ILLUMINATION with CREATIVE MIND…08169276283
“ENLIGHTENING MINDS THROUGH THE VOICE OF THE PEN”
LECTURERS OR TENSIONERS?
Equality before the law has become a banal phrase among students in the Nigerian higher institutions; when they feel they are facing unjust treatment and oppression from other students and colleagues, and even freshmen students know that freedom of thought and expression are concepts embedded in the constitution.
However, their actions tell us that “equality” is a subjective expression. Remember George Orwell in “Animal Farm?”…. “All animals are equal but some are more equal than others”. Thus, fear drives us to attend lectures, the fear of terrible sanctions. These “tensioners” aggravate the fear and pressure we’re under rather than encourage us. And like low rank military personnel respond to their draconian superiors, we answer “yes sir” or “yes ma” even when they call us people from “miserable and hopeless backgrounds.”
I feel emotionally lacerated as my pen engages in its usual magic of turning my thoughts to words. Some of the memories of my early days as a student linger in my head, like they’re on a quest to feature in this piece to help express a “bitter truth”.
I attend lectures with religious punctuality not just because I want the knowledge or the few marks it would add to my total score, but also because of lecturers’ decree that no one would write their examination unless they make 75 % attendance.
I bottle up my feelings and thoughts on some of the actions of our leaders, but my countenance reveals my disgust. I am able to hide my emotions most times because I know I will be a graduate very soon and will be free from these manacles of intimidation and threat that I consented to wear. My conscience, however, being the independent soldier that he is, will never forgive me if I fail to express this golden thought and our “grund norm” (the Nigeria constitution) will doubt the validity of my being a Nigerian if I fail to exercise the freedom of thought and expression it gives me.
Cases of “tensioners” telling the students some grades are practically unattainable in their courses have become the talk of the town. Such “tensioners” are usually reported to have said things like “A is for God and it is exclusively reserved for Him, B is for me and I can’t let it get out of my custody while C is for the serious students”. I used to think this was just a rumour started by unserious students in a scheme to excuse or justify their average performances- their Ds, Es and carry over grades until I overheard one “tensioner” telling his audience not to expect distinction because he has no such package in his marking scheme.
I could tell from the whispers coming from the students, their confused, scared faces, and agitated gestures that they were under tension. Less than two weeks after this humorous but saddening event I witnessed another scene that involved another “tensioner” directing threatening words to a portion of the class. This lecturer told that section of the students that he would fail them and tell other lectures to do the same; this elicited a bout of thundering laughter from me. I think the “tensioners” have forgotten that “studium discendi voluntate quae cogi non potest constat” (study depends on the good will of the student, a quality which cannot be secured by threat or compulsion.) We can never learn under threats, compulsion or out of good will.
As if that was not enough, in a visit to one of our universities during the last holiday I met a 200 level student that told me he is likely to convoke anytime since one of his “ogas” has threatened him with expulsion, yet the boy have no case with the disciplinary committee. When I view these incidents from another perspective, I ask myself when our universities became joke factories. Even law students have to reserve their legal and equitable rights in some cases while other students in our universities will rather go home to display their knowledge with their sibling than trying to tell the tensioners their “church minds”.
I must however include that some of our bosses here are not just here to impact knowledge but are also treating us like their brothers, sisters or even children. And in my opinion, by doing this, they pass the test of humanity. The memories of their humility, kindness and right attitude towards us will live forever.
However, my humble question to the “tensioners” is if timidity is infused into us, the fire of courage burning inside us is quenched with their water of threats, the free relationship that should exist between us is severed, and our well-deserved academic excellence is denied us on paper, what is the fate of the “better Nigeria” we all wish and pray for?
culled from www.oluwaseguncreativemind..com