Protesters in the Middle East made
history in 2011 when they toppled dictator after dictator in what is now
referred to as the Arab Spring. From Tunisia, where it started, it
spread to Egypt, Libya, Syria and other Arab countries giving voices to
people who have hitherto had their voices muffled for decades. The
voices came in different forms and shades, the biggest ever line up of
Arabic rappers and the spirit and resilience of the Cairo youth made
Friday, November 4, 2011 a special day as it brought together political
dissidents rappers from Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon and
Jordan on Egyptian soil in order to remind the world that the struggle
for freedom of expression and speech in the Middle East has just begun.
In setting up the event, the organisers
from ‘Turntables in the Camps and Immortal Entertainment’, wanted to
remind their compatriots of the need for change in Egypt due to the
persistence of corruption within the regime and the tight military
control of all public events. As is the case with events of such nature
that bring youths together, the authorities were jittery. At the
scheduled hour of the start of the event, the Interior Minister ordered
the Gezirah Youth Club in Cairo – who had lent its facilities to the
organisers – to shut the gates and cancel the concert. As a result of
this the organisers were forced to take the concert to different
locations across Cairo which turned out to be a huge success as the
domino effects led to the toppling of the regime of Hosni Mubarak.
Egyptians are back on the streets again speaking in a showdown between
the government and supporters of ousted President Muhammed Morsi.
Everywhere we go the street has its own
voice, it could be informed or uninformed, controlled or uncontrolled.
But in the end, it speaks one way or another. We witnessed these voices
after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 elections and the Occupy
Nigeria movement against the hike in fuel price two years ago. In 1989,
Nigerians trooped out in their millions in a spontaneous reaction
against former military President Ibrahim Babangida’s Structural
Adjustment Programme (SAP). The voices from the streets forced him to
give his SAP a “human face” less than a month after the demonstrations. I
had an encounter last week which reminded me that the street still
speaks today.
I had gone to fix my car when one of my
mechanics came to inquire if I still have the old tyres he replaced for
me after buying new ones; I answered in the affirmative and asked what
he wants to do with the old tyres. “I want to sell them” was his reply; I
smiled inwardly and bemoaned our penchant for tokunbo things. That was
when the story started rolling in. A month ago, my mechanic sold his
tokunbo car to pay the school fees of two of his children in the
university – one, a student of Usmanu Dan Fodio University, Sokoto and
the other of Federal University of Technology, Minna – and now they are
home doing nothing, so he’s raising money again to prepare for their
return back to school hence the request for the old tyres.
I was really impressed and took him
aside so that we could discuss. I told him I was surprised that he could
sell his car to pay his children school fees given the fact that most
of those in his line of trade do not have long term vision because they
live for the day. He told me it would be foolish of him having served
“rich” and educated people in Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos not to
know the importance of education. “Sir, from my contact with my
customers, and having observed their lifestyles I know education is very
important that is why I’m challenged to give my children what I never
had; if it’s even possible for me to sell myself I will to ensure they
have a bright future. But I cannot understand why they keep sending them
home all the time”.
I had to explain, in layman’s term, the
deadlock between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the
Federal Government regarding the current strike. When I pointed out
that the government said it does not have the money to fund education
the way ASUU wanted he was instantly taken aback as I saw it written
over him as he tried to process what I just said. “Why would the
government filled with many educated people not know the importance of
education when an illiterate like myself can sell my car to pay my
children’s school fees?”, was his question to me. I told him I wish I
could give him a straight forward answer, but I couldn’t.
We have thousands of parents like my
mechanic who have staked all to give their wards a future they never had
with the anticipation that with sound education they may be able to
break new grounds, but unfortunately, the goal post keeps shifting as
the elites keep finding means to solve their problems to the detriment
of the sector. The voice of my mechanic is being echoed by other
indigent parents who just want a future of less pain and despair for
their wards; but we can all see that things are changing rapidly as
Nigeria is on the route to a fully-fledged capitalist society where
everyman is now for himself. And just like he pointed out, how could so
many educated people in government not see the importance of education
to development? Perhaps, just like I pointed out last week, maybe a
fifth columnist is at work.
Though the voice of my mechanic and the
thousands of other voices I have not yet encountered may be muffled for
now, they would not remain so for ever. No analyst predicted what
happened in the Arab world in 2011, it started when a young Tunisian
street vendor, Tarek al-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire on
December 17, 2010, in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the
harassment and humiliation that he reported was inflicted on him by a
municipal official and her aides. His act became a catalyst for the
Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring, inciting demonstrations
and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues
in the country. The public’s anger and violence intensified following
Bouazizi’s death, leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step
down on January 14, 2011, after 23 years in power.
But all we keep hearing is that it can
never happen in Nigeria. Will anyone had predicted five years ago that
we would be dealing with the Boko Haram security challenge today? Those
playing politics and toying with the future of law abiding Nigerians who
just want to live decent and honourable lives should not miss the point
that the street is speaking, even though it is muffled for now.
Re- The fifth columnist agenda
Who is a fool? Tell me where you expect
the likes of Obasanjo, Atiku and their ilk to get students into their
universities if the federal ones are working? Do you need to be told
that some of these ASUU members are feeding fat from all these? There is
no problem in any form once Nigeria can boast of retired generals who
are donating billions of naira to unnecessary causes and not to
education. We have National Assembly members who are only interested in
reviewing their salaries and allowances upward otherwise no bill would
be passed. What a pity!
Akinlayo A.
I wonder why we have not revisited the
ownership and structure of the universities as the cause of the problem.
Attitude of academic staff is another issue. Students, Research and HR
development are no longer the objective and one wonders about internal
accounting and independent financial auditing of the university system.
08065724207
Sir, you hit the bull’s eye on the fifth
columnist. The Federal Government is only ensuring compliance with the
directives/dictates of the Bretton Woods institutions –that is, to
ensure the death of universities and also the production of low cadre
manpower. This has been ASUU’s grouse and war with government. I’m sure
if all Nigerians join in the struggle, we will save the nation from
bounty hunters who do not have any sense of nationalism. Come to think
of it, what was the university like when most of these people in
government were students? But now government cannot fund education!
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