I have watched quietly but i must say sadly how the debate on the ASUU strike has degenerated to name calling and unnecessary ego trip.While some are simply interested in running down ASUU without engaging in serious thinking about how to rescue our education from the claws of imminent death,others are bent on defending ASUU.Please the issue is not ASUU,its about our children,our future ,and our nation.What surprises me about those who have been busy heaping all the blames on ASUU is that they seem to forget that ASUU is part of the Nigerian system and as such cannot be totally immuned from the general value debasement of the nation.Granted that as academics they are expected to have higher values but we must remember that the university is a microcosm of the society.Thus,our major concern today should be how to address the rot in the educational system holistically in such manner as to produce real educated people with higher values that can help in the struggle for value re_orientation which we so much need today.Please stop the arguement on who should be blamed and proffer workable solutions to the problem.Remember the blame game doesnt solve any problem and is often an escape route for a lazy man.
Obi Emeka Anthony Anambra State University
Sent from Samsung tablet
Moses Ebe Ochonu <meochonu@gmail.com> wrote:
Femi,
Fine, but why are you still making patronizing statements to me ("an
experienced and knowledgeable somebody like you.."), as if I need your
validation to know that I am knowledgeable and experienced, and insulting
me by saying that I am "go[ing] low and pedestrian"? Seriously, you want to
judge my analytical depth? There are things I could say about your own
analytical capabilities, but I will not go there as that is unimportant to
the discussion at hand. To boot, you lectured me on the perils of
accidental generalization. Wow! Since you barged into this discussion,
you've contributed nothing of substance--only invectives and patronizing
asides that you've not earned the right to throw at me or Ikhide. And all
of this from someone quoting the Bible and deploying pentecostal
Christianese (destiny helper)!
I could lecture you on the value of strategic generalization, strategic
essentialism, poetic license, and other subtleties of the discursive
enterprise, but why bother? I could also lecture you on the dangers of
crude empiricism (the discursively tyrannical and unrewarding notion that
every claim must be statistically or empirically substantiated to be
valid), but you'd not appreciate it.
The most egregious part of your diatribe is that, in getting so worked up
defending ASUU and its shenanigans, you did not even bother to notice that
it was Feyi Fawehinmi, the blogger, whose write-up I posted, who said he
would set exams for lecturers in Nigerian universities, and not Moses
Ochonu. My crime, I guess, was that I posted the offending blogpost--I was
the messenger.
Put a sock in it; I don't need patronizing niceties from you. And I'm still
struggling to understand why you want to dictate to full-grown men who are
arguably your intellectual equals the way to express themselves in a public
forum. What arrogance! Who appointed you to the role of discourse police.
Who doesn't know that Ikhide generalizes for effect? I mean, the man has
even declared multiple times that readers concerned about his
generalization can help themselves by erecting the appropriate caveats and
qualifiers if that floats their boats. If you cannot navigate different
discursive styles to extract their essential insights, that's a testament
to your own prejudices and incuriosity. If you think anyone will change
their style for you, you got another think coming buddy. Is this forum an
academic journal? My broda, quit obsessing over someone else's style of
expression and develop your own unique style. At least Ikhide has a
signature style--what is your own stye?
And on a lighter note, if you cut Tolu Ogunlesi some slack on account of
youthful exuberance, why won't you do the same for me? Am I not a youth
myself and am I not entitled to some youthful exuberance, especially on a
matter that I am passionate about, a matter in which I am deeply involved?
On Tue, Oct 8, 2013 at 1:13 AM, Femi Segun <soloruntoba@gmail.com> wrote:
> Moses:
> I have nothing against you or Elder Ikhide! I think you need to do more
> research on what goes for constructive criticism or what you previously
> justified as a ' poetic license'. I have shown in my previous interventions
> on this debate that ASUU cannot be absolved of the blame as far as the
> problems in the university system in Nigeria are concerned. Just like
> Professor Afolayan said in a previous post, I had issues with the ASUU
> chairman of my university before I left the country. He thinks I'm too
> critical of his administration for advising him to ensure some sanity in
> the system. However, it is your tendency to commit what is call the
> error of accidental generalisation in Sociology 101 that I object to-in
> very strong terms. While one can pardon Tolu Ogunlesi for his youthful
> exuberance in classifying all Nigerian universities 'as citadel of
> nothing,' an experienced and knowledgeable somebody like you should not go
> so low and pedestrian as to be saying you wanted to set exams for Lecturers
> in Nigerian Universities -with a certain air of unfounded certainty that no
> one can pass such exams. Is that part of constructive criticism? What
> happens if they all passed your exams? Context matters.
> Nothing personal please.
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 7, 2013 at 2:25 PM, Oluwatoyin Adepoju <tvadepoju@gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Moses,
>>
>>
>> I wont address the nuanced validity of Femi's response, which is not
>> equivalent to an escapist mentality.
>>
>> I see you, on the other hand, as an extremist on this subject, most of
>> whose information is fictitious and analyses most problematic, to put it
>> kindly.
>>
>> I have a problem with some of the claims you make that suggest a sweeping
>> knowledge of the Nigerian university system.
>>
>> Please help me explain this-
>>
>> how do you know this for a fact-
>>
>> 'But I'll tell you that for every one lecturer who taught me well, for
>> every lecturer who takes his/her pedagogy seriously, there were/are two who
>> were/are terrible teachers. I mean, some lecturers were scatter brain
>> jokers who themselves should be in the classes they claim to be teaching!
>> Many saw the rudimentary elements and obligations of the teaching craft as
>> distractions and nuisances. And that is the problem.'
>>
>> Is this your personal experience?
>>
>> If it is your personal experience, how representative is it of
>> Nigerian university education?
>>
>> If you consider it representative, how did you come to that conclusion?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> toyin
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Oct 7, 2013 at 5:01 PM, Moses Ebe Ochonu <meochonu@gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> Femi,
>>>
>>> Your response is emblematic of the ASUU activist mentality. They're
>>> insulated in their own bubble and as a result see ill intentions behind
>>> every critique. To them critics must be bullied with insults and
>>> innuendoes. It will not work.
>>>
>>> I have narrated my personal experience with Nigeria's culture of poor
>>> instruction, which ASUU is doing nothing about and is in fact standing in
>>> the way of doing something about. This does not mean that every lecturer I
>>> encountered in the university was terrible. This is not the only forum I
>>> write on, and I have praised some of my former teachers in other forums,
>>> including in my publications. Their instruction was integral to my
>>> formative intellectual processes and I'm indebted to them. Since you're
>>> quoting the bible (while insulting Ikhide and myself by the way), let me
>>> also quote you a scripture that says there is a place and time for
>>> everything...
>>>
>>> My main concern in this discussion are not the teachers who take their
>>> craft seriously--God bless them. I sat under the instructions of several. I
>>> currently know a few and I'm good friends with them. They're not only great
>>> teachers but they're fantastic scholars. But I'll tell you that for every
>>> one lecturer who taught me well, for every lecturer who takes his/her
>>> pedagoy seriously, there were/are two who were/are terrible teachers. I
>>> mean, some lecturers were scatter brain jokers who themselves should be in
>>> the classes they claim to be teaching! Many saw the rudimentary elements
>>> and obligations of the teaching craft as distractions and nuisances. And
>>> that is the problem.
>>>
>>> Our task here is not to praise individual members of ASUU who are not
>>> making excuses and are being productive in pedagody and research. Our task
>>> here is critique, constructive critique. If you and you fellow ASUU bullies
>>> and activists can't take it, tough luck. You're not going to use emotional
>>> blackmail to shut down this discussion, no matter how uncomfortable the
>>> critique makes you feel. So, buckle up, the ride is going to get bumpier.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, Oct 7, 2013 at 10:36 AM, Femi Segun <soloruntoba@gmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> Well said my brother. Such condescending attitudes are nothing more
>>>> than what I said before on this issue-'coloniality constrained mentality'.
>>>> I think it is also a function of blind imitation of some warped
>>>> orientations that breed devalorising one's helpers of destiny. Didn't the
>>>> bible say, 'if the foundation is destroyed what can the righteous do'? When
>>>> you so despise your foundation as the likes of Ikhide and Moses with their
>>>> air of petulant arrogance have been doing on this issue, you inadvertently
>>>> dig a deep pit for yourself-the inevitable implication-being the people you
>>>> are labouring over may never get to appreciate you. No one in his right
>>>> senses can say what is going in the Nigerian University System is okay. No
>>>> doubt ASUU is also part of the problem as people like Prof. Okey Iheduru
>>>> pointed out this morning. But it assaults decent sensibility to dismiss
>>>> your foundation. I wonder what people like Moses and Ikhide could have
>>>> made of their lives if they had no one to teach them in the universities
>>>> after finishing their secondary school educations.
>>>> Femi
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Oct 7, 2013 at 7:35 AM, Oluwatoyin Adepoju <
>>>> tovadepoju@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Fine writing by Tolu Ogunlesi.
>>>>>
>>>>> My problem with some of this criticism is its absolutist character,
>>>>> its sound bite strategy.
>>>>>
>>>>> Why describe Nigerian universities this way- ' our hundred-plus
>>>>> Citadels of Nothing.'
>>>>>
>>>>> I dont get it.
>>>>>
>>>>> So, all your years at the famous University of Ibadan amount to
>>>>> nothing?
>>>>>
>>>>> Nigerian universities are nothing?
>>>>>
>>>>> I also did a BA, an MA and part of a PhD in a Nigerian university.
>>>>>
>>>>> The experience, particularly the BA, is foundational for me and
>>>>> continues to grow within me.
>>>>>
>>>>> The rigour and scope the structure of the MA and the part PhD represented left their
>>>>> mark, even though they did not demonstrate the near flawlessness of
>>>>> the BA.
>>>>>
>>>>> My teachers and my memories of them from that BA are forever embedded
>>>>> in my psyche, a unity of experience and memory that grows more powerful the
>>>>> more I develop, because I am growing on the foundations they were central
>>>>> to building.
>>>>>
>>>>> Romanus Egudu, Ogo Ofuani, Rasheed Yesufu, Chinyere Okafor, Virginia
>>>>> Ola, Opene, Victor Longe,Odun Balogun, Steve Ogude, Nwuemene, Titi Ufomata,
>>>>> Okpure Obuke, all these people were heroic in the way they did their jobs
>>>>> in that foundational BA, even though at that moment people had begun to
>>>>> look down on lecturing as a job for poor people, for those 'economically
>>>>> unambitious'.
>>>>>
>>>>> We were fortunate that the unforgettable Dan Izevbaye from the
>>>>> University of Ibadan did his sabbatical at my university rather than
>>>>> go abroad. A wonderful experience.
>>>>>
>>>>> I have to mention my friends, my senior colleagues Nkeonye Otakpor in
>>>>> philosophy and Leo Otoide in history. People of vision whose publications
>>>>> are easily accessible and the quality of which is glaring.
>>>>>
>>>>> These foundations are the bedrock of my efforts in the three
>>>>> universities I have attended in England, all superb experiences I have
>>>>> accessed with ease on account of the depth, rigour and scope of the
>>>>> foundations I came with.
>>>>>
>>>>> These foundations are central to all I will ever be as a scholar and
>>>>> writer.
>>>>>
>>>>> My formal training is in literature, but the depth, rigour and scope
>>>>> of that training established in my University of Benin BA, and complemented
>>>>> by my further grooming there, allied to my self development, enables me to
>>>>> expand myself into art criticism, history and theory, along with other
>>>>> fields.
>>>>>
>>>>> Literature was taught as a sea into which all rivers of knowledge
>>>>> flow, while I took electives in history and religion, along with the
>>>>> further exposure provided by the university library and the university
>>>>> bookshop, so little is new anywhere.
>>>>>
>>>>> The years I spent teaching at the university, even though I later
>>>>> became embittered at the constraints on creative freedom imposed by
>>>>> senior colleagues, motivating my leaving the system, further cooked me, as
>>>>> it were, opening my eyes to possibilities in educational management and
>>>>> giving me the economic strength to develop my own independent initiatives
>>>>> along such lines.
>>>>>
>>>>> The cosmopolitan culture of Benin-City, perfectly balanced between
>>>>> the newer forms of knowledge and the ancient cognitive systems, rounded the
>>>>> learning experience off in providing an awesome matrix, the implications
>>>>> of which I am still working out with great benefit all the way in England,
>>>>> the creative possibilities of that cultural convergence in Benin being
>>>>> practically infinite.
>>>>>
>>>>> I did not attend the University of Benin in what is known as the
>>>>> glory days of Nigeria, but my teachers in my BA remain my heroes for their
>>>>> absolute dedication and sheer knowledge.
>>>>>
>>>>> I also read their publications in leading journals in the field.
>>>>>
>>>>> Some of them were pioneers in their disciplines at a global level.
>>>>>
>>>>> I see my own former students from that university in action in
>>>>> different parts of the world-one completed a PhD in law at Oxford, another
>>>>> is likely to have rounded off his at another English university, another,
>>>>> after a stellar career in the corporate world, is at a prestigious
>>>>> leadership program at MIT, of which Koffi Annan is a graduate, others are
>>>>> working in various capacities.
>>>>>
>>>>> I see the impressive work of my former colleagues in various academic
>>>>> departments.
>>>>>
>>>>> Graduates of Nigerian art schools, from the very beginnings of the
>>>>> study of modern African art to the present, are at the forefront globally
>>>>> of modern African art, from the early example of the Zaria art school to
>>>>> the more recent phenomena represented by Victor Ekpuk, and Joseph Eze,
>>>>> who, in my view, are among the world's great artists.
>>>>>
>>>>> On account of my own experience, and my knowledge of the history and
>>>>> achievements of Nigerian university education at a global level, from the
>>>>> 50s to the present, this system having been central to shaping across
>>>>> various humanities disciplines what is now known as African studies and
>>>>> modern African culture, I have difficulty understanding where dismissive
>>>>> attitudes to Nigerian university education are coming from.
>>>>>
>>>>> thanks
>>>>>
>>>>> Toyin
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Mon, Oct 7, 2013 at 1:46 PM, Moses Ebe Ochonu <meochonu@gmail.com>wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> ASUU's strategy and the Nigerian university
>>>>>> OCTOBER 7, 2013 BY TOLU OGUNLESI (TO4OGUNLESI@YAHOO.COM) 2 COMMENTS<http://www.punchng.com/opinion/asuus-strategy-and-the-nigerian-university/#comments>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> [image: Tolu Ogunlesi]
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Tolu Ogunlesi
>>>>>> *| credits: File copy*
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities has been in the
>>>>>> news a lot, courtesy of a strike action that has now entered its third
>>>>>> month and shows no signs of ending any time soon.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> There have been lots of heated arguments and debates, displays of
>>>>>> emotion, and name-calling. Perhaps, it is really a complicated matter, as
>>>>>> some would like us to believe; perhaps not. I'll leave that to the
>>>>>> "experts". What I want to do in the first part of this article is share my
>>>>>> general thoughts about the matter.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> One. Insanity, they say, is doing the same thing and expecting
>>>>>> different results. I left the University of Ibadan in 2004, almost a decade
>>>>>> ago, and it's somewhat puzzling to see that ASUU's tactics has not changed
>>>>>> from what it was when the body kept me at home for nine months in
>>>>>> 2001/2002. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. We all know the sort
>>>>>> of government we have, so there are no points to be earned by ASUU for
>>>>>> trying to scream louder than the rest of the country that we have a
>>>>>> useless, dishonest government. We already know that; what next?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Two. It seems to me that ASUU, by prolonging the ongoing strike, is
>>>>>> managing to accomplish only one thing: It is making the victims pay for the
>>>>>> failings of the oppressors. ASUU's qualms are with the Federal Government,
>>>>>> but somehow, it's the students – and their parents and guardians – who are
>>>>>> at the receiving end of ASUU's frustrations. Somehow, it doesn't make sense
>>>>>> to me. A strike action seems to me a rather lazy and unimaginative
>>>>>> approach. I don't see how ASUU expects those people that should be its key
>>>>>> supporting constituency – students and parents/guardians – to take its side
>>>>>> in this battle.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Three. ASUU seems to be trying to make us believe that the government
>>>>>> is the sole problem, and that if we can just solve the funding and autonomy
>>>>>> problems thrown at our universities by our admittedly irresponsible
>>>>>> government, all will be well. ASUU seems keen on portraying itself as the
>>>>>> helpless victim of an irresponsible government's scheming. While that is to
>>>>>> a large extent true, it's not the entire story. The level of decay that we
>>>>>> see in our universities could not have happened without the active
>>>>>> participation of vice-chancellors and DVCs and university Senates and HODs,
>>>>>> etc.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I believe that ASUU should be holding university administrators (and
>>>>>> many of them are drawn from ASUU's constituency) accountable to the same
>>>>>> degree with which it is trying to hold the government accountable. For
>>>>>> example, there's no amount of funding that will tame sexual harassment –
>>>>>> which is far more common in our universities than we like to admit – if our
>>>>>> university administrators are themselves not keen to end it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> That many of our universities seem to be doing little or nothing to
>>>>>> aggressively raise funds outside of "Abuja Allocation", is a shame.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> That many of our universities have been left behind in the internet
>>>>>> age – disgraceful looking university websites, absence of on-campus Wi-Fi
>>>>>> for staff and students, absence of automated transcript application
>>>>>> systems, absence of computerised alumni lists – is less a funding problem
>>>>>> than a vision and competence problem.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> No amount of fresh funding will solve those kinds of issues. So, it
>>>>>> seems to be that while fighting the government for more money and
>>>>>> attention, ASUU also has a duty to fight itself and its members – the ones
>>>>>> in administrative positions in the Ivory Towers – for greater demonstration
>>>>>> of administrative competence and financial intelligence.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Without that, no amount in funding increases will make a difference.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Four. If ASUU's intention is to fight for the salvation of the
>>>>>> university system, it's not doing a very good job of communicating this.
>>>>>> ASUU seems to be doing a rather poor job of stating its case for the
>>>>>> benefit of the general public. And in that failing, it is losing a lot of
>>>>>> the potential public goodwill that could translate into heightened moral
>>>>>> power. And it's difficult to not assume that this strike action, like the
>>>>>> innumerable ones before it, is yet another ill-considered, self-serving
>>>>>> campaign, without any real regard for an overwhelming structural change in
>>>>>> the way our universities are funded and run.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The second part of this piece is a revised version of an article I
>>>>>> wrote in November 2010, titled, "The idea of the Nigerian university."
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It is my hope that amidst this storm of allegations and
>>>>>> counter-allegations, and agreements and dis-agreements, we will all
>>>>>> occasionally take the time off to pause and ponder on the bigger picture;
>>>>>> the deeper questions: What's a university for? What should the Nigerian
>>>>>> university symbolise, and seek to achieve, in the 21st Century.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Here's excerpts from the article:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Imagine wiping off the face of the United States, or Britain, all
>>>>>> universities. Imagine the total breakdown of society that would follow.
>>>>>> Now, imagine doing the same to Nigeria. Same effect?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> For some time now, I have been thinking of the idea of the Nigerian
>>>>>> university. What is it? What should it be?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Let's focus on Nigeria's oldest, and arguably most distinguished,
>>>>>> university – Ibadan. Its early graduates speak of it with cloying
>>>>>> nostalgia: Oladipo Akinkugbe, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, and a 1950s
>>>>>> graduate (Ibadan was then still a college of the University of London),
>>>>>> recalls an "elitist flavour": "Black bow-ties at Hall Dinners, High Tables,
>>>>>> The Grace in Latin and, for the more imaginative, port under the palm
>>>>>> trees!"
>>>>>>
>>>>>> In its heyday, it appears that much of what Ibadan, the King of
>>>>>> Nigerian universities, had to offer, lay in the stifling realms of
>>>>>> (colonial) elitism. Today, decades later, shorn of that admittedly
>>>>>> unnecessary elitism, what is left?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On a recent trip (belated no doubt!) to collect my degree
>>>>>> certificate, I had to spend some time ploughing through literally hundreds
>>>>>> of tuition fees receipt booklets dating back to 1998, the year I was
>>>>>> admitted to study Pharmacy. Having lost my 1st year receipt (Ibadan expects
>>>>>> certificate-seeking graduates to produce hard-copy evidence of every
>>>>>> tuition payment they made during their time there), I was expected to
>>>>>> search for the university's original copy. Computer records – what's that?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Ibadan has a new Vice-Chancellor, Isaac Adewole, a Professor of
>>>>>> Obstetrics and Gynaecology, who will take office in a month. Adewole is not
>>>>>> at all to be envied. I don't think that vice-chancellors in the 21st
>>>>>> century should have to deal with the task of modernising students' records
>>>>>> systems and making sure that electricity and water are flowing so students
>>>>>> can power their laptops and *BlackBerry* phones. But that is what he
>>>>>> will have to spend a chunk of his time doing.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> American science writer, Steven Johnson, writing recently in the
>>>>>> Financial Times, argued that Silicon Valley was "shaped as much by the
>>>>>> counterculture that thrived in the San Francisco Bay area as it was by the
>>>>>> engineering prowess of Stanford University."
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "The engineering prowess of Stanford University." Boiled down to the
>>>>>> basics, those are the only university testimonials that (should) count. One
>>>>>> wonders what a University of Ibadan would claim, were universities
>>>>>> compelled to line up and 'sell' themselves in 10 words or less?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It does little good to recall the 'good old days' of Ibadan, when
>>>>>> students were fed roasted chicken and wrote love letters in Latin. What we
>>>>>> should be asking urgently is this: How has Ibadan made itself relevant in
>>>>>> the 21st century; how has it adapted itself to a country in which
>>>>>> philistines oversee the public treasury; how has it stayed faithful to the
>>>>>> idea of a university serving as a collision-chamber for envelope-pushing
>>>>>> ideas, as a centre of collaboration for creative people?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Today, sadly, our universities are more likely to make the news as
>>>>>> bastions of religious fundamentalism (recall the apocalyptic saga in the
>>>>>> Obafemi Awolowo University a few years ago, and the recent Christian-Muslim
>>>>>> upheaval in Ibadan) than as 'citadels of learning'. In his essay, "Of
>>>>>> Prizes and Messiahs", poet, dramatist and critic, Niyi Osundare, describes
>>>>>> African universities as "citadels of marginal silence."
>>>>>>
>>>>>> An urgent task confronting Adewole is how to take Ibadan from the
>>>>>> margins; how to free it from the 'bubble-wrap' that has not only suffocated
>>>>>> ideas, but has also made the university irrelevant in the larger scheme of
>>>>>> things; blissfully disconnected (like every other Nigerian university) from
>>>>>> the outside world.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> And I don't see why a Fola Adeola, Lemi Ghariokwu, Sefi Atta, King
>>>>>> Sunny Ade, Oby Ezekwesili, or Nasir El-Rufai should not be 'hounded' into a
>>>>>> Honorary Professorship at Ibadan – where s/he will spend time interacting
>>>>>> with and mentoring a new generation of leaders/creative people.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> When you think of the fact that Ibadan, bad as things are with it, is
>>>>>> still one of the 'best' around (there are universities in this country that
>>>>>> would be far more useful to the society serving as Correctional Centres),
>>>>>> you will have no choice but to take the time to observe a full minute of
>>>>>> silence, for our hundred-plus Citadels of Nothing.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> *•Follow me on Twitter: @toluogunlesi*
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Mon, Oct 7, 2013 at 7:06 AM, Gbolahan Gbadamosi <
>>>>>> gbola.gbadamosi@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> *Chidi,*
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> * *
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> *This is exactly the attitude that has brought ASUU and the issues
>>>>>>> at hand to the present level. Any dissenting voice must be squashed; they
>>>>>>> must have an ulterior motive … Yeah, let us stick together, let us think
>>>>>>> one way…*
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> * *
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> *I'm shell-shocked – the only point you have been able to pick from
>>>>>>> ALL the arguments and suggestions on the best way forward that have been
>>>>>>> advanced on this forum is that some people in the Diaspora want to come and
>>>>>>> take ASUU's job. Really? Are you for real?*
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> * *
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> *Glad at least you admitted that ASUU has not been able to respond
>>>>>>> as you put it "propaganda for propaganda" – but did you stop to ask why
>>>>>>> that is?*
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> * *
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> *With an ASUU friend like you why should they look for an enemy
>>>>>>> anywhere? *
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> * *
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> *You remind me of the 1 million man-march for Abacha – that was
>>>>>>> also in Nigeria wasn't it?*
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> * *
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> *Gbolahan Gbadamosi*
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> *Bournemouth, UK*
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> **
>>>>>>> On 7 October 2013 10:38, Chidi Anthony Opara <chidi.opara@gmail.com>wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> One of the problems ASUU has at the moment is the ambition of some
>>>>>>>> persons in the diaspora to take over the administration of education in
>>>>>>>> Nigeria. They armed their attack dogs with one sided facts and unleashed
>>>>>>>> them on the Internet, ASUU must be made to look bad so that they would be
>>>>>>>> invited to come and "help". Unfortunately, ASUU, presently, is too weak to
>>>>>>>> match them propaganda for propaganda. Nigerian literature suffered the same
>>>>>>>> fate not quite long ago.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> CAO.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Sunday, 6 October 2013 19:54:04 UTC+1, tovadepoju wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> *On the National Unity of ASUU*
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> To the best of my understanding, the idea of dismantling ASUU is
>>>>>>>>> ultimately inimical to the Nigerian university system.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> In a system like Nigeria's political context, you need a
>>>>>>>>> national ASUU to address the issues of academics and universities.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> ASUU can be improved, but to dismantle the union in the name of
>>>>>>>>> having only local branches, looks to me like a journey to hell.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Operating from local unions alone is a recipe for powerlessness,
>>>>>>>>> and therefore ineffectual relationship with the federal government, the
>>>>>>>>> employer of the universities.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Feyi Fawehinmi describes Nigerian academics as among the better
>>>>>>>>> paid in the world<http://aguntasolo.com/2013/09/28/asuu-part-deux-this-time-the-facts-and-only-a-bit-of-speculation/>
>>>>>>>>> .
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> His claims are contested by respondents on his blog who state
>>>>>>>>> his figures are not consistent with their own experience as Nigerian
>>>>>>>>> academics.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> These respondents also place his general criticism of ASUU in
>>>>>>>>> what looks to me like a more balanced context.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Whatever the reality might be, however, any gains academics have
>>>>>>>>> have made is because of the strength of a national ASUU.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Remove that national strength, and you have no power.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> In five to ten years time, that salary being described as so big
>>>>>>>>> could shrink to your pre-1990 position as the Nigerian economy fluctuates.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Then university decay would begin in earnest.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> We need a discussion about and action on how to make sure ASUU and
>>>>>>>>> the govt are always on the same page or on a page close to each other, on
>>>>>>>>> how to improve academic development, on how to make sure academics are more
>>>>>>>>> conscientious, on how to make sure those monies made available to
>>>>>>>>> universities are maximised, on how to improve student well being as much as
>>>>>>>>> possible -eg. any university in the world that does not have 24 hour Web
>>>>>>>>> access for students - at both individual use and dedicated computer rooms
>>>>>>>>> with a sufficient number of computers- and staff might never be part of
>>>>>>>>> the global knowledge stream in a significant manner, in my view, but
>>>>>>>>> removing a national ASUU from the equation might be to ensure these
>>>>>>>>> developments will never emerge.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Ideas are being canvassed about the govt doing its duty more
>>>>>>>>> diligently with reference to universities, but who is to ensure that those
>>>>>>>>> duties are fulfilled?
>>>>>>>>> *
>>>>>>>>> *
>>>>>>>>> *On Nigerian vs International Publication of Journal Articles and
>>>>>>>>> Books*
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Feyi Fawehinmi described Nigerian academics as being largely locally
>>>>>>>>> published alone<http://aguntasolo.com/2013/09/28/asuu-part-deux-this-time-the-facts-and-only-a-bit-of-speculation/>
>>>>>>>>> .
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> He presents a beautiful description of the value
>>>>>>>>> of international publication.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> An academic responding on Fawehinmi's blog who disagrees
>>>>>>>>> with his comments on academic salaries agrees about the
>>>>>>>>> local publishing charge and gives reasons for that, indicating a very
>>>>>>>>> disturbing scenario for scholarship in Nigeria.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> While I acknowledge the value of publishing outside Nigeria, I
>>>>>>>>> think we might need to rethink the publishing paradigm implied by
>>>>>>>>> the concept of international **publication.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> My ideas on this are still not definite but I would like to make
>>>>>>>>> some provocative statements **followed by suggestions-
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> *The Current Situation : Difficulty of Access by Continental
>>>>>>>>> Africans to Western Published Books and Journals*
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> You might publish a book a year, as Biodun Jeyifo is described
>>>>>>>>> as doing did when he left Ife for Cornell, climaxing in his monumental
>>>>>>>>> last book on Soyinka, at which point he moved to a Harvard professorship;
>>>>>>>>> you might almost be a God of knowledge like Toyin Falola and Abdul Karim
>>>>>>>>> Bangura, whose range of subject matter and volume of publication make them
>>>>>>>>> institutions in themselves, most likely inexhaustible fields of
>>>>>>>>> study, but even though Falola's work is staunchly rooted in
>>>>>>>>> Africa and Bangura is a die hard Afrocentrist, if I am using the right
>>>>>>>>> terminology with reference to Bangura, one needs to ask-
>>>>>>>>> what communities of learning are being served by their universes of
>>>>>>>>> publications?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> To what degree are African scholars, students and **universities able
>>>>>>>>> to buy their books?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> These books are academic publications, academic publications being
>>>>>>>>> consistently the best in non-fiction, in my experience, but, as published
>>>>>>>>> by Western publishers, which I expect they and other academics in the West
>>>>>>>>> are published by, they are consistently the most expensive.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> The high end of such expensiveness might be represented by some
>>>>>>>>> academic publishers like Cambridge University Press<http://www.cambridge.org/>,
>>>>>>>>> who publish the cream de la creme of uncompromisingly academic work, often
>>>>>>>>> without any concessions to a non-academic audience, concessions the equally
>>>>>>>>> academically robust but perhaps more adventurous Oxford <http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/>
>>>>>>>>> University Press <http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/> **achieves with
>>>>>>>>> its general range like the Very Short Introductions<http://global.oup.com/academic/content/series/v/very-short-introductions-vsi/;jsessionid=EFB1AA70F8B7E621F5C20944F91DBA64?cc=gb&lang=en&>,
>>>>>>>>> a great idea, presenting the most up to date research on a subject in
>>>>>>>>> a succinct manner that still does not eschew disciplinary rigour.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Cambridge UP, on the other hand, is characterised purely by high
>>>>>>>>> end works, to the best of my knowledge, encompassing
>>>>>>>>> the absolute academic rigour **and specialist character of a good
>>>>>>>>> number of Oxford UP publications, but without Oxford UP's range
>>>>>>>>> of audience scope and pricing, Oxford UP interestingly, also publishing new
>>>>>>>>> children's fiction<https://global.oup.com/education/children/?region=uk>
>>>>>>>>> , suggesting their **range, while Cambridge UP seems to me to
>>>>>>>>> represent absolute hard core academic work, and with prices to match, their
>>>>>>>>> only fiction seeming to be classics of Western literature<http://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/literature/european-and-world-literature-general-interest/series/cambridge-library-collection-fiction-and-poetry?options%5B%5D=Historic%2Btitles>
>>>>>>>>> .
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Their books, however, represent a concentration of some of the
>>>>>>>>> very best, the most ambitious, carefully **conceived works, some
>>>>>>>>> rightly taking years to research and write.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I will not bore you any further with reflections arising from my
>>>>>>>>> salivations in the Cambridge UP<http://www.cambridge.org/uk/bookshop/default.htm> flagship bookshop
>>>>>>>>> on Trinity Street, Cambridge<http://www.cambridge.org/uk/bookshop/default.htm>,
>>>>>>>>> but leave you with the observation of a bookseller that those books
>>>>>>>>> are not really meant for individuals but for institutions to buy.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> When you encounter their fantastic many volumed series on the history of
>>>>>>>>> science<http://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/history/history-science-general-interest/series/cambridge-history-science>-they
>>>>>>>>> are very good at many volumed series- then you might be compelled to
>>>>>>>>> assess yourself and see the point of that bookseller.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> They sell to individuals, though, and give a 20% discount to
>>>>>>>>> students and staff of Cambridge university and neighbouring
>>>>>>>>> academic institutions, along with recurrent discount sales.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I have also been able buy some books there,
>>>>>>>>> even without the discount, recognising the place as
>>>>>>>>> a necessary destination.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Patronising them is a necessity in certain contexts.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> There is quality, and there *IS* quality.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> In a world in which the most globally representative books and
>>>>>>>>> journals are published outside Africa, what should Africans do?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> To what degree can their communities read even the works
>>>>>>>>> of continental Africans published in those **journals, in a
>>>>>>>>> world in which even Harvard, possibly the world's richest university,
>>>>>>>>> **once announced it can no longer afford its scope
>>>>>>>>> of journal subscription, a world in which Timothy Gowers<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Gowers>, Fields medal
>>>>>>>>> winner (described as the highest honour in mathematics),
>>>>>>>>> and Cambridge university professor of mathematics, led
>>>>>>>>> a successful boycott <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cost_of_Knowledge>on
>>>>>>>>> working with journals published by the prestigious academic publisher
>>>>>>>>> Elsevier, in protest at the publisher's pricing policies?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> *Suggestions : Persisting In and Improving Nigerian Journal and
>>>>>>>>> Book Publication*
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> 1. I suspect that those creating journals in Nigeria and
>>>>>>>>> publishing in them are doing the right thing in the long run for the
>>>>>>>>> interests of the cognitive ecosystem **represented by the
>>>>>>>>> Nigerian educational system and its social context.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I suspect the real challenge is how to do it as well
>>>>>>>>> as possible and keep doing it, expanding the global membership of the
>>>>>>>>> editorial board, the international demographic **represented by
>>>>>>>>> those who write in the journal and the international range of its
>>>>>>>>> distribution.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Web access would make a world of difference in all these cases.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> One could have Web only journals.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> One could use a blog as a journal template as is already
>>>>>>>>> being done.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> One could even use Facebook.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Moyo Okediji is doing some wonderful work at the Facebook based
>>>>>>>>> University of African Art, particularly with his with every Monday free
>>>>>>>>> conferences on African art, enabling so many who had been shut out of the
>>>>>>>>> world of sophisticated art discourse to take part in the development of
>>>>>>>>> discourse in the field by scholars and artists.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> The possibilities that initiative opens up are so many.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> One could also use both Web and print options, as some journals do
>>>>>>>>> at present.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> 2. I suspect that those writing and publishing books in Nigeria
>>>>>>>>> represent the foundations of an indigenous cognitive and
>>>>>>>>> educational ecosystem.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I suspect the real challenge is how to do it as well as possible and
>>>>>>>>> keep doing it.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Are Nigerians able to readily import academic books?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> If not, nothing prevents one from writing a good book and
>>>>>>>>> making money from it.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> The entire country would be a wide open market, and, to a lesser
>>>>>>>>> degree, even other African countries.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I am not aware of the current situation in Nigeria, but I doubt if
>>>>>>>>> lecturers need to compel students to but their books as some
>>>>>>>>> have done.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Textbooks are for general student use, and summations of the
>>>>>>>>> field,while others are directed at advancing the field and are addressed
>>>>>>>>> to specialists and those prepared to read at that more advanced level.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Web access could also make a world of difference here.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> One can publish online, to address both a global market and even a
>>>>>>>>> local market accessing your work on mobile platforms like phones and iPads,
>>>>>>>>> as well as publishing in print for the local market.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> thanks
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> toyin
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On Sun, Oct 6, 2013 at 1:42 AM, Ikhide <xok...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Bolaji:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Many thanks for taking the time off your busy schedule to provide
>>>>>>>>>> us from your private treasure trove, rich data that informs the ASUU
>>>>>>>>>> wahala, data that is now coming out in dribs and drabs thanks to the great
>>>>>>>>>> efforts of in-your-face critics like Feyi Fawehinmi. I chuckled at the
>>>>>>>>>> predictable response by Professor Akin Oyebode to Feyi's robust analysis.
>>>>>>>>>> Feyi is what is known as a Twitter Overlord, @DoubleEph has 8,500 followers
>>>>>>>>>> on twitter, the face of today's Nigerian youth, incredibly influential.
>>>>>>>>>> ASUU should follow him and not heckle him. People like Feyi know mass
>>>>>>>>>> communication and on social media (Twitter and Facebook) they are giving
>>>>>>>>>> ASUU the royal finger - sweetly.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Yup, ASUU and the government should listen to Feyi and the
>>>>>>>>>> others. Put the student in your documents and in your plans. Emulate how
>>>>>>>>>> these young folks break down data. And do the same. It is free. And you
>>>>>>>>>> know what? All these young folks are not abroad like Ikhide throwing rocks
>>>>>>>>>> from Babylon. They are in Nigeria. Again, social media is
>>>>>>>>>> important. There are new leaders in that culture. Many young leaders have
>>>>>>>>>> thousands of followers. A single tweet from them shared all over could make
>>>>>>>>>> a difference. Someone like Tolu Ogunlesi has 44,000 followers. Follow
>>>>>>>>>> @toluogunlesi. It is free ;-) This is the 21st century people,
>>>>>>>>>> folks should unshackle themselves of ancient paradigms. And begin by
>>>>>>>>>> partnering with the young - in a respectful manner. It is their life after
>>>>>>>>>> all.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> It is useful to restate your recommendations here:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> "There is enough blame and misunderstanding on all sides, but
>>>>>>>>>> what we need right now is statesmanship on both sides to end this strike,
>>>>>>>>>> after which our whole Nigerian University System should be re-evaluated to
>>>>>>>>>> grant GREATER AUTONOMY to individual universities; have the federal
>>>>>>>>>> government (and the NUC) play a less intrusive role in university
>>>>>>>>>> governance; declare the education sector a national security matter; and
>>>>>>>>>> have collective bargaining / strike action be more local rather than
>>>>>>>>>> national. Towards that end:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> 1. The Federal Government should truly commit to increasing
>>>>>>>>>> funding to the education sector, starting with the 2014 Budget. It should
>>>>>>>>>> include ALL monies going NOT only to the Federal Ministry of Education but
>>>>>>>>>> to ETF, PTDF and any other MDAs that spend money on education in the
>>>>>>>>>> calculations.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> 2. ASUU should accept the N30 billion earned allowance paid
>>>>>>>>>> now as DOWN-PAYMENT, and when the Vice-Chancellors in consultation with the
>>>>>>>>>> Governing Councils have disbursed same, should be able to return for more
>>>>>>>>>> as found necessary. IN the time being, the Federal Government should
>>>>>>>>>> budget N30 billion for it in the 2014 budget, to build trust.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> 3. ASUU should accept the N100 billion NEEDS assessment money
>>>>>>>>>> given to all universities by the Federal Government, after being assured
>>>>>>>>>> that this will not affect statutory TETFUND money. [By the way, all VCs and
>>>>>>>>>> Pro-Chancellors are being
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