the
hands of his paying masters, he would have absolved
the Islamic faith of all the crimes he committed against
humanity and handed himself over for the law to take
due course. Instead, he hides under the guise of “Holy
Ghost” to clean up his mess.

It is only a wicked and selfish person who only intend
to create confusion that would misrepresent and use
religious texts including the Koran as a basis for any
despicable act as we have been witnessing through
bombing, killing, paedophilia, hate preaching and other
vices though the Koran was very clear in surah 5 vs. 32
that “If anyone killed a person, it would be as if he
killed all mankind and if anyone saves a life, it would
be as if he saved the life of all mankind”. So if the
members of the Bokoharam were true Muslims as
Isiaku claimed, is the above verse not part of their
Koran?

Isiaku and his blood sucking devils claimed to have
done the bidding of Islam via forced conversion of non-
Muslims to the Islamic faith and killing those that are
hesitant, this is a blatant lie that contradicts the
fundamentals of Islam as the Koran states in ch2 vs.
256 that “there is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the
right path has become distinct from the wrong path”.

Below is an excerpt from the charter of privileges
granted by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to the monk of
St. Catherine in 628 C.E.:
This is a message from Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, as a
covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far,
we are with them.
Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers
defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and
by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases
them.
No compulsion is to be on them.
Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs
nor their monks from their monasteries.
No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to
damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims'
houses.
Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's
covenant and disobey His Prophet.
Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter
against all that they hate.
No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to
fight.
The Muslims are to fight for them.
If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to
take place without her approval. She is not to be
prevented from visiting her church to pray.
Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to
be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness
of their covenants.
No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the
covenant till the Last Day (end of the world). Source:
cyberistan.org

The question every member of Isiaku and his
Bokoharam counterparts has to answer is this: Is their
Islam and Muhammad different from the one that had
just been quoted?

Even on occasion of extreme provocation, the Koran in
several places always encourage Muslims that
“Sabr” (patience) is better if “you only know”; Surah
41:34 states that “the good deed and the evil deed
cannot be equal; Repel the evil with one that is better-
good deeds (Allah orders the faithful believers to be
patient at the time of anger and to excuse those who
treat them badly) then verily he, between whom and
you there was enmity, will become as though he was a
close friend.

I don’t quote from religious texts because I’m not an
authority on it but I feel obliged to do this because it’s
dangerous to remain mute against lies as it would only
be a blatant display of ignorance for people to continue
attacking and sharing filth in the name of maligning
other people’s faith in other to cover up their crimes.

You do not indict a global faith as a result of erring
behaviour on the part of its adherents; it would be
unfair to label Christianity as a terrorist religion
because of what the American terrorist-Timothy
McVeigh did- carrying out the deadliest act of terrorism
within the United States prior to September 11; neither
can the Methodist nor the Seventh day Adventist be
indicted by the acts Perpetrated by Jim Jones - (founder
of the peoples temple Christian church full gospel);
killing thousands of people making that action top
among the largest mass suicide in history and the
single greatest loss of American civilian life in a non-
natural disaster until September 11. Or even blame
Jesus for the sordid behaviour of the heavy bearded,
self-acclaimed Nigerian God- Reverend King that set
his members ablaze right in his church.

Same applies to Islam that had been synonymously
linked with terror and bombing through the acts
perpetrated by individuals and groups who are
anything but exemplary Muslims be it Al Qaeda,
Taliban or Bokoharam; lest we forget, Hillary Clinton
was once reported to have said that the Taliban was
there creation to fight the Russians. Is the chicken not
coming home to roost?

If a group intends to create chaos in western Nigeria for
instance, he would never think of achieving it through
any religion because it would not work, the same is
applicable to the eastern part of the country- he would
rather seek for other avenues such as “state of origin,
land disputes, territories and boundaries”
because we value those things here; but due to the
staunch religious philosophy and crass ignorance on
the part of a sizeable population in the north,
politicians and other criminals use religion as an
instrument to cause division and chaos in the country.

It is high time we rise to collectively take back our
country from the hands of political hijackers who hides
beneath religion, tribe, oil, and race to kill and rape us
of our commonwealth while at the same time
instigating us against each other.
Let’s put a stop to this sentiments that has done us no
favour because we are all aware of the culprits here.

My advice to everyone is to read about the way of life
(culture, religion and value system) of other people in
other to be tolerant of their views and oppose the
single, one sided story. What stops a Muslim from
reading and writing a review of the bible, or a Christian
from studying the teachings in the Bhagavad-Gita, or a
Buddhist to make enquiries on the teachings of the
Gospel? Or a Hindu to read about atheism?

But alas, we sit on our phones and laptops to rant,
pontificate and share the ignorance and failure of
others while we do not know that it’s only a matter of
time before our sensibilities are called into question.

In July 2009, the renowned author- Chimamanda
Adichie gave an outstanding speech at Oxford on “The
danger of the single story” cautioning that the single
story only ends up causing damage to us hence, a need
to have a balanced opinion on issues by listening to all
sides in an argument.

I end this piece with her closing statements- “When we
reject the single story, when we realize that there is
never a single story about any place, we regain a kind
of paradise”.

Modiu olaguro studies Education and mathematics at the University of Lagos

Mail: dprophetpride@gmail.com
Twitter: @digits90

On the 10th of July, 2013, the students of the
University of Lagos received a message from the SMS
mobile service -“LAG MOBILE” that read thus:
“UNILAG students have not and aren’t planning to
stage or join any protest. Joining any protest is your
risk. UNILAG, (1st choice and nation’s pride) – Council
of Faculty Presidents…10 July 2013”.
Please tell me this nonsense is not coming from my
student “leaders”. Are these persons speaking for
Akokites or for themselves? Who should actually
instigate a protest against the poor state of
education if not the student leaders of the institution
that prides itself as the University of First Choice and
nation’s pride? Where should the protest start from if
not from the university that has produced activists
like Tunde Bakare, kayode Fayemi and Ayodele
Awojobi?
For those that are not aware of student leadership in
the University of Lagos, here is a brief description of
what operates over here. The student union
government was proscribed in the year 2005
following series of rioting led by the student union
government in the university under the vice
chancellorship of professor Oye-Ibidapo Obe.
Since then, the students neither have a uniform body
that speak on their behalf nor represent them on the
student union level. Though, the “SUG” government
is not in place, there are student representatives
across faculties and departments in the school. In a
bid to fill this vacuum, the presidents of the various
faculties came together under a platform called
“Council of faculty presidents”.
Though, not a registered body with the Dean of
Student Affairs, the council of faculty presidents has
been instrumental to solving student problems on
campus. A good example was the food protests that
brought about uniformity in the prices of items on
campus.
But being a student leader goes beyond having an
office or having meetings with the DSA or vice
chancellor, a student leader should in actual fact be a
genuine representative of its subjects and not a
stooge to neither a group nor the school authority or
even, the government. A reliable source disclosed
that the presidents met with the school authority and
one of the conclusions raised was that as long as the
students agree not to participate in any form of
protest in solidarity with ASUU, the hall of residence
will be open throughout the strike prompting the
SMS that was credited to them.
If this is true, then it had actually reinforced my
position that the future of Nigeria is not only bleak
but gloomy. Does it mean that the presidents of the
faculties of the University of Lagos are not privy of
the issues that instigated the strike action by ASUU?
If students do not stage protests against the abysmal
state of the nation’s educational system, then what
should they protest against?
It is as if this council does not know what’s at stake
at this stage of our national life. The issues that were
tendered by ASUU are numerous and few of them are
the same time not within the purview of the students
but at the same time, there are quite a number of
them that are of more benefit to the students than
the agitators (lecturers) themselves.
The students of the University of Ibadan under the
leadership of the student union organized a protest
on 11th of July in solidarity with ASUU demanding
the resignation of the minister of education-
professor Ruqayat Rufai. This is not the only time the
students of the University of Ibadan had stood for
justice and on the side of common good in the
history of Nigeria as a similar scenario played out
during the subsidy protests.
A similar action was taken when they came en masse
to show some support to the students of the
University of Lagos when President Jonathan
proposed that the name of the school be changed
from UNILAG to MAU. My question to the student
leaders is this- what is your position in all of this or
would you continue to keep mum on this issue of
national importance?
If our student leaders in the various tertiary
institutions and the leadership of the National
association of Nigerian students (NANS) in general
are actually concerned about the welfare of students
a fraction of how they rush to trade awards for
money, they would by now have state unequivocally
their position to the government through press
releases, conferences, street demonstrations and
even occupy the ministry of education; but alas, like
Nigerian Politrickcians, it is only money that unite
them not the welfare of whom they claim to
represent.
Mr. Issa-Fagee while addressing a press conference,
urged all stake holders to come to the rescue of the
country’s educational and financial sectors from the
hands of wicked governments (state and federal) as
the economy of the country is “glaringly under the
jugular clutches of Western economists, experts and
interests who promote exogenous (external) instead
of endogenous (internal) model of development”
hence, “counting on the renewed support of the
media in challenging agents of underdevelopment
who deny less-privileged Nigerians quality higher
education, health, employment and other life-
transforming elements of development”.
He goes further to equally invite “labor activists,
students, traders, professional groups, civil society
organizations and other progressive segments of the
public to join our determined efforts to save Nigeria
from her captors”.
Here is a brief summary of ASUU’s demand that
actually concerns the students in the universities
according to the July 1 2013 strike bulletin number
1:
An agreement was signed in 2009 which the federal
government agreed to increase progressively, the
annual budgetary allocation to education to 26%
between 2009 and 2020; render assistance to state
universities; set up research and development units
by companies operating in Nigeria, teaching and
research equipment provision to the laboratories and
classrooms .
FUNDING OF THE SECTOR
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommends at that
least 26% of the annual budget is to be expended on
education by any developing country like ours which
had been implemented by quite a handful of other
African countries like Ghana who has never gone
below the recommendation since 2003 with an
average allocation ranging between 26% and 35% of
its annual budget to education. Kenya on her part
dedicates at least 24% while South Africa budgets an
average of 26% to the education sector.
A breakdown of Nigeria’s (the giant of Africa)
allocation clearly legitimizes ASUU’s resolve to get
the government to pay more attention to the sector-
The 2013 budget allocated N426.53bn to the
education sector from a total of N4.92trn
representing 8.7%; In 2012, out of a total budget of
N4.7trn, less than 9% (N400.15bn) was spent on
education of which N55.06bn was allocated to capital
expenditure, N345.09bn on recurrent to include
N317.896bn for personnel cost and N27.192bn for
overheads with the main ministry proposal of
N5.491bn, MDGs- N2.173bn, parastatals- N5.196bn;
universities- N14.411bn, colleges of education-
N4.555bn and unity colleges- N7.663bn.
Speaking at a lecture organized by the Senior Staff
Association of Nigerian Universities of the Federal
University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, on Leadership
and the Challenges of Higher Education in Nigeria,
Senator Babafemi Ojudu quoted a Nigerian professor
to have said that “Nigerian leaders for whatever
reason have consistently underfunded the
educational sector even at the level of budget
proclamations which, as everybody knows, does not
tell the full story about actual expenditure. Is it any
wonder then that Ghana’s better funded educational
sector has become a haven for Nigerian students
seeking a modicum of quality and order?”
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT UNITS
Universities all over the world take pride not only in
teaching but also in research. Serious countries fund
their ivory towers to conduct research in order to
export their findings and discoveries to the industries
and the external world. This culture of research fund
has not only been imbibed by government and
individuals (through donations) across the world but
have over the years produced desired results in the
field of science, engineering, psychology and even
operation research. In the United States for instance,
there are lecturers whose job is strictly for
conducting research leaving the teaching of students
in the hands of the academic ones.
The reverse is the case in Nigeria as not only do we
have to contend with inadequacy in the number of
staff (teaching and non-teaching), the few we have
are not properly motivated. It is so sad that in the
21st century, some lecturers do not have offices and
some even share with their colleagues in our
universities. Is it a surprise that we import
everything even toothpick?
According to Ojudu, In 1995, at the time Nigeria
could boast of only 711 scientific publications, South
Africa had 3, 413, Brazil had 5, 440, while India had
14, 883.
The setting up of the research and development
units would not only be instrumental to the scientific
progress of the nation but will also attract significant
attention by “brains” from universities of other
countries; the unit, if in place will enhance research
activities on campus and also promote effective
collaboration of Nigeria scholars with industries
across the world.
PROVISION TO THE LABORATORIES AND
CLASSROOMS
Our laboratories are no lab at all! Ours are only
abodes for rats and other rodents as they are not
adequately equipped and maintained; the
laboratories in our citadels are best described as
glorified yam barns having cobwebs as designs. Our
physics lab only houses rulers and rusted beam
balances; the chemistry labs in our prestigious
towers are home to dry taps and expired chemicals
that were probably bought during the free education
program of the late sage- Chief Obafemi Awolowo in
1955.
The classes in Nigerian universities are more or less a
mechanic or carpentry workshop where there are
more damaged furniture than good ones, our classes
are neither conducive for teaching nor learning, with
little or no illumination.
As a student of Mathematics, I had cause to meet
with one of my lecturers on a problem on
construction and he said they do not have any
material on it. This left me worried as i wondered why
as a department, there would not be a mathematics
laboratory where students could actually see the
practicality of mathematics especially geometry
where they would be able to construct mathematical
shapes, determine their features and areas for
themselves.
What ASUU is agitating for is that they are tired of
producing unemployable scientists and graduates in
general- their agitation is not only for themselves but
for the students also as many graduates of physics
today could neither differentiate a potentiometer
from a galvanometer nor a shunt from a multiplier;
we have graduates of Microbiology today who find it
extremely difficult to teach junior secondary school
Basic science at the same time, there are thousands
of Mathematics graduate certificate holders who are
not conversant with the construction and bisection of
a line segment. All ASUU is saying is that the
laboratories must be given special attention.
RENDERING OF ASSISTANCE TO STATE UNIVERSITIES
Can you please educate me on what successive
federal governments have done for the past 14 years
in Aso rock? One does not need to be a close relation
of the vice chancellors and registrar in universities
especially the federal ones to get a glimpse of the
pressures they face by all and sundry because of
admissions into federal schools. It is not as if the
lecturers in federal universities are more of a genius
than their counterparts in the state universities but
because every Nigerian especially the indigent ones
prefer to study in a federal school because of the low
fees paid in the federal institutions.
In the Lagos state university for instance, a students
pay between N180 000 to N300 000 as fees whereas
the University of Lagos charges less than N45 000 for
freshers and an average of N9000 for staylites.
Though the state governments are also culpable in
the decline in the standard and quality of education
in the country, the federal government must come to
the aid of state owned universities in other to ease
the pressure on the federal universities and also
make education available to all.
Modiu Olaguro studies Education and Mathematics at
the University of Lagos; he wrote in through The
Press Club, UNILAG .

Goodd job...I would luv 2 help u in any way possible...I study maths in unilag ...lyk d faceebk page: MaThematically mad

join ds facebook group to share ideas with like minds in the field of mathematics.......mathematically mad

Youngsage: x + y =5 -------- eqn i.
x^x + y^y=31 ----- eqn ii.
From equatns i & ii, take the log of both sides
(xlog^x + ylog^y) = log 31------ eqn iii.
log(x+y) = log 5 ------------ eqn iv.
xylogxy= log 31 -------- eqn v.
log xy = log 5 --------- eqn vi.
(Using elimination method);
xylog5 = log31
xy = log 31/log 5 =6.2 approx. 6.

Recall, from eqn i, x + y = 5.
So x = 6/y or y = 6/x.
Therefore x=2 when y=3.
ans: x=2, and y=3.

ur answer is right but the step is very wrong.....u mis interpreted d law of log its impossible to have log(x^x+y^y)=logx^x+logy^y....it should be log(x^x* y^y)...steps matter in mat nt answers

it had kept me wondering why intending admission seekers dont choose education course, i mean courses that lead to the award of bachelor in education.....could this be a problem in Nigeria alone or a world phenomenom.......... i thought it was because teachers of then were underpaid but it seems dt even teachers of today makes more money than a couple of professions. what do u think? i would appreciate ur opinions and personal experiences

Thumbs up 4 d author

theirs more to muslims rioting than religion,,..the hatred and among the muslims and d west is the main issue others are just instigators....but most non muslims would easily pretend not to knw

i need info on noun and its 2012\13 admissions

Jst heard dt BOKO HARAM had sent a letter 2 AUCHI(Edo-state) dt BOMBS're on d way, seems they're gradually approachn d south,

Need a land in opposite d highway? Cal me on08094545130 , 07030139790
1 00% real no agent fee, im d owner

Ive read acrs mst replies and i say kudos 2 those oposed 2 d subsidy remvl coz in actual fct, it does nt exst. D removal wl only av 2 cmplmntry efct- INCRSE D HDSHP OF D MASSES&INCRESE D LOOTN OF NAIJA RULERS.
Im sure BEEF or wht do u cal urself, i dnt wana sound insltv bt ur pst sugsts ur IQ is simla 2 d being ur NICKNAME rep. Imagne d LCDA chair in my area, travls abroad lyk mad, owns ppty wth sevrl milions al wthn a spte of 3yrs ds is an SSCE holda. His secretry even owns more. Let thm mange&build nw refineries or is BEEF ds DUMB as GEJ 2 pretnd nt 2 knw dt ordinary NIGER rep jst built theis.

Ds pics was posted on fb by a LASUITE[color=#990000][/color]

When will d list 4 direct entry applicants b released coz after submitn my results some few months back, i haven't heard a thing

I rounded up my NCE program in 2009, 2 avoid stayn @home prior 2 d release of my result, i decided 2 teach @ my then primary skl owned by a family friend, @1st i taught 3classes-JS1-3 4 #5700/mth, then SS1 was added wth an increment of #1000,then SS2&3 wth an addtnl incremnt of #1000. Makn a total of #8000&tax deductn of 5%(#400), after a while, she got a teacher 4 ss1&3 BT LEFT B4 resumptn,
She does not pay AUGUST salary bt pays september in full, ds tym she decided 2 pay half salary 4 sep. Which i VOWED 2 REJECT although most of my colleagues accepted, my reason is simple, 4 2wks dt was spent in sep., i taught d entire skl 4rm JSS1-SS3, a total of 21 periods against my usual 13 periods, when i knew she would nt renege on her stand, i decided 2 QUIT without telln her a word, sent some1 2 pack my LESSON NOTES which made her FURIOUS&ANGRY, @ DS juncture, i'm MAD with myself everytym i remember d MEAGRE salary i collected there jst because i never wanted 2b IDLE, she has since ranted&pontificated dt she would get me arrested if i fail 2 return MY LESSON NOTES, which is OVER MY DEAD BODY,

If GEJ is 2 repositn hs presidncy, he'll need::
*D FIRMNESS of OBJ without d latters BUCOLIC RAGE, SANCTIMONIOUSNSS&obscurantism.
* GOWON's FAIRNESS&humanism peppd up by a fiery crusade against natnl&intellctual SLOTHFLNSS.
* MURTALA'S IMPATIENT ACTIVISM circumscrbd by a deeply intellctual&reflctv understndn of bth narrow&natnl issues,

Hopeless country, faultless leaders, foolish inhabitants!!

A similar case occured @ my side in badagry, immediately d lady touched d man, he felt empty but he fully realised after few mins. And accused d woman, it was so funny coz on gettn 2 d police d man was displayn d 'SLINKY' DICK 4 all, 2 d surprise of all, upon d return of his manhood d police covered d issue till ds moment,

What are ur expectatnS in d forthcomn LCDA electns in lagos, would their b surprises or a free pass 4 d INCUMBENTS in al d 57 LCDA's? (all OF WHICH are ACN members)

I dont want 2 sound lyk a pro-islam but are their strong evidences 2 back d recitatn of d Quran coz d story myt b a FUSS, ITS POSSIBL THEIR are issues btwn d criminals and d IGBO TRADERS,  We all know d nigeria press and their EXAGGERETN , pls pals dont let us allow d media turn us into MUMU, WE'RE FAR INTELLIGENT THAN THAT
**digits**

Na ordinary bullet kill d yeye man, wat if na boko haram bomb?, thief