Frustration Grips Nigerian Students Abroad
"The majority of Nigerian students abroad are mostly self sponsored, relying at times on money sent by families, friends and relatives all the way from Nigeria to keep body and soul together. But since Buhari's merciless cut on foreign exchange remittances, a lot of these students have been wailing and gnashing their teeth for the past six months."
by a Special Correspondent
Social and behavioural scientists have long since either given up completely or are in the process of giving up completely the idea of using students as subjects for their experiments. That is why there are deviations today from the conventional methods of social inquiry. This became necessary because of the sudden realisation that researches that were conducted using students as subjects were increasingly turning out to be bad research and bad social science. Factors lending support to this realisation include the discovery that students are by their nature very malleable and youthfully exuberant, and are easy targets for manipulation either by the researcher or by some other environmental conditions or even by their own personal idiosyncrasies (where such exist).There was again the question of irrationality, one of the key characteristics of many a student. Such irrationalities often border on the simple whims and caprices of individual students and their lack of maturity (not maturity in the sense of being able to sleep with a woman!)
More often than not, therefore, answers derived from students in a laboratory experiment are often, express images of themselves sentimental, spurious and uncritical, to the extent that conclusions drawn on the basis of these answers often boomeranged or became inconsequential. It is against this background that this write-up makes an in-depth analysis of the relationships between Nigeria's present military rulers and its students at home and abroad, from the day of the 31st December 1983 coup to the present.
Hardly had the guttural and treacherous voice of Brigadier Sanni Abacha proclaiming a coup against a constituted authority and against a government he and his cliques have sworn to defend died down on the Radio Nigeria microphone, than there emerged a 'statement of solidarity with the Federal military government' from the Nigerian student leaders. In it, the students declared unequivocally and without reservations, their total support for the coup, stressing that it was infact 'long overdue'.
They took to the streets and chanted meaningless slogans and ululations invoking the name of Buhari and his colleagues as God-sent messiahs. They harangued Shagari and his civilian administration as amalgams of every- thing objectionable calling them men with disreputable reputations (forgetting, of course, that throughout the four year period of the Shagari administration there had never been any student demonstration against the government).
Across the ocean, hundreds of thousands of miles from Nigeria, while America, the founder of world democracies was mourning Nigeria's interrupted democratic experiment calling it "the light that failed and a set-back for democracy in Africa", Nigerian students in Washington D.C. cheere and jubilated waking fellow Nigerians up at 4.00 a.m. to tell them the news. Said one student in the American University's School of Business: "Serves the politicians right... I am going home to see how they will be dealt with" (He went home but never came back because of the lack of foreign exchange).
They are furious with their military government at home, fearful of the growing enmity between them and foreign police; frustrated in their search for the golden fleece...Soon, demonstrations to show 'solidarity' with the military were organised by the students. From London to Paris to Washington and New York, Luxemburg and Rome, Nigerian Students carried placards and walked through the streets of democratic societies with fanfare, much to the amazement and bewilderment of these countries. Asked by a Washington correspondent why they were demonstrating one of the students vaguely faltered: "To boost the morale of the military for a job well done. Aware of all the furor being created by the students, the military gloated, calling their coup d'etat "popular and welcomed by Nigerians".
It is almost six months now since the military came once again into Nigeria's political scene. Six months is simultaneously a long and a short period of time. It is long for human and a second for history. But whatever yardstick one uses, human or historical, those six months have been by any imagination, the worst of times for Nigerians at home and abroad. Remarked a highly placed military officer attached to one of Nigeria's missions abroad: "The coup was a mistake right from its inception. Granted the politicians were corrupt, the military have ruled Nigeria for thirteen years. We should have given the politicians a little more time ... Perhaps that is why God is punishing us." Again, a Nigerian diplomat who recently returned on a visit to Nigeria, mourned: "Those of us who are outside Nigeria should thank our stars. No matter the military propaganda, it is real hell out there."
Of particular interest to this writer have been the recent comments and reactions emanating from Nigerian students abroad (strong allies of the military only a few months back). Back there in Nigeria, as many as seven universities were reported to have been closed. NANS, the recognized name of the Nigerian student body, has been proscribed by the military. Reasons for these actions against the students according to an unconfirmed source stated that the military authorities did not want students as their allies because they (the students) were unruly.
Those abroad have been feeling the brunt more than their colleagues in Nigeria. It is a known fact that the majority of Nigerian students abroad are mostly self-sponsored, relying at times on money sent by families, friends and relatives all the way from Nigeria to keep body and soul together. But since Buhari's merciless cut on foreign exchange remittances, a lot of these students have been wailing and gnashing their teeth for the past six months. Exclaimed an aggrieved female student who had to be kicked out of her apartment for non-payment of rent: "I have had to drop out of school and now I'm going to be without accommodation and food. I don't even have a ticket to go back home. What the hell are these soldiers doing?" Those of them supposed to be on government scholarships have long since given up hope of any money coming from their government.
And so, rather than resign themselves to their grief and desolation, a great number of them have resorted to fraudulent and unlawful means of making money thus denting the image of the entire country. For instance, in the New York Times write-up of Tuesday 3rd April, 1984, fraudulent acts involving millions of naira suspected to be organized and masterminded by Nigerians were brought into limelight. Most of the suspects and those arraigned before courts are said to be students. As a result, Nigerians travelling into the United States are now being subjected to the most embarrassing search and scrutiny every day.. Agreed a lecturer in the University of the District of Columbia, Washington: "There is now a great feeling of mutual distrust and mutual hostility against all Nigerians by the United States law enforcement agencies. One cannot really blame these authorities because most of the accusations of frauds and high collar crimes against Nigerians are painfully true.
Thus, furious with their military government at home, fearful of the growing enmity between them and the foreign police, frustrated in their search of the golden fleece, Nigerian students abroad are said to be planning mass demonstrations to withdraw their erstwhile support for the government they had hitherto welcomed. Last week, one of the organizers of the march said: "They (the military) said they had removed Shagari but it is Shagari rice that the masses of Nigeria are still eating... How can you remove a government and fail to provide an alternative? We shall remove them even if it means we have to organize a protest march from London to Nigeria."
I almost laughed in his face, for herein lies the rhetoric and the parody of students, especially, Nigerian students.
