Oct. 17, 2013
By Igbinoba O. Tony
NewsRescue– Failure occurs because of two reasons; Doing things without thinking about them and thinking about things without doing them.
This letter is not to incite my fellow Nigeria students into violence but rather to a constructive thought and also to bring to your cognisance that though education is not made as of right constitutionally because of the myopic thinking of our law makers who negated section 18 of the 1999 constitution with section 6(6)(c) of the same constitution, but conventionally education is the foundation of every societal growth and most be treated with utmost serenity.
It is so disheartened to know that the present ASUU strike which started July 1st has lingered for too long and both parties are yet to fashion out any possible solution to this crisis which has crippled our educational sector. It is now a shame on a nation who claims to be the giant of Africa whereas about a million university youths are all sitting at home, roaming the society idle and vulnerable to anti social activities instead of being engaged in educational activities.
Let’s take our minds to so many years back when education was sophisticated in Nigeria, when education was cheap, where basic amenities were provided like good hostels and well equipped libraries etc, where there was no ASUU (then AUT) strike to keep students longer in school than anticipated. My pain is that, the same people who enjoyed the good days of our educational system are now the ones responsible for the dilapidated state encountered by our modern day educational sector.
Sometimes I begin to wonder whether a father who had honey in his growing days will give his child bitter kola when there is a better and more refined honey available. Will it be reasonable to say that such a father is wise or foolish! Why have those in charge of our educational sector decided to upturn the biblical portion that says “the glory of the latter shall be greater than the former?”
We have cried in our hearts, we have prayed, our parents are complaining but yet no head way. They have negotiated in their selfish interest until they got mute, Suswam failed, Sambo has taken over. Where lies the solution? I can never be a part of the general proposition which postulates that when two giants fight, it is the grass that suffers it but rather I support the proposition that when a goat is pushed to the wall, it reacts. Nigeria students have been pushed tirelessly to the extreme and this is the right time for us to grab the bull by the horn, we cannot continue to suffer and smile, we cannot continue to sit at home idle, to tweet, hoping they become reasonable some day. This is the time for us to define their duties and obligations in case they have forgotten. This is the time for us to bring an end to educational instability in our Nation, the solution to this menace lies on us.
I enjoined all Nigeria students to return back to their various schools instead of roasting at home like corn, let’s form a formidable team across the nation and embark on a peaceful protest but it should never get to the stage of destructive riot. Like I earlier stated, failure occurs because of two reasons; Doing things without thinking about them and thinking about things without doing them. It is often said that a closed mouth is a closed destiny, so therefore we have to talk for them to think, it is time to Occupy Nigeria once more
For us to get a responsive government, this is where I come in, this is where you come in, and this is where we all come in. In my favourite cliché “there is nothing wrong in Nigeria that cannot be corrected with something right in Nigeria” I believe in Nigeria and I believe in our future
GOD BLESS THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
