Opinion

Saving A Dying Nation

Published

15 years ago

July 4, 2011

A classic and well-researched newspaper opinion article titled: The Geography Of Illiteracy, written by Dr Babatunde Ahonsi, and published in The Guardian of June 8, 2011, unearthed the worrisome figures that should keep every good Nigerian busy with a thought on where we went amiss in our educational sector. The figures, Dr Ahonsi released, are chilling, to say the least. There show how depleted our education has gone.

Thank you Dr Ahonsi, I believe and accept every part of your work and research. It can even be worse. Your article was balanced – problem stated and solutions proffered. This piece is to sound the warning lauder, state where we got it wrong, and highlight some other solutions with examples to the ones you proffered.

Geography of Illiteracy must occur in a place where the parents, students and the society alike do not give a hoot on how academic success came about but concentrate more on the ‘success’ itself. They will always quote the clandestine adage, “the end justifies the means”. Yes, the end has not only killed our education but also is killing our society. The break down will lend credence to this assertion.

The North East and North West as well as South South are the worst hit, and that answers the mayhem that has characterized those places. But this is just the secondary cause. The family is failing as an agent of socialization in Nigeria, and this failure cum corruption in our society is the bane of our education system.

Academic success in our country now is not viewed in the number of work put in, but seen from the paper a child presents to his parents. The parents are far too busy with wealth accumulation or trying to survive in a harsh economic environment. They forgo salient aspect of their duty in the child’s life like helping out in homework, teaching the child the rudiments and teaching the child the importance of hard work. The lack of moral upbringing that is evident in our generation is contributing too.

So, like opportunity cost in Economics, the parents search for money and forgo knowledge and morality. Can we eat our cake and have it? Geography of illiteracy is what we asked for! Abraham Lincoln was not a fool when he pleaded with his son’s teacher to “teach him that a dollar earned is far more valuable than five pounds I had not earned.” Morality is what he was advocating.

Why are we experiencing this geography of illiteracy? This is the focus of this piece. Outside the ones enumerated above, corruption caused by low moral rectitude is another. The paper is more important than what is upstairs. The parents encourage this; corrupt teachers and education policy makers aid them. Parents pay money for examination malpractice for their children, some schools, mainly private ones encourage this to swell their number – runaway, that is the economics of private schools in Nigeria. The policy makers draw up mediocre educational policy. I will visit that later!

I was severely punished in my senior secondary school one (SSS1) for reporting a teacher who gave an “A” to my classmate who could hardly read then in Bible Knowledge because the said teacher was given an envelope by the student. So, we asked for it and it is very much with us – the geography of illiteracy.

What is the way forward should concern us now, and not really the past. But the past is necessary in order to correct the present, and get the future right. That was why Jesus always used stories to teach, and it was highly effective. On e thing that needs urgent attention is our educational policy: Standard Six System; primary, Junior Secondary, Senior Secondary, and higher institution (aka 6-3-3-4), AND Universal Basic Education (UBE), are all good and same, if given adequate care and attention.

Our learning and evaluation modes are chaotic to say the least. Pupils are taught from September to December, only to be given hordes of tests a week before examinations. For instance, a child covers all the chapters for test and examinations. How bizarre!

This is because the time the teacher was supposed to use for the test must have been used for farming (in the rural areas), and trading (in the urban centres) by the teacher to augment his pay for enhanced living condition. This has a distance relation – poor pay. But the world standard is for homework to be given to a student from every topic and quiz as well as test to be administered at the end of every chapter.

In fact, in countries like the United States, South Korea, and England, the pupil might not write an examination since he or she must have been tested in all chapters, and to me, that is thorough compared to the Kangaroo examinations we conduct here. That is truly the true test of knowledge! If the child did not do well – a euphemism for failure – he or she will enroll for summer school, and it is only when the child fails again that he repeats the class. Compare this to our educational system, and you will see that our educational policies are flawed.

Teachers’ remuneration is another issue. The teachers are so poorly paid that they look for other things to do in order to supplement. Do I blame them? They have a reason! “Man must whack”, some of them are owed tons of salaries and allowances. The effect is beyond this. Poor pay has driven away intelligent people from teaching. Go to a school, and ask the top 15 students what career choice they would like to pursue after school and you will understand the danger facing education: You will hear medicine, law, journalism, accountancy, petrochemical and petroleum engineering, mechanical engineering, among others. Teaching will rarely or never be mentioned.

So, who are the teachers in the making, the academically unstable students who cannot compete in that “hot terrain” of the good head? Dullards are being trained as manpower trainers, pathetic. Teachers indeed! So, government must boost the educational sector through high pay to make it look lucrative. This will bring good heads and safe hands in the sector.

Reading materials are of immense contribution to teaching and learning. Our textbooks should always be critically examined before it is recommended. What we see are watery texts that are not helpful. Most of the books are not explanatory; they smack of carelessness, and lack detailed analysis.

For instance, what kind of Mathematics textbook will just state a ten-step solving problem, only to scribble it down as a four-step? Some English textbooks draw sketches in a writing topic without scripting an example. Does that not smack of misinformation? They are part of the geography of illiteracy!

Scholarships and educational aids like free books and good laboratory equipment are necessary but they are neglected in our country. The oil companies give pseudo scholarships, schools and churches do not deem that necessary, federal, state and local governments have since forgotten about it. Our order of priority or scale of preference is highly faulty. Scholarships and educational aids serve as motivation to students.

In other countries, scholarships are used to horn for talents and breed them to be loyal to the cause of the school, and country. Geography of illiteracy starts here, and must be combated from all fronts.

Dr Ahonsi, in his closing paragraph posited thus: “for so many children to be illiterates and innumerable in a state is nothing short of structural violence perpetrated by the state since basic education in today’s world is every child’s right, and is extremely beneficial to the larger society.

Yes, a society that is occupied by illiterates and innumerable youths will lack manpower amidst avalanche of able-bodied men and women. That kind of society is as good as doomed.

If education is the bedrock of the society as we always eulogise, a serious task is then in our hands. Let us all put hands together to pull out our beloved country from this avoidable doom. That way, we must have squashed this geography of illiteracy. Governments at all levels in Nigeria, wake up!

Temple, a public affairs analyst, writes from Port Harcourt.

Uwalaka Temple

Opinion

Agony In Ivory Tower

Published

20 hours ago

March 9, 2026

The Tide

Quote: A university that tolerates missing scripts, result manipulation and ‘sorting’ is not merely failing students—it is quietly destroying the moral foundation of education itself.”

The sad cases of missing scripts, compulsory Sorting, inputting of wrong results and other obnoxious practices in some public universities, leave much to be desired. One cannot imagine how a student will be compelled to suffer consequences of the flagrant negligence of a Head of Department, a lecturer, Department staff or an ICT staff.Many academic and non academic staff in several public universities seem to be performing far below standard, thus unproductive to the university system. The unacceptable cases of sorting, missing scripts, missing results, inputting of wrong grades to students, should not be mentioned in a university, not even in any academic community. This is because people who are employed to work in various positions should have cognate work experience and unquestionable competence. They should not be seen as certificate welding illiterates but people who have been proven to be worthy in learning and character, diligent and competent to carry out assigned responsibilities with minimal or no supervision.

The university as a citadel of learning should boast of men of integrity, people who are repositories of applied knowledge and competence to drive the much desired holistic development in a nation that functions on quality teaching and learning. A situation where a student having gone through the crucibles of learning and written a prescribed semester examination or class-based evaluation test, is told that his or her script is missing or that he or she did not participate in that academic exercise, or must sort to pass, is an unpardonable error and a height of callousness. In fact some lecturers and staff of Departments are using the seeming systemic defect (which is their architecture) as an opportunity to extort students. Sometimes it is discovered much to students chagrin that the supposed missing script was later discovered when a ransom was paid.

Since a lecturer, or Head of Department has in their disposal both Yam and the knife and determines who takes what (if they wish to give without strings), students have no alternative but to submit to their importunate demands in order to graduate at record time.Such practices should be unheard of in an institution that should be a vanguard of moral and ethical values and conduct. What people learn in school constitute their behavioural patterns in the society. Where the school as an agency of socialisation cannot drive positive change first in its immediate environment, then the objective of education as a bedrock for the development of society, is inevitably compromised and counter-productive. The German Reformer, Dr. Martins Luther was quoted as saying, “I advise parents not to put their wards or children in any school where the Bible is not being used as a rule of life because such institutions will unnecessarily be corrupt”.

Gleaning from Luther’s sentiment one can deduce that the lack of respect and regard for values as well as the absence of the fear of God is the greatest undoing of most public schools. Another major challenge is that lack of Information, Communication and Technology literacy or compliance on the part of some lecturers and heads of department, may have informed the decision to give students’ scripts to secretaries to compile and input students results thereby making the secretaries the determinants of students’ fate. It is not saying a new thing that some of the secretaries in the process of compiling results have inputted wrong results, omitted names or down graded some students or given unmerited grades to others.Society today is ICT-driven and ICT-literacy enhances efficiency, speed and a reasonable degree of accuracy if the person behind the computer is level headed, articulate, competent, alive to responsibilities and is aware that negligence on his or her part is not only tantamount to a disservice to the university but to the students who may not graduate at record time because of his or her (computer operator’s) gross ineptitude or carelessness.

The ICT era makes the carrying of hard copy of results obsolete as lecturers through the Heads of Department can log on to the central server of the Exams and Records (if any) or ICT unit and input students’ results directly. By so doing the incessant cases where result on spread sheet is different from the one published online, more often than not, caused by abject negligence, will be avoided. The process will also end the intermediary services of some staff in the universities’ Information, Communication and Technology Department which has become a money spinner-a lucrative source of income to many of them. In fact some ICT staff reserved the power to award grades to students depending on students’ degree of compliance to terms and conditions. They can dubiously make or unmake a student. The university community should be considered too lofty to have careless, negligent, immoral and academic or professionally deficient people as academic or non-academic staff.

The Governing Councils and Senates of universities should be proactive in addressing the menace of missing Script, inputting of wrong results and sorting. This is necessary to end the slogan “Education is scam” so the system can produce quality students who are truly found worthy in learning and in character by operators who exemplify diligence, moral and ethical values. The much-needed reform must begin within the institutions themselves, because the future of any society is shaped in its classrooms.

By: Igbiki Benibo

Opinion

Strength of Emotional Equality

Published

20 hours ago

March 9, 2026

The Tide

Quote: “Love thrives not when one gives more, but when both give fully — not in competition, not in performance, but in partnership.”

In every healthy relationship, there exists an invisible balance. It is not measured in grand gestures, expensive gifts, or public displays of affection. It is measured in something quieter and far more significant: emotional equality. When couples stand on equal emotional grounds, love becomes less of a negotiation and more of a partnership. Emotional equality does not mean both individuals express love in identical ways. It does not require matching personalities or mirroring temperaments. Rather, it speaks to balance — a shared willingness to invest, to communicate, to be vulnerable, and to grow. It is the difference between two people walking side by side and one person constantly trying to catch up.

In many relationships, imbalance begins subtly. One partner initiates most conversations. One apologizes more frequently. One carries the emotional labor — remembering important dates, managing conflicts, sensing tension, and attempting reconciliation. Over time, this uneven distribution of emotional effort breeds exhaustion. The partner who gives more begins to feel unseen. The one who gives less may grow comfortable in emotional passivity. Love, in such a space, starts to tilt — slowly at first, then significantly. Resentment can creep in quietly, disguising itself as patience. Silence may replace honest dialogue. What once felt effortless begins to feel heavy.

When couples stand on equal emotional grounds, responsibility is shared. Both people are accountable for the health of the relationship. If conflict arises, neither hides behind silence nor dominates through control. Instead, they engage. They listen. They speak honestly without weaponizing words. Equality creates safety — and safety strengthens intimacy. It allows both individuals to express needs without fear of ridicule or rejection. One of the most overlooked aspects of emotional equality is vulnerability. True connection requires courage. It demands that both partners risk being misunderstood. But when vulnerability is one-sided, it becomes exposure rather than intimacy. If one person consistently opens up while the other remains guarded, trust cannot fully deepen.

Equality ensures that emotional risks are mutual. Where one shares fears, the other shares too. Where one admits weakness, the other responds with openness rather than judgment. In such a space, authenticity flourishes. Another crucial element is validation. In emotionally balanced relationships, both partners feel heard. Their concerns are not dismissed as “overreactions.” Their feelings are not minimized or compared. When couples operate on equal emotional ground, they acknowledge each other’s experiences as legitimate. They may not always agree, but they always respect. Validation does not mean surrendering one’s viewpoint; it means recognizing that another’s emotional reality matters.

Equality also protects individuality. Contrary to popular belief, healthy love does not erase personal identity — it enhances it. When both partners are emotionally secure, they do not feel threatened by each other’s independence. Personal ambitions are encouraged, not resented. Friendships are respected, not restricted. Growth is celebrated, not feared. Standing on equal emotional grounds means neither person shrinks to accommodate the other. Instead, both expand, knowing the relationship is strong enough to hold their evolution. Power dynamics often expose emotional inequality. When one partner controls communication — appearing and disappearing unpredictably, withholding affection, or using silence as leverage — imbalance emerges.

Emotional dominance weakens intimacy. It creates anxiety instead of assurance. But when couples share emotional power, there is consistency. There is clarity. There is no need to decode affection because it is offered freely and intentionally. It is important to understand that equality does not imply perfection. Couples will still disagree. They will face stress, miscommunication, and moments of frustration. However, when emotional footing is equal, conflict does not threaten the foundation. Instead, it becomes an opportunity for understanding. Both partners approach challenges as teammates rather than opponents. They choose resolution over ego and repair over pride.

Time often reveals whether emotional equality truly exists. In the early stages of love, intensity can disguise imbalance. Enthusiasm feels mutual. Effort appears equal. But as routine settles in and novelty fades, the structure of the relationship becomes clearer. Who still initiates? Who still invests? Who still shows up consistently? Sustainable love requires sustained balance. It is built not merely on attraction, but on deliberate reciprocity. Standing on equal emotional grounds requires intentionality. It demands honest conversations about needs and expectations. It requires both partners to examine their habits — whether they withdraw during tension, avoid accountability, or rely on the other to carry the emotional weight. Emotional maturity is not about avoiding conflict; it is about handling it responsibly and returning, again and again, to shared ground.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of emotional equality is peace. There is no constant anxiety about where one stands. No guessing games about commitment. No fear that affection may suddenly disappear. Instead, there is stability. There is reassurance. There is mutual effort. In a world where relationships often blur the lines between attention and commitment, equality offers clarity. It reminds us that love should not feel like competition or performance. It should feel like partnership. When couples stand on equal emotional grounds, they build something resilient. They build trust that does not fracture easily. They build respect that does not depend on mood. They build a connection rooted not only in passion but in balance. And in that balance, love finds its strength — not in who gives more, but in how both give fully.

By: Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi

Opinion

NDDC: Time To Illuminate Homes

Published

1 week ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

Quote:“Twenty-five years on, the Niger Delta cannot celebrate illuminated streets while families sit in darkness. Development must begin inside the home — where children study, businesses grow, and lives are built — before it glows on the roadside.”

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was established in 2000 with a clear and urgent mandate: to facilitate the rapid, even, and sustainable development of Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta region. The creation of the Commission followed decades of agitation over environmental degradation, infrastructural neglect, and socio-economic marginalization in the region. Its core mandate included the development of roads, bridges, electricity, water supply, health facilities, education, housing, environmental remediation, and economic empowerment initiatives. At inception, expectations were high that the Commission would transform the Niger Delta into a model of regional development. Over the years, the NDDC has indeed implemented numerous projects across the nine Niger Delta states. Roads have been constructed and rehabilitated in several communities, easing transportation challenges.

Schools have been renovated, and new classroom blocks have been provided in underserved areas. Health centres have been built or upgraded, improving access to primary healthcare services. The Commission has also awarded scholarships to students, including foreign postgraduate scholarships, empowering thousands of youths academically.Skills acquisition and youth empowerment programmes have helped many young people gain vocational competencies.Through various interventions, the NDDC has contributed to job creation and local economic stimulation.Solar-powered street lighting projects have been widely implemented in urban and semi-urban communities. These streetlights have improved visibility at night and contributed to enhanced security in some areas. Markets, highways, and public spaces illuminated by solar lights have experienced extended business hours.

For these efforts, the Commission deserves acknowledgment and commendation. However, development must always align with foundational mandates and pressing grassroots realities. A growing concern among residents is that while streets are illuminated, many homes remain in darkness. Rural electrification and household power access remain inconsistent and inadequate across large parts of the region. In riverine and remote communities, families still rely on generators, kerosene lamps, or complete darkness after sunset. The irony of brightly lit streets juxtaposed with powerless homes cannot be ignored. Electricity at the household level directly impacts education, health, and small-scale enterprise. Students cannot effectively study at night without reliable indoor lighting.Families cannot preserve food or power essential appliances without stable electricity.

Micro and small businesses struggle to grow without dependable energy access. While street lighting enhances public aesthetics and security, it does not substitute for domestic electrification. The proverb “charity begins at home” is especially relevant in this context. True community development must first empower households before beautifying public spaces. The Commission’s original mandate emphasizes integrated and sustainable development, not isolated infrastructural gestures. Balanced development requires that energy interventions prioritize homes alongside streets. Solar technology presents a unique opportunity for decentralized household electrification in off-grid communities. Extending solar solutions to individual homes would have a transformative social impact. Home-based solar systems could power lights, fans, small appliances, and communication devices.

Such interventions would reduce poverty, improve living standards, and stimulate grassroots productivity. By broadening its energy focus, the Commission would better reflect the spirit of its founding legislation. This is not a call to abandon street lighting projects, which have their merits. Rather, it is an appeal for balance, inclusivity, and alignment with core developmental objectives. Strategic planning should ensure that rural electrification and household access form a central pillar of ongoing interventions. Community engagement and needs assessments can help determine priority areas for household solar deployment. Twenty-five years after its establishment, the NDDC stands at a reflective moment in its institutional journey. The people of the Niger Delta say: thank you for the efforts so far—but not very much—because true appreciation will come when development begins at home and radiates outward, not merely when streets shine while houses remain in darkness.

By: King Onunwor