Chuks Okocha in Abuja
Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, has slammed universities in Nigeria, saying they have been more and more selling ethnic and spiritual biases.
Kukah said this in an interview with Come up TV yesterday.
The cleric slammed what he described as a worrying pattern of declining variety and meritocracy in Nigerian universities, significantly in Northern Nigeria.
“A mosque was constructed on the College of Nigeria, Nsukka. I delivered a convocation lecture in Calabar three weeks in the past. After my lecture, the Chief Imam of the College got here to congratulate me.
“However as I communicate to you, Usman Dan Fodio, who’s over 40 years outdated, Bayero College, and different universities in Northern Nigeria have determined to shut their doorways to the opportunity of church buildings being constructed within the universities throughout this nation.
“All this fanaticism we’re seeing is expressed in public life. If college students within the college or on the level of their rising up aren’t allowed to combine and interrelate, and if church buildings or mosques can’t be constructed throughout this nation, then there’s a drawback,” he stated.
He defined that variety and meritocracy, in Nigerian universities, had continued to decrease, whereas ethnic and spiritual issues have been gaining prominence.
Consequently, he stated, “There was a time when Ahmadu Bello College had lecturers from completely different elements of the world. Now, have a look at what has occurred to our universities throughout Nigeria. Our universities have grow to be simply mere incubators of ethnic jingoism.
“So, I have no idea which funded federal college that you’ll title that has a Vice Chancellor that isn’t an area boy.
“So the colleges themselves have grow to be playgrounds for the ambitions of the native elite. The query is, why ought to a spot of worship be an issue for a college? Whether or not it’s for the Muslim college students in Calabar or the Christian college students in Sokoto.
“I approached the Minister of Training about this. I’ve a letter from the Nigerian College Fee. The schools in northern Nigeria have refused to implement this advice,” he stated.