These are constants within the academic community.
And of course there
is the issue of séxual relationship between some students and some of their
teachers, and between some students and some members of the administrative
staff…
To be sure, there is
not a teaching and learning institution anywhere in the world where such — séx
between students and faculty and between students and staff — is not a concern.
None! What makes the Nigerian context different is the propensity, the
frequency and the severity of the aforementioned.Parents send their children to
school to learn, no to be harassed and séxually molested. Young men and women
come to school to learn and learn how to be contributing members of their
immediate and global society. They go to school to learn to be good citizens,
good human beings. They go to school to develop many skills – including
critical thinking skill. And though many show up in all their naiveté and
gullibility, still, it is not a reason or an excuse for them to be taken
advantage of. Sadly, these are some of the horrors that happen to many Nigerian
students, especially the girls.Sadder is the fact that millions of girls and
young women are being abused and exploited on a daily basis. Many are denied
their human and civil rights. Many have no access to education, to medical
care, or to a caring home and environment. They are the “wretched of the
earth.” While there are some shining examples within the Nigerian sisterhood,
there could have been several millions more if the Nigerian society had taken
its female population more seriously. But we don’t! For the most part, and in
many settings, women are things, objects – things and objects to ignore or
séxualise.
Thinking about it
now, I cannot remember which came first: the súgar daddy syndrome or the séxual
exploitation of students by staff and faculty members (sometimes referred to as
“Bush allowance”). Long before politicians became conquerors and rulers of the
maiden and their honey jars — and long before military officers freely roamed
the séxual landscape — súgar daddies were the kings.
Súgar daddies paraded
and patronised UNILAG, UNIBEN, BUK, UNIPORT, ABU, UI and every Nigerian
university and polytechnic and college of education. And in some cases, they
snuck into secondary schools and in the process committed r*pe and alarming
perversions. Today, the larger Nigerian society does not worry itself with what
was initially an aberration. It is now a given. Basically, súgardaddism has now
become a practice, part of our cultural milieu.
Tell me: How many
women, 17-37 years old, do you know who do not have one or two moneybags as a
lover or séx mate? I am sure there are. But they can’t be that many. Poverty
and unemployment and the general state of confusion and hopelessness have
greatly contributed to the mental and psychical anarchy that now characterises
the country. In the minds of many, the kingdom of God can wait. Money is the
new paradise. You either have it or you don’t. In many enclaves, if you don’t
have it, you don’t matter, you don’t count!
No matter how you
look at it, séx between a student and a teacher or an administrator cannot be
considered a relationship. This is so because there is an element of abuse and
exploitation involved. What’s more, many students – especially secondary school
and undergraduates — who are so abused and taken advantage of, may suffer
psychological and physical damage.
As many universities
in the western world have come to understand, there is “power imbalance between
the parties” that makes such a liaison unsound and injurious. The University of
Connecticut’s Board of Trustees recently voted against “séxual interactions
between students and professors.” Similar measures are in place in many
universities.
One does not know
what the policies are in Nigerian universities and other institutions of higher
learning. What seems clear – very clear – is that a whole lot of r*pe and abuse
and exploitation and blackmail are taking place. But really, the complaints are
just too many: teachers who demand séx for better class grade and other favours;
and teachers who pimp students for financial and non-financial gains.
Séx-for-grade or grade-for-séx is indeed a mess, an epidemic that’s been
threatening, along with other vexing issues, Nigeria’s educational environment.
To whom do aggrieved
female students lodge complaints when many of those in positions of authority
are committing the same or similar offence? Do you complain to the
Vice-Chancellor, the Dean, the Head of the Department, or to the Faculty
Senate? I do not mean to say that the entire rank and file of the Nigerian
academics is guilty of these abuses and exploitation. No, not at all! But the
fact is that the number of those involved in such inhumanity outweighs the
innocent and pious ones.
Are there cases where
female students lodged false protests against innocent teachers? Yes, of
course! Are there cases where rival teachers used séx to trap and blackmail
other teachers? Yes, of course! And are there cases where female students
séxually pursued their teachers? Yes, without a doubt! But such incidences are
small, very small.
In the end, I wonder
if there are academic studies that gauge the impact of séx-for-grade on our
educational system, and how they impact the lives of our young women. Even so,
these practices and transgressions cannot be good for the country’s culture and
educational system. It could be that these injuries cannot be wiped out, but
they can be substantially minimised.
No one sends his or
her daughter to school to be abused and exploited by depraved minds.
Consequently, the learning environment should be a safe and enriching one for
all. No society can be great and prosperous if that society refuses to treat
her women population with love, respect and dignity. A healthy
learning-teaching environment is a human and civil right for all — especially
for our young women.
By Sabella Abidde
(sabidde@yahoo.com)
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