Ethnicity, religion largely define Nigeria’s institutions – Boroh

STANLEY BOROH, a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, federal university, Otuoke in Bayelsa State bears his mind with CHARLES OGWO on issues bedevilling tertiary education in Nigeria. Excerpts:

Recent developments such as the agitation for an indigenous vice-chancellor in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife seem to depict ethnic and religious hegemonic patterns in Nigerian universities. What do you think is responsible for that?

In as much as we have this ethnic bias over issues, I do not subscribe to the fact that a sensitive position such as that of a vice-chancellor should be done based on ethnic and religious sentiments, especially in federal universities.

For a federal university, the position of a vice-chancellor should be strictly based on merit, it should be open for all to compete and let the best man for the job win.

It is pertinent to also note that this practice is a carryover from the largely negative ethnic practices that have dominated the wider Nigerian society. If an indigene is qualified, such an individual should compete and if he or she gets the position fine.

The sad reality is that we see Nigerians become vice-chancellors in foreign countries and we clap our hands, but we end up playing ethnic cards when it is our turn to select vice-chancellors

Investigations show that since the late 1980s, Nigerian Federal universities have been anything but federal in character and not in principle. How did Nigeria get into this mess?

As earlier said, Nigerian universities are a reflection of the larger society where we practice pseudo federalism. In the early 1970’s, foreigners use to come to school in Nigerian schools as well as visiting scholars but all that is a thing of the past and this can be attributed to various factors which funding is one of the major problem and lack of infrastructure.

UNESCO proposed that governments should use at least 20percent of budget to fund education, but for the past 12years our funding for the educational sector has been between 5 – 7percent which is a major setback and if not addressed our educational sector will keep sinking.

Every country that wants to develop will spend well in her education sector

Nigeria’s education system and practice have never been polarized as it is today according to some studies. What is responsible for this?

Well the polarization as mentioned earlier is fallout of the happenings in the larger Nigerian society. No institution can be taken in isolation from the wider social system.

All the trappings of a failed social system are manifest in the education system as merit is slaughtered on the altar of mediocrity mostly driven by ethnic and religious considerations.

Even if the government properly funds the education system, these internal contradictions will continue to undermine real growth and development especially in the university system.

At every level of Nigeria’s education system exists a chasm along ethnic and religious lines. What are your thoughts about this?

You see as earlier mentioned, the education system is a sub-system within a larger entity called Nigeria. It is often difficult not to have the realities of the larger system playing out in its sub-systems.

Ethnic and religious social relations have been largely the defining indicators of nearly all institutions in Nigeria even the churches. So for me I am not surprised, the only challenge is to see academics who ordinarily should be mentally removed from such primordial relationships to be caught in them.

Interestingly, students that we teach eventually imbibe this as part of their informal learning and go on to display it in other institutions where they eventually find themselves.

What in your opinion are the underlying gains or otherwise of the nativisation of the leadership including faculties and departments of universities in Nigeria?

There is absolutely no gain order than the erroneous position that since the vice-chancellor is from the region or community, he may have better understanding of the environment.

This is particularly a faulty position. Subjecting universities to the narrow process of selecting its top administrators has been the bane of the university system.

It is very parochial and only helps in localizing the university further. The sad reality is that we see Nigerians become vice-chancellors in foreign countries and we clap our hands, but we end up playing ethnic cards when it is our turn to select vice-chancellors. Merit continues to wane while mediocrity thrives and this is clearly dangerous for the system.

The universities are ordinarily meant to be centres for learning and diversity but they are increasingly being sucked in by petty distractions. How has this helped the quality of learning in Nigerian universities?

The role of universities asides teaching also includes research as well as trying to solve societal problems but that isn’t the case with Nigerian universities.

Suffice it to say that we have capable hands in terms of manpower but the problem is there is no enabling environment for scholars to excel here, little wonder when they go outside, they do really well.

Today, there is no Nigerian university in the top 1000 of the global universities ranking. Is this a true reflection of the quality slips in Nigerian university education sector?

As earlier said, there is no proper funding for the sector, and in addition, there are other things one considers for university ranking and one of them is visibility which is gotten most times from members of staff that are visible online through their articles.

With the way we publish here due to the maxim “Publish or Perish” people just publish to grow not really to make impact except for a few academics.

This has promoted the quantity and not quality mentality. Besides, academics are expected to publish from their small salaries that cannot feed their families in the first place.

There is also the challenge of not having foreign students and staff. I read somewhere that the way JAMB is conducted currently does not allow for foreign students to even apply in the first place given the absence of online platforms examination.

Read also: Addressing learning crisis in Nigeria’s education sector

That’s for students. How do we attract foreign staff to universities that are not habitable and do not have the required facilities to meet global standard?

Deficits in all these areas dovetail to reduce any real progress towards Nigerian universities entering the top 1000 position in global university rankings.

A recent KPMG study, the future of higher education in a disruptive world, showed that demographic changes, increased consumerism, technology and personalized learning are disrupting universities and the way they offer services. While many global universities are responding to these changes; Nigerian students are confronted by poor quality teaching and learning, ASUU strikes, etc. What is the way forward?

Well, the poor quality teaching is a function of an equally poor input. Every institution functions like a system. What you give is what you get. First, the funding regime has been very discouraging and this has affected staff morale.

Interestingly, when diminished funding and staff morale unite, the end product is usually not good. The first thing is to ensure that funding is good and then the real job is to get the right people to teach.

In Nigeria those who have no business as lecturers end up being one and this is a function of several factors some of which we have mentioned earlier. Ethnic and religious considerations continue to undermine the staffing process in universities.

What should the FG do to address the decline in the quality of university education in Nigeria?

I think the proliferation of universities is a wrong venture because they can’t even properly fund existing ones. What I think government can do is to expand existing ones by introducing new departments that meet current global realities.

While I believe funding is key, I also think universities should not just be delivering graduates without contributing to the growth of the communities they are located in and by extension the country at large.

All over the world, universities are change agents and this is done through research. Nigerian universities should begin to solve the problems of the communities that they are domiciled through their products gained from rigorous and genuine researches.

The country’s polarized educational system seems to be a microcosm of Nigeria’s national orientation and why the country has not caught up with the rest of the world. What is the panacea to this ugly reality?

Outside funding which is a major problem, university autonomy also is an issue that schools are dealing with and this has been one of the struggles of ASUU as a union. Also, personally I feel our curriculum needs to be overhauled because it does not meet the present global reality and this is a function of NUC which is a regulating body of all Universities in Nigeria.