The grand idea of education is to liberate. To set the mind free, to let it wander into the strangest of territories. To be better. To fan the embers of curiosity. To explore the parts of you that you never knew existed. Finally, to become a better version of yourself.
Apart from people like me who are doing adult education in the university, the ideal age for tertiary education is between the ages of say 16 to 23 and this is the formative years of an adult. This is when we develop lifelong habits and behaviors. Whatever system you're subjected to molds your character and ideals.
There's a theory that whatever you do for 21 consecutive days becomes a habit. Imagine what an average of four years in a Nigerian university does to you. There's one reason why the government will not pay attention to our educational system and that reason is evident; if all the universities in this country graduate 4000 educated people every year, in the fourth year, they will unseat the government.
Every year our universities vomit cowards of different colors, shape, culture and religion. Every year young people who have been dumbed down for 4 straight years are sent into the society to continue plying the trade of subservience.
Before you take an offense let me explain something shortly. In your first year, the cowards in 2nd year pass down the baton of fear to you by telling you "Hmmm, this woman will walk you out of her class if you ask her questions. This man doesn't like when you add things you've read from other texts. You must give him what he taught in class. Our HOD said she didn't graduate with a first class, hence nobody will graduate with anything more than a 2.1"
If you're fortunate enough you experience the dearth of our system first hand when an ignoramus that masquerades as a professor waltz into the class and swears that the "A" grade is for her and her umunna and the "B" grade will be a work of divine intervention. They normally close their foolish speech by asking you to scamper for the "C".
It sticks in your mind. Fear, uncertainty, apprehension. More fear. When they are done reading from their laptops or note in the front of the classroom, to fulfill all righteousness they look from the top of their glasses and ask "any question??" as a bait.
If you mistakenly say you have a question they will ask you what you've been doing in their class. If you weren't listening. They shout, they cuss, they talk down on you and next time you will NEVER ask.
They strangulate your curiosity. You become lily-livered. Anytime they ask you to stand up in the class you have palpitations. You shake, your voice trembles. If you're a girl you sit at the back because of the horny lecturers who threaten to fail you if they don't have access to your vagina.
Some of them give you option of sucking their dick for a B grade and because you don't want to write carry over. Because you want to graduate and become jobless you get on your knees and gaggle on the shriveled penis of a man who may have a terrible hygiene. When he cums, he wears a wry smile and teasingly calls you a bad girl.
If he's very possessed he spanks your ass while you leave. You whimper and blush. Sometimes when the result comes out you don't see a "B" he gives you a "D" even after sucking his D. You can't shout. You go to your room and bury your face on your bed and cry. Sometimes you kneel down and cry to God but he mostly doesn't have your time. Anytime you see the man you tremble. If you hear his voice teaching another class your heart skips two beats and you clutch your chest trying to suppress the memory of that day in his office or tinted car.
I think I'm shouting too much but let's continue.
We collectively gave lecturers so much power in our lives because we feel that we cannot be anything without those certificates. Certificates that you will bury under your box and go and open shop on WhatsApp? I remember in my NCE days when I was given a carry over because I corrected a lecturer that was dictating rubbish for my classmates.
When he called me into his office expecting me to cower I told him that his power ends inside the four walls of that college of education and my existence was bigger than that school. He didn't talk. I rewrote the exam and had a B. I spent an extra year but I am always grateful that I told him the limit of his supposed power. Right now, that drunkard cannot talk to me. Lol. He was an itch I needed to scratch and I did that well!
We have normalized fear. We have made our teachers gods. We have given them power that even scares them. Especially the ones who don't know what they are teaching. Who are there because they know someone that knows the pastor of the VC. The ones who on a normal day should be teaching ndi play group. We give them respect that we never gave our parents back home. Because we want to answer graduate!
Because of fear and lack of vision many students are slaves to lecturers. They are at the beck and call of these people. I know a boy who failed because a lecturer was asking his girlfriend for sex. I told the boy that he wasn't so wise.
I wonder why Nigerian students are so religious and still afraid of mortals! Oh well, the religions they practice thrive on fear so that makes sense.
If you know who you are on this earth and the power you wield you shouldn't be negotiating with them!
By the time they are in their final year, they have mastered the art of being unable to stand up to "authority". That fear has paid for a room and parlor in their heads and they can do little or nothing without consulting the fear they learnt over time.
That is why your president is a vegetable! Simply because the youth in his country are cabbages!
Fear Fear! " They will fail me o. Ah I no get strength o.". If the school management are misbehaving nobody wants to protest. Nobody wants to write about it because of what? Expulsion yeah? The government is misbehaving and a peaceful March is mentioned everybody is running to their rooms to go and wank because they don't want to get shot.
How many of you can they kill? If a lecturer threatens to fail you because of sex speak up. Talk to your class people. If I am in your class we can sit the exam out. Let him write his course alone. Civil disobedience! But no. There'll be snitches. The idiots who want to pass. Who don't want to be involved in anything that resembles a revolution but they always open their stinking mouths and insult politicians!
They are doing all they are doing because people like you exist! People who can't stand up to authority let come what may! You want to live long. You don't want to die. That's why you sit and oversee rot happening right before your eyes and you dismiss your ineptitude and foolishness with "God no go shame us"
Mechie your mouth! God didn't create you to be docile. You open your mouth and say you were created in his image and you can't stand up to authority??You can't sacrifice your present comfort for a grander one. You can't do anything! All you want to do is have sex, smoke, drink, watch BBNAIJA and come online to complain that fuel is one million per liter!
I wonder the kind of children my generation will raise. We are becoming so lazy. We are not futuristic. All we think is today and tomorrow. Look at us growing dumb daily because nobody reads. Nobody asks questions. Just bunch of "yes women and yes men".
When we become grandfather's and grandmother's I wonder the kind of wisdom we will pass to the next generation. It is disturbing really but let us SMS VOTE Erica to a certain number. Let us come here and keep fighting and blocking ourselves for people who are inside somewhere eating free food. Let us keep engaging in things that won't liberate us. Let us continue.
For every season Nigerians manufacture a slang that permits their laziness. A while ago it was "I cannot come and go and kill myself." Today it is "God no go shame us" even people who have shameful realities are saying this!
I am very particular about women because that gender don't even know the power they wield. Yet they are the most downtrodden. They just sit many conversations out. They are busy screenshotting wedding gowns on Instagram looking for someone's son to trap. Everything is about marriage. Marriage this marriage that!
Your life is not even in order. You don't even know yourself too well. You don't understand yourself. You are carrying the hurt of past relationships and you're looking for marriage so you'll give birth and raise broken children who will finally set this country on fire.
I look at them and laugh because marriage is a good thing. I mean everyone wants to start having legal sex. Everyone wants companion. Everyone want to snap pre wedding photo and lodge in a hotel with their girls and sit on a bed punctuated with balloons and pose for a photograph!
All those things are great but who are you apart from that marriage?? People hide their emptiness and cluelessness in marriage! That's why you people will continue divorcing. Our mothers and grandmother's had substance!! They had character! You may want to come and say they lived in partrachial societies and I will tell you that you're speaking big big grammar.
Our fathers married Queens! Real time Queens that raised us. Queens that fought battles that they never told us. But look at you dear.
Our mothers married kings. Men with character. Men whose mettle were up there. Bros look at you. Chasing money up and down you don't have time to build your character and become a human being. Covering your monster nature with your account balance. The ones that don't have money like us are worse. No money. No character. No self will. No nothing!
Just vibes.
I hope this our vibes don't vibrate us into doom.
Have a beautiful weekend and be consciously aware of yourself and also know that ALL the power on earth is inside of you. Now imagine having such power and living the kind of life you're living!
Sad!
I like your story and I think you're 100% right. Your story deserves a summary, though ;-)