10 Major Events that shook Nigerian Education in 2019 

10 Major Events that shook Nigerian Education in 2019

By Balogun Adeboye

Year 2019 was a very eventful year for Nigeria as a country. It was a year the country experienced unforgettable educational events among which shook it to its very foundations. Some of the events are here brought back to readers’ memory:

1) The abrupt closure of JAMB Portal;

One of the most unforgetful events that surprised candidates and students nationwide was the closure of JAMB Portal for UTME/D.E Registration.

The board Registrar, Professor Is’haq Oloyede who earlier came into power into 2017 has been dramatic, because it was in his administration that the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) was introduced to monitor admissions process and equally the dysfunctional IBASS.

To students’ greatest surprise, The board through its Director of Media and Publicity has promised that the portal will be opened for just six weeks and many disputed but later surfaced. The intervention from other examination bodies and the Ministry of Education could not yield any efforts in re-opening of the portal.

2) Sex for grades;

The menace was very rampant in 2019. Very many cases were recorded in the year. The biggest incident being an undercover investigation carried out, for more than a year, by the BBC on some randy university lecturers in Nigeria and Ghana. Its video, at conclusion of the investigation, was released on the BBC Africa Eye on Monday October 7. The video revealed a senior lecturer known as Dr Boniface Igbeneghu from the faculty of Arts, a former sub – dean in the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and the head of a local Foursquare Gospel Church harassing a female student sexually, promising good grades in return. Boniface was caught on camera telling his victim to ”Switch off the light, lock the door and I’ll kiss you for one minute”.

Compared to the Richard Akindele’s own (Professor) at the Obafemi Awolowo University that triggers tension, The UNILAG’s Boniface sex for grades went viral through the BBC Journalist, Kiki Mordi.

3) OAU loses two lecturers within two days;

The Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU), Ile-Ife lost two of its lecturers Professor Jerome Elusiyan and Dr. Victoria Oluwaremilekun within two days. Elusiyan, a Professor of Paediatrics was said to have been killed by bandits while traveling and Oluwaremilekun, the Acting Head of Department of Dramatic Arts died suddenly on Sunday.

The Public Relations Officer of the University, Abiodun Olarewaju confirmed the death of the two lecturers, saying it was painful. He said,

“Less than forty-eight hours after we lost a Professor of Paediatrics, Professor Jerome Elusiyan, to the cold hands of death through the instrumentality of unknown gunmen, it is too painful for us as a University to tearfully break the unpalatable news of the demise of another promising academic and a prominent member of OAU community, Dr. Victoria Oluwaremilekun Adeniyi.”

4) UNILORIN joined ASUU;

The 19-year-old crisis between two factions of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) branch came to an end.

Leaders of the two factions – Dr. Kayode Afolayan and Dr. Usman Raheem – signed a truce pact after a meeting at the university’s main auditorium. Vice Chancellor of UNILORIN, Professor Sulyman AbdulKareem, played a prominent role in the peace parley supervised by a representative of the National Executive Council (NEC) of ASUU, Ben Ugheoke.

Recently, The Chairman, Professor Biodun also confirmed that the University of Ilorin and Federal University, Lokoja have joined ASUU after the recent faction between the body and axis.

5) UNILORIN denies over 300 students from graduating;

In August 2019, It went viral in the University community that certain number of students portal were locked by the Management.

It was reported that students’ illegally accessed their spreadsheets/results through a link different from the normal portal.

In UNILORIN, A final year students cannot access his or her results on the portal until graduation period. The said link was used in gaining access to their hidden results.

The University therefore charged students for “cyber crimes” through letters issued to them. Following their appearance before the university’s Student Disciplinary Committee (SDC) last week, school authorities suspended accused students, the bulk of whom are graduating students, for misconduct bordering on illegal access to their academic grades spreadsheets.

According to the letter, the suspension is expected to last through the Harmattan Semester of the 2019/2020 academic session.

6) Mixed Reactions Trail MC Oluomo’s Invitation As Special Guest In UNILAG;

Leader of the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Lagos chapter, Musiliu Akinsanya aka MC Oluomo as been invited to a seminar at the University of Lagos.
The NURTW boss was invited as a special guest;

Shortly after this time was when the Management of the University could not permit Omoyele Sowore to talk to the students.

It generated controversies as the Management decide to invites MC Oluomo as a special guest while many of the students regarded him as being “unfit”.

7) UNILAG Mermaid Student;

There was confusion at Fagunwa hall, a female hotel in University of Lagos as one of the resident students allegedly confessed to being a mermaid.
In a video being circulated online, students could be seen standing and screaming in shock outside the hall as the green-haired girl, identified as Blessing was taken away into a Hilux van by security operatives in order to avoid getting lynched.

A  statement by a student of the institution read: “A girl named Blessing who is being squatted by Olamide in Fagunwa hall had a misunderstanding with her. The misunderstanding was caused by a missing wristwatch.

8) FUOYE indefinite closure and proscription of the Students Union;

The FUOYE students clash with the wife of the Ekiti State Government was also another event that triggered tension in the country which claimed many lives and property.

The students claimed to have a peaceful protest as a result of epileptic power supply which was disrupted by the convoy of the wife of the Governor, Mrs Fayemi.

In the event, Many students were killed by the Police and the students equally killed the some police officers too.

9) Babcock students online surfaced sex tape;

Hours after assault video of FUTA female student went viral, another shocking video of two students of BABCOCK Univeristy having sex has surfaced online.
The two students caught doing doggy-style inside the sex tape have not been identified yet and the person who is responsible for the leakage is unknown.
It was further learnt that the lady is a student of accounting department and there are claims that  incident occurred at School of Psychiatric Nursing, Aro, Abeokuta.
A source who prefers anonymity confirmed that the young man in the video is under rehabilitation for drugs and the incident occurred last year.

At the end of the sex tape, it was obvious that the two students were responsible for recording themselves during the act.

10) The death of Pius Adesanmi;

The 47-year-old scholar, who died in the Ethiopian Airlines plane was a prominent author, professor, and social commentator, and a native of Kogi State.
Adesanmi wrote several pieces aimed at changing the way Nigerians think and ultimately bettering the country. 

The scholar condemned the incessant Nigerian lecturers’ strike, blaming the cause on the tragic and colossal failure of leadership. “I am not going to accept like the rest of Nigeria that a single day of university closure, because of a strike, is just another normal day in the life of the country.

Adesanmi also lamented the way government is lackadaisical about investing in education, saying it rather prefers to invest in the pockets of “useless politicians”. “Nigeria giveslarge funds to senators, governors, and other worthless political actors for wardrobe, clubbing, womanising, security votes, and frivolous foreign trips.

He is an alumnus of the University of Ilorin.