Farooq Kperogi is a Kwara-born renowned scholar and writer who lives in the United States, where he lectures as a professor of communication at Kennesaw State University’s School of Communication and Media, Atlanta Georgia. Farooq could ignore the mess in Nigeria, but he still finds time to make intellectual contributions on contemporary issues. I enjoy reading his ‘Notes from Atlanta’. I must confess being proud of his intellectual contributions on the intersection of communication in a global context and the communicative practices of marginalised groups, which portrays his deep knowledge and exemplary grasp of issues.
I have had reasons to agree with most of Farooq’s shared opinions, but not all the time. His latest contributions on JAMB, as demonstrated by the horrific handling of the 2025 UTME, which caused a national crisis that resulted in verifiable death, are a case in point where I disagree with the gentleman I have come to admire from afar.
Farooq in his essay only scratched the surface of the complaint against JAMB under the watch of Professor Is-Haq Olanrewaju Oloyede. He hinged his argument in defence of JAMB on the ground that technical glitch is a worldwide phenomenon. He gave several examples where technology failed.
Thankfully, he threw more light on how such grave matters were resolved. In Farooq’s account, apologies were offered, fees were returned, vouchers were issued to cushion the pains of those affected, and exams were rescheduled, subject to the circumstances.
He also dismissed the call for the resignation of the JAMB registrar because he invited stakeholders and opened up for scrutiny. Farooq also frowned at the ethnic slant being imputed into the matter by some people. If Farooq is from the South East where the region is consistently mistreated since after the civil war, if by accident of birth he is a South Easterner and he looks at the 2025 budget for water resources and found zero budgeting for South East whereas another zone got over N66bn in allocation, he is bound to ask why? If he is a South Easterner and he looks at the national rail project and finds the region excluded from the plan, he is bound to feel depressed. If Farouq takes a look at the gas master plan and finds the zone excluded, although the gas is mined from the region, he will not feel too happy about it. If he is a South Easterner and his child scored 300 in UTME but will not be allowed to study medicine, whereas another child from Kebbi scores 120 to gain admission to study medicine, you must feel cheated.
The people alleging ethnic profiling by JAMB have justifiable reasons to call for a broad investigation, and Prof Oloyede stepping aside will give way for an unfettered investigation. Not that anyone has any personal grudge against him as an individual. All that is needed is a transparent process that will ensure that what happened never happens again.
If there was a technical error, JAMB was unaware until concerned stakeholders raised an alarm and confronted the board. Before then, the board was on air with the baseless accusation that candidates were engaged in exam malpractices. The unfair accusation wrongly branded innocent candidates as cheats. The Minister of Education was on air, celebrating that it had effectively caught cheaters, causing public humiliation and emotional distress.
When the board was proven wrong, it claimed without proof that technology failed it. Upon proper scrutiny, it was found that JAMB’s robust technology was intact. When the board ran out of lies, it admitted human error, yet no one is being prosecuted and no process on to determine if the human errors were deliberate.
JAMB’s subsequent actions left much to be desired. Against wise counsel, another examination was rescheduled for the traumatised students within a short period, and on a date when some of them were writing WAEC exams. JAMB offered no remedy to cushion the effects of the hardship it had caused. The consequence is that 71 per cent of those who participated in the hurriedly rescheduled exam scored below 200, which is the average. While the JAMB Registrar may or may not be working on any hideous agenda, I want him to understand that the impacted candidates and affected zone are not after him. All they ask for is a uniform standardization of UTME, where everyone is treated fairly and without discrimination.
In my last episode on the issue, I questioned JAMB’s right to withhold the results of candidates profiled as underage. I argued that JAMB’s action was a breach of contract as the candidates are entitled to be informed of their results. I argued that their right to education as assured by Article 17 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights was violated, as well as their right to Freedom from Discrimination as provided for in Section 42(1) of the 1999 CFRN.
In an interview, the JAMB Registrar hinted that he contemplated resigning from his position due to the crisis but was persuaded by the reasoning that it would amount to abandoning the candidates. Again, this is self-serving. JAMB under Prof Oloyede has been engaged in lawfare against Nigerian teenagers who dared to dream. JAMB is in the Appeal Court litigating against a lower Court Judgment that ruled against its draconian policy as discriminatory and a violation of the right to education. JAMB’s effort to win a case against teenagers at all costs amounts to lawfare being pursued by a powerful government body. The board ought to have taken a cue from the High Court Ruling instead of using tax payers’ money to wage a lawfare.
In other climes, these kids are celebrated and not demeaned, harassed or intimidated. Here are a few examples: Kim Ung-Yong, a Korean child prodigy, graduated from the university at the age of 15. Alia Sabur, an American Material Scientist, entered university at 10 and graduated at 14.
Tanishq Mathew Abraham was an American boy who started college at 11 and graduated with a degree in Geology at 13. Karl Witte earned his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Giessen at just 13 years old. Balamurali Ambati graduated with a PhD in Medicine from Mount Sinai School of Medicine at 17 years old and became the world’s youngest doctor in 1995. Ruth Lawrence earned her PhD in Mathematics from Harvard University at 17 years old, becoming one of the youngest female PhDs in mathematics. Norbert Wiener earned his PhD in Mathematical Logic from Harvard University at 17 years old, going on to become a pioneer in cybernetics.
As I was writing this opinion, the news broke that the withheld results of the underage candidates have been released, with some of them scoring over 250. JAMB, nevertheless, stated that the released results will not qualify the candidates to gain admission into the university because, according to the board, these underage candidates signed an undertaking that they would not use the results to pursue university education. This argument lacks foundation as JAMB has no basis to undermine the future education of any Nigerian child.
I don’t know who is thinking for JAMB because we intend to challenge in court the validity of a contract entered into by a minor without proper guidance. In Nigeria, the validity of an undertaking signed by minors (underage candidates) in the context of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) can be successfully challenged.
As mentioned earlier, minors cannot generally enter into binding contracts in Nigeria. This principle is rooted in the notion that minors may not fully understand the implications of their actions. Given that the candidates who signed the undertaking are minors, the undertaking is voidable due to their lack of contractual capacity. The fact that they may not have fully understood the implications of what they signed, and did so without legal or parental guidance, supports this argument.
JAMB took advantage of the minors’ lack of understanding and exerted undue influence over them, thereby making the said undertaking unconscionable or voidable.
I am confident that, based on our laws and existing precedents, the court will take a protective stance towards minors, prioritising their welfare and best interests. If a court were to consider the validity of the undertaking, it might lean towards voiding it, especially if it determines that the minors did not have adequate understanding or guidance.
If the said undertaking is voided, it could potentially allow the underage candidates to use their UTME results for admission purposes, subject to other admission criteria and regulations. I therefore will caution JAMB to seek proper guidance and do the needful. JAMB must get its knees off the neck of our teens who dared to dream.