It seems we will never be able to grasp the extent that poor governance has damaged our welfare as Nigerians, especially our mental welfare. I started paying attention to this ramification of poor welfare during the electoral season when I saw the gullible acceptance of Peter Obi by youths, students, and intellectuals as a Messiah and an alternative to the corruption exemplified in Atiku and Tinubu, despite his support for the shady removal of fuel subsidies and for the student loans policy. If we'd tune down the political rhetoric of 'consumption to production' by a political figure who is one of the biggest importers in the country and critically examine the implications of his proposed policies, we'd have seen Obi often supports policies that undermine the interests of the masses, from cash scarcity to banning protests and to misappropriation of public funds. I was first stunned by that general inability to engage in simple critical thinking.
Then came the pervasive religious illusions that a miracle from heaven would use an authoritarian military takeover to stop Tinubu's inauguration because of the election which was truly rigged by all of the main candidates. While fantasies like these are indicative of the frustration and disillusionment felt by the populace, I was also again surprised that it was not already common knowledge with at least tertiary-educated folks that relying on divine intervention or authoritarianism is not the answer to the deep-rooted material issues plaguing Nigeria as a country.
Then came the misguided and uncritical acceptance of IMF-driven narratives, which has been around noiselessly in nonprofit circles and corporate circles for a while now. Most educated Nigerians bought into the IMF trope that fuel subsidy removal was inevitable and that the electricity bill that further made the government irresponsible for the already partially privatized electricity sector was a win. Policies that further absolve the government of responsibility were accepted as victories over some invisible criminals in the system. At this point, I could pull off the hair on my head with my hands out of rage.
Then the same educated people started celebrating the interclass conflict between Tinubu and some members of the outgone Buhari administration, like Emefiele of CBN and Bawa of EFCC, as evidence of Tinubu hitting the ground running. A conflict that only represents a mere reshuffling of power dynamics within the ruling class! A conflict that was only meant to distract the people from the deeper systemic issues and policies of the same government that perpetuate inequality and exploitation. Then they started celebrating Tinubu's appointment of politicians and technocrats who had a recent history as exploiters. Where are the common-sense values and principles held by the educated class? Are Nigerian intellectuals complicit in perpetuating a system that rewards exploitative behavior? Do I need to change or shrink my social circle?!
Despite my outrage then, I had not seen anything yet. Then they started celebrating the archaic student loan policy which was made despite the recent excuse of the same government that the most recent removal of subsidy was because they wanted to use the funds recouped from the removed subsidy to fund education and healthcare. It was as if the majority of the educated Nigerians could not see the contradiction and become concerned about their own government's sincerity. The same policy that corruption and mismanagement ruined when Yakubu Gowon introduced Federal Student loans in the 70s is being celebrated by the majority of the educated Nigerians I know as the next best thing after Nigerian Jollof!
The same student loan policy has created a huge student debt crisis in the United States - the capitalist class captain in the comity of Nations of the world. The US experiment which should serve as a cautionary tale because of its failure is being served as a prime international example when millions of education borrowers in the US are perpetually burdened by overwhelming debt. As rich as former President Obama was (to be able to contest for the presidency), he completed his student loan payment four years before he became president. Some US citizens sometimes have that debt hanging on their heads till death. Is it not clear that this policy perpetuates a cycle of debt, limiting students' ability to pursue their passions and stifling creativity and innovation, because they have to shape their careers with their student debts in mind? Is it not clear that subjecting students to financial shackles only reinforces social inequalities and widens the gap between the rich and the poor? If the Education Bank is not just another means to steal money, can't the fund to be used for that Education Bank be invested directly into education infrastructure and payment of lecturers to avert further strikes? Do people need a Ph.D. to read the news and tie events and issues together?
Why should we need debts or loans when there is abundance, evident in the billions and trillions being stolen by politicians every now and then? The government is about to become a loan shark, just like the private loan sharks who have become a rampant phenomenon in Nigeria because of the multidimensional poverty in the country and despite their extremely high-interest rates and gangster methods of recollection. This multidimensional poverty reflects sharply in the quality of education in the country as education is treated as a business, both by the sellers and the buyers. As against the position of those who claim that free education will be of poor quality because it is free, it is the commodification of education that has undermined education's intrinsic value and quality in Nigeria.
This transactional approach to education diminishes its transformative potential of education and exacerbates social inequality. The sellers of education wish to make a profit from fees while the buyers hope to get value from the social status, opportunities, and jobs that the certificate of higher education will get them. The majority of students no longer care about knowledge acquisition when securing a degree in Nigeria. The degree to be bought is not also infused with relevant knowledge, because that's not what buyers care about. Good old capitalism! Within these market forces of chaos, it has become practically impossible to see that Nigeria desperately needs an education system that goes beyond mere certification, but a system focused on cultivating critical thinking, creativity, and social consciousness.
Sadly, like every other scam turns out, the certificates are useless as a significant percentage of graduates find themselves unemployed, while the government absolves itself of the responsibility to provide jobs, instead promoting entrepreneurship as an alternative. The value and relevance of certificates have been eroded, while social media influencers and internet scammers gain status and wealth, overshadowing the significance of education. No upward mobility, no status! The illusion of certificates! So what then is the use of higher education in Nigeria? And what then is the job of the government in Nigeria if we have to pay for feeding, fuel, transport, electricity, schooling, healthcare, security, etc.? House owners now contribute to the building of non-major roads and drainages on their streets? Why then do we need a government?
But the capitalist advisors of Tinubu believe they will make a profit from this student loan policy, based on what they learned at Harvard School of Public Policy and Government that government has no business in business and education is a business. They and their children never school in Nigeria. Without digressing too much, it is vital to recognize the privileged background of Tinubu, his advisors, and Harvard scholars and their detachment from the realities faced by the masses. The disconnect between the policymakers and the plight of the masses is apparent in the policies they make.
A video trended earlier in the week of a lecturer in UNIABUJA begging students to resume after some weeks of resumption and showing an almost empty class. This was because UNIABUJA increased fees by about 150 percent recently and that's even before the student loan bill that will increase the fees further. The education that Femi Gbajabiamila, who sponsored the Bill as a speaker and is now appointed as the Chief of Staff of the new Tinubu administration and has a record of financial crimes in the US just like his Principal, got at Harvard School of Public Policy and Government did not foresee that exploiters can only exploit a value that exists. The Nigerian masses living from hand to mouth can not choose to send their children to school over the ability to feed themselves and their families from the poor minimum wage obtainable in the country. They have nothing else to give to education businessmen. His Harvard education failed him on that.
Sadly, the education of those few innocent students who already paid the unjustifiable increased fees in UNIABUJA also failed them. Because no mind that has been truly liberated by education will submit themselves to the whims and caprices of a few rich people in government without any challenge rather than stand up and defend themselves from sufferings disguised as sacrifices. Education should liberate minds and instill critical thinking. When education fails to inspire such liberation, it becomes a mere tool for perpetuating the oppression of the 'uncertificated' by the educated.
I used to think schooling was only a fraudulent rip-off in Nigeria, but I was wrong. Without the raw collective intelligence of society to directly guide education in any country, the rich few exploiters will infect education with their greed, from curriculum to research to funding. Without improved pay for educators, investment in digital and physical infrastructure, free learning materials and books, alternative and up-to-date curriculum that explores the latest models of education like self-directed learning and community-based learning, adequate public funding by redirecting funds from the military and from prisons to education, tuition-free education and the abolition of student loans, and the democratic control of educational institutions through the representation of students in the decision-making bodies, education will remain a scam in any society. Clearly, from Harvard in the US to UNIABUJA in Nigeria, school na scam everywhere!
Omole Ibukun writes from Abuja, Nigeria and he can be contacted on 09167636201