OUR UNIVERSITIES SHOULD START MAKING THINGS-2

Presently, our universities are not known for making anything. This means that there is no university in Nigeria whose reputation has been built on creativity – not even writing books.

Ask what our universities are noted for, an average Nigerian would probably tell you that it is for endless strikes that they are a nonpareil. 

Our universities are also not known for making money. In most cases, whenever they need money for salaries or to buy anything, they get or apply to our governments for funds. And whenever such funds are not forthcoming, they engage in some form of work-related strikes. This, they think will drive their point home. Such strikes may then go on for several months. In which case, they are not even able to perform their primary obligation of teaching the students efficiently.

Among the demands of our universities during their work-related strikes is the fact that they are not presented with the equipment with which to become efficient in their profession. 

My argument: what prevents these universities from collaborating with even local craftsmen to fabricate some of the equipment that they are asking for? Why do we have to wait on the importation of even thermometers to function?

My concern: Let us be truthful to ourselves, our leaders do not have much respect for our universities. They could care less if they are alive or dead. And the reason is that these leaders are mostly illiterates. 

Our universities need a rethink. We place too much emphasis on writing papers and not any on making things. We must, at the end of each year, be able to exhibit what we have made in our universities for our leaders and the world to see. This is the only way we can start earning the respect of the leaders and the whole world. People who make things should be as much recognized as people who write papers. World recognized books should be coming out of our universities.

At the rate we are going, our universities may become things of the past if all we do in engage in institutional work-related strikes -and writing papers.

By Association of Educators of Science and Technology in Yorùbá Language