In many ways, Nigerian institutions of higher learning are no
different from other such institutions around the world: They are
confronted with several contending issues such as budget cuts,
plagiarism, cheating during exams, alteration of data by researchers,
unhealthy rivalry and tension between faculty members and between
faculty and administration and between students and other echelons.
These are constants within the academic community.
And of course there is the issue of séxual relationship between some
students and some of their teachers, and between some students and some
members of the administrative staff…
To be sure, there is not a teaching and learning institution
anywhere in the world where such — séx between students and faculty and
between students and staff — is not a concern. None! What makes the
Nigerian context different is the propensity, the frequency and the
severity of the aforementioned.Parents send their children to school to
learn, no to be harassed and séxually molested. Young men and women come
to school to learn and learn how to be contributing members of their
immediate and global society. They go to school to learn to be good
citizens, good human beings. They go to school to develop many skills –
including critical thinking skill. And though many show up in all their
naiveté and gullibility, still, it is not a reason or an excuse for them
to be taken advantage of. Sadly, these are some of the horrors that
happen to many Nigerian students, especially the girls.Sadder is the
fact that millions of girls and young women are being abused and
exploited on a daily basis. Many are denied their human and civil
rights. Many have no access to education, to medical care, or to a
caring home and environment. They are the “wretched of the earth.” While
there are some shining examples within the Nigerian sisterhood, there
could have been several millions more if the Nigerian society had taken
its female population more seriously. But we don’t! For the most part,
and in many settings, women are things, objects – things and objects to
ignore or séxualise.
Thinking about it now, I cannot remember which came first: the súgar
daddy syndrome or the séxual exploitation of students by staff and
faculty members (sometimes referred to as “Bush allowance”). Long before
politicians became conquerors and rulers of the maiden and their honey
jars — and long before military officers freely roamed the séxual
landscape — súgar daddies were the kings.
Súgar daddies paraded and patronised UNILAG, UNIBEN, BUK, UNIPORT,
ABU, UI and every Nigerian university and polytechnic and college of
education. And in some cases, they snuck into secondary schools and in
the process committed r*pe and alarming perversions. Today, the larger
Nigerian society does not worry itself with what was initially an
aberration. It is now a given. Basically, súgardaddism has now become a
practice, part of our cultural milieu.
Tell me: How many women, 17-37 years old, do you know who do not have
one or two moneybags as a lover or séx mate? I am sure there are. But
they can’t be that many. Poverty and unemployment and the general state
of confusion and hopelessness have greatly contributed to the mental and
psychical anarchy that now characterises the country. In the minds of
many, the kingdom of God can wait. Money is the new paradise. You either
have it or you don’t. In many enclaves, if you don’t have it, you don’t
matter, you don’t count!
No matter how you look at it, séx between a student and a teacher or
an administrator cannot be considered a relationship. This is so because
there is an element of abuse and exploitation involved. What’s more,
many students – especially secondary school and undergraduates — who are
so abused and taken advantage of, may suffer psychological and physical
damage.
As many universities in the western world have come to understand,
there is “power imbalance between the parties” that makes such a liaison
unsound and injurious. The University of Connecticut’s Board of
Trustees recently voted against “séxual interactions between students
and professors.” Similar measures are in place in many universities.
One does not know what the policies are in Nigerian universities and
other institutions of higher learning. What seems clear – very clear –
is that a whole lot of r*pe and abuse and exploitation and blackmail are
taking place. But really, the complaints are just too many: teachers
who demand séx for better class grade and other favours; and teachers
who pimp students for financial and non-financial gains. Séx-for-grade
or grade-for-séx is indeed a mess, an epidemic that’s been threatening,
along with other vexing issues, Nigeria’s educational environment.
To whom do aggrieved female students lodge complaints when many of
those in positions of authority are committing the same or similar
offence? Do you complain to the Vice-Chancellor, the Dean, the Head of
the Department, or to the Faculty Senate? I do not mean to say that the
entire rank and file of the Nigerian academics is guilty of these abuses
and exploitation. No, not at all! But the fact is that the number of
those involved in such inhumanity outweighs the innocent and pious ones.
Are there cases where female students lodged false protests against
innocent teachers? Yes, of course! Are there cases where rival teachers
used séx to trap and blackmail other teachers? Yes, of course! And are
there cases where female students séxually pursued their teachers? Yes,
without a doubt! But such incidences are small, very small.
In the end, I wonder if there are academic studies that gauge the
impact of séx-for-grade on our educational system, and how they impact
the lives of our young women. Even so, these practices and
transgressions cannot be good for the country’s culture and educational
system. It could be that these injuries cannot be wiped out, but they
can be substantially minimised.
No one sends his or her daughter to school to be abused and exploited
by depraved minds. Consequently, the learning environment should be a
safe and enriching one for all. No society can be great and prosperous
if that society refuses to treat her women population with love, respect
and dignity. A healthy learning-teaching environment is a human and
civil right for all — especially for our young women.
