By Festus Ogun
How would you imagine students of higher institution of learning cultivating farm on weekly basis, in the 21st century. Don’t start imagining. It’s a reality. It happens every weekend at Olabisi Onabanjo University.
The school is now an institute of farmers and warders. I’m very sure the students of schools like UNILAG, OAU and UI may disbelieve this assertion. Why? It is simply because they might have not experienced it or the degree is not as high as the one in the above mention –case study- school .Of all universities in the world, placing agricultural based institute at the exception corner, the above mention school is one which has turned her students to midday farmer.
When students gained admission to this school, they never thought of becoming famers –all of a sudden, they have been modified by the school system to become one. It has gotten to the point that everyone sees it as a normal thing. To be a student of the school, you must have a cutlass or a hoe. Cultivating farm is the hobby of an average student of the school. Like seriously, the students of this school are staunch farmers; they work in the school forest every weekend and this has been the practice for some years now. The newly admitted students, popularly known as ‘freshers’ , which are the most victim of this hardship, are spread into the school jungle to till the soil from cock crow till chicken went to roost. Nobody is talking and the hardship gets harder.
The rationale behind this crude wickedness is said to be the requirement to pass a particular general course (GNS) in the school. This agricultural course, a two unit course, has been the leading tool used to oppress the students. Don’t be caught by surprise if you get to know that the writer of this piece have also and is still going to probably work as laborer on the school farm. As a student of the school, one tend to ask whether (or not) the work being done on the field correlates with what is taught in class. Some of the ‘ajebutters’ cannot even distinguish between cassava and the weeds. Many cannot even identify or decode meaning from the series of farms they have been attending.
All what is done by the ‘chief farmers’ is to get to the farm, give portions and jot down the name of excellent farmers, in the name of giving marks. No lecturer is going to explain or has ever explained what is done on the farm in relation to the theory taught in class. Without any form of hyperbole, students carry out this activity on weekly basis. The lecturers always protest that anyone who fails to manifest his presence on the farm for serious labor will definitely fail the course. And so be it. It is even getting to the point that, if farm is missed for a week, such a student who missed it will or may fail.
Some of the lecturers that supervise have turned either gods or semi-gods. Who dear attempt to explain issues to the lecturers? Nobody takulaya! Walai! The lecturers, or at times the errand boys of the lecturers will be on the farms ‘wardering’ the students sentenced into the prison of Olabisi Onabanjo University, by the course- GNS105.
Who dear murmur? The sorry aspect of the story is that: the errand boys (students of higher levels) that are supposed to be of help in reducing the hardship suffered by the students are also committing the same blunder made by their master. Some will ask what the ‘blunder’ is. It is simply the officiousness spirit in them. The ‘aseju-baba-asete’ notion of handling things!
Wait a minute, why should lecturers flog undergraduates? I can’t imagine this sort of dexterity! Is this not an infringement on the students’ right? Tell me, what right has they to beat the students?
Look, where the problem lies is: anyone that tries to call the attention of these warders to their ignorance, may, at the end of the day ‘carry’ the said course over. Hmmm, I’m sure many will be confronted with the problem of what the writer meant by ignorance. Let me tell you, the ignorance is simply suffered by the cruel lecturers. Maybe they are not aware of the consequences of their actions. Both the legal consequences and moral consequences. They may be unaware or pretend to be unaware.
The consequences of the ‘daily’ farming are not farfetched. At first, it affects the students psychologically. When one works on the farm for a very long period of time , it will affect the education of such a person. When the person gets home, he or she will be very tired and won’t have time to study.
Working on farm every week will make one weak and high degree of weakness will damage the health of students. The students are injured, either by their mates or while being pursued by the warders. Or is injury a normal or good thing for the health? Even, the lecturer mercilessly beating students is a great cause of discouragement to them (the student). These and many more are the disadvantages from the ‘daily’ farming.
After all said, it should be noted that the importance of the course can be neither underestimated nor overemphasized, but the grave oppression coming out from the lecturers is the point to be seriously tackled. Though, not all the lecturers are demonic and devilish, but a good number of them are just too brutal, officious and meddlesome. Things must change!
The university has now turned to a place where all student must get sharpen cutlass and hoes for agricultural purpose – farmer. And the lecturers on the other hand are known for harassing, beating and at time, causing injuries on the students without any apology. They are warders.
They maltreat the student to any length. They treat students like criminals. Even if one work from today till the end of time, they still remain their humble self – ingrates. Should I continue? No! Let me put a stop at this juncture. I am afraid of Kirikiri. Plenty words no day full basket.
May the Lord deliver us.
