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Showing posts with the label SOCIOLOGY

WHEN A CLEANER EARNS MORE THAN A PHD HOLDER: THE NIGERIAN EDUCATION SCAM

Introduction In Nigeria today, it has become painfully evident that education no longer pays. The irony is loud and clear: a person who has laboured through the grueling academic ladder – first degree, Master’s, and PhD – often finds themselves poorer than someone who sweeps office floors in other African countries. Across Africa and beyond, janitors and cleaners are treated with greater financial dignity than Nigerian scholars. This is not to smear the reputation of the janitors, or ridicule the honest cleaners; rather, it is to highlight the shameful undervaluing of academic excellence in Nigeria. When a PhD holder lives in debt, and a cleaner in South Africa, Kenya, or Ghana lives in dignity, something is tragically wrong with our system. It reveals, in the very depth, the misplacement of priorities in the country, and the endemic corruption that continues to perforate the socio-economic fabric of the Nigerian state.  Table  1 and 2 below reveal frighteningly the dispar...

COMPLICITY OF THE POWER ELITE, AND THE GRADUAL FULANISATION OF NIGERIA

  In the throes of political apathy and cowardice, Nigeria today bleeds from an incurable wound inflicted, not just by foreign invaders, but by the criminal silence of those entrusted with her guardianship. The systematic infiltration of Fulani herders—many of whom are not even Nigerians—into every crevice of our sovereign land has become one of the most daring episodes of silent conquest in contemporary African history. From Sokoto to Enugu, from Zamfara to Oyo, stories abound of farmlands destroyed, women raped, sons slaughtered, and communities reduced to IDP camps, while their ancestral lands are claimed by wandering cattlemen who wield AK-47s with more authority than our security forces ( Amnesty International, 2018 ). The police pay deaf ears, when cases of Fulani invasions are recorded. But, dare you touch even a cow of the Fulanis who have  caused you severe harm, that is when the police will act, slamming you with several charges. And what do our leaders do? Nothing. ...

DRAMATURGY AND THE NIGERIAN LEADERSHIP LANDSCAPE

  Nigeria’s political stage is a grand theatre, where actors masquerade as leaders, delivering performances tailored for applause rather than progress. Erving Goffman’s concept of Dramaturgy, otherwise called the Conman Theory—where individuals present themselves in ways designed to control and influence their audience—perfectly encapsulates the chameleonic nature of Nigerian politicians. They are not driven by ideological convictions or a deep-seated passion for national development; rather, they are political performers, switching costumes, adjusting scripts, and defecting from one party to another in pursuit of personal gain. The question remains: can Nigeria ever ascend beyond this charade, or are we doomed to a perpetual cycle of deceit?   The Art of Defection: Politics Without Conviction In most thriving democracies, political parties are rooted in distinct ideologies—conservatism, liberalism, socialism—shaping policies and governance. In Nigeria, however, parties ar...