Miss Goodnews Thomas and the ABU admission brouhaha

Barometer

The Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (ABU) was in the eye of the storm recently when it denied a high-performing female candidate from Niger State, Goodnews Thomas, admission to read medicine. When the social media broke the story and turned it into a sectarian controversy, it was expected that the Zaria-based institution would react immediately and effectively. But when it did, the reaction was both muddled and ineffective.

Miss Thomas, it was reported, scored an inspiring 302 in UTME and a tidy 274 in the ABU post-UTME screening to bring her weighted score to 288. By any standard, such a score was great enough for admission. That she was not admitted to read medicine but was offered anatomy was distressing, said her sympathisers who went on to speculate without foundation that it must have to do with her religion, Christianity.

But after JAMB waded into the controversy, it discovered that ABU had indefensibly pegged admission to study medicine to two candidates per state, and that someone probably spoke to Miss Thomas on phone to change her course of study, which she did. JAMB further discovered that in ranking she was by her aggregate scores third in her state after two other candidates Isa Mujahid and Hassan Rukayat Nda-Isah who scored 299 and 292 respectively to place first and second. JAMB has now directed her to be admitted to study medicine, but acknowledged that as a result of the controversy that has poisoned the atmosphere she would probably decline.

The Goodnews Thomas case is a pointer to the confusion and pollution poorly investigated stories often cause. The social media took the matter up, and the traditional media soaked it in without examining the many contours of the story. And the ABU itself made a hash of the response. It is important for the media to get their stories right, not to talk of exercising caution in ascribing motives to actions and policies. JAMB has done well to help shed light on the matter, and has gone further to even make progressive recommendations.

Miss Thomas was misled to take hasty steps; for as JAMB said, she would have been number 36 out of 88 on the merit list had she not changed her course of study. It was overall a regrettably managed case. It is so sad that this bright student will now probably have to study medicine elsewhere if she cannot overcome the emotions of having inadvertently spurred a needless controversy.