WHAT I WISH GOVERNMENT AND ASUU WERE DISCUSSING

It was a month ago when I saw a very funny post on the Facebook wall of a friend and brother. It was about how ASUU strikes are now comparable to the World Cup football competition that holds every four years. From 2009 to 2013 and now 2017, it seems that there is no end in sight to this malaise. Students are grounded at home again, hoping and praying that the matters will be resolved. After some weeks, agreements are signed, but in a nation where people are more concerned about present fixes than long term solutions; administration image rather than the country prosperity, the agreements are ignored after a while and agitations begin again, then another rounds of ‘praying and hoping’, long meetings and agreements’. The strike is already in its fourth week and the resident doctors have joined the party while NASU and SSANU have started their own agitations.

While a lot has been said already by the Intellectuals in the education sector, my personal concern in all of this is how Nigeria can still be struggling with strikes as the most important agenda for our educational sector while there are pressing challenges that are more relevant. Put differently, if by this time we are still struggling with strikes and expending the best of our strength and mental prowess and prayers on resolutions of strikes, when do we begin to deal with more pressing issues?

First, the number of people writing JAMB increases every year and very soon the number will reach the 2 million mark. Universities are already expanding( legally or otherwise) their admission capacity, sometimes by making a branch of a discipline an entire discipline on its own( justifiably or not), creating mass of departments, all in the attempt to get more students in. Graduates from our tertiary institutions are increasing as the number of institutions accredited increase (standard or not) and the number of graduates per institution increases. NYSC also bears the brunt as a lot of bottlenecks are created and maybe very soon, we will have Batch C, stream 1 and stream 2. Many Corps members are posted to schools where you will be told categorically that they don’t need Corpers and even those accepted sit all day in some ministries or institutions, waiting for the closing time. And thousands of N-Power applicants will also be posted to the same schools. How do we deal with these issues? How do we create a viable economy that can withstand this ‘load’? How do we make maximum use of our large working population to harness our environment and ensure greater productivity? How can we be like China?

Some experts are already forecasting that Nigeria will be the third most populated country by 2050. It means, we will have more people in the working population than we have now with the possibility that our oil wells will be very dry then and if there is no rapid economic development, it means massive unemployment. Is someone today thinking of how to make this country livable in those coming times? Are our professors and intellectuals collaborating with other visionaries and political leaders on charting a better future for today’s students and youths? This is an urgent issue that should engage us

Secondly, we have all heard one employer or the other complaining that Nigeria graduates are not employable. While this statement should not be used to falsely declare that there are enough jobs just that people are not qualified, it is a statement that should be taken seriously. We live in the 21st century where the nature of Jobs and employment are changing. This requires that the nature of many of our disciplines needs to change with more relevant syllabus and curriculum that are in tune with the world we live in. Look at any job portals and you begin to notice the massive changes in the nature of jobs. Jobs like Digital marketing, Social media marketing, Content writing, Copywriting are fast becoming trends. And there are even more jobs online now than offline. With fields like Graphics Design, Website Design, Apps design, Search Engine Optimization, Writing and Translation becoming hot cakes. Even traditional jobs like Accounting, Finance, and Engineering are taking new dimensions with modern innovations, softwares and knowledge base required.
But yet, many students are still being taught with ancient syllabuses and curriculums that add no value. If the purpose of Schooling is to prepare students for the larger world, it makes no sense that Schooling will be static when the larger world is marching on. There was a time I had to tell my friend I won’t attend any taxation class again because they were teaching 1990 tax principles when there was already a new one in 2011, and the example could be multiplied. When was the last time ASUU, ASUP, NUC, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Youth development sat down to think through these issues? When last did they come together to discuss how to harness technology, globalization for the benefits of our young people? When last did we dialogue on how to teach real, modern and not just textbook, old hands craft based( as important as they are) Entrepreneurship? Are we merely concerned about being conservative and keeping the old
‘traditions’ and notes that were bequeathed to us by our own teachers then? We need to think

Thirdly. Sad to say, in my own interactions with young Nigerians, I cannot but notice that there is a massive dearth of patriotism. There is little or no passion among those we are educating for the country. Many feel they have been failed by their country and have not really benefited anything from it. Many are watching those of in power and the lack of honesty, the corruption, the heartlessness and selfishness we see are drawing down our own resolve to believe that this is a nation worth serving. In fact, many who enroll for the National Youths Service Corps program are doing it because we really don’t have a choice. And for many, they just try to enjoy themselves as much as they can and get out. There is a lack of passion to serve this nation and be committed to its future. Many are only trying to make it in their own personal lives (that is where the country has dragged us). For the few who care to even discuss issues related to the country, such discussions are not different from what uneducated people discuss. They are also marred by disgust, hate, ethnicity and all. When we look at the politics on our campuses and how it’s done, do we see any hope for the future?

These are important issues that leaders, commentators, visionaries and lecturers should be talking about. Are we breeding a new generation of ‘future leaders’ (one of those clichés) that end up caring nothing about the future of the nation? What can be done to restore hope, patriotism and a vision for their country in the hearts of the present youth going through our institutions? Is there really a future when the youths care less about that future and only for their own personal successes? Are we doing enough, leaders and lecturers alike to lay good examples? How many students can point to some lectures and leaders as role models? Are jobless so called celebrities filling up that void to the detriment of society with their immoral, obscene, meaningless songs and videos? These are more pressing issues

Fourth. There is a lack of intellectual depth among many students in our institutions and youths at large. (Note: This (like the point above) is not a generalization. There are still a handful of exceptions). The present culture has engulfed us and made us believe that unbridled hedonism is what brings meaning to life. Coupled with the Relativism that believes that everybody is right in what they believe or do, at least ‘it’s his/her life’. We seem to live in a world where the only moral and ethical thing to do is to enjoy your life( whatever that means) and care less about other things. It is a world that lacks the intellectual depth to deal with many pressing political, moral, ethical and spiritual challenges of the world we live in. The youths of today largely do not show that mental astuteness and moral commitment as well as depth of convictions that is needed for 21st century leadership. Sentimentalism, emotionalism, relativism, hedonism are the order of the day. Many of our educational institutions are only schooling us, they are not educating us to be people with values, deep convictions and commitment to ideologies and worldviews that we have thought about. Life seems to be all about pleasure and success. Those who even try to have these intellectual discuss are regarded as jobless people with no future. For example, I remember how members of the Democratic Socialist Movement( they believe Karl Marx Socialism is the answer to modern day challenges) on campus are always looked down upon as jobless people who should spend their time reading( to pass, of course) or ‘enjoying life’. Even though we don’t share the same convictions, I love their passion for their convictions and always sought to understand their beliefs. But that kind of intellectual dialogue are being eroded today.

This is another issue that should be consuming the attention of today’s intellectuals and visionaries. How do we educate a people with great values, morals and convictions? How do we get a generation of students that can be global leaders and deliberate on issues of 21st century importance? How can we have young leaders from Nigeria who are thoughtful and have enough courage to be on global agendas? Or are we just going to have another generation of people who are merely religious with no deep moral and spiritual corpus, people who are bigots and will listen to anyone who claims any kind of authority without personal reflections, or believe any particular ideology without much thoughtfulness? These are issues that should be on the agenda.

So, while ASUU and the Government still spend time deliberating on strikes over and over again, how I wish that these more serious agendas will be on their table. How I wish that Nigeria will one day get past strikes and more germane, relevant and complex issues will be the lot of our intellectual dialogues.

But if we can’t still take care of issues that have lingered for minimum of 8 years. If we are still struggling with issues like allowances and retirement age and staff schools, I wonder when we will begin to discuss serious issues. I hope there won’t be another ‘world cup’ and this one will be the last. I hope after this, more relevant issues will be on the table of our leaders, but till then, let’s continue to watch this year’s world cup, hoping that there won’t be another fixing but a total, complete and final solution that paves way for the more important issues. Till then, like my friend wrote on his wall, “may the best team win”

https://owolabipaul./2017/09/16/%e2%80%8bwhat-i-wish-government-and-ASUU-were-discussing/?_e_pi_=7%2CPAGE_ID10%2C5245209873

OK

we are so self centred in this part of the world
will it cost 200bn for a change in curriculum
if you havw watched genius, u will understand the nigerian educational system.
we are so backward as far as the 19th century.
and the funny thing is this.
our country will never move forward without education.
if ASUU cant change curriculum.... then we are....

That's right

when Uniport is still teaching fortran 77... the country is moving backwards with quantum speed.