If the story making the rounds on two Nigerian universities being sued for allegation of their ban on Christian fellowship in the campus is anything to go by, then Nigeria is in for another trouble.
According to the story, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Katsina State branch, in conjunction with an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF International), has instituted an action against two universities in Katsina State for indefinitely banning Christian groups from holding fellowship meetings and worship on campuses.
The suit was said to have been filed against the two universities for violating the right to religious freedom by “indefinitely prohibiting” Christian groups from holding fellowship meetings and worship on campus.
The Christian legal advocacy group further alleged that one of the universities enforced the ban by locking all worship and fellowship centre on university grounds, preventing Christian students and groups from accessing the facilities and banning them from meeting for worship and fellowship elsewhere on campus while their  Muslim counterparts at both universities have been permitted to hold worship and fellowship meetings in university-constructed worship and meeting spaces.
Recall that in 2017, there was a news report on the outlaw of any other religious or tribal association on campus besides the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria by the authorities of the Umar Musa Yar’Adua University, Katsina, Katsina State. A circular credited to the  institution’s acting Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Sulaiman Kankara, which was later disowned by the university,  contained the directive.
The last time I checked, Nigeria is a democratic, circular state where every individual is free to practise any religion of her choice.  Section 38 of the Nigerian constitution provides:  “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.”
It is therefore wrong for a public university to indulge in this discriminatory act. A university is supposed to be an intellectual environment where people should be allowed some level of freedom. There must be robust fellowship and inter-faith relationship. People must be able to relate with each other without any discrimination or stigmatisation.
Knowing how delicate issues on religion are in Nigeria, one hopes that the authorities of the institutions concerned should swiftly look into the report and retrace their steps. The court should be objective in deciding the case and give students of other religions some leverage of freedom. It must be stated that the judgment on this case should not be delayed to avoid any retaliation in other parts of the country.
We already have a lot of issues to deal with in the country. Adding a religious crisis to it could be disastrous. Any university established and funded by either the federal, state or local government, should have freedom of religion. Let there be no more trouble in the country, please.
Waheed Abiodun,
Victoria Street,
Port Harcourt Township.

The NIMC, NCC Partnership
Reports have it that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) disclosed that they have partnered to enhance seamless linkage of National Identification Number-SIM across the federation.
Both Commissions said that in recognising the significance of this initiative in enhancing security and improving service delivery, they were committed to improving processes and enhancing efficiency.
This is a welcome development. It has been worrisome why Nigerians should be made to go through the rigorous process of linking their National Identification Number (NIN) with their phone numbers every now and then. Some people who engage in online transactions have recorded some losses over the past few weeks as some internet providers barred their lines due to their inability to successfully do the linkage.
Two weeks ago, I went to a High Court for an official engagement and was shocked to see the number of people seeking to get court affidavits for the linkage of the NIN with the phone numbers so that their line will be unbarred.
It is therefore hoped that the NIMC, NCC partnership will remove all the bottlenecks surrounding the Nin, SIM linkage and make the process very seamless. It is also hoped that this will be the beginning of the process of proper identity management in the country and gradual collapse of all the various forms of identification – Drivers Licence, Voters Card, NIMC card. Bank cards etc into one identity card so that one would not have to be moving around with loads of identity cards.
Ebele Ubani,
Jabi, Abuja.

The Unwanted Strike
Just when the students of Nigeria public universities are rejoicing that there had been a no interruption in the universities’ academic calendar for sometiime, the news about the warning strike by the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, (SSANU), broke.
The Joint Action Committee of the two organisations had directed members to commence a seven day warning strike last week, following the federal government’s inability to pay their four months’ withheld salary.
I do not even understand why the government should allow labour unions to down tools before acting on their demands. Did President Bola Tinubu not direct that university workers that were on prolonged strike in 2022 and their salaries stopped by the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration after the invocation of “No Work, No Pay” policy, should be paid four months of the withheld salaries?
Have members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) not been paid in line with the president’s directive? Why were SSANU, NASU and unions concerned not paid? These bodies issued an ultimatum to the federal government. Why was there no effort to address their grievances within the window period?
It is said that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. So, the government, having paid ASUU, should also endeavour to settle SSANU and NASU so that there shall be no interruption in our academic calendar. We did no wrong by choosing public universities. Government, ASUU, SSANU, NASU and what have you should let us learn in peace and graduate at the record time like our colleagues in private universities, please.
IB Michael,
University of Port Harcourt,
Port Harcourt.

The essence of university has for long been defeated in Nigeria. In the actual sense, not everyone should be in the university, as the university is meant for individuals’ with high level of thinking, innovation,  problem-solving and sound reasoning.
The university is meant to be a research  citadel where new ideas  required to power  local industries and organisation are nurtured, while  evolving new strategies for economic productivity. Untill we go back to the basics of education and learning in Nigeria, we will continue to produce substandard graduates in quality and quantity.
Handicraft is entirely another different world, required for people who harness the practicality of the ideas being developed in the universities, and churn it out in massive industrial productions. I believe both handiwork and education are important in today’s Nigeria.
In Nigeria, the school system has no content of reality of life outside, thus  limiting the capacities of students to get  employment or engage in self employable ventures.
We see many students leave school and cannot represent themselves in any forum, or show intelligence even in the field of study they so prefer. The community see all who have been to school as  people made for white collar jobs (office jobs) and this affects  the students  from venturing into small personal business or engaging  in other innovative thinking.
I perceive this as a failure of the education system and a narrow approach to the celebrated curriculum and therefore, recommend learning at all levels to gather information, generate ideas and discover hidden capacities that are needed for the turnaround in the country.
Vocational education which was once a perfectly respected, even mainstream educational path,  came to be viewed as a track for poor  students. People have huge and diverse range of skills and learning styles.
The dearth of vocational education at the secondary school level has bred a skill shortage in manufacturing sector today. Many of the jobs are  attainable through apprenticeship, on the job  training, and vocational programmes offered at community colleges. They do not require expensive, four- year degree programmes for which many  students are not suited.

Bethel Toby,
Port Harcourt.

The race for selection of the next president for the most populous nation in Africa has started. Although, Nigeria has 18 registered political parties, two of them; the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are more prominent. The nation is expecting the two parties to name their presidential candidates.
Obviously, we have quite a lot of credible candidates/interests all over Nigeria, but the needs of Nigerians should be considered first. Rotational candidacy has been put into practice since the beginning of this political dispensation and since it has been accepted by the majority of the populace, it should be encouraged to continue. Any party that drops this concept will be seen as having no prepared credible candidate from the zones that is denied the slot.
The media has important roles to play in this assignment. The media should consider majority interest when analysing the capabilities of each candidate. What Nigeria needs is a president with strong vision for the future of the country. We need an experienced person as president; someone who can communicate effectively and who is capable of making strong decisions in the overall interest of the nation. He should have crisis management skills and collaborative abilities to move the country forward. He should be passionate about the development of Nigeria and be creative in thinking.
More than ever before, Nigeria needs a strong, selfless leader with a good knowledge of the economy; a courageous and internationally respected personality.
This is the time to get our acts together and ensure we get it right.

Wokoma Emmanuel,
Borikiri, Port Harcourt.