Prisoners ‘break free’ to grab doctorate degrees

Two inmates at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos, have registered for doctorate degrees having successfully completed their Master programmes.   Despite the fact that prisons in Nigeria have been generally described as breeding ground for crime, since incarcerating offenders is said to make prisoners more hardened because they learn latest tricks. However, many inmates, particularly […]

Two inmates at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Lagos, have registered for doctorate degrees having successfully completed their Master programmes.

 

Despite the fact that prisons in Nigeria have been generally described as breeding ground for crime, since incarcerating offenders is said to make prisoners more hardened because they learn latest tricks.

However, many inmates, particularly those on the condemned list, are now more determined to turn a new leaf as they have thrown themselves into learning new vocational skills that would make them better persons, even while still serving their jail terms.

This manifested recently when two criminals, one serving a life jail term while the other awaiting his death sentence, cashed in on the opportunity created by the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) to enhance themselves educationally.

Tunwashe Kabiru and Oladipupo Moshood, in spite of their incarceration have now enrolled for Doctorate Degrees in Business Administration and Peace and Conflict Resolution, respectively. It was indeed, a development worthy of emulation.

Kabiru, 42, said that he was currently serving a life sentence at the Kirikiri Maximum Prisons, Lagos, after being found guilty of murder.

Kabiru, who had served about eight years in prison custody, said that despite being on a life jail term, he was still not worried believing that one day God would grant him his prayers.

He said that he wished that he would be given another opportunity before he dies to atone for his sin.

He added that, though, he was very crude in his approach to life the first time he stepped inside Kirikiri, that he is a better person now.

The inmate said: “At first it was difficult, but I eventually decided that I didn’t have to let the remaining part of my life waste, so every opportunity I had to do something that was productive, something that was going to help me become a better person, I grabbed it.”

Kabiru decided to enroll for the General Certificate of Education (GCE) and when he passed, he enrolled in National Open University of the Nigeria (NOUN) which was specifically designed for inmates to use their time in prison to make progress.

He said that combining the day-to-day labour given to inmates with studies was not easy,  the satisfaction he now derives from his career gives him joy. For eight years, he woke up as early as 5am to do his designated job as an inmate and then go for lectures.

Kabiru credits his time with prison officials and his lecturers at NOUN for the change in him, adding that he believes the period he had with them helped in no small measure to give him the strength to be a better person, and the motivation to do something with his life.

He said: “It helped me take a very bad situation and make it into the best that I could possibly do while I was there. I want to thank God for what he is doing in my life. I have always had hope in God and that is what inspired me to enroll. I was actually imprisoned after being found guilty of committing murder in 2010 and I have served 8 years so far.

“I am still hopeful that things will turn around one day for the better, having achieved what I have today. When I came here, I had no formal education and I was without any vocational skill,” he explained.

Kabiru also asked the family of the deceased to forgive him, because of the vacuum now created by the absence of their loved one.

He said: “I thought that the prison is a place for punishment, but I now have a different impression of what it is. It is a place where reforms and rehabilitation take place. It is an exciting experience to be educated and to see things from a different perspective and I want to seize this opportunity to plead with the Federal Government to try and temper justice with mercy, having achieved this feat.”

Moshood Oladipo who was formerly on death row appreciated all the officers at maximum prison, all prison authorities that saw to the establishment of a school in the prison.

He gave his testimony of how he started learning shoe making in the prison before he wrote GCE and enrolled at the Open University for his first degree and then Master degree, despite awaiting his death. 

He disclosed that his release warrant was recently signed by the Oyo State Government because of the Master degree he obtained, and advised other inmates to be of good influence to others and be known for something good in the prison because that could aid their release. He advised those who don’t want to attend school to learn a vocational skill.

“I never knew that one day I will attend secondary school, not to talk more of being a Master’s degree holder and now studying for my doctorate. If I am given another opportunity, I will contribute my own quota to make the world a better place for all,” he added.

Moshood strongly believes that the chance to spend a prison sentence as a student can be life-changing. He said: “Before I was misled, I had no self-esteem, no self-confidence, no self-worth. The best word to describe myself would have been that I was detached from reality.”

Moshood further revealed that knowing that he could succeed at school helped him realize his potentials.

According to him, his self-esteem and confidence increased as his grades in classes improved, adding that he realized that he had the ability to be more productive in life.

At the presentation of the Master degrees to Kabiru and Moshood recently, the Comptroller-General, Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS), Ja’afaru Ahmed, urged other inmates to make use of the opportunity provided by NOUN to further their education.

Ahmed said that the NPS had empowered many inmates with education from secondary to Master degree level as part of efforts to reform prisoners.

“We have collaborated with Ministry of Labour to give inmates Trade Test Grades one, two and three and for those who want to further their education; we create an enabling environment for them.

“For those furthering their education, some have done WAEC while some have proceeded to university for degrees.

“No fewer than 420 inmates are currently studying in NOUN and 10 are in 400 level,” Ahmed said.

Presenting the degrees, NOUN Vice Chancellor, Professor Abdalla Adamu, urged the inmates to take advantage of the institution’s free education to prisoners from first degree to doctorate levels.

Adamu said that most of the inmates chose entrepreneurial courses to enable them become independent after serving their jail terms.

He appealed to the NPS to provide an enabling environment for NOUN to provide necessary equipment for inmates at its study centres in prisons.

Kabiru and Moshood are clear examples of how best Nigeria’s reform system can be if the opportunity is presented.