As I write this piece, my heart is heavy. Heavy because when I try to fathom what a lot of students are going through in public universities, my heart bleeds. I had been wanting to write this article before now, but what made my heart sink early this morning was the fact that a student of the Nigerian Law School Port Harcourt campus tried to commit suicide yesterday.
For most of the students who went to Law School this year, it has not been easy. Many whose parents are civil servants had to borrow from various cooperatives. One actually said he had to defer his admission last year to go and work for a year so he could raise the money. Many female students, not only in Law School but also in the universities, are being pushed into prostitution—something some of them had earlier vowed they would never do.
My interaction with some of them reveals that feeding has been difficult, and many live and depend on charity. I was made to understand that the couple lifestyle some of them live is a result of both poverty and parental delinquency or parental inability to supply their needs. I was informed that the Christian community has been trying, but what is being donated can hardly go round.
In the Nigeria of today, if you are able to eat at least two meals per day, you are part of the privileged few and you should thank God. I never realized how critical the situation in this country is until I met an undergraduate a few weeks ago and asked her to take me to where she lives.
My visit made me realize that the off-campus system in many of our universities has been one of the ways the lives of our young people are being destroyed. The video below shows the off-campus private hostels where some undergraduates live. Some people’s dogs cannot live in such a place. Many of them sleep on bare floors with only a wrapper for a mat. Most of them are doing other businesses (according to them, hustling) so that they can pay their school fees, feed, and survive.
It is my candid opinion that rather than give these students student loans, the government should create an enabling environment and infrastructure within the campus and make fees affordable.
I graduated from the university 40 years ago. At that time, you could see a son of a cobbler sitting on the same seat with the son of a governor. Students were able to concentrate on their primary assignment, and a few of us whose parents were not well off only had to work during holidays to provide for ourselves. Food in the school cafeteria was subsidized. Even if you did not have a meal ticket, tea was free in the school cafeteria.
When I tell my children that, as students, we had rice, chicken, dodo, and ice cream or Tree Top orange juice on Sundays and Wednesdays in the university cafeteria, they find it difficult to believe. It is unfortunate that those of us who enjoyed these things as students are the ones at the helm of affairs in Nigeria today. As students, we had cleaners who cleaned our rooms before we came back from class. One would have thought that leadership should be harnessed to improve on what one enjoyed as a student. Instead of it getting better, it is getting worse.
I am making a passionate appeal that even though we are not directly involved in making policies that will help these students, we can, in our little corner, be on the lookout for such undergraduates who are in need. Personally, I actually have a burden for girls who would want to remain chaste and still find time to improve themselves without being immoral or corrupt.
Those who are in a position to improve the lot of our students through scholarships and bursaries should step up and do the needful. Remember: HE WHO IS KIND TO THE POOR LENDS UNTO THE LORD. — Proverbs 19:17
Another set of children and students who are currently being neglected in Nigeria are cerebral palsy and autistic students. I know this because one of my children is a special needs child. They do not fit into the public-funded schools, nor do they fit into private schools. The few private schools that are available are either based in Lagos, Abuja, or state capitals. The astronomical fees being charged in these schools have made them the preserve of the rich. No scholarship that I am aware of is available for autistic children.
What makes it a bit difficult is that most of them do not have a physical disability. It is mainly neurological. It was while trying to find a solution for my son where I live that I discovered there are many such children being locked in homes in my state. Some educated parents do the same and see the child as a stigma.
It was partly this that motivated me to start having the August Inclusive Camp yearly. The camp is free. This year, we are having our third edition. The content of our program is generally to teach skills that are not taught in school. We also teach empathy and inculcate in the children the realization that each of them is a catalyst for positive change. Please friends I appeal to you to help a needy child or student today .It could be someone in your community or from your home town . People are going through a lot!
Iyabo T Ola-Olorun is the pioneer Chief Registrar of the Ekiti state Customary Court of Appeal(RTD)
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