Opinion

World Book Capital And Reading Culture

Published

13 years ago

December 3, 2012

In 2014, the World’s Literary pendulum shall be pointing at the direction of Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State and the acclaimed garden city of Nigeria.

By location, it is Nigeria but by implication, it is a world affair.

UNESCO decided to award it’s 2014 edition of World Book Capital City to Port Harcourt, Rivers State. This is in recognition of the pragmatic efforts of the present administration in promoting the art of literature and reading in the state and especially, the educational sector. Historically and in another perspective, the huge investment and expenditure done on educational sector through the transformation agenda is evidently or justifiably enough to draw international attention. Also, the Garden City Literary Festival (GCLF) which has become a trade-mark and have annually been able to pull remarkable names in the Pen industry and literary icons to the state contributed immensely to this global award and recognition.

It is indeed a monumental achievement and kudos to the administration of Rt. Hon. Chubuike Rotomi Amaechi, the Executive Governor of the State. He has really demonstrated his unalloyed love and loyalty for his professional discipline as an English and literary practitioner: This is one of the best, remarkable and cumbersome things that will ever happen in the history of Rivers State and Nigeria in general. To have a state of literacy above board is to have a generation of civilized people with decent ethical behavior.

The fact cannot be overruled that the gains of every society with out-standing percentage of literacy demystify that of illiteracy. This is why I quickly agreed with Governor Amaechi when he said “literature restores value and represents the world full of opportunities and numerous responsibilities”. A state or nation where 2/3 majority of the total populace are literate, who can read and write more of less gone through the conventional basic education will always be less vulnerable to some anti-social behaviours. It can never also be easily push-over, make to be a copy-cat or relegated to the background of social, political and economic development.

Reading and writing enhances creativity, professionalism, proper planning, coordination and articulation in word processing and manipulation. There is absolutely a clear distinction between learning to acquire knowledge and putting the knowledge acquired into proper use for the benefit of others. Every foundation in the arts of basic concept, technology and ideological principle is founded on the act of reading and writing. Without this concept that is put down through publishing of books, the scientific innovations, the discoveries that is shaping the world and making it a better place today would have been an illusion. Every good reader and writer can never lack word to express him or herself or to describe a situation or event. The great work of Books and Literature can never be quantified. This is why I truly avail the advice of Hilaire Belloc (1870 – 1953) to his son. Strongly, I believe this as a fundamental instruction when he said “child do not throw this book about, refrain from the unholy pleasure of cutting all the pictures out. Preserve it as your chiefest treasure”. The book project, reading and writing fiesta will enormously propel Port Harcourt, Rivers State is such an international recognition and benefits that must surely be reaped in the long run. This is why I am enjoying all well-meaning sons and daughters of positive minds to avail themselves with this opportunity no matter the negativity against all odds and bizarre circumstances perceived to surround its peripheries.

In as much as we envisage the lots of good opportunities that are abound in the lofty project, we also have to examine the shabby and shoddy state of our educational system and sincerely acknowledge that all is not well with it. This, at the back of our mind will surely help us to look back, dot our “i’” and cross our “t” adequately in very aggressive preparation for the event.

Crystal clear is the fact that, reading and writing culture in the country has regrettably felt below average in our education.al system. Right from the fall of WAI (War Against Indiscipline) of the Late General IDIAGBON – my most cherished Head-of-State, when the platonic, sardonic and draconic decrees that really shaped and positioned the socio-cultural behavior of our people, was toppled and abandoned, indiscipline has become the talk of the day in our schools. In those good old days, the 70’s and 80’s precisely, every school – secondary. schools especially had .prep or evening classes on their ,time table, these period, students are compulsorily allowed to go to their respective classes for studies on their own. So much readings and writings are always done at this period which was of greater advantage on the pupils performances.

Infrastructural development especially those that has direct impact and bearing on the literal aspirations and performances of the student for instance, before the adventure of the few modern schools of the transformation policy of the governor, there hardly be any of the schools especially community schools with standard or substandard library. And there hardly be any community in the state that does not have at least one community secondary school in its domain.

There is no way I could be convinced that standard library equipped with richer, juicy and certified books from authors of national and international reputes will not enhance the standard of reading and writing of our pupils. Though I can also agree that library alone, whether befitting or otherwise cannot bring in all that we need in our students and from our system. It is not all about a beautiful and serene environment or competitive facilities, it is all about the product of such an endeavour which must come through hard-work, discipline in all ramifications.

However, I quite agreed with the governor that better dreams come as a result of readIng books and indeed good books of course. It does not matter were one is brought up or the handicap situation one found self but what could be deduced from such a situation. In the words of the Governor, “I dream because I read. I was raised up in a poor neighbourhood of Diobu in Port Harcourt, I was the only child of my parents who went to school and today I am governor because I read”. This is an eloquent testimony, true confession and practical picture of the derivative factor of devotion, hard work and disciplinary measures exemplified through reading and writing. It is very palatable to emulate but much is needed to completely bring back this dream which are the banes of. sustainable and productive educational system in our dear state. We do not want the expensive and agrarian efforts of our governor to be a wasted venture. It is e common adage that if you want to hide something from a black person, mostly Nigerians, hide it in a book.’ I have looked at the above

statement as a fiction that has no bearing, but looking at the crop of people we turn out every year from our schools, I now draw affinity with the proponent of the adage. Something needs to be done urgently before we are swallowed up in a drowsy ocean of literary helplessness.

It is against this back drop that ‘we need to look at some measures to really address the anomalies vigorously. The culture of discipline anchor on an encompass corporal punishment must be brought back into the system. No one should be above discipline as long as uniform in dressing is maintained end there should be no regard to financial, parental statue, political affiliations and social background. The concept of compulsory boarding should be reintroduced.

Today globalization has brewed in so many packages, which are detrimental and with far reaching negative implications on the. people. The youth are most vulnerable to this feast. This is because browsing though the internet has taken over 75CYo of our youths. Instead of finding time to read books, writing and solving assignments, our youth prefer to spend long hours at cyber cafe browsing irrelevant articles. This is not healthy for the system and our forth- coming “World Book Capital City”. Today also, you seldomly see a child given in

to reading of ‘newspapers, bulletins, magazines, novels etc or even listening to news on Radio and television. not even documentary, program that has literary implications, what is common is music all-round the clock. There should be an over-hauling and upgrading of our educational curriculum to accommodate the teaching of moral behaviour and value in our schools. In the same vein, certain features of the 70’s and 80’s era and style of studies which made the system thick by then should be introduced. For instance, inter-school’s competition is a formidable tool that can alleviate the system.

However, we are happy with government efforts in revamping the sector and believe that with “proper arrangement devil can see God”.

Tordee (JP) a social commentator and public analyst resides in Port Harcourt.

Manson B. Tordee

Opinion

Humanity and Sun Worship

Published

2 weeks ago

September 8, 2025

The Tide

Quote:”In this, the solar messiah lives on—not confined to any one culture or doctrine, but as a timeless symbol of humanity’s deepest longing for light, life, and liberation”.

From when man became conscious of his environment and began to gaze into the velvety night skies for answers to the mystery and bewilderment of his existence, his imaginative sensibilities took his thoughts in every conceivable and inconceivable direction. His observations of the visible cosmos informed speculations and conjectures that birthed beliefs. Naturally, this differed from community to community and reflected the peculiarities of peoples across the ethnocultural mosaic of humanity. Obviously, the most visible sky body that impacted and still impacts man’s everyday life is the sun. Stealthily, it sneaks up from the eastern horizon without a sound and chases away the dread of cold and darkness of the night, warms the body and provides illumination for man’s daily survivalist activities until darkness sets in and swallows it at the west end of the horizon. With time, man realised the positive effect of the sun on animals and crops, man’s source of sustainability. Thus commenced the belief in the sun as the giver and sustainer of life, hence sun worship across the world. What a benevolent mysterious entity in the clouds! What a worshipful entity! Beliefs are imbibed through acculturation and insipid indoctrination handed down from antiquity through customs, tradition, folkways and more. Generally, beliefs are accepted as given, without question; so, they are based on delusions and illusions. Confronted with facts, beliefs are either discarded or morphed into knowledge inforrmed by education, empiricism and science; most beliefs yield to new knowledge just as theories respond when confronted by facts in the Hegelian tradition. . For instance, it was believed that planet earth is flat until Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) committed what was considered “heresy” by contending that it is spherical. On the orders of the Holy See, Galileo was tied to the stake until he recanted.

Eventually, science proved otherwise, thereby jettisoning the old belief and vindicating Galileo. Today, the spherical essence of the earth is elementary Geography. Hosea says that “my people suffer because of lack of knowledge”. Also, man is admonished to “ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you”. These two Biblical injunctions categorically nudge man towards Gnosticism, which is, succinctly stated, knowledge. It therefore behoves humanity to consistently and persistently seek knowledge towards improving the human condition, and attaining atonement (at-one-ment) with God (whoever or whatever He, She, They or It is). A study of major world religions shows that from Horus of Egyptian mythology to Jesus of Christian theology, there were numerous messianic figures whose epic share instructive commonalities with that of Jesus; incidentally, these figures preexisted Jesus with the minimum of five centuries. A chronology of these religious figures is as follows: Horus (Egypt, 3000BC), Attis (Greek, 1200BC), Mithra (Persia, 1200BC), Krishna (India, 900BC) and Dionysus, (Greek, 500BC). The commonalities in the epics are that they were (1) of mysterious birth (born of virgin), (2) born on December 25, (3) visited at birth by three star-guided wisemen/kings, (4) survived infanticide, (5) child prodigy at twelve, (6) had twelve followers, (7) known by the same gestural names such as “Lord of Lords”, “Prince of Peace”, “Savior” etc., (8) performed wondrous works, and ((9) killed, buried and resurrected on the third day. Specifically speaking, an incisive look at the above phenomenon shows that the epic of Jesus is a replica of Horus who was baptised by Anup the Baptizer (John the Baptist?) at the age of thirty years, raised El-Azur-us (Lazarus?) and had the same sobriquets: “The way, the truth, the light”, “the Messiah”, “God’s anointed son”, “Son of Man”, “the good shepherd”, “lamb of God”, “the Word”, “the morning star” and “the light of the world”.

Reacting to the uncanny commonalities in the multiplicity of theological posturing across religions, Thomas Paine (1737-1809) opined that “the Christian religion is a parody on the worship of the sun in which they put a man called Christ in the place of the sun and pay him the adoration originally payed to the sun”. Again, it is worrisome that the disciples of Jesus and virtually all biblical characters bear English names rather than Jewish or Palestinian names. Given this and the fact that they do not bear Roman names since Palestine was under Roman imperialism at the time, is telltale of strong English influence in the Christian scripture; this view is furthered by the fact that Shakespeare is carefully and craftily obfuscated in Psalm. With the above, a thawed mind would certainly agree with Paine who, in rejecting the doctrines of institutional religion, averred that “my country is the world and to do good is my religion”. Obviously, the epic of these messianic figures is a reenactment of the same old astro-theological account of the sun’s annual journey on the equinox, the Winter Solstice. Undoubtedly, from Horus to Jesus, man has been neck deep in the practice of sun worship. The multiplicity of belief systems with broad philosophical diversities and sometimes contradictory and conflicting tenets impress the individual with discerning mind that humanity is groping in the dark with each religious group claiming to be the right way. Perhaps, this informed the averment of Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka thus: “I am not a Christian or Muslim; neither am I an Atheist. I am a humanist; I believe in Humanism”; this is an echo of Thomas Paine. B From the falcon-eyed Horus of ancient Egypt to the crucified and risen Christ of Christianity, the motif of the solar savior has echoed across civilizations as a profound symbol of renewal, hope, and cosmic order.

Each figure—whether Mithras emerging from the rock, Dionysus reborn from death, Krishna revealing divine light, or Zoroaster proclaiming truth against darkness—embodies a facet of the sun’s eternal cycle: birth, death, and resurrection. These stories are not merely religious doctrines but reflections of a deeper mythological and psychological archetype rooted in the human experience of nature, time, and the search for meaning. The sun, in its rising and setting, becomes a metaphor for life’s cyclical nature, and the messiah—a figure who overcomes death to bring light—becomes the vessel for humanity’s spiritual aspirations. While the names, cultures, and theologies may differ, the archetypal solar messiah remains constant: a divine figure who brings order out of chaos, light out of darkness, and life out of death. Recognizing these shared motifs does not diminish the unique identities of these traditions; rather, it reveals a universal spiritual grammar through which humans, across time and space, have sought to express the inexpressible.

The eternal return of the solar savior is not just a religious myth—it is a mirror of the enduring human hope that after every night comes dawn, after every fall comes rising, and after every death, a possibility of rebirth. In this, the solar messiah lives on—not confined to any one culture or doctrine, but as a timeless symbol of humanity’s deepest longing for light, life, and liberation. The spirituality of the Torah, Bhagavad Gita, the Holy Bible, the Noble Quran and literature of other religions is absolutely in no doubt; they are indubitably, Books of Life. However, man must study them with his intellect switched on in order to discard the numerous fairytales and authorial biases. This thawed state of mind enables the true seeker to burrow beneath the narratives and unearth the deep meanings that are obfuscated in allegories, parables, metaphors and other “dark sayings”.

Humanity should realise that regardless of geology and ideology, we share the same biology; therefore, we should jettison the mind control beliefs in vicarious remission of sins, the promise of multiple voluptuous virgins etc. and work towards the brotherhood of man. Imagine a world without the divisive and destructive doctrines of institutional religion; where there is nothing to kill or die for; a world where people do to others as they wish others do unto them; where humanity returns to pre-Babelian linguistic singularity or communicates by telepathy; a world that eschews greed and men look out for each others’ need; a world in which global cohesion is such that the races (Black, Red, Yellow, and White) coalesce into one colour and humanity becomes a race of tan. Utopian? It is realizable if only man embraces the consciousness of the Divine, devoid of the man-made doctrines of institutional religion. That would be the Biblical Land of Canaan and St. Augustine’s City of God, which is governed by King Solomon’s “the righteous” and Plato’s “philosopher king”.

By: Jason Osai

Opinion

When Global Peace Hangs In The East

Published

2 weeks ago

September 8, 2025

The Tide

Quote:”As crises anywhere reflect everywhere, households around the world have continued to suffer the consequences of a global economy strained by supply chain pressures of prosecuting wars”.

It was alarming to watch the heavy military exchanges between Israel and Iran as witnessed weeks ago. The strategies and technologies deployed were enthralling, yet regrettable for the trail of destruction. Disturbingly, our big, wide planet harbours no safe places anymore, nor any impregnable shields, as no part of the earth is anymore off-limits from the destructive ordnances of military volleys. Yet that Israel-Iran clash was just one out of many Israel have had to fight since 2023. Elsewhere in Eastern Europe, another heart-rending carnage had been raging since 2021 in Ukraine. Hostilities in the Middle-East and Eastern Europe, even as they continue to drain world resources have proved almost intractable, as well as presenting the foremost opportunities for testing the latest arms technologies. It’s puzzling how upon vows by several US regimes to disengage from costly foreign combats, the East appears to ensnare the West in ways that complicate roles and intensions. As crises anywhere reflect everywhere, households around the world have continued to suffer the consequences of a global economy strained by supply chain pressures of prosecuting wars. Throttled by Gaza wars, commodity prices skyrocketing since 2021 have spread hardships that breed unrest around the globe. While hostilities between the Israelis and Palestinians are rooted in ancestry, those in Eastern Europe stem from the emergence of Marxist theories in the late 19th centuries, the consequential revolutions and the dawning of disillusionment. It’s noteworthy to examine the issues.Whereas historical records in the Egyptian Merneptah Stele, site Israelis as early as the 13th century BC existing as two kingdoms of Israel and Judah (the precursor for Jew) in an area then referred to as ‘Canaan,’ Arabs had arrived more than a millennium later.

Around the eighth century BC Israelis had been conquered by the Assyrians who deported most to Babylonia. A dynasty having been progressively erased, Israelis as captives changed overlords from Assyrians to the Romans up until about AD 135 when following a failed Jewish revolt, Roman Emperor Hadrian expelled Jewish remnants from Jerusalem and coalesced the city into “Syria-Palestina,” Palestina been coined from Philistine, a coastal arch-enemy to Israel. Later on as Israelis remained scattered globally in exile, Islamic conquests that swept from the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century BC over-took the Romans to capture the Middle-East, bringing-in a large number of Arab settlers. 1,200 years later, from the reigns of the Abbasid Caliphate to the Ottoman Empire, the Arabs had reached an overwhelming majority in the region, with a diminished Jewish minority. By 1917, the territory which included present day Jordan fell under the control of the British who in 1923 named it “Mandatory Palestine.”Meanwhile, racial antagonism against Jews as strangers grew in Europe, culminating in the holocaust of the Second World War, thus forcing Diaspora Jews to yearn for return to their ancestral homeland. The longing for the city of Zion whereupon an independent Jewish state of Israel would be established, became the metaphor that drove a nationalistic movement known as Zionism. But tensions mounted as world stakeholders, driven by sympathy over the horrors of the holocaust, supported Jews to return home to a territory already occupied by Arabs. It turned explosive when, in 1947, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 181 that partitioned Mandatory Palestine into “Independent Arab and Jewish States.”

Had Iran and other opposing Arab nations seen the need to accommodate that resolution, the decades of bloody clashes could have been averted. Iran however got flipped between being a foe, or an ally to Israel, up until 1979 when revolutions swept-off a friendlier monarchy, turning Iran into an anti-Israeli, anti-American theocracy that, projecting radical Shiite Islamism, set as avowed state policies the goals of ‘annihilating’ Israel and expelling her allies from the Middle-East. The suspicion against America became outstanding as it was accused of helping stage a coup d’états that reinstated the Shah in 1953. Ever since, Iran’s Supreme Revolutionary Council headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, later succeeded by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, engaged Israel in proxy wars by allegedly spearheading an “Axis of Resistance,” of teams of armed Islamist Shiites who surrounding Israel, amass and point thousands of weapons against it. Faced by Hamas in Lebanon, Hezbollah in Palestine, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and recently by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the Taliban and Al-Qaida in Afghanistan, Israel posits in an existential, do-or-die warfare that sets the psyche of its nationals on daily combat readiness. The recent Gaza war and its regional spillovers since 2023 is one of such aftermaths, whereupon crossing the border into Israel on July 7, 2023, Hamas had attacked and killed over a thousand Israelis. Whereas Israel returned fire and destruction to Hamas in Lebanon, Hezbollah in Palestine, and helped topple a government in Syria, it got to ultra-escalation when it confronted Iran between June 13 and 24, 2025, in what is now referred to as the Twelve-Day War.

As short as the war lasted, it’s so far the mother of all Gaza spillovers. Even as it may reshape the future of the region’s power landscapes, it exposed an alarming reality that when nations point stockpiles of warheads against each, rather than engage in mutual co-existence, Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) becomes inevitable.For Eastern Europe, hostilities trace back to Marxism-inspired Bolshevik revolutions that created the defunct Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, a communist party headquartered in Russia. The disintegration of the USSR remains a point of remorse to a remnant of that era’s leaders who, craving for restoration of a lost era, are bent on expansionism, even as concerned nationalities object..

By: Joseph Nwankwor

Opinion

Balancing Religious Freedom and Community Rights

Published

1 month ago

August 18, 2025

The Tide

Quote:”Communities have rights to peace, safety, and quality of life. Noise pollution, crowds, or other impacts from religious activities can affect these rights. Balancing these interests requires consideration and dialogue”.

Religious freedom, as a fundamental human right, encompasses the liberty to practise, express, and change one’s religion or belief without facing persecution, discrimination, or restriction. This right is recognized in various international human rights instruments. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) provides for the protection of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) further elaborates on this right. From the afore-mentioned, individuals have the right to practise their religion or belief in worship, observance, and teaching. This includes expressing one’s religion or belief through speech, writing, or other means of communication.They also have the right to change their religion or belief if they choose to do so.

While Religious freedom supports personal autonomy and the ability to make choices about one’s beliefs and practices, it also promotes diversity and coexistence among different religious and belief groups in a society. It is a cornerstone of human rights, contributing to the protection of other rights and freedoms. Religious freedom became imperative to save individuals who face persecution or discrimination for their religious beliefs or practices, check governments or communities who impose restrictions on religious expression or practice, citing various reasons like security, public order, or cultural preservation.

On the other hand, community rights refer to the rights of a community to protect their interests, culture, well-being, and other aspects that are significant to the community’s identity and functioning. These rights can encompass various dimensions including cultural preservation, economic interests, and social well-being. Communities often have rights to preserve their cultural heritage, traditions, languages, and practices. This can include protection of cultural sites, practices, and expressions. Communities may also have rights related to the management and benefit from natural resources within their territories or rights to economic development that aligns with their interests. Communities can as well ensure the social well-being of community members, including health, education, and safety. Beyond helping communities preserve their identity and cohesion by protecting aspects that are crucial to their way of life, support their determinations in making decisions about their own affairs, community rights can be particularly important for protecting against external pressures or exploitation.

In some climes, balancing religious freedom with community rights is a delicate task. Religious institutions play vital roles, but their activities can impact neighbors. Finding harmony between these interests is key to peaceful coexistence. Religious freedom is a fundamental right, allowing individuals and groups to practice their faith freely. However, this right isn’t absolute and must be balanced against other community rights and interests. Communities have rights to peace, safety, and quality of life. Noise pollution, crowds, or other impacts from religious activities can affect these rights. Balancing these interests requires consideration and dialogue. Noise from churches, mosques, temples, or other religious institutions can disturb neighbors. Managing noise levels is one way to balance religious expression with community peace. Many places have laws or guidelines governing noise, crowds, or other impacts from religious activities.

Understanding and complying with these frameworks can help balance interests.Dialogue between religious institutions and neighbors can prevent conflicts. By engaging with the community, religious groups can understand concerns and find mutually acceptable solutions. Religious institutions should consider impacts on neighboring properties. This includes noise, traffic, parking, and other factors affecting quality of life. In practice, balancing religious freedom and community rights requires flexibility and understanding from both sides. Religious groups can adopt practices to minimize impacts, while communities can understand the importance of religious expression. Some religious institutions successfully balance their activities with community needs through considerate scheduling, sound management, and community engagement. These examples show that balance is achievable.

Challenges arise when religious groups feel their freedom is restricted or when communities feel impacted by religious activities. Open communication can help address these challenges. Engaging with the community helps religious institutions understand local concerns. This engagement can lead to solutions that respect both religious freedom and community rights. Local authorities can facilitate balance by providing guidelines or mediating discussions between religious groups and neighbors. Their role is crucial in ensuring both sides are heard. Balancing religious freedom and community rights requires respect for diverse perspectives. Communities are made up of various groups with different needs and rights. Religious institutions can mitigate impacts through soundproofing, scheduling adjustments, or other measures. These steps can help minimize conflicts with neighbors.

Religious institutions often contribute positively to communities through charity, education, or social services. Recognizing these benefits can foster understanding.When conflicts arise, addressing them through dialogue is preferable to legal action. Mutual understanding can lead to solutions benefiting both sides.Educating both religious leaders and community members about the need for balance can prevent conflicts. Awareness of mutual rights and interests is key. Flexibility and compromise are essential in balancing religious freedom and community rights. Both sides may need to adjust to find harmony. By balancing religious freedom with community rights, communities can be more harmonious and inclusive. Respect for all interests leads to peaceful coexistence.

Above all, careful consideration of human rights principles, respect for diversity, and mechanisms for dialogue and mediation remain the hallmark of a harmonious community and religious institutions relationship

Revisiting Asuu’s Demand

Bright Amirize

Quote:” It should be remembered that ASUU warned Nigerians long ago about the antics and strategies of neocolonisation, especially what follows after a nation has experienced a civil war.

An understanding or agreement reached between the Federal Government of Nigeria and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in 2009, which had not been fully implemented, accounts for current threats by the lecturers to go on strike . One of the vital issues of vexation is the proliferation of universities in Nigeria, both public and private ones, whose qualities are not quite of global standards. It is obvious to those who care to know the details and implications, that there is a proliferation of universities in Nigeria, whose results can hardly produce salutary outcomes in the future. What we find is that Nigerians who had made enormous wealth usually invest in 5- star hotel business, private universities, a airlines, or in oil and gas related plants outside Nigeria. Conditions for the establishment of a private university are quite capital intensive, yet applications are many for going into such a venture.

The demand for university education is quite high among Nigerians, thus making the proliferation of such institutions inevitable. Even with such high growth rate of universities, Nigerians scramble to go to foreign universities to study, in spite of the high cost involved in such ventures. Foreign universities also embark on scrambles to get Nigerians to seek for admissions in their institutions, despite opposition to influx of foreigner in European countries. During the tenure of Margaret Thatcher as British Prime Minister, there were Policies and moves to merge or reduce the number of tertiary institutions, because of the high costs of running and maintaining them. It is natural that when an economy is robust and friendly, states and private entrepreneurs engage in the expansion of universities, as a means of expanding the economic boom is often followed by a recession which can arise from squandering of riches and resources. Moreover, nothing is stable in human affairs.

Therefore, the process of rise and fall of nations, organization and individuals, is common as vital aspects persons are allowed to mess up the economy rather than restore it to a robust shape again. Sadof human experiences. What can be sad is a situation where quacks, impostors and incompetent ly what some nations do during economic downturn is to exploit other naïve and unsuspecting nations, using corrupt individuals to allow foreign interpreneurs to undermine national interests. It should be remembered that ASUU warned Nigerians long ago about the antics and strategies of neocolonisation, especially what follows after a nation has experienced a civil war. Neither can it be denied that oil and gas resources in Nigeria were key factors in the turn of events in Nigeria since 1970. ASUU’s postures on national issues did not go down well with military regimes between 1970 and 1999. Yet ASUU spoke up!

To describe Nigeria as a fantastically corrupt nation would not tell the whole story of what undermined Nigeria’s economy. Rather, foreign interests exploited loop-hopes and weaknesses in Nigeria’s institutions to undermine the nation’s economy. For example, countries that manufacture exotic cars, which their citizens rarely use, look for foreign buyers, especially countries that invest in flamboyant and profligate lifestyles. Who would not want to import 100 exotic cars and have 10 free, even with double the price of each car? Nigerians, especially private entrepreneurs and state officials, are known to be smart procurers and rent seekers. Even in the procurement of students for foreign universities, Nigerians are making fast business. Foreign universities student population is made up largely by students from developing countries, to the extent that fear of an influx of migrants is creating unrest in many European countries. Foreign students stay put rather than return to their countries after their studies. Rather they seek to bring in their spouses or relations.

While we are busy establishing more universities, both public and private ones, developed countries are embarking on practical, direct-experience and on-the-job training strategies. Thus universities rarely have local students, but lure students from developing countries. With so much emphasis on book-oriented learning, and non-availability of jobs after graduation, university education becomes more of cosmetic adornment, where certificate talks. Patriotic Nigerians, who would not shy away from the truth, recognize that our plight includes frivolous hankering for tinsel rather than real gold. Rather than embrace merit and standards of lasting values, we are satisfied with flamboyant braggarts who have money to throw about, even if it requires mortgaging our conscience. Even in the university environment where ideal man-power building should be a priority, what we find is a shameless and mad rush for things that glitter, so long as they give some temporary palliative..

It is quite sad that the stock or tribe of patriotic lecturers in the university system is diminishing fast. If that sector of a nation’s institutions is allowed to mortgage the original “Ivory-Tower ethics” then a nation’s destiny would be in jeopardy. Noble minds are still everywhere in this country but we don’t look for, recognize or encourage them. Even when they are mobilized for service, some tend to join the band-wagon. Proliferation of universities should stop and effort be made to foster practical skill acquisition and investment in research and development, so that what we buy abroad can be produced locally. Why must we spend billions of naira to import electric meters and transformers when professionals in that field can be given the task and challenge of developing such products? Nation building is more of character building, made possible by exemplary and inspiring leadership. The culture of 25% budget padding must stop!

By: Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi