Akeredolu’s Goof and the Thriving Absurdities in Nigeria’s Ivory Towers
Two days ago, Akeredolu, the governor of Ondo State, focusing on the melodrama being performed on OAU campus lately, wrote a lengthy lamentation about how the university has degenerated into a space of thriving absurdities, blaming the university teachers for the barbarity that pervades our universities today. Somehow, he forgot to mention the role of the political class that he is a part of in desecrating the supposedly sacred space. I tried to remind him that it is simply the case that the degeneration that his class is overseeing in our country has reached our universities. I wrote:
“The political class that you are a part of is chiefly responsible for sacrificing meritocracy on the altar of nepotism and favoritism in our country. How many 'juicy' and general openings in the civil service do you guys not share as slots among yourselves? How much are you guys doing to reorient the masses away from a politics based essentially on tribal and religious affinity? Do you guys not instead exploit the disorientation of a large segment of the society with your ‘Iropora agenda’, ‘South-West Agenda’ and such other emotionally appealing campaigns? This occurrence is only a sad reminder of how much our country has degenerated, and sadly the university communities have also been infested.”
But one of his friends wouldn’t have me try to make 'his excellency' see reality correctly. Attempt was made to intimidate me into silence by suggesting that I am deficient in my ability for comprehension. “Did you read the piece at all? What has the political class got to do with the university system?” I was asked. As is typical of the political class to blame and malign everyone who doesn’t belong in their class, the friend of his described the protest as the activities of “some disgruntled elements (insisting) on having a moron represent them”. “The problem I see here is that of comprehension” was the jab of insult thrown at me by the governor’s friend.
Such comments do not surprise me anymore. Like other conscientious Nigerians, I am not a fan of anyone who has contributed and/or is contributing to the disorientation of a large segment of our society and the subjugation of the mass of our people to excruciating misery that dehumanizes. And, apparently, this explains why some of us see things differently. The political class and their gullible fans among the oppressed class can see no connection between the degeneration overseen by this class in the larger society and the barbarity that pervades our universities today - and between the precedents and current crisis. Our universities, I have no doubt, will not rotten away as they do today if those who decide the fate of these institutions have their children attending them. A belief which had made Sergius Ogun introduce a bill at the house of representatives to force public office holders to let their children school here in the country (even if is in private schools). But our friends at the house, in a quite unfriendly manner, thrashed the bill, arguing of course that their children not schooling here has nothing to do with the state of our universities.
Any rational observer would have known for long that there is nothing enviable about our university communities today. It won’t be out of order to say that not many radical thinker - student or academic - can long survive the inanities and shenanigans going on within these university communities. I am aware that Ojo Aderemi, a young brilliant student union leader of the University of Ibadan (UI), has been on suspension for years now for questioning the university management on the some of its exploitative practices. My personal experience at Obafemi Awolowo University, when I alongside Ogunne Oladayo Osemele and two others were issued ‘studentship termination letter’ for being among those who mobilized the students to counter certain practices of the postgraduate college which we found unjust, makes me aware that such victimization of students is done under the guise of the student ‘lacking in character’. Professor Toyin Falola also attest to this in his book ‘A Mouth Sweeter than Salt’, where he described the obscene experiences that led to him leaving OAU.
Professor Chalse Ukeje of OAU alleged that his promotion was delayed because he is not a pentecostal christian, not even because he is not a christian. I am not surprised, as I once saw in the same university a pentecostal pastor who is also a professor argue ferociously with another professor along the corridor of my then department on why he (the other professor) can’t "make heaven" if he continues with his Islamic religion. The same professor "influenced" the employment of someone who attends his denomination into the department where he was teaching. And why not? Since the most senior Professor in the same department had earlier ensured that four of the (I think) twelve lecturers in the department are from his hometown. And in another news, the convocation hall of Lagos State University (LASU) was yesterday turned to a campaign ground for a presidential aspirant, Bola Tinubu, who has been fingered in the violent repression of the #EndSARS protest among several other anti-people activities. Thesee are only parts of the thriving absurdities in our ivory towers.
The origin of university administration crisis in Nigeria has been traced to 1965 when some groups insisted on replacing the founding VC of the University of Lagos, Eni Njoku, who is of Igbo Origin, with Saburi Biobaku, a Yoruba man. The crisis almost led to the death of the latter, who eventually became the VC, and it saw to the exit of Njoku, marking the beginning of what would become a perennial struggle for the topmost seats of our universities among tribal and religious communities, even within the same state. One can only hope that compounds within the same town do not begin to agitate to occupy the seats in a not-too-distant future.
Zoe Well says "the world becomes what we teach", and Paulo Freire says "both humanization and dehumanization are historical possibilities". The recurrence of events like this reflects more than anything else the visionlessness of the crop of individuals who administer the country, as expressed in their continued willingness to kowtow in the disorientation of a segment of the population, rather than making significant effort to reorient the population towards greater unity. And it also shows the narrow-mindedness of the political class, most of whom are themselves ethnic jingoist and religious bigots.
The ongoing protest on OAU campus and Ile-Ife in general with respect to the demand for an indigenous VC is not an isolated event. It is simply another reminder of how we, as a country people, have sacrificed meritocracy on the altar of nepotism and favoritism. The agitation follows the success of similar agitations in Ibadan, Ilorin, Benin, Zaria and a host of other places. The fact is that meritocracy has no dwelling place in our society today, and the university community is not exempted. Recruitment into the university has a lot to do with whether the individual is backed by some forces within the university - and I am not talking about just being recommended. The civil service is worse; some get in through "slots" while many others buy their way in. And conversation about who occupies what seat of government is largely around ethic identity and the capacity of concerned individuals to induce voters by offering crumbs. It is of course not wrong to protest systemic exclusion and demand affirmative action. But it becomes really problematic when this is done with an extremely narrowed sense of identity as is the case here. But the questions begging for answer now is this: Where exactly do we expect nepotism and favoritism to take us to as a people?
