I have a different opinion. There are various language registers, by this I mean registers such as : registers of law and courts, of ships and shipping, of marine biology, of international relations, of medicine ... the list is endless. The registers of religion or spirituality is just one of these registers of language. If an individual applying for a grant or scholarship or if a candidate writing a competitive essay, a thesis or examination in Nigeria or anywhere else for that matter, employs religious or spiritual registers in place of registers that conform with the language of a specific setting, the candidate is automatically disqualified or has failed.
It is clear that many Nigerians flock into churches and spiritual centres in Nigeria and by default do the same abroad because the government has continued to fail the people and the church and other such religious centres offer succor and hope in place of the Social Security- by this I mean the structures and facilities- nationals should ordinarily enjoy.
Now, whether religious centres make up for or take advantage of the lack of Social Security
in Nigeria is a different kettle of fish and an entirely different discourse.
To clarify my position on the significance of a Social Security system that is functional, I refer to Article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It states:
Everyone, as a member of the society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realisation through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each state, of the economic,social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
By implication a nation should be conditioned in a manner that the nationals can maximize potentials that are made available these include work/ job opportunities,cultural deposits as well as national social welfare packages which include subsidies for meagre income earners, quality education that is free,comprehensive medical care, public housing and such services that ought to be financed by state insurance schemes or taxation.
However, the failure of a state- and in this case Nigeria- in providing Social Security is not enough justification for mediocrity.
Slangy expressions that do not signify spirituality have emerged as a form of linguistic identity or religious register among modern day worshippers in Nigeria.
Let me assure you however, that while there are thousands and thousands of persons in Nigeria you can describe as being mediocre in their approach to work and life, there are very many other thousands whose pursuits are marked with excellence. These category of Nigerians are not waiting on the failed state or the non -existent Social Security to develop and build the required capacity in communication , in other intellectual endeavours or in the acquisition of 'soft' skills which culminate in success in the lives and pursuits of individual's whether home or abroad.
Doyin Aguoru
Comparativisist,Consultant and Coach.
Department of English,
University of Ibadan.
striking!--
On 2/28/16 1:57 AM, Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso wrote:
What do we now call this madness??.......................................................
No Testimonies in Official Forms Please!
By Pius Adesanmi.
This is a public service announcement to Nigerian kids applying for things at the international level. Some of the things you do wrong have reached epidemic proportions and one has to say something instead of constantly gnashing one's teeth during evaluation. And that is why I am always in Ghana and Nigeria running those workshops in the summer.
I am very angry and frustrated!
I've just had to play native informant, explaining Nigeria and her swags and lingo to some colleagues because "these our shudrens" won't hear word!
We just finished evaluating applications for an international scholarship reserved exclusively for students from Africa. Good spread from the continent if you look at the nationality of the applicants. As usual, when you are 180 million, you send more applications and dominate these things.
Just a straightforward scholarship scenario. The form asks about your academic profile, goals, how the scholarship would help achieve your goals, etc.
I am assessing the first one, I encounter "blood of Jesus" in the opening of the goals section. I swallowed deep and hard. I move on to the next dossier, "God willing, I hope to..." I move on to the next dossier, "By the special grace of the Holy Ghost, I aim to ..." I move on to another one tackling the question of why you need the scholarship and I see something like: "Up till now, enemies have thrown obstacles on my educational path and I have been able to do back to sender but now I need help..."
These are applications in the Humanities, Social Sciences and science. By now, I am so uncomfortable I had to explain to other members of the evaluation team why there is a preponderance of the registers of prosperity Pentecostalism in the applications from Nigeria.
I explained that Prosperity Pentecostalism is more than faith in Nigeria now. It is a cultural phenomenon whose language and diction are now part of the cultural world of all these children on Facebook and Twitter. They just don't know boundaries - hence they are doing testimony in scholarship applications. And these are kids who are already here o. Imagine what we often get from those who are still at home. Luckily, there were some who rescued one's sense of injured national reputation by not doing testimony in the forms.
So, dear Professors and colleagues in Nigerian Universities, take care of this thing. This is what these kids that you are sending our way are writing. They write like they are filling forms to serve on committees in COZA or Living Faith.
If you fill your forms like I have described above, those evaluating your dossier here will also do back to sender.
E nor finish?
--
Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso, PhDDepartment of Political Science and Public Administration,Babcock University,Ogun State, Nigeria.P. M. B. 21244, Ikeja, Lagos.Official email: yacob-halisoo@babcock.edu.ngDepartmental email: pspa@babcock.edu.ngPrimary email : jumoyin@yahoo.co.ukInstitutional website: www.babcock.edu.ng"Intelligence plus character -- that is the goal of true education" - Martin Luther King, Jr.
--
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-- kenneth w. harrow professor of english michigan state university department of english 619 red cedar road room C-614 wells hall east lansing, mi 48824 ph. 517 803 8839 harrow@msu.edu
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