You teach garbage, delegate tells professors

Senator Ahmed Mohammed Aruwa from Kaduna State yesterday threw a jibe at university dons after Prof Albert Olawale made what Aruwa perceived as a blunder.

Olawale had, in his submission, gone down memory lane, describing what transpired between the late Sir Ahmadu Bello and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe in their quest to engender unity in the country, alluding to Bello as Fulani.

When it was his turn to talk, Aruwa first blamed President Goodluck Jonathan of delivering an “un-presidential speech” during the conference’s inauguration which he said he would bring up during deliberations at committee level.

“I found some of the content frankly, un-presidential. I find, in my view, a speech made by someone under severe pressure. I find in them some area that was a strict warning,” he said.

Speaking on Prof Olawale’s submission, Aruwa said “it baffles me when professors sit here and tell us stories of what happened between the late Sardauna and the late Zik. Being the scenario in the story, it sounds far from the truth.

“Sardauna played with the Fulani, Sardauna can never call himself Fulani but we sit here today, a professor telling us a story that many of us here could not believe. So, that is the garbage they teach our students.”

Most delegates objected to Aruwa’s comments, with a lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, Dr Haruna Yerima, citing Order 9 (10) which prohibits use offensive language during sittings.

“The last speaker used the word garbage; that lecturers in Nigerian universities are impacting garbage to students, the speaker must be called to order Mr Chairman. We don’t teach garbage in the universities; we don’t teach garbage in the universities. I am a lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, I hold a PhD, I don’t teach garbage and no professor here teaches garbage in the university,” Yerima said.