CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
At the dawn of the year 2002, Nigeria is still uncertain where it is going. In other words, her destination is still unknown. Nigerians has blamed the woes of Nigeria, and in particular that of the educational sector, to many years of military misrule. There is the common feeling that the military neglected the universities because of their opposition to military rule. But with the re-emergence of civil rule the nation’s educational institutions are still in shambles today, with university professors still not being paid on time. (Some may argue that the universities have started to claw their way back to normalcy with the reprise of civil rule – not democracy. See Bollag Feb 1, 2002). But that remains to be seen!
And the society is also being rocked by labor unrests prompted by nonpayment of salaries, among other factors. The latest strike action was the police, which the federal government branded ‘an act of mutiny’ (The Guardian On-line Feb 2, 2002; also see Chiahemen, Reuters Feb 2, 2002).
If, strictly speaking, there are no such things as democracy in Nigeria, it is because its past as well as its present history has become so interwoven into crises, which has often the common man in constant struggle for survival. But for the riches and powerful corrupt politicians, things are very rosy. The role of the ordinary person in Nigeria in the making of democracy is, generally speaking, not regarded or not known at all, after casting his or her vote. And often the positive contributions of the people who struggles, and are still struggling, for the sustenance of democracy in the society have escaped the eyes of those who managed to rig their way into political offices. This is a terrible deviation from the norm. Nigeria is suffering terrible for that, with socio-political and economic crises strewn all over the society like a straw hut in a typhoon.
This project attempts to bring into public domain this state of education in Nigeria, and its effect on the polity. With facts, judgement and understanding of the issues facing the nation, the paper argues that the survival of Nigeria as a viable society will depend on the health of her education institutions, and how well the professors and support staff are treated. It portrays the state of education in Nigeria as a public health issue.
EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: A PUBLIC-HEALTH ISSUE?
The role of education in the development of a society has been vastly documented in academic journals, and we do not intend to revisit it here. This section will concentrate on the need for Nigerian leaders to pay close attention to the needs of the educational sector, and treat it as a public-health issue, because the sociopolitical and economic development of a nation and (or her health) is, in many ways, determined by the quality and level of educational attainment of the population. Political leaders should take politics out of education, as the continued neglect of this sector would lead to social paralysis. The youth should be given the appropriate quality academic training and an environment that would enable them to reach their full potential.
Nigeria has toilet with some educational programs, which have only served as conduits to transfer money to the corrupt political leaders and their cronies. For instance, the nation launched the Universal Primary Education (UPE) in 1976, but as noted, the program failed due to lack of fund necessitated by corruption, among other factors. Nigeria has again launched another mass-oriented education program, this time branding it the Universal Basic Education (UBE).