I have just a few years to retire but the University system has built me (over 35 years in academia) and I surely have an opinion based on the experience of hindsight. I am a grateful beneficiary of the system and I urge some retired non-academics to stop attacking ASUU. After all the Children of non-academics currently dominate the lectureship cadre of our Universities.
I need to say a few points because I have seen some people cheering FGN, instigating it as an equal response to ASUU or that “ASUU has finally got its match'”. It is not a competition but let it be known that ASUU is not an irresponsible union nor is it a group of selfish lecturers. For the records, I fear and worship almighty deity but if my opinion matters, the most righteous groups in Nigeria are not religious people, it is ASUU and other clean Labour Unions who have no religious or tribal nor regional or nepotic inclinations. ASUU has been incorruptible and we cannot say the same about the government which chews with both chicks with excesses pouring off the sides of their mouths. How can any sensible or responsible individuals say FGN is matching ASUU when our little children are suffering and languishing at home? The guys are simply being at best uninformed about the place of education as a catalyst for the growth of nations and possibly they are irresponsible because this government is at the end of its tenure with no political fortunes to lose.
For the records, I presented a paper on Educational Excellence at a Dinner and Award Night in Shehu YarAdua Centre Abuja to a national forum on 22nd May 2022. The paper delved mainly into Primary and Secondary education which has been driven to the gutters by one government after another, but also in a small cross referral section gave the statistics on tertiary education as follows: “…..a documented 2019 figure reveals that there was a total of 170 Universities comprising of 43 Federal, 48 State and 79 Private Universities. As of September 2019, there were about 1,854,261 full-time undergraduate university students in Nigeria. The majority of them attended federal universities, where 1,206,825 students were enrolled, followed by 544,936 in State Universities and the rest 102,500 in private Universities. In addition to the number of universities, there were 17 Federal and 26 State-owned Polytechnic Colleges….. There were 152 colleges of education in Nigeria, consisting of 27 federal, 82 private and 54 state colleges of education.”
The point is that even though the number of private universities is almost twice the federal and nearly equal to federal and state put together, yet the federal cater for about 70 per cent of student enrolment, the state about 25 per cent and the private about 5 per cent only. Debatably, the influence of private universities based on the number of students they train is near negligible. Secondly, private universities are expensive and of value to only a select few but more important is that university education being capital expensive, it is impossible for the private sector to even appreciably intervene as a bailout to the nation in case of the collapse of public universities. Thirdly, if ASUU is proscribed today, it will not be the first time in Nigeria that this has taken place. Babangida regime did just that and university staff refused to resume. Today, branches of unions have met all over the universities in the country and staff are determined to shun any such threat. Mallam Adamu Adamu, do not let any dictators and mischief makers deceive you in that direction. Instead, give ASUU the desired attention and implement all the components of the agreement, even if it means taking N2trillion. Those who are supporting FGN are actually on the side of irresponsibility. Public primary and secondary schools have collapsed and gone into the drain. Private sector interventions have been of assistance partially but still, the public schools are dominating because of costs and the standards are not good. It is impossible for private sector to bailout in universities because of the relative costs.
Further, are we not aware that polytechnic chief lecturers and research directors in institutes and public sector directors earn more than professors? For a university to receive global attention, 30 per cent of staff and students should come from outside, especially beyond the continent. In dollars, most countries do not pay professors less than US6000 dollars per month but professors here receive about US$600. No international scholars are now working in Nigeria due to this acclaimed ‘ASUU got its match’ government and insecurity.
Finally, there is no country in the world where the government does not support Universities. Data just received reveals that last year, the government of the US gave grants worth the US $600 million to Harvard and US$500 million to Yale or so, which are private universities. This is in addition to total support for their public universities and every state in the US has 2-3 universities. Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College all get grants from the UK government, though some would argue that they also attract staggering research sponsorships. They also attract so much because the government has supported them to be globally competitive and of high visibility. If public universities, secondary and primary schools go down the drain, what will be the use of federal and state ministries of education? They might as well also be proscribed and let Nigeria become the country of the blind where Boko is haram, and let a government of Boko haram and ISWAB be installed so we become Somalia or Afghanistan. Our Creator forbids this maltreatment for our future generations, Amen.
Professor Danladi S. Matawal writes from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU).
