I had planned to write about this topic over a year ago, but every time I began, the situation seemed to change. I struggled with knowing whether to take a side. There was a time when a parent killed a teacher for disciplining his unruly child. At another point, a teacher was arrested for beating a student into a coma. Then, there was a shocking incident where a teacher repeatedly struck a three-year-old child on the head because the child couldn’t write properly.
When I was younger, three-year-olds weren’t even in school. What could they possibly need to learn that couldn’t wait? These days, children are sent to crèches or daycare centers as young as three months because parents must work. In my opinion, a child who cannot even speak is safer in a crèche or school than in the hands of a nanny or domestic worker at home.
What bothered me most about the incident with the three-year-old was that the mother of the child worked as a cleaner at the school. It was, in part, a case of an underpaid teacher, frustrated by her own circumstances, taking it out on a poor cleaner because the cleaner had no power. I’ve always said some people are oppressors at heart. It’s just that they don’t always have the means to act on it. If they ever got the chance, they would misuse any power they could get. When I see ordinary Nigerians abusing those in authority, I can’t help but laugh because, given the opportunity, they’d do much worse.
What made me revisit this issue now is the viral video from Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka. In the video, a young lady was making a TikTok video when a lecturer tapped her on the shoulder. From there, things quickly spiraled out of control. If I were the lecturer, I would have simply said, “Excuse me,” without touching her. Perhaps the lecturer was frustrated by what she was doing. If I were a lecturer, I’d probably feel annoyed too, but this generation is different. You have to tread carefully with them; even a simple “excuse me” might not be enough.
Read also: Nnamdi Azikiwe University Expels Student for Assaulting Lecturer
In my time, there was no social media, but if a lecturer caught you doing something unrelated to your studies, you apologized quickly and hoped it wouldn’t come back to haunt you. This generation, however, is different. Some students feel entitled to challenge authority. I won’t generalize, but some students know they are on their own if any action is taken against them. My father never went to school to beg on my behalf for any mistakes I made, and I’ve maintained that approach with my own children. But if the school was at fault, my wife especially would fight for our children.
Many Gen Z students were raised without proper manners. I’ve heard stories of high school students insulting and even beating their teachers. The worst I saw during my time was a younger student who ambushed a senior and gave him a serious beating during the holidays.
The incident at Unizik did not surprise me, although it shocked me. It’s typical of some Gen Z students who were not raised with respect. I saw the video, and from the moment the lecturer tapped her shoulder, the girl’s expression was one of defiance, as if to say, “How dare you?” I wasn’t surprised when she grabbed the lecturer by the shirt. In my time, there was no way any student would challenge a lecturer like that. We walked carefully past a professor’s office, always with a sense of awe and fear.
The only time I visited Prof. Humphrey Nwosu’s office during my time at UNN was when he asked me to submit an assignment. I can’t recall visiting Prof. Okwudili Nnoli’s office either. Prof. Sylvanus Ekwelie, who was my head of department, was like a god to us. We visited his house once to pay condolences, and it was such an overwhelming experience that we could hardly feel at home there.
By the 90s, when my younger siblings were in university, I started hearing about students “sorting” lecturers to pass exams. I also heard of a student who graduated without ever sitting for any exams. While Gen Z students aren’t entirely to blame, there’s also a problem with some lecturers who have lowered their standards by accepting bribes or demanding sexual favors for grades. These two issues—bribery and sexual harassment—are major factors in the loss of respect for university lecturers. At least one professor is serving jail time for sexual harassment, and others are still in court or have been dismissed. As for the Unizik incident, it needs to be thoroughly investigated, and justice should be served.
In a different context, I’d like to commend the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede. I may not know him personally, but I have a lot of respect for him. In an era where integrity is often spoken of lightly, he has demonstrated that he’s a man of true integrity. Under his leadership, JAMB has gone from a government-subsidized body to one that generates more funds than it spends. Recently, his integrity was questioned during a budget defense session in the House of Representatives, but Prof. Oloyede gave satisfactory explanations. I also recall that he once raised concerns about the funds collected at the Abuja Mosque, where it turned out some people were misappropriating funds meant for the community.
