by Frank Tietie
News broke of a final-year student of Ebonyi State University, Favour Ugwuka, who committed suicide after repeatedly failing a particular English course. There is evidence from one, Rex Nwome, as reported in the Vanguard newspaper, that the lecturer of the course, Dr Enyi C. Enyi, did threaten and intimidate Favour that she would never pass his course. That alone is a criminal offence which has now been aggravated by allegedly causing the death of the victim.
English courses at the university level are highly subjective, and much reliance is placed on the personal judgment of a lecturer to either pass or fail a student. A lecturer’s discretion in such courses is vast.
Ebonyi State University should not be seen as a highly unfriendly, inhuman and toxic place for students to learn that one of them would commit suicide from the alleged threats and intimidation of a lecturer.
From a personal experience in the mid-1990s at the University of Benin, some lecturers of English courses like Drama and Prose created the impression that no one could pass their classes. I recall the nightmarish experience from those threats that dogged me throughout my checkered years at the University of Benin.
Many of today’s young people must learn and adopt coping mechanisms beyond those given by popular definitions of success, which are mainly superfluous. A life of competition and comparisons among classmates coupled with the mindless pursuit of good grades to get good jobs after graduation that usually never materialises, putting unnecessary and undue pressure on young people, is harmful in the long run to individuals and society.
Young people should adopt healthy philosophies, ideologies and faith that recognise the realities of failures, hardships, oppositions and adversities as part of the journey to success. In that case, they become psychologically fortified to cope with periods of uncertainty, which usually don’t last.
In my case, where it took me an extra five years (making it a total of 10 years) to graduate after my original classmates not only graduated from university but attended law school and were called to the Nigerian Bar, I probably could have committed suicide myself if I baulked to the scorn and pressures I received at that time. I recall visiting the University guidance counsellor, but she looked so ill-equipped for the role and couldn’t offer any help. But my faith in God, the sound theologies of evangelical preachers, and the love of Jesus Christ expressed through the ministry of local churches and students’ fellowships, which saw me through those days of turbulence, I doubt if I could have survived. Today, I am, in my way, by many standards, able to measure up with my original classmates, many of whom are judges, Senior Advocates of Nigeria, professors, billionaires, etc.
I get so brokenhearted each time the news of a suicide breaks because life’s problems and challenges are not as bad as they appear. Yet when suicide becomes the only solution open to the victim, help becomes so badly needed at those times. We need to be a more empathetic and compassionate society, especially at personal levels. Competitive friendships should be limited, while the love that cherishes individuals for their peculiar humanity should increase. Unfortunately, the churches and fellowships which helped in my times of crisis have been sucked into the competitive world and have lost mainly the example of the Lord Jesus Christ of freely giving love to those who need it.
The allegations against the lecturer are very weighty; therefore, the authorities of the University must get to the root of the accusations against him. The family of the victim and the Nigeria Police must immediately initiate criminal proceedings, starting with an investigation, which requires the immediate invitation of the said lecturer for questioning, and where necessary, he should be arrested and granted bail pending the conclusion of the criminal investigation.
Nigerian universities should endeavour to maintain that liberal atmosphere for learning that draws out the best from their students through the dedication of their teaching staff. The authorities of universities, in this case, EBSU, should search out and terminate the employment of roguish and predatory lecturers with low self-esteem who do more harm than good to the minds of young people.
Frank Tietie
Lawyer & Executive Director of Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER)
writes from Abuja
