Sir, I am picking my words albeit reluctantly because I am a girl of Northern Nigerian extraction, and our custom in the region dictates shyness when addressing respected elders. So, pardon me sir, if I speak my mind to you too frankly.
I am a Diploma in Law student who just graduated from A.D. Rufai College of Education, Legal and General Studies, Misau in Bauchi State. However, those of us who majored in Law from the College were deprived of registering for Direct-Entry JAMB admission. Throughout the registration time for this year, we have been consistently maltreated by JAMB.
Initially when the registration for this year opened, we approached the JAMB office at Bauchi. After serial disappointments, we were finally informed that the problem was between our college and her mother institution, which is ABU. We followed the issue like crazy, but finally, with dashed hope, became despondent as registration deadlines approached. Later, the deadline was extended.
We were also later informed and invited by our College that it had sorted the matter with ABU, we should just come, pay N15 000 to collect our certificate and quickly rush to JAMB office at Bauchi to register. This notice was on 13th June, and the notice said the registration closing deadline was Friday, 14th June, just one day.
Meanwhile Monday and Tuesday of the succeeding week was Eid-El-Kabir public holiday. Those of us residing far from Bauchi had to spend a lot of money to travel to the College at Misau, pay the N15 000 and collect the certificate, which ordinarily costs N3000. We all rushed to JAMB office at Bauchi to get registered.
After buying JAMB pin number at N6, 500 and starting the registration, the officer stopped at the last point of taking our biometrics and submitting, and asked us to return tomorrow, Saturday to complete. We kept wasting thousands of Naira transporting to JAMB office (at this regime of Fuel Subsidy Removal) but were finally drove out of the office that the registration could not proceed. So, we’re left in limbo.
We later reliably gathered that the JAMB office at Bauchi received a call, probably from you not to proceed registering us, for whatever reason. Since our College gave us the Certificate and we received text messages from ABU, we believed the college had done its part.
Sir, I have to tell you for whatever reason we are not registered, that does not matter to Allah; because He knows we fulfilled all our obligations of paying school fees, attending classes and passing our exams. I wonder how your respected personality could leave us hopeless like this, at the receiving end.
We are always shocked when you and other high profile government officials climb the stage at public functions to pretend encouraging especially us, the girl children to go to school. Which school? With this attitude, we just feel you are speaking from both sides of your mouths.
Your words do not align with your actions. Because we ask about you and know how you work in your office as Registrar, it appears impossible to say you do not know what is happening. If you play the cold feet to our yearnings and dream, who do we trust again?
Sir, I told you all these so you might understand our plight. Are all these because we are weak or poor? Is going to school an offense? Why does JAMB ask us to pay for the registration PIN if it was pretty sure we aren’t going to be registered? Why were we made to squeeze ourselves to pay N15 000 for the certificate if it could not benefit us now? We did JAMB make us to pay transport to its office for a number of weeks if it knows we are not going to be registered finally? All these are potential questions JAMB must answer on the Day of Reckoning.
I am aware of your laudable efforts in expanding the policy of JAMB on inclusiveness for the physically challenged through the Equal Opportunity Group. If you can go to that extent, it will be illogical or contradictory to play exclusion on us. If there were misunderstandings between government institutions, or between JAMB and institutions, you would have no reason to force us to bear the brunt, and this would be setting bad example to us the younger ones.
I request you to come to our rescue by causing JAMB to complete our registration, as we are wholly innocent in this matter. If you don’t, Allah is there!
