Most Nigerians do not know how to properly engage their leaders so that all can find a common ground upon which to rely and make progress.
The video of the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students – NANS, in a meeting with the Minister for Education was an interesting sight that speaks to the predominant conception of activism in Nigeria as disengagement, labeling, and antagonism. Looking at it, the omission of Nigerian students from the Academic Staff Union of Universities – ASUU negotiation with the federal government is not an oversight, instead, it is a deliberate action to eliminate chances of needless confrontation.
Most Nigerians do not know how to properly engage their leaders so that all can find a common ground upon which to rely and make progress. It is therefore common in Nigeria to see activists accuse, malign, confront and harass officials of government. By default, officials of government are seen as enemies that must be disgraced, and that is usually the point many Nigerian activists set out to achieve.
Seated in the office of Nigeria’s Minster for Education Adamu Adamu, the NANS president Sunday Asefon and his group wondered why ASUU and the federal government will be negotiating about the future and quality of learning without students being part of that process. A good observation on their part and it turned out as the major point made by NANS president and of which the minister conceded was a good point before he got up and walked out. The minister though later returned to talk to NANS leaders according to some news reports.
However, it is important that we carefully consider what is largely regarded as activism in Nigeria. For the most part, activism in Nigeria has been construed simply as a display of gangsterism of sorts masquerading as courage. The most unfortunate part is that it always turns out that the activists are not even prepared to discuss the problem and proffer possible solutions they have carefully considered. This was the case when the NANS president went from talking about students not accepting the ongoing ASUU strike, to talking about the poor condition of education in primary and secondary schools owned largely by state governments, not the federal government.
Then from that point, he moved in no particular order suddenly to cast aspersion on the minister saying they saw pictures of his child’s graduation abroad; a populist line followed that they are here in Nigeria because their parents cannot afford it. In other words, if their parents could afford it, they wouldn’t be here. The NANS president while he thought he actually spoke truth to power, exonerated the minister who can afford to train his child abroad.
Beyond those, a more critical look at what transpired in the minister’s office showed a students’ body that is not organized, unprepared, not ready to engage meaningfully, and above all, one that does not understand the problem and has certainly not developed any solution or invested mentally, into possible solutions to the recurrent ASUU strike.
It is even more disturbing that a lot of Nigerians who have commented on the video condemned the Minister for walking out on NANS. The fact going by all that was seen in the video is that NANS was not ready for a serious discussion and thus left the minister no room for engagement. They came unprepared, at best they came for verbal combat with the government. In truth, that is the usual ‘spirit of aluta’ in which one so brazenly utter irrelevant things that have absolutely nothing with his agenda and feels he has courage. Normally, no government official will take such a group seriously. NANS would have gone to the Minister of Education with a detailed and well-written letter.
The NANS president would have looked for a more careful speaker if they must address the Minister. An activist is a partner in progress, not a combatant. Even as NANS has more to lose because the time wasted on strike cannot be paid for, or regained in any way, the points have to be carefully marshaled and intelligently presented. Nigerian activists and in this particular instance NANS must know where to engage meaningfully because how fast and far the government affects profitable changes depends upon the quality of consequential interaction, not threat.
He is a Technical Assistant to Governor Willie Obiano’s Special Adviser on Legislative Matters, whoonce was a Special Adviser to a former Deputy Speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly. Ebuka is a second class upper division graduate of Political Science from University of Calabar, Calabar Nigeria and holds a Masters Degree in Political Science with specialization in Government and Development Studies, from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka Nigeria
