An impossiblelecturee – the user unfriendly type – in a university in the Northeast went
abroad for advanced study. His Thesis supervisor was a decent, upright woman –the opposite type of the supervisee. She read her supervisee and set determinedto change him. Each time he submits a chapter for approval, she would look atit, correct and, on handing it out to him, she tells, “ensure you hold thetrust for me.”The mankeeps the wonders what she means by that phrase. The recurring use of the wordsstick to his mind and on any deep thoughts, he keeps asking himself the samequestion, even after he finished his studies in time and returned home. Backhome, it dawned on him that the only thing possible about that trust is theneed to treat others same way the woman treated her supervisee: to be patientwith every weakness of students, to help them improve and never to be bad tothem.
She wantedthe man to understand that he had limitations but she only corrected and helpedhim to understand the subject better, be upright and to do right – be humane,kind, fair, just and respectful to the primary stakes, their behavior no matter.This is the most important gap in our education we need to reduce becausecharacter is everything we need to give those we educate.
Have weever asked whether or not the poor enrollment, disdain to education among bothgroups of parents and pupils/students has something to do with the lack of goodcharacter among the educated? Is there any research on the issue? Why? Well, theman is changed now, an opposite of his former type of character. That was allhis supervisor meant and wished.
The Worldmarked Education Day (WED) penultimate Friday. I remember the news mediapainted a hearttouching reality of the state of education in Nigeria and bleaknessof the over ten million children out of school and onto the street. The BBC’sstory about little pure water hawker Mohammed still sticks. The Minister ofEducation, MalamAdamuAdamu lamented the problem months earlier with a heavyheart. Everything about education on that day only compounds the opposition’ssong that the Malamand his teacher Buharidid nothing about Education inNigeria.
Why? Onthe WED, we talked about out of school and the immense other challenges. But wetalk only about the meaner ones. We ignore the fundamentals, gravest problems.We talk about those out of school. We are silent about those in school and whathappens to, or what we do to, them. We talk about the need to go to school butnot about the type, nature of education and who gives it in school, not to evensay the impact such education has on life after school.
Characteris necessary drug for Nigeria’s currency and only education of character noteducation of persons Nigeria needs. One of the first lessons I received in lifeand out of school – because our school system does not teach such – is the ideathat lack of education is not as dangerous as the dispense of half, or wrongeducation: drink deep or touch not, the western spring. Nigeria’s mostdangerous educational challenge is what happens in our schools – all schoolsprivate, public, at all levels, in all the places of society. So yoursfaithfully is the problem of education in Nigeria.
Because Ichoose to see the head of the system as the sold culprit and spare the processesin the body and the legs that carry the head itself. The enemy of Education isnot the Minister or the President. It is me. I work under the President and theMinister in the top-bottom chain of direct and equal responsibility. I talk andwrite much about the magnitude of all the problems of the system and the needto address them but will never do anything at my own level to change them.
This isbecause what I do at my own level in the hierarchy has same impact on the sameequal to what the President and the Minister each does. Iknow that to changethe problems I need to change how I think and act or inact. I need to change. Ineed to be selfless and sacrifice much to the system. But I refused to change,hated those who remind me about the need for change and sabotage, undermine andfought every good policy or sincere programme the President, the Minister andother good persons in the system try to put in place.
I am a supposedacademic, purported intellectual, learned colleague whose only duty to thesystem is to tell the bad or the inadequate others do but I am always silent onmy own disservices to my students, to my colleagues, to my seniors, to myleaders and to the system. I can only write and speak that the Government ‘isresponsible’; government ‘has failed’and the President and his party ‘havefailed’ the country. Sure. They can fail. They are human, afterall.
But whatis it that I do wrong that harms the system? I am silent.The tragedy ofeducation is surely human and, unfortunately, I am the individual who sustainsthe menace in the system. Right now, MalamAdamuAdamu and MuhammaduBuhari arenot with me. They do not see what I do or refuse to do that makes their workdifficult. I am not even thinking along their line of reasoning andexpectations.So it is huge evidence in methat the problems of education arethose beyond enrollment – my own inadequacies and how they affect stakeholders.
I am theevil that spoils the system and hijack it deep into what I often say about it. Deliberate,conscious, individual fuels of evil demand deliberate, conscious, individualfuels of denial, outcast, disown, cut in ties and tag of evil against names incontacts. The system cannot do it because it has been taken over by yours faithfullyin collaboration with persons united for corruption, evil and cruelty tohumanity – Pusechum. The associationneeds a stronger and even march – persons united against corruption, evil,cruelty and the encouragement of selfless, good services for all – Pucecregosal.
Before Igot this job of teaching, I was humbled by the weight of my needs – cool, calm,kind to everyone I met. I know I am not good to teach and let the idea that Iam good rest. Whoever gives me the job, it must be the kindest of favours.First thing I got it, I assumed a new position to par my new status. I becomearrogant and pompous without reason. I stood on my weaknesses and, in the steadof working on them to improve my skills for the job, I ignored myself, Iignored any good advice and ignore even the warnings of the custodians of thisgood system that was better before I joined.
I seemyself above everyone but everyone sees glaring defects in what I say, teachand how. Even students mock and laugh at me in behind. Once I got sensitive toit, I turned a monster: intimidating, harassing and failing students who signto know my open secrets. I am a selfish, greedy person. I do not use my salaryto keep my person and self in good form. I am shabby and rough. And I do not lookinto the mirror for anything. I cannot see myself. And I do not know all otherssee me naked.
I smellfrom the sweat of my hardwork to the system. Yet I want to marry the best wife,to date the most beautiful girl in my class. I have readymade ideas to dealwith her if she refuses. I hate and fight any colleague who dares to look athe. God saves them if the look better than me. I use every devilish way to makethem unpopular, blackmail and implicate them in to huge job-risking scandalfrom any small matter. I report such to my group of bad likeminds who gag evilagainst good in the system.
I am firstto flaunt school rules for my personal interest and to get personal favoursfrom stakers. I hate those who make them. I have no respect to the management ofthe school. I appear loyal to them but I am always first to undermine theirefforts. I am always late to class. I often miss my classes. I always find alie to tell my Head when he notices, because no one dares to report me. I donot entertain questions about my lectures. No student dares to ask. I make itclear. I do not accept rubbish.
I sell myhandouts in style, through the class rep, in a way that no one notices and nostudent can report to anyone. I always mislead them with false, manipulated informationabout the “I too sabis”. I sell marks for money and sex. I call myacademic-poorgirl friends to my office after exams and give them their examsscript with notes to write more. I do such for a boy only when they pay memoney or can run my errands and talk to girls to see me in my office. I helpgirls I like to cheat in exams just as I implicate those who do not cooperate.
I do worsethings I cannot say all here. My type have made the school systems worse thanLGA and state ministry systems today. I am ashamed of myself and the professionI proclaim. How can government deliver on its promises with my type ofcharacter? I used to say I will have nothing to do with any educated person whoknows or should know the problems of the system but is living in ways thatencourage spoil or undermine the system. I am the enemy of education inNigeria.
I ended upas worse. I turned as the evil himself. It is terrible. When I see my oppositecharacter, I wage angry and madden into making them my enemies. I always findor cook something bad to say about them. And people believe. I hate them but itis just out of envy because I think I cannot be like them. But I know I amwrong. I can be like them if not more. I can improve myself in everything Ienvy in other colleagues, friend tells me but I never listened. He talks to meevery time I meet him. I now hate to meet him. But with time. One day I will doit.
IShould learn from their character and work on my poor type, to overcome my inherent weaknesses and to increase my capacity to improve in doing good things in order to re-earn my lost respect.Present myself as guilty of all and more than the above. Admission of guilt is the first sign of strong need of change. I now want to. God help me to change.
Hassan Alhaji Hassan can be contacted on 08032829772/08050551220 (text only with full names and address)a[email protected]
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect WikkiTimes’ editorial stance.
