DR. Nick Idoko is an academic, journalist, publisher, development consultant, and marketing communications expert. He has taught in institutions in Germany and Nigeria. He is an adjunct at Pan-African University. Dr. Idoko holds a PhD in Journalism and Communication Science from Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany. He has led consulting projects for many national and international organizations and institutions. He is the President/Lead Consultant, Africa Network for Peace and Justice, a peace building, non-governmental organisation. He is currently involved in pioneering the development of the media and communication studies at Samuel Adegboyega University, Ogwa, Edo State. He spoke with ONYEDIKA AGBEDO on the problems of the education sector among other issues of national importanceThe education sector has come under serious criticism in recent times especially the university system for producing employment seekers instead of employment creators. What really is the problem' Is it that we don't have the right curriculum or we don't have the right teachers or we don't have the right students'IT is the combination of the three issues you mentioned. The university system as designed originally was not meant to produce entrepreneurs. It was meant to produce people who could service the public service and people who could, after graduating, seek white collar jobs rather than work for themselves. At that time, there were jobs just for the asking either in the public or private sector. But things have changed. There is population explosion, there are no white collar jobs to absorb the burgeoning number of graduates and therefore, there is crisis in the labour market. We must then learn from other countries, both developing and developed, where entrepreneurship has become central to knowledge and production.Yes, the universities are supposed to do three things basically ' teach, research and engage in community service. These are the central functions of the university. And this is true of all universities the world over. Now, we are coming back to the basics and our universities have also realised that there is no point to keep on producing graduates that cannot engage in enterprise because that is why we have high unemployment and large number of unemployed youths in the country. Most of the graduates are either unemployable or only fit for menial jobs, such as okada riding and the like.If JAMB records are anything to go by, then we must begin to tell ourselves some home truth that the foundation students we have in our universities are not the right set of students. The universities decided to introduce the post-UTME exams in order to check this anomaly.How do we begin to address them' The issues touch on policy. Our education policy has to be re-designed. Secondly, the curriculum has to be re-designed too. We need a new educational system and a new curriculum. I understand that the government is trying to do something now about these. They want to start with the audit of the universities, particularly the federal universities. That audit is important provided it is holistic. It is not only about auditing the finances of the universities to discover fraud and all that, but government should focus on auditing the entire educational system aimed at overhauling the system to meet the demands of the 21st Century. The last time I checked, there were 117 universities in the country, many of them barely existing or functional. This year alone, we had 1.5 million candidates that sat for the UTME through JAMB. And, to tell you how bad the situation is, only three candidates out of this number scored 300. And this makes me to ask, must everybody go to the university' No.In the recent ranking of universities in the world, no Nigerian university made the first 100. How do you react to that'That also tells you a lot that Nigeria is nowhere to be reckoned with when it comes to tertiary education, particularly university education. It is stating the obvious to say that we have no contemporaries in our regressive trajectory. All the emerging economies that used to be our contemporaries have moved ahead of us. It is not surprising therefore that no Nigerian university featured among the first 100 in the recent ranking of world universities. So, we have a lot of work to do. And I blame successive governments for bastardising education. Our intellectuals are not regarded in Nigeria, rather they are branded dissidents and trouble makers. Yet, these same Nigerian intellectuals are rated amongst the best in the world outside the shores of our country. However, the coming of private universities has rekindled hope but firm regulation is required to keep these new institutions in check so that they do not become bastions of corruption and incompetence. The National Universities Commission (NUC) is doing its best but it still remains largely a very weak institution with less than desired capacity to carry out thorough oversight function.Don't you think that the problems of the education sector are not isolated from the challenges that the country has been facing in recent times' For instance, many have argued that the country's structure is flawed and that is why we have the Boko Haram insurgency and agitations for a return to regionalism and the convocation of a national conference. As an expert in conflict resolution and peace building, how do you think these issues could be tackled to put Nigeria on the path of stability and development'Yes, you are right. Nigeria seems to be at war with itself. It is a country I like to describe as one in animated stupor where you see motions but no action. The university system cannot be isolated or divorced from the larger Nigerian society. The rot and mess that pervade the university system are, in fact, systemic. The university system is part of the Nigerian system, which is itself in a morass propelled by a crisis of philosophy and mission. The Nigerian federation as currently constituted is flawed and requires restructuring. One of the solutions they have proposed to correct the lopsided nature of our federal structure is the sovereign national conference. They believe that until we muster the will to sit together as brothers and sisters to discuss how to co-exist in a federation that provides for all, we may never be able to achieve nationhood and greatness. I tend to agree with this school of thought.The second solution being proffered is the return to regionalism. That has been modified with the call for a six geo-political structure to replace the state structure. The argument here is premised on the fact that the main objective for which states were created has not been realised, namely, that development has not happened as expected. Many of the states are not viable, in fact, some states have been found to be truly bankrupt and incapable of playing the role for which they were created.On the issue of Boko Haram and other violent conflicts, I would urge the government to take urgent and concerted steps to stem the burgeoning conflicts paralysing the country. One sure way, aside from military force, is to develop a blueprint or roadmap that will deal with human security, conflict resolution, peace building and reconciliation. This roadmap must be premised on implementable architecture of peace anchored on social justice and aimed to reconcile all conflicting interests in different parts of the country. But that is not to say that all conflicts are resolvable. No. Part of our problem has always been our undue fixation on resolving all conflicts. This is not an achievable goal. Some conflicts can be resolved, of course. Other conflicts can only be managed.This was what happened in Ghana during the period of protracted chieftaincy conflict in the northern part of the country that paralysed socio-political activities and raised insecurity to cataclysmic levels. The conflict, which climaxed in the beheading of the Ya'ana, the high chief in the north of Ghana, was eventually resolved through the concerted effort of the government, supported by UNDP Ghana. The government brought together peace building experts who sat down and designed a robust architecture of peace that took control of the situation. Indeed, I was part of a team of communication consultants that was engaged by UNDP Ghana to retrain Ghanaian journalists on conflict and peace reporting.Do you think the National Assembly can address these issues confronting the country without recourse to a national conference as recently canvassed by the Senate President'The National Assembly as currently constituted doesn't have the sort of capacity the Senate President is talking about. The type of National Assembly we have today is not one that has the resolve or even the vision that can produce results. We have all seen that the National Assembly is very weak and uncoordinated. It is one that often takes delight in baying at the feet of the executive. Forget all the posturing and pretentions to oversight function, we all know the facts. Where you have the sort of national institution that I have just described, it is senseless to hope on such a conclave of nincompoops to deliver on service for public good. That is why the nation is paralysed top down.You had earlier blamed the problems of the country on the quality of leadership. How do we get it right and move forward'Chinua Achebe said it all in his little book, The Trouble With Nigeria, that the biggest problem of our nation is the problem of leadership and many other well-meaning Nigerians have said so. Leadership is indeed a big issue here. And, take note, it is at all levels. Anywhere you look, there is leadership crisis in Nigeria. This is because our politics is polluted, bereft of ideology and vision. Our politics must be sanitised for us to be able to produce the sort of leaders that will drive our society. The electoral system is the major culprit in this context. The electoral system is disorganised, corrupted, weak and dysfunctional. Forget about Prof. Attahiru Jega's modest achievements. It is not deep enough to transform our national politics.Is there any role the followership can play in driving these changes you have advocated'In a sense, the followers must be responsible for the things that happen to them. We have followers that do not understand their role; followers that do not have a clear understanding of what they should be doing. Something is fatally wrong with our civic public. It is a public that I like to describe as a dual-civic public. That is the kind of society we have, which constitutes the followership we are talking about. This dual-civic public behaves in a funny way, acting on double standards. Besides, Nigerians have become incurable cynics. They no longer trust their government whether at the centre, the state or local council. Public cynicism has become a culture and this has not helped the cause of governance in Nigeria. Therefore, our leaders should learn to build trust and confidence so that Nigerians will feel compelled to partner with them to deliver on good governance.
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