My experience returning home to Nigeria
With unquenchable love for academic environments, I decided to visit Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU) Ile -Ife just for mere adventurism, relaxation and familiarity. Though I did not attend Ife for my undergraduate study in those days, I simply love the good stories I have been hearing about the university which prides itself as the “neatest […]
With unquenchable love for academic environments, I decided to visit Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU) Ile -Ife just for mere adventurism, relaxation and familiarity. Though I did not attend Ife for my undergraduate study in those days, I simply love the good stories I have been hearing about the university which prides itself as the “neatest campus in Africa”.
With two boys as my guides, we arrived at OAU with mixed feelings. Interestingly, the ambience of the environment right from the main entrance through the long stretch of the road leading to the sprawling campus was amazingly remarkable. Truly, the OAU campus was not only tastefully orderly and neat; it was indeed groovy and elegantly tide.
The academic structures were just too exotically dazzling. I was shocked that a Nigerian University could parade such architectural masterpieces. Honestly, many universities in America do not have as many fantastic buildings as OAU does. The flowers were well laid out. The campus was just too academically befitting. As I was praising the university
Management led by Prof. Idowu Bamitale Omole, I ran into a group of students who were criticizing him! His offence? They said he increased their school fees from less than ten thousand naira to close to a hundred thousand Naira . I laughed sarcastically!
“University education must be very cheap in Nigeria”, I told my two guides. How can you pay just less than a hundred thousand naira for all the good structures, services and quality university education when some people pay far more for their wards in Nursery and Primary School? Education is not that cheap in America. I moved round and spoke with other people. The aggregate opinion I got was that Prof. Omole has been providing fantastic and quality leadership in the university, though he is tough as his name implies. But then, a good leader must be firm and tough if he is to achieve results. Many people described him as a man of integrity so much so that nobody could accuse him of stealing the university’s money. I began to fall in love with the VC with all the good works I saw on campus and good testimonies I was hearing.
As fate would have it, a couple of days later, I saw Prof. Omole on television, announcing the results of Osun State Governorship election. He was the Chief Returning Officer of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in that election. I love his personality. He is fluent and meticulous. He was calm while announcing the results-an indication that he had not been compromised by anybody. My love for him became more reinforced though I have never met him. He radiated confidence and exuded so much authority and control to the amazement of the multitude. I came to the conclusion that Nigeria is blessed with so many highly cerebral personalities.
However, if Nigeria is so much blessed with wonderful people like Prof. Omole, why is the country so backward in terms of development and advancement? Why is there so much corruption in the country? These are national questions that should lead to the ultimate decision that the “best must be allowed to rule the rest”. A situation in which what they called “stomach infrastructure” was given so much attention to the extent that an accused defeated a highly cerebral wonderful personality in an election is highly undesirable.
However, if it was not for security reasons, with what I saw in OAU from Prof. Tale, I would have loved to send my children to Nigeria for their university education. But with all these Boko Haram insurgents on the prowl, I would rather stay in this foreign land called Boston and be boasting of Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage. I must confess that some of us are really missing home because, life here in America, is as well, not a bed of roses.
Kayode Latinwo, Boston, USA, [email protected]