Why PhD drivers, understaffed varsities.

By Luke Onyekakeyah (Culled from The Nigerian Guardian on December 4, 2012)

Since the Dangote Group advertised for positions of truck drivers for its fleet of haulage trucks and about six PhD and 704 masters holders reportedly applied, the newspapers have been awash with resentment, surprises, anger and bewilderment from members of the public as to why somebody with PhD should apply to be a driver when there are over one hundred understaffed universities in the country. Many in their anger and frustration would want the PhD applicants to drop the idea, which appears derogatory and a bastardization of PhD degree.

Those with that line of thought did not, however, say what the PhD applicants should do in the alternative. They just want them to relinquish the job and go home with their PhD certificate and title that place ‘no food on their table’. Most of these people have families and relations to cater for in this hard system that does not care but instead, emasculates its citizens. I understand the pay packet for the drivers is attractive but that is not the bone of contention here.

The issue is what on earth would make PhD holders in a grossly underdeveloped country like Nigeria to be pushed to the wall for them to opt to be truck drivers? Ordinarily, the development gives one serious concern. But anyone who is in the university system or has passed through it as lecturer would understand why PhD holders now opt for truck-driving in Nigeria.

It is not that there are no jobs for persons with PhD in the universities. The truth is that the universities we have today, with the exception of some private universities, are local government universities, where representatives from the local governments of the state are employed on that basis to represent entrenched political interests. Many federal universities may not be excluded from this anomie; but certainly, all the state universities in the country are there purely for state indigenes both in admission and employment. If you’re not an indigene of a state, there is absolutely no chance for you to be employed as a lecturer. This situation became entrenched since 2000. It was not there at the beginning - in the 80s and 90s when the states started establishing universities.

Based on this irrefutable fact, could somebody find out the state of origin of those PhD and masters degree holders that applied to be drivers in Dangote Group? Could one find out where they had applied for lecturing job but were denied employment? Do their states have universities? If yes, did they apply in their state universities? What is the standing of their local governments in their states? These are the factors that determine whether one would be employed even in his or her state university or not. The situation is as bad as that. It is killing Nigeria slowly.

There is dearth of PhD lecturers and professors in our universities, particularly the state universities because, apart from the reasons stated above, no state university would employ a “non-indigene” and give him or her due promotion or sponsorship to pursue higher academic laurels. Gone were the days when universities sponsored their first-class graduates on scholarships abroad to pursue high degrees and come back to teach in the universities. How many universities have such a programme today? If any, is there any state university in any part of the country that has “non-indigenes” it is sponsoring for higher degrees within or outside the country? Since there is no such programme anywhere in our universities, will PhD holders and professors fall from the sky?

The universities, by virtue of state policy thrust, have refused to develop manpower to run the institutions. They will, therefore, continue to experience shortage of staff as the older few professors retire. In the next couple of years, there may be no professors in many universities because there is no research going on. No one is looking at that.

On the issue of professors, the same indigene principle is applied by the university authorities in promoting worthy academics to professors. While the discrimination is all over the place, it is worse in the state universities. While the state universities readily promote their indigenes to professors whether or not they’re qualified, if you’re not an indigene of a state, you can hardly be made a professor no matter what you do or publish. This country has been balkanised to the extent that each state sees its resources as belonging to no other than the indigenes of the state. “Non-indigenes” have no share.

The retrogressive thinking in state capitals everywhere is how can we use the resources of the state to pay “non-indigenes” salaries and pensions? No state government is prepared to pay pensions to “non-indigenes”. That is why employment of “non-indigenes” across the country is foreclosed. You must either get a job in your state or you remain unemployed no matter your qualification. That is why we have PhD drivers. That is why the entire school system is understaffed while thousands of teachers are there looking for jobs. 

Somehow, the much-talked about high unemployment rate in the country is man-made. Vacancies exist in so many places but they’re reserved for state “indigenes”. At the federal level, federal character and quota system create artificial unemployment. There is no solution in sight under the present political arrangement.

The foregoing is based on personal experience. I was a lecturer at the old Anambra State University of Technology (ASUTECH) now Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUTH) for nine years, where I rose to the rank of senior lecturer in 1990. By patriotic instinct, I moved to the Imo State University, Owerri in 1992, to help start the new School of Environmental Sciences from where I travelled abroad in 1994 for PhD studies.

On my return in 2000, after six years abroad, I first went to ESUTH for re-instatement since I didn’t resign my appointment there. I met a brick wall as the university was flooded with state indigenes. An Imo man is a “non-indigene” in Enugu State. I came back to the Imo State University from where I travelled for re-instatement. I was asked which zone I came from. Being from the Owerri zone, I was told that I would have been re-instated if I were from Orlu zone. The university belonged to Orlu zone at that material time. The high officers talking to me added that I would “dislodge” many people if I should be re-instated, which they did not want. They told me to wait until the university advertised for academic positions when I could apply if I wanted. Meanwhile, my department at the time had only two lecturers below the rank of senior lecturers; none had PhD.

I left the South-East to the South-West. I went to Olabisi Onabanjo University where a vacancy existed in my prospective department. After assessing my credentials, the HOD told me that I could not be employed because there was somebody who was studying in London who was reserved the position I wanted to fill. The guy, of course, is an indigene of Ogun State. In my entire search for appointment in the university as lecturer, it was Covenant University that was willing to employ me before they closed the department for lack of many students. When I finally got a job at a federal parastatal, the general manager was mad at me, for according to him, they don’t employ PhD holders in the establishment. He did everything to frustrate me. I managed to be there until I resigned.

It is clear from the foregoing why PhD holders can’t get suitable jobs in Nigeria Getting a PhD today in Nigeria is like carrying a dreadful sore which everybody avoids. Unless you have the right connections, you may have no choice but to apply to be a driver in the Dangote Group. The company should be commended for coming to the rescue of these unfortunate folks whose crime is that they opted to acquire knowledge.

We are in a system that is averse to knowledge. What matters is amassing unexplained stupendous wealth that has no base and self-indulgence. Is it not surprising that the entire school system is relegated to the background and is decadent? 

There is no thinking for the future. What matters is the present. The way out is for the states to recognize that a university is not a secondary school where the locals constitute the teachers. They should be open to take the best hands available. They should revert to the old order where academics from anywhere in the world were given the opportunity to impart knowledge in the interest of the society and the future. That is the way to go to save this country from self-annihilation.