Nigerian Teachers And Reuben Abati’s ‘Now, Now’ Syndrome

No doubt, there are cracks in the walls of Nigeria’s educational system, but that notwithstanding, I am a proud product of that system; cracks, sorting, cult menace, victimization, 0-1-0 and all.

Isn’t life ironic? Despite my prejudiced criticisms of teachers and their profession back in the university, I ended up being one myself. I am therefore no longer an outsider hence my decision to defend what I now regard as my profession.

I am not holding brief for all Nigerian teachers though, my views here may contrast with theirs, especially because I do my own teaching in the United Kingdom where teachers are perceived differently from the way they are perceived in Nigeria, here teachers are regarded as key workers, alongside nurses, doctors, the police force, the fire brigade and all such other essential services professions. They are therefore courted and rewarded highly and receive additional benefits, which some of the other professions will only dream of.

Reuben abati’s article "The ‘Now, Now’ Syndrome " makes interesting reading, but at the same time raises some important questions about Nigerians and our get- rich -quick mentality, a situation Prof. Pat Utomi would describe as Nigerians’ craving and desire for instant gratification.

I quite agree with Mr. Abati, especially regarding the level of moral decadence in the Nigerian society, I do however have some reservations about his touchdown, he seemed to have landed very hard on teachers in his remarks that…

Teachers used to be the most contented members of our society. They trained other people's children enthusiastically, without any thought of immediate reward. The old teacher was happy to help build society and he drew strength from the relevance of his contributions to other people's lives. "A teacher's reward is in Heaven" was a popular slogan. But nobody uses that expression any more. Today, the new breed teacher is distracted. He also wants to be rich like everyone else. And he is willing to achieve this target at the expense of the core values of his profession. Teachers have become traders and contractors. Their students too, have learnt to be impatient. They are willing to buy good grades, and pay their way through school. They have neither the time nor the mind, for hard work. Like everyone else, they are short-distance runners, tied to "the here and now".

Firstly, times and circumstances have changed. The Nigerian teacher lives in the same society with the other Nigerians, and goes to the same market to buy groceries and other household items, the Nigerian teacher also competes for suitable housing accommodation and means of transportation alongside the other professionals, politicians and business owners who may be better rewarded, the Nigerian teacher sends his or her children to the same schools just like other Nigerians and also queues in the same line for fuel, and also pays for hospital, electricity, telephone and other bills just like other Nigerians.

The Nigerian society does not in any way discriminate in favour of the Nigerian teacher; there is still no form of affirmative action from the Nigerian government or even from the society to favour teachers specially, in recognition of their contribution to the development of youth and talent.

Nigerian teachers have eyes and can see, they see all the things going on around them, they experience the same hardships as other Nigerians, and sometimes-even worse. They read about and witness all the profligacy, they attend the same functions and events just like other Nigerians, the weddings and launchings and see dollar and Naira notes being sprayed as if they are going out of fashion, the Nigerian teacher is also expected, and not exempted from paying his or her town union development levies.

Having endured long periods of mockery, and having been the objects of jokes and ridicule, usually bothering on how they use rulers to measure yams, and also how they must endure delayed gratification and wait for their rewards in heaven, they feel sad that they have to beg for their salaries to be paid on time, they wait and eventually they get tired, of waiting to receive their rewards in heaven, they have families to feed, rents to pay and life to enjoy. Looking after themselves by taking care of some business on the side to make ends meet is not necessarily sacrificing the core values of their profession as Mr. Abati remarked.

Fela sang in one of his tracks that … the young africans dem get two ears for head, them get two eyes too, dem dey see the things wey dey happen, dem dey hear am too, few people dey chop the big money and the rest dey hungry…Also, there is an old Igbo saying that when the she-goat chews cord, its baby watches and learns.

Therefore the Nigerian teacher has evolved over time, he or she is now a product of the Nigerian society, it is now either he/she ‘hustles’ to survive or he/she dies, faced with the same realities and options, many Nigerians will definitely do the same. I am sure Mr. Abati, who himself was once a university teacher saw the same writing on the wall a long time ago, hence his decision to join the private sector. It may seem therefore that the Nigerian teacher and his profession are a dying breed, especially with the recent remarks in the Nigerian media by a senior government official regarding the poor quality and most times, the lack of research being done in most Nigerian universities.

Since the teaching profession in Nigeria has reached crossroads such as this, what should concern key stakeholders now is to think about how to revive and regenerate this once envied profession and restore it to it’s former glory, rather than pounding it further. It is such a pity that teachers are always caught in the crossfire whenever issues of morals in the universities are discussed, the people pointing the accusatory finger and casting the stones should first of all do a soul searching, they should also remember that while they do the finger pointing, four other fingers are pointing back at them.

Somehow, we are all responsible, as willing or unwilling accomplices for what the teaching profession has become, teachers continue to be unappreciated, even the students they teach treat them with contempt and disdain, the more stupid and daring ones even harass and threaten their teachers under the guise and also in the name of fraternity and cult.

Nigerian teachers are in the frontline, call it firing line if you may; from parents, the government, students, the media and the society. Teachers have become everybody’s cry baby, people forget that teachers are no angels, they are mere mortals and may not be able to shoulder the huge responsibilities the society expects from them, especially if the society will not support them in the process.

My conclusion is that what ever has gone wrong with the teaching profession is mainly as a result of the failure of the Nigerian government to invest in the educational sector. As the government officials continue to junket around the globe, they should also pick up a few ideas from these countries they visit, the educational sector in Nigeria is in serious need of reforms, but we can not have reforms without adequate funding.

For example, the United Kingdom is currently facing serious teacher crises; there are acute teacher shortages in all the sectors, primary, secondary, college and university. The United Kingdom government has therefore devised several strategies to address the situation, firstly overseas-trained teachers are being lured to the UK with offers of residence permits, accommodation and substantial salaries, mid - service career professionals from other professions (career changers) are also being poached, and their 6,000 pounds teacher training tuition fees paid for them by the government, the government also pays them a training bursary of 6,000 pounds during their one year teacher training. Science, mathematics, English language and ICT teachers receive a training bursary of 10,000 pounds, this is because these subjects are regarded as shortage subjects.

Recently the UK government has started giving teachers and other key workers an interest free equity loan of 50,000 pounds to enable them to buy their own houses. One can at least see the visible efforts the UK government is making in order to encourage and motivate teachers.

In this regard, teachers in the UK are motivated to do their job very well. They do not have to worry about their next meal, and therefore have no need to ‘hustle’ like their Nigerian counterpart. The harsh Nigerian environment notwithstanding, we should commend Nigerian teachers for the difficult tasks they face and the much that they accomplish even with so very little resources and appreciation.

All over the world, Nigerian professionals are excelling in different fields, all thanks to the basic education and training they received in Nigeria, from Nigerian teachers, some of these Nigerians in the diaspora have not had to retrain, and are able to function with the certificates they left Nigeria with, this is all thanks to the efforts of the Nigerian teachers, the unsung heroes. They no longer have to wait, they don’t have to wait and they shouldn’t have to wait to receive their rewards. We are still on planet earth, and we will see what happens when it is heaven time.
uchenworah@yahoo.com
Uche Nworah teaches Business and Marketing at Newvic London.