As an engineering undergraduate at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, I often felt a sense of pride whenever I see Law students carrying or reading the books of Prof. Itse Sagay. Today, that pride has been extinguished because Prof. Sagay like other notable academics who ordinarily should have known better were fooled by Muhammadu Buhari. Last week, the Cross River State governor, Prof. Ben Ayade joined the club of fooled professors that include the vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, Late Prof. Tam David West, Prof. Charles Soludo, Prof. Pat Utomi, and their most notable member Noble Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka.
If Ayade’s decision to join APC in a time like this is not foolish enough, his reasons for joining APC confirm his position in Nigeria’s Hall of Fame for the Foolish. He said, with Buhari’s “commitment to this country, his nationalistic disposition, and all the efforts he has made to bring Nigeria to where we are today, it’s obvious that we should join hands with him to build a Nigeria that we can be proud of “. Many have said that in Nigeria, the more you look, the less you see. If I have been told years ago that a man who does not have a School Leaving Certificate would have a University don, legal luminary, and ordained minister as his deputy, I would not believe it. The irony of this anomaly is that Muhammadu Buhari has no shred of respect for these nutty professors as exemplified by his treatment of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo. He does not see Osibande competent enough to officially delegate power whenever he is making his numerous trips abroad.
The German economy did admirably well in withstanding the shortfalls of COVID-19 because of the educated mind of Angela Merkel. The American economy was able to overcome the recession that greeted the Obama administration because he also was an educated mind. But in Nigeria, we have the so-called educated mind enlisting themselves into voluntary servitude to an uneducated mind. These professors worked tirelessly to remove an educated mind in the person of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. As we approach mid-2021 let us be wary of Ph.D. holders who we presumably think are thinkers. Let us be vigilant in accepting the hypothesis of academics who had in the past supported Buhari or tyrants like him. And let us guide our minds against the indoctrination of religious leaders who are among those fooled by Muhammadu Buhari.
Ata Ukuta, Editor – www.towncryyers.com