END of SARS Madness
One continues to wonder how lexicographers can be apt with the meaning of English words. Youthful-exuberance many instances sounds so abstract but, if stacked against the recent protests, in some parts of the country, particularly Lagos and Abuja, the meaning is profound. Some youth went on the so-called, peaceful protest, but ended, with bruises, brutalities and burnt. The exuberances in them held their reasoning faculties, and they became, unruly. They were told to taste the wine of freedom but ended drunk. They confronted the regime, with a five-point demand and, all were, granted with a speed of light. The success, made them dazed, and like Oliver Twist they asked for more and raised their demands to exuberant levels, demanding if it were possible, a-regime-change. Boorishly, they thought staying on the streets, beyond a month would have accorded them legitimacy and foreign intervention. What an action, blinded in excitement. Sadly, Nigeria enemies on-shore and off-shore goaded them on to a state of anomie, and left them, in murky waters of shame and ridicule. A leaderless protest is not an alternative to agitations. Political Scientists will quickly daub such; a part of guerrilla-warfare or in the modern glossary, terrorism and no legitimate Government in power would condone such rascality. The protesters exhibited so much ignorance about governance, that all that they gained initially evaporated and they ended being treated, a pariah.
ASSU whose fight?
The current attrition foisted by Academic Senior Staff of Universities ASSU on our Children, begs the question whose fight is ASSU, fighting? Two wrongs cannot make a right. It is barbaric to have orchestrated Universities closures for this long, in the name of strikes, and trying to force their demands. To an average watcher, the strike, started, because of the IPPS, mode of salaries payment introduced to the Universities, by the Federal Government, the employer of these lecturers. It is only in Nigeria, that employee would question how the employer chooses to pay salaries. Cleverly when, ASSU, realized that such reason, would not fly, it started to ask for what appeared a demand beneficial to the growth and standardization of the Nigerian Universities. These demands further beg the question, on whose side, is ASSU? They are certainly not for the current students because the long-closure has done more damage than good. The truth is that the demands are long term projects demands Can infrastructural decay that spans many years, be corrected within a year? Do they know if currently the country, has the financial capacity to accede to these demands? These are No answers. This where, ASSU, should have been more circumspect and consider the plight of the student and their parents who currently because of harsh economic situations are struggling financially to keep them in the schools. The graduating years of these students are already extended, with another X-Year. And new students whose admissions have concluded cannot resume because of the strikes. Therefore, if true, the fight is for the goodness of the University education, ASSU should sheathe its sword, return to the classes and continue to negotiate for improved infrastructures rather than a prolonged closure that aggravated the rots.
THE JAMB CONUNDRUM
The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board, through its yearly conducts of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation entrance Examination for prospective undergraduates into Nigerian Federal, state universities, polytechnics, colleges of education is becoming a platform for youthful restiveness in the country and except government steps in and emotively checkmate, the piling-up inside the pot, the aftermath may be devastating for generations yet unborn. The catastrophe that is boiling is conscious, ignored particularly, by the Ministry of Education. No doubt, JAMB, in all ramifications is a good example of what an examination body should be, for, in a few years from now, those that got admitted through its examination process will produce the best materials that can propel the country to greatness. But, if going by the statistics, of the admission, then the country is in guanine mode. In 2016 it registered, 1,589,175 barely 700,000 were admitted, in 2017 it registered , 1, 736, 571 only 550,357,were considered – 2018 it registered – 1, 502, 978 candidates, about 600,000, were admitted, and 2019 REGISTERED -1, 157, 977, it admitted only 612, 557 and 2020 – 1,900,000 candidates sat for the exam! With these statistics, the fireballs coming from these youth that may remain in the bracket of half baked Nigerians and left to struggle in the limited pools of opportunities puts the country in danger. The government needs to find a solution; for instance; the Government might need to bring back, teachers’ training colleges to serve as holding bays, for some of these youths; promote and encourage vocational training institutes, encourage colleges of education, to admit more students, increase the capacities in the Universities for more students, to be admitted, orientate parents, minds away from the University education by all means for their children, place embargo on the numbers of time, a student can sit for the examination, to a maximum of three times and after that, such should get admitted into aforementioned alternatives schools with the prospect of going to university much later.
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As-salam Alaekum Waramatullah, Wabarakathu
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