Gbenro Adesina
The Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) has expressed dismay over the state of the Nigerian university system and its decline in quality and standard.
This was contained in a press release signed by its President, Professor Francis Egbokhare and dated August 20, 2020 and titled, “The Nigerian University System: The Need for a Return to Order”.
According to the statement, the Association is concerned about the crisis at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and the on-going strike action by some unions in the country’s public universities.
The statement reads in parts:
“For the last two decades, we have watched with consternation the progressive decline in quality and standards in the University system. The failure to arrest the decay has now resulted in the normalization of deviance in the system. As an Academy, we believe that it is time for every informed and well-meaning Nigerian to rise up to the challenges of restoring order and quality to the system. The future of any country in the age of knowledge depends critically on its Universities and its intellectual class. It is therefore important that the operatives of the system, the government, the staff and the public are alive to their responsibilities to the Nigerian State and the education system.
“At this moment, we are concerned about three issues: the very shameful public confrontation between the members of the Council of University of Lagos and the Management on the one hand, as well as the discord within the Council itself, the need for visitation to the Federal Universities and the ongoing strike by some University Unions.
“The University of Lagos has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in the last three years. The Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) is dismayed by the unending conflict between the Council and Management. NAL also notes the disruptive effects of these conflicts on the integrity of the UNILAG brand, in addition to the system-wide damage it has caused. NAL is very disturbed at the turn of events arising from the controversy surrounding the sack of the Vice Chancellor by a section of the University Council. NAL commends the Visitor, President Muhammadu Buhari, for his decisive intervention in accordance with the law while respecting the autonomy of the University of Lagos.
“The situation in the University of Lagos is symptomatic of a general malaise afflicting the University system. We are witnessing a very aberrant period in the history of the Nigerian University System. There is a growing diffidence, eclipsing dissonance, loss of vision, and gnawing incongruence between the purpose of the universities and their behavior. The system has been overwhelmed by sub-optimization among its various components leading to paralysis and creeping determinism. This is in addition to the cavalier attitude of critical leadership across the system. The need for visitations to all public federal universities has therefore become imperative if we are not to witness an irreversible decay in the system. NAL urges The Visitor to appoint visitation teams without further delay.
“It is instructive that after so many decades of running tertiary education, the government and unions have not been able to fashion out creative ways of resolving, sometimes very basic disputes. The instability in the system has undermined every form of investment in the universities since independence. It is time to end strikes! The Nigerian Academy of Letters calls on the government and unions to develop a coherent and sustainable framework for attaining lasting peace in the University System. NAL calls on the Federal Government and the striking Unions to put their differences aside and find common grounds in order to resolve the current disputes. After all, if Nigeria is in focus, it should not be difficult to achieve a speedy resolution of the crises.
“The Nigerian Academy of Letters wishes to conclude by stating that Education is not a convenience or a bare necessity. It is indispensable to the sustenance of life and transformation of societies that put great value to it. Thus, we must give it the serious attention it deserves if we must realize our vision as a country and earn the respect of others”.
