Dapchi and the Shame of Northern Elite
Return of Dapchi Girls
Iam extremely happy that majority of the Dapchi girls have been returned to their families, safe, sound and unspoiled. I mourn with the families that lost their beloved daughters. May God strengthen and comfort them, during this difficult time. Amen. As for Leah Shuaibu, the only young lady in this batch of girls that is still in captivity, because she refused to denounce her faith, I pray that God will touch the hearts of her abductors, so that she will be returned home to her family unharmed. Amen.
Can the Girls Speak English?
That said, what struck me about the Chibok and Dapchi girls, is that at secondary school level, these girls seem unable to express themselves in English Language. Each time any of them has appeared on television to give some account or the other of their ordeals, the accounts have been given in Hausa. Last Thursday, I watched a clip of an interview of one of the Dapchi abductees, Khadija Grema, recounting their ordeal. The whole account was animatedly given in Hausa. My question is, do these girls not understand the English Language? I am beginning to suspect that they may not! Considering the fact that English is our official language in Nigeria, and pupils and students are supposed to be taught in English, how can this be?
There is a message which has made the rounds on social media, about the National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) cut-off mark for each State in Nigeria, for the 2017/2018 session. Where Imo State has the highest cut-off mark of 66% without any discrimination between males and females, for the same examination, Sokoto State has the lowest cut-off mark of 7% for females, while Zamfara State comes in second to the last with 14% for males and 12% for females. According to the table, Yobe has 20% while Borno has 33% cut-off marks for both sexes.
My next question is, how does a person who only needs 7%, which is closer to 0%, and an abysmal failure by any standard worldwide, get into the same class and compete with someone that gets 66%? A person that gets 7%, I am sorry to say, knows next to nothing! How does such a person, go through secondary education, and pass the GCE O levels or whatever examinations they now take to complete secondary school, not understanding English? Are the examinations taken in Vernacular/Hausa?
Section 18(1) & (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) (the Constitution), provide respectively that “Government shall direct its policy towards ensuring that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels”, and “Government shall strive to eradicate illiteracy” providing when practicable, free education from primary to tertiary level, and even adult education programmes. It seems that, successive Governments have failed in delivering on the constitutionally provided educational objectives, especially to some of the Northern States. Why are their cut-off marks so low?
Low Budget Allocation for Education
Why is it that people like Governor Nasiru El-Rufai, who said that he is a beneficiary of our public education system, is properly educated and articulate, while we now have secondary school students in the same system, that cannot even express themselves in English? The answer is that, our educational system is in shambles! The quality of our educational system in Nigeria, has fallen to rock bottom, ground zero. In our grandparents days, those that studied up to ‘Standard 6’, that is, passing out of Primary School, seem to have been more literate and educated, than some of our Secondary School finalists of today.
Successive Nigerian Governments, have failed to allocate enough funds for the development of education. While UNESCO has recommended that 15%-20% budget allocation for education is the international benchmark, Nigeria has consistently been allocating something in the region of 6%-7% since the return to civilian rule, less than half of the recommended budget allocation. It is therefore, no surprise, that our educational system is in such a deplorable condition.
For 2018, the budgetary allocation for education in Nigeria its 7.04%, that is, about N60.5 billion or so out of an N8.6 trillion budget. Other smaller African countries, spend more on education than Nigeria. Ghana has spent up to 31% of its budget on education, Ivory Coast 30%, while Kenya has spent 23%. In Nigeria’s case, it is interesting that the Military Governments spent more on education, and that there has been a downward trend from 1999 when Nigeria became a democracy, from about 11% to 7% budget allocation. Meanwhile, recurrent expenditure has been on a constant rise, which goes to show that Government is run more inefficiently without proper focus on crucial sectors like education, as the years go by!
Honourable Kazaure
The other day, I saw a video clip of Honourable Gudaji Kazuare, APC Member representing the Kazaure/Roni/ Gwiwa/Yankwashi Federal Constituency of Jigawa State, talking about Women purportedly to mark International Women’s Day. Honourable Kazaure is said to have obtained his WASC at the age of 22 in 1994, and did not seem to further his education after that. The video was hilarious, and at the same time, sad and somewhat derogatory towards women. His command of the English Language was rather poor, leaving a lot to be desired. He referred to women as ‘womens’ and children as ‘childrens’, saying that women should only be giving so much opportunity, so that they do not take over from men. That women were meant to serve men, and that if they took over the Chamber (which he pronounced as ‘Chambas’), they would mess up! I know that members of the House of Representatives travel abroad to meet their counterparts, and attend all sorts of programmes; I wondered whether Honourable Kazaure would understand anything, if he was part of any of those trips abroad, and what positive contribution he would be able to make. Making the kind of submission he made on the floor of the House of Representatives at a forum abroad, would be seen as the ‘faux pas’ that it was, highly offensive, derogatory and discriminatory (to use the latest Nigerian slang, “hate speech” against women!). Yet he holds such an esteemed position, and is responsible for making laws etc for the country!
Honourable Kazaure, "It is not scientific proof of gender equality that is required, but general acceptance that women are at least the equals of men or better."~ Stephen Hawking.
State of Emergency
It is time to declare a state of emergency in the area of education in Nigeria, before it is too late. If not, one day in the not too far future, we will wake up and discover that we are one of the most backward countries in Africa, because we are a mostly uneducated nation. It is time for Government to cut useless expenditure like having Special Assistants, Special Advisers, Luxury cars for Government Officials, constantly sending Politicians and Government Officials on wasteful trips abroad, and so on, and instead use the funds gainfully, providing the international recommended budget allocations for the educational sector.
Teachers in Nigeria are so poorly paid, that there is hardly any incentive to be a Teacher anymore. Only those who are barely educated and have limited options, are interested in teaching, so that they can at least attempt to make ends meet, and earn a salary, instead of dying of hunger! We saw this happen in Kaduna State, where Teachers could not even pass basic Maths and Literacy Examinations. Governor El-Rufai certainly did the right thing, in expunging those who are not qualified to teach, from the system. Our educational system also seemed to work better, before this 6-3-3-4 system we have now. It seems that, we may have to rethink our whole educational system from scratch. So much needs to be done, like increase in Teachers’ remuneration and welfare, proper professional training for them, upgrading of educational infrastructure, libraries, equipment, school boarding facilities etc. The curriculum also needs to be re-evaluated and overhauled.
“IT IS TIME TO DECLARE A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN THE AREA OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. IF NOT, ONE DAY IN THE NOT TOO FAR FUTURE, WE WILL WAKE UP AND DISCOVER THAT WE ARE ONE OF THE MOST BACKWARD COUNTRIES IN AFRICA, BECAUSE WE ARE A MOSTLY UNEDUCATED NATION”