In Nigeria available statistics show that only one physician is available to take care of the health problems of ten thousand persons. In other words, the current Medical Doctor population ratio is 1:10,000. In people oriented societies where people care, any issues bothering on health and education for citizens are accorded priority recognition. They take front seats. Even countries with health and economic indices far better than what we have here, aptly consider them selves not moving as fast as they should. They would give anything to avoid any situation that will warrant for instance shifting an academic calendar over 72 hours. In some countries, parents whose children are too ill to go to school , write their names and sit down in class rooms to take lessons.
The ongoing strike by the academic staff union of universities (ASUU) and the consequent loss of function or activities, definitely cause severe lacerations in the entire educational system including the training of Doctors. Outside a few schools which may be having problems with either the National universities council(NUC) or NMDC(Medical and dental council of Nigeria), all the Federal universities numbering over thirty and over half of the state universities are involved in the training of Medical Doctors at undergraduate and graduate levels. A fracture or dislocation in the transition from pre clinical and other arrangement is very likely . Professors and Senior Doctors train junior colleagues, medical students at higher levels train those lower than them and information is passed on with no attempts to compromise standards. On the other hand, Graduates in the youth service scheme are posted to teach in secondary schools, particularly in the rural areas, filling the ever present gaps particularly in the sciences. They are the angels and arch angels of Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Maths for public schools, where university graduate teachers in these subjects are difficult to find. An academic void, as long as three months in the teaching and learning of these subjects can be very devastating in the lives of students in public schools , because getting replacements when coppers leave the system is usually a problem. It is something that will become reality whether we like it or not, if the impasse is sustained by an unhelpful attitude of ignorance and arrogance which tends to derogate the unquantifiable relevance of education in national growth and development, the small gains we have made as regards the MDGS will be blunted if not irredeemably reversed.
Every now and then people in high positions talk about declaring states of emergency in one sector or the other . Do they really mean what they say, or are these mere statements? For almost 90 days, the university system has been lying comatose and stridently, the phrase state of emergency has disappeared from the vocabulary of these people. Grounding academic activities in the Universities can actually be likened to the stroke syndrome and just as there are predictable complications when the stroke patient is ignored rather than being properly treated, ignoring the issue of stroke in the Nigerian National higher educational system as if there is nothing going on will leave consequences . The longer a patient stays poorly managed or abandoned in conditions of stroke, the more severe the complications and prognosis, and the less likely the possibility of recovery. In the same way, there are problems that can arise when issues arising from the disagreement are disrespectfully kicked about during meetings smartly arranged to decompose into monologue diatribes.
In the same manner, that stroke, an emergency medical accident involving sudden stoppage of blood flow to the brain occurs mostly in cases of poorly treated hypertension, diabetes mellitus, heart disease and others too numerous for the time and space permitted here, so the present situation took long periods of neglect to develop. When a patient surfers a cerebrovascular accident(stroke), his survival, development of complications and over all prognosis all depend on the awareness, knowledge and the love those affected have for the patient. There was a particular case where just before a patient suffered stroke, her feet up to the thighs were massively swollen, because her failing heart could no longer function effectively to pump received blood and empty itself so it can receive more blood coming into it from the feet, legs and thighs in the next cycle. She had taken so many mixtures of medicines before coming to Hospital, and several deep cuts had been made into the skin and flesh of her thighs with leaves applied on them to form a mattress, all in a bid to remove what they felt was making it difficult for her to breathe properly, without success. Fortunately, simple medications were administered to handle the heart problem and the stroke, while the wound was taken care of with simple dressings and after two months, was discharged home in good condition, everyone was happy lesson
The reality here is that when people who have passed through a system are entrusted with the responsibility of managing emergency situations arising gradually or suddenly, they are expected to do better ,but success can only attend their efforts, if they are conscientious and place their interests only as secondary issues.
The pungent comments of some young people who even stand to benefit from the ASUU struggle remind one of two of Aesop’s fables the fox and sour grapes”. The other is ‘The man and satyr”. These young Nigerians instead of asking for the parties involved to come together as other well meaning Nigerians are doing have elected to continue harping on one party, the aggrieved one, even as it is clear they don’t understand the arithmetic of the dispute. They are individuals made paranoid by circumstances over which they have very little control, seeking relevance within the context of the absurd ;people including ‘those whose palm kernels to borrow from the late Chinua Achebe are broken by benevolent spirits” but instead of being humble have remained very loud, saying all sorts of things to explain their positions , Some of these egregious mixed messages from the two corners of the mouth are coming from so called union leaders so kindergarten in their thinking ,they make you shudder how hollow some Nigerians can be amongst good people ,and how deep some people can sink just to keep themselves in positions, and pass very retrogressive comments on issues affecting very special class of citizens.
Those who persistently blame ASUU asking them to go back to classes, remind you as some one once noted, of the role played by the Referee in WWE (world wrestling entertainment) TV programs . He is made permanently confused in the ring, his relevance being measured only in terms of his nuisance value. He turns away from the victim being severely battered and bleeding by illegal intruders, but instead spends more time attending to inconsequentialities at the ropes. How many of these people know what the issues are, why anyone will for whatever reason consider that the meekness and taciturnity of ASUU should make any person or group of persons treat them with disrespect. A policeman once wept when he threw a tear gas canister into a demonstration secondary school and instead of the demonstrating adults he expected to see , children were being carried away into safety. That is how dangerous ignorance can be. He only saw the Sign post and the word demonstration. That was all he needed to take his decision. In the current struggle, some one expressed shock when he was shown a demonstration e-library, and a Haematogy(blood and blood diseases) laboratory-what was really troublesome was the fact that people who are presently keeping sealed lips see these equipment when they go out for medical laboratory investigations.
There have been many conferences and slogans with strategies directed at reducing infant mortality, maternal mortality and deaths due to vaccine preventable diseases. Recently attention has focused on creating environmental conditions favorable for every Nigerian child to go to school , especially the girl child. By allowing the situation in our tertiary institutions deteriorate to the level where lecturers after several failed promises have no choice than to seek dialogue by withdrawing services, one wonders where our priorities reside . As the situation lingers, events are more likely to lead us, into the unknown, unless some one, some where decides to pick and hold the gauntlet so he can properly direct events. A few weeks ago I wrote an article on street children, classified according to public health physicians into children of the street and children on the street. Soon after, major organizations came out with relevant statistics-Nigeria has the largest number of street children. The article on street children sought to explain the potential dangers inherent in doing nothing to make the streets less attractive and the schools more attractive; to do so is not only to enforce and ensure that children are off the streets and in the class rooms, but in addition, helping parents in many little ways ,while making sure that children learn in class rooms order than under trees. Many graduates are already out there facing unemployment problems. It is pretty obvious we will complicate issues when we add undergraduates to the streets who would want to do anything , just anything to survive . When they are in school and their sibs are at home, people are likely to reassure themselves, it is just a matter of time, but when undergraduates now crowd homes with their older unemployed graduates , negative reinforcement of dangerous habits becomes unavoidable. Some people feel that education is a waste of time and for the families spending huge sums of money to keep students in programs which require long years like Medicine, pharmacy, law, and engineering, the burden is great, and the probability of a parent giving up is high, a situation that is more likely to affect education of girls. How do we convince young people that education is a passport to better life for an individual and his community and not an avenue to waste away ?
Many other Nigerians and even non Nigerians who are engaged in various forms of legitimate business activities inside and outside campuses have been thrown out of business, increasing the number of able bodied men and women that are currently looking for new opportunities ,with increased potential for the creation of pools from which recruits for all sorts of dangerous activities can be sourced. Many Nigerians including university students are already suffering prevention fatigue permanently under stress ,and just waiting to hear a vaccine with proven efficacy has been discovered for HIV/AIDS. At the moment, many of them are diving here and there, and will eventually snap. For female students now exposed to strangers , neighbors and family friends , the fragile ability to negotiate for safer sex is likely to be further weakened by the stress of idleness and the opportunities for travel and adventure provided by relationships with older men.
The academic environment with restrictions on dress codes, language and many others tend to tame students when sessions are on. In these periods, what they don’t see in the various shapes and forms of fame and glamour may not bother them . They are kept busy; Students teaching students-they become occupied, and academic advisers guide and direct them on general life as well as academic issues. Continuous stimulation of the brain tones up the organ, and prepares it with the capacity for academic load of any size, but at home, only few determined ones will have the necessary discipline to help themselves and their parents, others will be extremely mobile , ready to experiment and apply superior knowledge in areas that may not be legitimate, asking if there are any special benefits obtainable from going to school when many other avenues exist for making quick money .Sudden money may present itself with a paragon of beauty, but beside it, is the possibility of crime. For a strong young man, uncertain about his future, temptations are often too high a fence to jump. That is why people in authority should develop an attitude towards creating conditions that make education more attractive.
It is sad but realistic to accept that too much idle time has been spent by graduate and undergraduate students in the company possibly of many other individuals during this long period of uncertainties. Increased level of interaction amongst students and other persons made possible by lack of serious academic activities is likely to increase the number of Nigerian undergraduates testing positive for HIV/AIDS that by the time it is all over, there will be countless numbers of social networks ,and many of these will be networks of infections, particularly infections with hepatitis B and C , as well as HIV/AIDS. In deed more people ,not just university students are likely to test positive for the virus and while students carry their infections to their various campuses . Other potential carriers disappear into the general unsuspecting population. This is certainly not what we want, but it is the direction events seem to be taking us..
In our quest for technological advancement, failure to recognize the role of universities and other higher institutions in our country-Nigeria will be our Achilles heel . Taking one step forward, while misplacement of priorities takes us back three steps will only make us sink deeper into dependence, even as we celebrate the 53rd anniversary of our independence. An attitude that considers one group big enough dialogue while dealing with another in the invisible can only precipitate blunting of national patriotic zeal. Reciprocity of respect underpins peace and harmony in modern societies. Without it any thing goes. In many house holds where house maids are treated as second class citizens, as hewers of wood and drawers of water, infants are fed with their excreta mixed with their baby milk products, and Mom and Dad drink battery acid and urine added surreptitiously to food items in the deep freezer. Lesson? Never look down on any employee, but unto every one, do as you would want others to do unto you. In Newtonian physics, action and reaction may be equal in quantity, but not in direction, not only opposite, they have since modified it-
Long term implications .
It is left for Nigerians to decide which way to go. Chinese chairs are crafted for Asian populations and in the same way if a 60 year old Nigerian requires to have an artificial hip replaced for him by an orthopedic surgeon, time spent under anesthesia will be short and the probability of successful surgery higher if we have an artificial hip bone, manufactured in Nigeria for Nigerians .
Just as in football, there are always scouts around, waiting to take away the best Africans can produce. Members of ASUU, Senior Doctors and professors are endowed with uncommon spirit of patriotism , committed with unalloyed taciturnity to academic progress and yearning for the ultimate social, economic, and political emancipation of their fatherland through sound education and health for every available Nigerian, so that extreme poverty can be eradicated. Why create the environment that will favor flight of intelligence? Over the years, ASUU has remained like a mountain with a solid philosophy that no matter how the winds blow and the thunder storms roar ,they will not be moved, like the young man who stayed by his father while the prodigal son dissected and blew away the mans’ wealth , ASSUU values and protects the infrastructures that belong to this country, using these and the other types of infrastructures that no one sees, their minds, brains. As brain boxes ASSU continues to appeal for understanding from all relevant quarters, seeking honest dialogue not dishonest monologue. They do not deny the fact that their employers have done well ,neither are they unaware of opportunities for greener pastures ,even within Nigeria, but seek healthier environments for teaching and learning so they can continue to help the ordinary people ,young men and women, and these if we want to face realities are the real ones, not the others’ who are likely to stay in this country after graduation and participate collectively in her development.
