OLD WINE IN A NEW WINE SKIN

YABATECH

KADUNA POLYTECHNIC

When the announcement that YABATECH and Kaduna Polytechnic, as well as four colleges of education - Federal College of Education, Kano; Federal College of Education, Zaria; Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri and Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, have been converted to universities of technologies and education, there were two reactions running through my head simultaneously.

First I was happy that the Education Minister, Prof Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’I, has made a good decision but when I remember some past skeleton in the cupboard of this institutions I have more reasons to be afraid.

First the Kaduna polytechnic; the Mass communication students of KADPOLY recently did an Expose on the fraudulent admission process of the institution through their departmental training magazine. To my uttermost surprise, the school authority who were suppose to bury their heads in sober reflection decided to cure ring-worm infection at the expense of leprosy by dealing with the students. Shame!

According to the 2009/2010 audit report, of the admission exercise of the institution, 40 million naira was realized through illegal means.

Apart from this, the admission was suppose to be ratio 40 to 60 between the Rector’s list and the school list but in the 2009/2010 admission, 4,286 students were admitted, 2,614 followed due process (rector or school list) while 1,672 students were admitted without due process. Neither the rector’s list nor the school list admitted them, yet their names were published on the school website. So, if the essence of journalism is to make the government accountable to the masses will it not be good if these students start the practice from their own Jerusalem to Judea and to the end of the earth?

That raises a lot of concern; first, what is the pre-requisite for making the rector’s list? How were those 1,672 unexplainable students admitted? I think the Rector, Dr. Danjuma Isa has many questions to answer.

Yes! KADPOLY is not alone, how about YABATECH, Members of the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) Staff Cooperative Multipurpose Society are still battling the former executive officers led by a Senior Lecturer as well as the Manager of the cooperative society to retrieve N197,926,362.22 million allegedly misappropriated during their tenure.

According to available documents, including photocopies of withdrawn cheques, the former exco allegedly cashed money from the banks, gave out loans to non members, inflated amount of loans given to beneficiary and withheld funds from creditors and the cash was collected by former President and the Manager on behalf of members without their knowledge.

In a letter to the former President before the scam was reported to the special fraud unit on December 30, 2009 and signed by the current President, Mr. Dave Ohiorhenuan, he recalled that when the suspects faced the senior staff investigative committee (SSIC), the president on behalf of other executives accepted to refund the N20,521,246 million out of N48,849,708.31million that they were asked to refund.

If the situation of things can be like this while these institutions were still on polytechnic level, what hope do we have that more crime will not occur at the arrival of this new nomenclature-University. To me, it is a license to destructively affect the mindset of young people; it is a license to destroy. These are issues that should not be swept under the carpet but exposed. Thank God for YABATECH, I learnt the EFCC has been informed.

I ‘m aware that the Mass communication department of YABATECH has also arrived, well I hope they will not be tamed if they say whatever offends the authority just as it was planned in KADPOLY.

Three years ago when I was admitted into the department of mass communication, University of Lagos, my head of department, Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye taught us a course- Introduction to mass communication. In the process, I remember how he placed before us a dilemma of whether the Nigerian journalists are praise-singers or watchdog. Well, his submissions are written in his book ‘Media Nigeria’ and of course who are we the untitled to challenge the authority of a professor’s book.

Anyway, that is not the point here but I think we need to explain who the praise singers are and who watchdogs are . A praise- singing journalist is the one who celebrates the government he is suppose to make accountable even when there is no cause for celebration while the watchdogs closely set their eyes on the administrators, making them accountable to the masses.

However, from the era of Kitoye Ajasa in 1914, the reward of praise –singing journalism has been envelopes (brown, white or otherwise), all expenses paid trip to the western world and many other good things while the reward of the watchdogs has always been parcel bomb, shaving with broken bottle, life jail or even assassination. If you are in doubt just ask Dele Giwa, Mineri Amakiri, Kunle Ajibade and Bayo Ohu. These men tasted these rewards respectively for the sake of their position as watchdogs.

In all of this, my worry is this: where is the merit-driven society we are dreaming of? What has happened to integrity and credibility? What seed are these tutors sowing in the virgin mind of the youngsters for the future? Maybe some of our tutors need to be tutored. I think it is time to monitor those we have assigned to be monitors, it would not be out of place, it is called monitoring the monitors.