The Ancient Marina if we recall laments: “Water, water everywhere, but none is fit to drink.” Have you heard? It was published in this newspaper on Tuesday last week: Five states in Nigeria spent whopping N53 billion to keep 120,000 Nigerian students in university overseas for 10 years.

It was at a period many, to borrow Justice Oviewhisky expression, would faint if they were to see N1 million. Justice Oviewhisky said in 1983 that if he were to behold N1 million he would just faint. Not too long ago, N1 million was a lot of money, how much more N1 billion.

Today no one talks about thousands. It is billions, it is in trillions and not many raise any eyebrow. Billions and trillions are the new normal in our calculations and spending. A certain class of SUV cars goes for N365 million. This subject is for some other day.

There are 170 universities in Nigeria, 79 of them are private. Records show that as of today, there are 43 Federal universities and states 48. For most of 2021 and 2022 with cocky Chris Ngige was Buhari’s labour point man, Nigeria universities were on strike pressing for improved facilities and a conducive environment for learning. They asked the government to honour its own agreement it had with them. The government was foot-dragging.

In the period the leadership of the academic union changed leadership following the expiry of stewardship of one to give way for another to mount the saddle. Students were back home for about a year. Do you remember when doctors had their own struggle and there were troubling reports that the Nigerian doctors were fleeing to greener pastures, the Honourable Minister Chris Ngige said on television that we had enough doctor, three sons of his were doctors; whoever wanted to leave could go.

Perhaps save a handful of private universities, our universities did not have enough teachers. The lecturers cried out that the situation in public universities was scandalous. But Nigerian governors would rather send their boys and girls to universities overseas. Money that should have been used to upgrade our universities is being posted overseas where the beneficiary universities use the money to keep their fascinating standards in terms of facilities and quality of lecturers.

Between 2013 and 2023, Kano spent N36.5 billion to educate their students totalling 115, 288 outside the country. Sokoto, between 2016- 2022, N14 billion on 4, 600 students; Borno, N588 million between 2020-2023 on 180 students. Time was when students came from foreign lands to attend Nigerian universities to make them put on their gab, the universe in the city—university. A former South African President was educated at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University.
Indeed, where there is no shame there can be no embarrassment!
Last Week’s Error

The full name of the Professor who interviewed Chief Obafemi Awolowo from which I quoted copiously last week was Prof. Moses Akinola Makinde, a philosopher at the University of Obafemi Awolowo. I mentioned only his first and middle names. I omitted his surname in error. It is regretted. A man is the name he bears. He is the name.