By Gbenga Sodeinde
In an exclusive interview with heritagenewsng Editor in Ado Ekiti, former University Don, Dr. Tunde Ajayi lamented what he described as high level of decadence in the nation’s vital sectors.
The University Don opined that solutions to Nigeria’s problems may not come, unless there is urgent and proper restructuring in all facets of the country.
He noted further that Nigeria’s problem was fundamental and, therefore required effective and sincere leaders who could actually effect the needed effective reparation.
Dr Ajayi said Nigerians must first admit that the country is failing and then identify the problems from which the Solution could be proffered.
In his historical dynamic of what got Nigeria to where it is now, the former University don blamed the government, and unions in particular for the problems in tertiary institutions of the education sector.
According to him, “It is the government that destroyed all the system, government destroyed all the voices of the oppositions. They even lower the voices of the media, the journalists could no longer speak truth to power .
“The government started by holding all unions with the tight hands, they destroyed the unions and so, no body could speak truth to them, except for two unions, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and Nigeria Medical Association (NMA). ASUU learnt this from them.
“NBA was not like this before now, but because they know that this is the only way they knew their own interest could be protected and be heard was to become agitative. Unions are not supposed to be agitative but systems in Nigeria destroyed the unions.
“So ASUU also learnt this from NBA and NMA that the only way you could stay relevant and be protected was to become agitative but now the ASUU have become over agitative such that some of their demands now are no longer seen as agitation, they are now seen as treasureous.
“The point I am making is that history has its own way of exposing itself for all of us to learn. There was was no reason for Nigerian government, at any point in time.
“When two people started shouting at themselves is that they feel that the other person is not, so let me shout more, so that I can prove my point of view.
“Intelligent people don’t have to shout to be heard. When you state your own case, then I listen and try to understand where you are coming from, then I state my own point of view and you listen to me for us to both reach an agreeable understanding. That is all what unions should be about.
“Whether Military or civilian, they should have allowed oppositions to stay, and with superior reasoning, they would have been able to tame all those oppositions down, but not in Nigeria, rather they wanted to kill oppositions.
“And the moment the unions sees that, they become intransigent to reasoning. In fact, you have created a war zone, for them to make a conceesion becomes very difficult. You got to reform the thinking.
“Let people know that unions are not necessarily against the government, let people know that, the press are not necessarily against the government, but they are there to speak to power and as responsible government, you must listen to them, then you will be able to correct many things
“Whether you call the Nigeria mentality or the African mentality, the Africans don’t want listen to any form of criticism, whether subtle, constructive or hurtful, they african leaders don’t want to be criticized at all, that is what has brought us to what we are talking about today now.
“If you look at Ngige’s crit oris, Ngige thinks he is the boss here, and so the boss must not be criticized. So he doesn’t like to be criticized from any quarter or any angle at all.
“And if you look at the ASUU now, ASUU are so much deep in the trenches now that, such that by conceding anything now would make them look as if they have sold off their constituency. So today now, the ASUU want to be like NBA and NMA
“But now, union and government have become words and opposit, and it now looks as if the opposit of unions is government or the opposit government is Unions and it is not supposed to be like that, and that would not lead us to anywhere”.
Ajayi noted that it was unfortunate that the reward system in country has been completely bastardized, which was why he would not blame Nigerians in Diaspora who refused to come back despite the calls by the Nigerian government for their return to build the nation.
“As an academic, If you have an intellect, if you have a scetensicing mind, if you have a mind that can you reason and talk in the public and make people to want to stop and listen to whatever you are saying, you are not likely to be the country anymore anymore, except some other things sre compelling you to still be in Nigeria.
“The beauty of western capitalism is in the reward systems. Soviet union did not fail because of poverty of brain but failed due to bad systems of reward.
“The moment the Country is not ready to reward Mr Gbenga for his accomplishments. He will be forced to leave the country to other where country where his efforts could be rewarded.
“My son not yet married in America currently has three hefty body guards that he didn’t request for, all as a result of the reward systems over there in the USA”
Speaking further about the current faceoff between ASUU and the Federal government, Dr. Ajayi submitted that it was awkward, ephemeral and of no deep effect if the government would succumb to ASUU’s demands alone as a way out of the whole foundational dislocation and paralysis in the country’s system.
He said: “If you have this tokenis approach to what is on ground in Nigeria with submission that let us solve this University problem first and leave the rest, you will be destroying this country the more.
“Because If you even succeed in making federal government alocate 20 percent of it’s resources education tertiary level, what happens at the lower levels, where students now coming from secondary schools?
“So the real truth and the solution to all the problems is for us to go into what I will call a complete and all facet of life restructuring which should be carried out so that the country will move forward, otherwise the country will become a failed Nation.” He submitted.