Columnist: Pluralities of issues facing us

By Fassy Yusuf

Columnist, This is not the best of time to live in Nigeria. The economy is perilous. Our education is lying prostrate.

The imported coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has disrupted our existence leading to the coinage of ‘new normal’.

Our youths whilst trying to put effect to their constitutional cum fundamental rights to life, dignity of human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, peaceful assembly and association, freedom from discrimination, etc. regrettably, got infiltrated by guttersnipes, vandals, vagabonds and looters.

Banditry, insurgency and kidnapping and other forms of insecurity, and threat to life and property have become parts of our national experiences.

The organised labour is restive. And, galloping unemployment has become a critical issue. From official and unofficial sources, the country is in second recession within five years and the worst in 36 years.

According to the World Bank data, our GDP (Gross Domestic Product) dropped by 10.92% in 1983, while the third quarter of 2020 has shown a decline of 3.62% according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Despite efforts of government, our economy is still at the expense of oil volatility. The monolithic nature of the economy has been the greatest hindrance to our prosperity. For the first time in recent history, our crude oil sold for less than US$10 per barrel, and far below production cost.

We are better than Canada! Not long ago, Canada heavy crude oil was being offered for less than US$1 to be lifted! Oil glut has taken over as supply outstrips demand, and there seems to be no respite in sight.

Europe and the Americas are having a shockwave, worse than Nigeria. However, they have shock absorptive mechanism to cope.

Our situation is further exacerbated by our prodigal life style, and prodigious and humongous cost of governance at all levels of government. We have infamous record of consuming what we do not produce.

The inability to diversify the economy, our attitude to production, rural-urban migration, volatility of the foreign exchange market, lack of transparency in our body polity, and lack of creativity in the management of the economy are some of the factors stifling our development.

We may unfortunately, slide into further recession after the projected recovery, if we do not act on lessons being learnt out of our present perilous state.

We need policy sustainability mechanism and economic strategy that are implementable and critical to our peculiar environment. Our productivity must be rejigged to put us on the path of recovery and growth.

Measures should be put in place to assess the effectiveness or otherwise of the various measures and programmes introduced by government to grow the economy. Presently, the effect is minimal.

Since independence, we have not had a sustainable policy on education. Each administration had endeavoured to undo the other. Sound education is the bedrock of any society destined for greatness.

In our case, inconsistent, discriminatory, unsustainable and ‘father Christmas’ approaches have been the bane of our education. We lack creativity and ingenuity in our educational programmes.

From our primary education to secondary education, and to our tertiary education, it is policy somersault all the way.

The National Policy on Education that makes the first nine years of education compulsory and free is unworkable and a disservice to education.

Domiciling this with the third tier of government that lacks the personnel and the dynamics has crippled this critical and fundamental aspect of education.

The senior secondary school education is not faring better. Most states of the federation have free education up to the twelfth grade or year of education but in reality, the free education is not working as most states lack facilities that can make such an enterprise workable and beneficial.

Uncertificated teachers flood our primary and secondary schools.

The annual reports of the West African Examinations Council and the National Examinations Council are a pointer to the disaster in our secondary education. Moving further, our tertiary education is in a state of flux.

The universities, polytechnics and colleges of education have one issue or the other to iron out with the government to the extent that one can hardly find a rancour-free or crisis-free academic year.

If the academic union is not on the war path with the government, the non-academic or technical staff would be slugging it out with the government.

It has been like this for many years, and each side, that is, the government or union believes it is right.

The whole concept of education needs a thorough re-examination in this country, if we are to realise the full potentials of education. First, the Federal Government must relax its grip on education.

While the concept of free tuition is good, the cost and effect must be looked at sincerely. In the face of dwindling resources or income, is it reasonable not to charge minimal fees to sustain and improve on teaching facilities, and provide an enabling environment for academic and non-academic employees?

The concept of ‘autonomy’ should be evaluated as it appears that its meaning varies depending on our perception. Ordinarily, autonomy is the ability to act on ones values and interest.

According to the ancient Greek, it means ‘self-legislation’ or ‘selfgovernance’. Autonomy without responsibility is hogwash and balderdash.

The idea of university autonomy as presently perceived in the academia standards logic on its head. We cannot have autonomy without devising creative ways to fund and manage the system.

While nearly every Nigerian wants tertiary education, is the present funding strategy sustainable? Is there any relationship with the dictum ‘He who pays the piper dictates the tune’?

In my considered opinion, we must either rely on government for the funding of public tertiary institutions and be under its control cum intervention or secure autonomy in its true sense and then bear the consequences and responsibilities. Pseudo autonomy is dangerous to the system.

The constant disruptions in our educational calendar have been detrimental to the development of the country and the ranking of our institutions.

We can continue to argue on the desirability or otherwise of tertiary education autonomy, but at the end of the day what is crucial is a system that works and able to stimulate the country’s growth and the acceptability of certificates issued by our institutions.

The constant feud between the government and the unions is unacceptable and an indication that all is not well with the system.

Importantly, government must take the driver’s or pilot’s seat and take us to a level that most of us shall be proud of.

The corona virus pandemic (COVID-19) is telling us that there is always a moment that disruptions could alter the world’s equations.

One hundred years ago, the world was disrupted and since late last year, the world has not been the same.

Our country like many other countries in Africa has been quite fortunate that the pandemic has not ravaged us as in the United States, Brazil, Russia, United Kingdom, France and others despite our unenviable health management system.

The new normal is telling us how to adjust to the circumstances of our time. If we did not know, we now know that we can do without some extravagant lifestyle and unnecessary junketing round the globe.

The current situation has also shown that medical tourism can be reduced to the barest minimum, if our leaders can give us quality service and synergise for the common good of the society.

We need to constantly put on display the innate energy and knowledge that great nations are noted for.

Our tertiary institutions must also lead the vanguard for the economic, social, agricultural, manufacturing and scientific development of the country through creative and innovative research and discoveries.

The future of this country is assured with the millions of our youth population. We must however, annex their potentials.

Nothing could be more disastrous than having millions of unemployed and unemployable youths.

They will constitute a danger to the society with their restiveness. The pluralities of this danger are multi-dimensional.

The recent protests and orgy of violence is a pointer to what could befall the country, if the situations of our youths are not addressed holistically.

Banditry, insurgency, kidnapping, robbery, yahoo-yahoo, thuggery, migration, etc. are mostly associated with youths.

Government at every level must strategically plan for our youths; otherwise, nobody is safe.

The organised labour is restive and ready to combat the Federal government on what it perceived as insincerity and insensitivity of government on the removal of fuel subsidy and the hike in electricity tariff.

On the other hand, government is saying that fuel (PMS) was still being subsidised and the hike in electricity tariff was inevitable, if the various bodies in the electricity chain are to survive.

There are arguments for and against subsidy in every economy. However, government must always connect with the people and their representatives to win their trust and confidence.

We cannot afford another national strike. Both sides must think of the larger interest of the society.

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On its own, government must build trust and nurture the confidence of the organised labour.

Henceforth, government must strategically engage stakeholders before implementing any programme that may have monumental effects or consequences.

Crisis management or after effect tactic betrays confidence and engenders ill will. The lack of synergy between policy formulators and policy consumers must be constantly addressed.