Back to University of Ghetto

I was not expecting anything fantastic. But then, this unkempt and filthy learning environment gave me a shocker. The hall where doctorate students receive lectures in the University of Lagos (Unilag) can pass for a hideout for Indian hemp smokers. So public tertiary institutions are still dilapidated with moribund structures? Both staff offices and lecture halls appeared war torn with years old cobwebs.
I had thought Unilag would be different. It's been a long time I came close to public school facilities. The sorry condition I encountered here lacks definition. What is the big deal about upgrading facilities here and creating a conducive teaching and learning environment? What have we done to these charlatans in power to deserve this mockery of higher education? Do we still have a ministry of education at both state and federal level?
The poor students may not know it but the University of Lagos lecture hall I sat in for a doctorate class is a slum compared to Pan Atlantic University, the last institution I attended. The lecture halls in my faculty cannot be anything better than a rendezvous in Ajegunle or Ladipo market. When I walked into the school toilets, a stench oozed out and assaulted my nostrils. I was not expecting a five star facility but the putrid eyesore hastily demoralized me.
Who will save Nigeria from this monumental agony in public ivory towers? Some of these citadels of learning should be shut down for extensive repairs. We constantly clash with undergraduates who want to use the dirty lecture hall. The existing halls are inadequate compared to the number of students in the faculty. My heart sank with defeat and disappointment as I beheld undergrads perambulating the hallways like shepherdless flock. The atmosphere was chaotic with piercing noises that can't be captured here.
Coming from a culture of excellence, I detest surroundings that neither inspire nor motivate visually. 'Who sent me to this hell again?' I kept muttering to myself as the two hour lecture progressed on my first day. I have attended public schools all my life; I don't want to witness mediocrity anymore. They said Unilag is different. I nearly cursed the government aloud: "Thunder fire una!!! Thunder fire una!!! Thunder fire una!!! Yes, the slum mentality was gradually creeping into my consciousness as I drove home. No wonder private schools cost an arm and a leg.
I am now more immensely grateful to Diamond Bank for granting me that scholarship that gave me the opportunity to sit in a world class learning environment. My only motivation now is that zeal to conduct my research and get the hell away from this damn ghetto. It seems the agenda of this government is not far from keeping the less privileged in perpetual poverty in all ramifications. Public servants of nowadays do not send their children to public schools. Anything public is regarded as substandard and fake. Leadership does not reside exclusively in the leader. It must spread across to all the stakeholders. Why have their children suddenly disappeared from all the public institutions they should be managing? How come multi-national employers are currently rejecting graduates from Nigeria's public universities? The answer lies with all of the above.
By Uzor Ngoladi, the author of Toxic Eucharist.