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Showing posts from May, 2014

ASUP Strike:Of Government’s Ineptitude and Injustice

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In the entirety of this piece, my case is simple: that there is no justification for the stagnation, misery, afflictions - all of which government cause us; that there is no rationale for government’s negligence, inattention and exclusion of a people whose rights ought to be protected by the same government; that danger is imminent when people are angry, neglected and totally forgotten by their own government.  The Polytechnic/Colleges of Education students have been forgotten. The ASUP/COEASU industrial action has been one strike too long, yet it has never been considered a national mishap worthy of attention. It is disheartening to see that our government has been unconcerned and unsympathetic. Or should I say they lack the political and moral conscience to end the impasse. This is an unjust disposition and untenable sin with real consequences. If it did not rain no one would know that an ostrich has eight fingers. In this we see the level of government commitment to

Nigerian Polytechnics must take its place

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The Polytechnic is an institution of higher learning offering a range of professional vocational and technical courses. In essence, it proves a breeding ground for people who create and champion country’s vocational and technological development. Polytechnic institution is not just peculiar to Nigeria. There are polytechnics in many countries of the world. The difference, however, lies in the status and mandate it represents. The British higher education, for instance, started off as polytechnics. However, after the passage of the Further Higher Education Act in 1992, some of the polytechnics assumed the ‘university’ title, which means “they were made full-fledged universities and awarded degrees.” The designation ‘polytechnics’ was therefore less used. The result, however, was the dichotomy between the two educational institutions (university and polytechnics), just as it is here. The British called it the “Binary Divide.” Like in many countries, the major aim of polytechnic i

WHAT CHIMAMANDA GOT WRONG ON THE ANTI-GAY LAW

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I read with astonishment Chimamanda Adiche’s opinion on the anti-gay law from a post a friend shared on my facebook wall. “Chimamanda, chekwa ezigbo echiche,” he simply commented atop the story. I think it was a sensible reaction to the now controversial and yet shocking disposition of the literary ace on the anti-gay law that recently got a presidential sanction. Chimamanda titled her story “why can’t he just be like everyone else?” And in answering the question she named the character in her perfectly crafted short intro fiction to her controversial opinion “Sochukwuma,” only God knows! “We don’t know”. The long and short of Adiche’s view on criminalising homosexuality was carefully and technically subsumed in the short anecdotal fiction in her story. Her submission was explicit and unequivocal: “Sochukwuma” was not and could not be responsible for his sexual disorientation; he could not have chosen a lifestyle as such; it was congenital. She called it ‘benign difference.’ Cl