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Female student caught having sex with lecturer
In many ways, Nigerian institutions of higher learning are no
different from other such institutions around the world: They are
confronted with several contending issues such as budget cuts,
plagiarism, cheating during exams, alteration of data by
researchers, unhealthy rivalry and tension between faculty
members and between faculty and administration and between
students and other echelons. 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.
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