Follow Us on Google
By Oluibukun Gbenga Ajayi
As the world prepared to bid farewell to 2023 and welcome the dawn of 2024, the media landscape, both mainstream and social platforms, was set ablaze by the shocking exposé from Daily Nigeria Investigative journalist, Umar Shehu Audu. In a riveting report, Audu detailed his seemingly miraculous attainment of a four-year Mass Communication degree at Ecole Superieure de Gestion et de Technologies (ESGT) in Cotonou, Benin Republic, within a mere two months, bypassing conventional processes such as application, registration, studying, exams, or even crossing national borders.
The federal government swiftly responded, expressing concern over the deployment of unscrupulous means to obtain degrees and subsequently suspended the evaluation and accreditation of certificates from Benin Republic and Togo. In a statement released on January 2, the Federal Ministry of Education announced the suspension, pending a joint investigation involving the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education, the Department of State Security Services (DSS), and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
A subsequent report in The Nation Newspaper on January 7, 2024, highlighted the potential economic fallout for Beninois and Togolese universities, projecting an annual loss of approximately N7.5 billion from their Nigerian students. This revelation raises broader questions about the state of education in Nigeria and the exodus of students seeking quality education abroad, prompting a call for urgent reforms.
The Federal Government must address the root cause of this capital flight by revitalizing Nigeria’s higher education system. A comprehensive strategy for higher education funding is needed. Prioritizing the development of educational infrastructure to meet international standards, upgrading research facilities, enhancing learning resources, and improving student welfare are paramount now than ever before. Our universities must be equipped to attract International Students and also produce graduates capable of global competition. Further, the government should prioritize settling outstanding salaries owed to university staff, releasing long-overdue academic allowances, and implementing substantial salary increases for lecturers. The critical issue of unpaid salaries owed to university staff for the eight-month strike period and the accrued earned academic allowances, which has been persisting for several years should be promptly addressed. Despite the President’s recent announcement approving the payment of four months’ salary out of the eight owed to university lecturers, no payment has been received by the university workers. Working tirelessly, even during the festive seasons, they have effectively recovered the lost time from the strike and it is only right for them to be duly paid for the work they have done. Settling the overdue salaries and promptly releasing the deserved academic allowances is a right step in re-establishing trust between the government and the academic community.
Additionally, there is a pressing need for a substantial increase in the salaries and allowances of university lecturers, beyond the meager 25 per cent to 35 per cent raise recently proposed but not yet implemented. Investing in the improvement of our universities will not only curb capital flight but also attract international students, contributing significantly to our country’s revenue, as observed in other progressive nations.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government must be commended for promptly acting on the issues raised by Umar’s expose but we must go beyond reactionary interventions by ensuring that we fix the issues promoting such criminal practices. The government must also adopt a holistic approach to safeguard the interests of legitimately registered Nigerian students currently studying in Benin, Togo and other countries, ensuring they do not bear the brunt of the actions of unscrupulous individuals. The initial suspension of certificate accreditation is a necessary step in the right direction but thorough investigation must be conducted.
Beyond addressing the immediate concerns, the spotlight must also be directed at the shortcomings within Nigerian institutions.
The ease with which Umar obtained false stamps on his passport, suggesting a journey to Benin when he never left the shores of Nigeria, underscores the need for scrutiny within the Nigerian Immigration system. The exposé also brings to light the vulnerabilities in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) system, as Umar managed to manipulate the system by changing his contact information. The NYSC’s reliance solely on phone numbers and email addresses for identification raises questions about the effectiveness of their processes and the need for comprehensive data verification.
This serves as a wakeup call to the Federal Government and its institutions, specific emphasis on the National Universities Commission, Federal Ministry of Education, Nigeria Immigration Service, National Youth Service Corps, and even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The strength of a nation is inherently tied to the strength of its institutions.
•Dr Oluibukun Gbenga Ajayi lectures in the Department of Surveying and Geoinformatics, Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMinna), Nigeria. He can be reached via [email protected].
