The columnist paused our discourse on our daring and adventurous Niyi Osundare last week. But some of our readers who dare to dare like our daring poet-scholar and scholar-poet who daringly wants a secureness of our universities to come into being now uniquely and daringly entered the gleaner, glimpser, glister and glister’s consciousness when he yearned to direct the Beingness of his thoughts elsewhere. So what we offer now are selected different houses of the beings of thoughts on Osundare since we dared to utter what we dared to utter five daring weeks ago. Dare to like and enjoy what you are having now, Oh our readers!
Professor OO
Thought and suspense, suspense and thought leave your readers gazing at the coming of the greatest literary prophet of our time, Niyi Osundare, for communion. I foresee wailing and weeping from New Orleans. May the poet, again, from the ashes thump up laughter, in Nigerian universities. The Mist I see masquerading here has hairs in his picture and the laughter manifesting in the lips of Osundare leave us hopeful of what is to come in your column – “Waiting Laughters” in our universities!
Before you continue the bewailing episodes, TA, let me state that no intelligent student pays his/her way to get a degree. The late Professor David Ker would ask me in “Facing Fire with Style”, that’s my Master’s dissertation: “This chapter reads well. Where are the other chapters? Professor Kanchana Ugbabe would ask me in “Poetic Madness in African Literature”: “When are you coming back from Jos? Wait to collect your work!”
What these testimonies imply is that the wailers in your column are the academically weak minds, who survive by paying their ways. Agreed that they are the victims in the “I-bury Towers,” each wailing is rooted in dullness, and the haste to make it quick.
On entertainment at defences, when has celebrating scholarship become a crime? None of these wailers in your column testifies to celebrating achievement. Everyone points to extortion, and one wonders what is happening in our system! Again, the impression is of the weak minds. In any case, blame our university administrators. Why should a university not fund entertainment at defences when so much is paid for every defence? We have so much to do to cleanse the systemic failure in our universities, TA.
Dr. Clement Odia
Prof, I appreciate your column and the diverse comments it has generated regarding Prof. Osundare’s portrayal of Nigerian universities. While Prof. Osundare’s concerns are valid, it is essential to consider the broader context. Perhaps he could also share insights about universities abroad to provide a balanced perspective. Lecturers are not immune to the economic pressures facing the country. Rather than moral atrophy, I believe we are witnessing an adaptation to harsh socio-economic realities. The foundation of morality weakens when personal welfare, particularly take-home pay, is not commensurate with the work done.
Countries where lecturers are well paid do not experience the same level of rot. It is crucial that the government prioritises remuneration for lecturers to heal the universities. No one serves effectively on an empty stomach. Let us focus on supporting our lecturers and recognising their efforts despite the challenges they face.
Dr. Albert O. Onobhayedo
The next Bewailer
The senility of Isaac,
scheming Rebecca,
greed of Esau,
concupiscence and gullibility of
Jacob
all are to blame.
Bewailers, have you seen where you
fit in?
Many seek
to be Drs. of Philosophy.
Very few are fit.
Many hope the rot is real
that they benefit.
The slide cascades into an
avalanche of carte blanche
a theatre of whatever you will.
The last flickers of light are fading away.
Worthy voices of Niyi Osundares
echo in the fray
We must all decide what is to be and
what is not to be.
Captain Jonathan Nani
Good morning, Prof. This is awesome. It’s another masterpiece from the doyen of letters. I totally agree with you and Professor Osundare; Prof. Osundare’s reflections strike at the heart of our national dilemma today in the educational sector. Nigeria’s universities and those at the helm of “your country, my country and our country” are not lacking in intellect but in direction. Until government and academia work together to restore purpose, integrity and oneness, the system will remain adrift between vision and reality. It is time to steady the ship on the compass and set a true course for our educational renewal if not the ship of our educational sector will never find a safe haven to berth or drop anchor.
Prof. OO
This column brings the nation to the discussion table. CCMAS and the sycophancy behind its core curriculum in creative writing admittedly is faulty. Introducing 100 level students to creative writing is wickedly flawed. The contractor has vanished, leaving our universities to despair where they are now groping. Gleaner and Polisher, hear O hear! As we hold our breathe until the end of discussion, reserving the bullets to save our universities.
Anonymous investigative journalist
All through this very interesting analysis, I wanted to wait till the very end before making a response. The reason was that I wanted to get a full grab of the analysis and elicit from you, Sir, the exact measurement that your subject of analysis has employed to measure Nigerian universities. It seemed to me that this was a good decision because it was towards the end that I was now to get the exact source from which Niyi Osundare had expressed his measurement of our universities, using a very straight ruler.
So I went there to the source, and read some of the interviews that Osundare had granted to elucidate his position in the “Universe in the University” and the elucidation thereof from you, Sir, I find myself agreeing, to wit, with Niyi Osundare and you, Sir, that the enemies of the university in Nigeria are actually inside and outside enemies. In 1997 or thereabouts, a visiting scholar from the West attended a conference at one of our universities in the south-South.
The theme of the conference was “Taking the Universities Back to their Days of Glory.” In a post-conference interview this visiting scholar said: “It is interesting to hear the naïve things being said about taking the universities back to where they were instead of talking about where they should be in the future.” So I began to investigate only to find (out) that the inside enemies of our universities have over 100 strongholds, and in the 36 states of Nigeria from where they pilfer the funds for the development of Nigerian universities, and have intricate systems that help them stash university funds abroad just about the same way the politicians with access to public funds do. What struck me, Prof, was your “bewailer” tag on most of us who were very concerned about the insiders who commit atrocities against the universities in Nigeria, to the serial flogging you often seemed to ascribe to the “outside” enemies. Both enemies are enemies and should have been dealt with equally, Sir, our fearless speaker, immaculate poet and top columnist of truth. Overall, though, I hope the Education Minister read your analysis, and use it as a roadmap to begin a journey to take our universities to the future and not to the “good old days.” With your kind in our universities all hope is Not Lost and Never can be lost.
Prof. OO
Iron bender and suspender, Master of poetic truth! Whoever is not carried along by the connectionist theory you use to arrive at this closure in your delivery will always wait. Indeed, I am also waiting, despite being with you, TA, suspender of a weighty discourse. Your suspense makes the essay richer, better and glitterous. Better the closure predicting endless fight between ASUU and the fathom lots in our universities.
How do you decisively conclude on who fights the university system – the Monster, the Minister, the Mindless Men masquerading as negotiators, the amorphous state! Who knows what Niyi Osundare thinks next about our universities? Who knows when the fight to restore the glory of our universities will end? Maybe it will end with the bang, your bang, “Die, ASUU, die, to save Nigerian universities” from the hands of Monsters, Ministers, Mindless men and the sightless state. Again, let Osundare say something of the magic kind to heal wounds in Nigerian universities.
The Stirrer
Further elucidation of the beingness of our subjectness certainly shall be done in distanceless time.
Afejuku can be reached via 08055213059.
