The big new trend

‘And what could that be?’ I asked. ‘The fact that my children want to go abroad for their university education and I can’t afford to send them. Today Mimi cried her heart out that all her friends have secured admission abroad except her.  Nana had staged a similar show two years ago, but because it […]

‘And what could that be?’ I asked.

‘The fact that my children want to go abroad for their university education and I can’t afford to send them. Today Mimi cried her heart out that all her friends have secured admission abroad except her.  Nana had staged a similar show two years ago, but because it was in the wake of my divorce from their father, I was able to convince her that I was in no position to either take her there or ask her father to do so. Still, she never lets me forget that their father could afford it if only I’ll be willing to ask him. After witnessing Mimi’s tantrums today an idea occurred to me that I could ask you to get your two husbands to convince Mansur to send our two daughters overseas for their tertiary training.’ She explained

‘That shouldn’t be hard,’ Maryam responded ‘I mean what are friends for if we can’t stand up for one another at times like these?’ she added, then turning over to me she said ‘When should we meet them and bring the issue up, or should talk to them individually then allow them to decide when to meet him?’

‘Yes, I think we should talk to our husbands individually then let them decide when to see Mansur. Otherwise we may have to arrange a time when they are both around and we are both free before we can bring it up and that could delay the issue unnecessarily. But I’m just curious if Nana is in her second year at the university, why disrupt her studies and send her abroad? Won’t that cause her to repeat classes she already had here?’ I asked.

‘Not necessarily,’ Asabe replied ‘they usually subject you to an entrance exam to determine whether you are qualified for the class you want to join. And as for your first question, I really don’t mind disrupting her studies here because she’ll be so much better off studying where things work and the facilities are okay. I mean this is a girl studying pharmacy but most of the laboratory equipment they need to learn with are not even there. If it wasn’t for the internet they couldn’t study at all because no books are available. And only a few of the lecturers are dedicated to their work. Most are either into government consultancy or private practice so they don’t care about the fate of their students. The situation is really messy and I really don’t blame these children for wanting a way out’. She argued.

‘But are you sure they want a way out because of the inefficiency of the system or because it is now the in-thing to study abroad, a kind of status symbol?’ I enquired.

‘Haba Bint, these are my daughters we are talking about not a couple of strangers.’ Asabe defended.

‘Yes, I know and I don’t mean to offend you. But earlier on you said Mimi had cried her heart out because her friends had all gained admission into universities abroad except her. That’s why I’m worried that it’s a status symbol thing. My honest feeling on this is that we must not succumb to pressure from these youngsters unless we are really convinced it is best for them.’ I said.

‘You know Bint is right. Sometimes it’s all a peer group thing. Yes their father can afford it and yes if the situation is bad here, then we have to consider the alternatives, but is it really the most desirable option? These are your first two daughters, you need them around you and they need you too. Is it the most suitable step to have them both studying abroad because they want to?’ Maryam demanded.

‘Well you haven’t yet encountered the situation on the ground because your children are yet to begin their university education. But let me tell you. It’s a lot worse than you think. Apart from regular lecturers’ strike and lack of teaching aids, a lot of corrupt practices too are rampant in our tertiary institutions. So try to understand that no one wants the extra trouble of taking children overseas with all the attendant expenses involved, if it had not become a necessity. ‘ Asabe replied.

‘But is there no other way around this but to take our impressionable young men and women to strange places and cultures? I mean all these countries where people are now taking their children to study, how long ago was it that we were far ahead of them in education, economy even political sophistication? They were trailing along behind while we blazed the trail. Do you remember how many different nationals we went to university with? Granted that those were mainly children of foreigners who were working in Nigeria at the time, but the fact that they didn’t see the need to send them back home to study, the fact that they entrusted them to our educational system should tell us something. Can’t we strive to revive the good old days?’ I asked, rhetorically.

‘Tell me just how you propose to revive the virtually dead system.’ Asabe challenged pessimistically.

‘Well, look at it this way. These universities we are rushing to take our children to, sometimes in countries that used to look up to us, are established and maintained by people like you and me. Why don’t we do the same here? We can either establish our own private universities and run them with dedication and commitment or we can come together as old students of our alma maters and take steps to revive them to an acceptable international standards. Either way I think it is defeatist to say that we have to take our children to other countries or they will never be able to obtain the educational level they need.’ I argued.

‘Are you bringing all this up so you can escape from asking Tahir to join Ibrahim to ask Mansur to take our two daughters overseas to study?’ Asabe asked.

‘No, not at all. In fact I will be asking Tahir as soon as he comes in, and if he were to come in while you are here I will mention it right before you. But my argument is it isn’t yet a hopeless situation, we can still do something about tertiary education at our private and individual levels even if our governments have failed.’ I assured her.

‘How about you,’ Asabe asked Maryam, ‘do you want to chicken out of talking to your husband by sermonising about how to salvage education in this country?’

‘No, no I also plan to talk to him as soon as I get home. But Bint has a point we have to start thinking about revamping the education sector rather than continue to depend on other countries to train our youths.’ Maryam answered.

‘Ok, as long as you tell your men what to do about my two daughters, moralise all you want on the way to salvage education in this country. You can also count on my support. But in the meantime first things first, and this is my single agenda.’ Asabe answered rising up.