PARALLEL LINES WILL NEVER MEET

  

If you need to ascertain Nigeria's progress after our horde of misleading politicians have spoken and given falsified facts about a more habitable Nigeria, listen to the economists and political analysts who have consistently compared current Nigeria to the one we had eight years ago. It is a problem when our days of sheer sanity and economic stability are referred to as glory days. I remember when we took pride in our low-budget Nollywood movies and milked every scene with relish; currently, no one wants to watch a movie with a resolution of less than 480p and we have all become critics who sieve and dissect every scene, concurrently discarding any movie that fails to be accurate in its story-telling. Our movie producers and directors have understood the assignment and have broken their savings accounts to give the viewers good movies. This is an example of progress - one in the right direction. 

You would wonder what it is about Nigeria and her political system that has made us make a U-turn to the past and pushed us farther down the slope. The just concluded ASUU strike and the fears and rumours of a fresh one return us to our desks where we sit and ask if Nigeria, her political system, and more concerning, her educational system are headed anywhere meaningful. We were at home for eight months until the Speaker of the House of Representatives intervened in a situation that should have been resolved with only the Minister of Education, the Minister of Labour, and the Union members. The ASUU President in one of his interviews stated that the strike could be called off in twenty-four hours if the Federal Government was ready to settle. He took us back to 2014 when they had an industrial action that prompted the then President of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to be present in a meeting with them. He told us that the meeting lasted overnight and the strike was called off immediately after. Even after eight months and agitations from different corners, our President, Muhammadu Buhari did not meet with the union members for a single minute. He chose to send representatives, one in the person of the Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige who angrily walked out of one of those meetings. Dr Ngige was more concerned about an allegation that said the ASUU President was campaigning against the APC than resolving the issue that had caused sleepless nights for many students and parents. Dr Ngige swore to them that they were not going to get a penny for the months they refused to work and he, together with his boss, fulfilled what they promised with a sting of scorn. 

No, the FG did not pay for those months and the accuracy with which they calculated the salaries for October is the accuracy we have been begging to see albeit for other pressing issues. This is an act of disregard for the intellectuals of our country - arguably the most learned set of people. Frankly, the ASUU were disadvantaged to have a man like Ngige as the middle-man. Despite being a Doctor, he has called a bluff of the union and he would not hesitate to do so again. 

The hands of our lecturers have been folded and pressed to their backs because what do you do when you are at the mercy of a man with certain attributes? Going for a fresh strike would certainly be non-productive and only mean more months of no salary; Ngige would make sure of that. 

The students have to face the brunt of transferred aggression because when the preferred is not available, the available becomes the preferred. It is in our best interest to shove our usual comrade mannerisms down our throats and be obedient subordinates to our masters. A hungry man is an angry man, and an angry lecturer is not a person to meet or offend. My lecturer reminded us in his last class that his children are yet to eat so we should refrain from doing anything that would annoy him. He categorically stated that he was angry. 

It is a very wrong move to get to class fifteen to twenty minutes after the class has begun because these are really dangerous times. If possible, do not ask too many questions in class; you do not want to be told the history of your stupidity. 

As long as it is Ngige and Osodeke, a solution is likely never going to be found so tread softly dear students, because the only thing that can pacify our lecturers is the full payment of their salaries - something they are likely not to get.