Download - NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT POLICY ON QUOTA SYSTEM
NIGERIA GOVERNMENT POLICY ON QUOTA SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The Federal Character principle which gave rise to quota system
in Nigeria was established to solve the problems of inequality and
marginalization as expressed by certain parts of Nigeria. Among
other reasons for introducing the quota system were because of
differences in the socio-economic development of different parts
of Nigeria. Secondly there were disparities in the levels of
educational developments in different parts of the country. Some
sections of the country (North) were alleged to be educationally
disadvantaged, while some regions (South) of the country were
acclaimed to be educationally advantaged. Akuta (2009).
Related to federal character is the quota system that throws
expertise to the winds and instead promotes mediocrity in the
main. The quota system determines who gets what employment
in the federal civil service. It determines who gets admission into
any federal school from secondary to tertiary level. For example,
under the quota system, if a position has been reserved for a
particular zone or state of the country, rather than take a capable
hand from another state or zone to fill the position, it serves that
country better to leave it vacant or fill the post with a mediocre
from that very zone or state. The quota system and federal
character have contributed to the high unemployment rate in the
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country. It is a known fact that unemployment is worst in the
southern states than in the northern states.
Besides, the two monsters of federal character and quota system
keep reminding Nigerians that they’re not one people. They are
responsible for much of the looting at the federal level as each
state or zone of the country is out to corner more juicy positions
to themselves. Furthermore, the PDP has used the quota system
to determine which zone produces the president at any time.
What that means is that somebody must have to be imposed on
the country from the designated zone whether or not he is
qualified.How could the country get liberated from the shackles of
poverty, ignorance, disease and underdevelopment when the
system has put wedge against itself? The only way out is for the
system to dismantle these strictures that are drawing the country
backward. Failure to do that would not only stall development but
could help the forces that are out to tear the country apart. That
is not what right thinking and patriotic Nigerians want. The
country must rejuvenate itself to remain afloat. Ayoade (2000)
The federal character principle was adopted during the 1977
Constitutional Drafting Committee. It became part of 1979
constitution of Nigeria. From this point in our nation’s history, the
questions of merit or competitiveness among Nigerians were set
aside in place of quota system. This system has hindered
development and it defiles all logic. How can a nation make
progress when their best cannot occupy their due positions
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because we are practising quota? We cannot move forward as a
nation by putting round pegs in square holes.
From the time of incorporating the quota system into the Nigerian
law books till date, the federal government has used it as a policy
instrument in recruiting people to all federal government
establishments like the armed forces, police, ministries, federal
government owned universities etc. Because it’s in our statute
book, the various state governments and all local governments’
use the quota system in their various appointments etc.
Merit, experience and hard work do not matter if quota system is
in use especially when it comes to appointments. Its contrary to
what Max Weber (1864-1920) said, that employees should be
hired and promoted based on merit and expertise. We choose
mediocre in place of merit. The use of quota system has brought
about intense lobbying each time there is vacancy to be filled.
Quota system laid down the quest for the scramble and looting of
our nations resources. People, groups, politicians, contractors etc
lobby for positions all because quota system has replaced merit.
When people, politicians, regions or states do not get positions
they start shouting of marginalization. When they succeed, they
loot because they feel it’s their turn. Patriotism and national
interest do no longer exits in Nigeria due to this policy. Quota
system encourages tribalism and division. This twin evil makes
peace and love to be difficult in a country like Nigeria.
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In Nigerian federal civil parlance, appointment is often
synonymous with recruitment (Al-Gazali, 2006). Recruitment in
the Nigerian federal civil service is determined by three major
factors (Babaru, 2003). The first is the availability of vacancies
declared by the ministries and extraministerial departments and
forwarded to the commission through the office of the head of
civil service of the federation. Awareness for such vacancies are
publicized through advertisements and notices. The second factor
is the qualifications of the potential applicants. The specific
quailfications and skills required for various categories are
presented in schemes of service (2000). The third factor is the
principle of federal character. That is quota allocated in the
recruitment exercise to states to ensure that the federal civil
service reflects ‘Federal Character.’
Federal character principle is a constitutional matter and an
important factor that determine appointments into the federal
civil service. This issue is expressed in section 14(3) of the
constitution as “The composition of the Government of the
Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs
shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the Federal
Character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and
also to comm.- and national loyalty thereby ensuring that there
shall be no predominance of persons from few States or from few
ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or any of its
agencies.”
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The basic idea of the principle is to have an even representation
of all states, ethnic and other sectional groups in the federal
service. It has a lot of political support, especially from those in
the disadvantaged areas- mainly the northern states of Nigeria
(Olowu et al., 1997). In order to implement this concept
effectively, a commission called the Federal Character
Commission was created in 1995. However, promotion in the
federal civil service is determined by factors such as number of
years in a grade level, performance in promotion examination and
interviews (FRN, 1998), and availability of vacancies or jobs at a
higher level.
STATEMENT OF THE STUDY
The culture of dependency in the north has given way to that of
over-dependency, laughable expectancy and blatant parasitism.
Worse still, the advent of religious fanaticism, and bigotry,
sexism, ethnocentrism, as well as an entrenched xenophobic
disposition make it unlikely for the north to ever emerge from its
quandary and squalor. It would seem to any right-thinking
individual, going by the belligerent posture of the northern
hegemony towards any attempts to move that region forward,
that they (the ruling class) probably like things just the way they
are. In that case, it would seem rather foolhardy for the northern
power structure to expect the south to continue to bear an
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overloaded and unrealistic burden… that would be amoral and
therefore utterly untenable.
The recent agitation of the southern governors for the control of
their resources and affairs must and will be heeded! It is in that
regard that one is immensely troubled and disappointed (though
not surprised) by the recent utterances of the northern governors
to the contrary. The continued intransigence of these northern
mal-administrators coupled with their inflammatory proclamations
(obviously playing to the gallery of the lunatic fringe in the north)
regarding the Oodua Peoples Congress (while a commission of
inquiry is still sitting in Lagos) is evidence of the fact that they do
not wish Nigeria well. As an American colleague of mine put it the
other day, “if there is a malignant cancer in a part of your body,
you cut that body part off!” The so-called north, from all accounts
seems to have gone from being a benign cancerous growth to the
real possibility of becoming malignant. There is without a doubt, a
remedy for such an eventuality.
It would be criminal, were it not inhumane, to witness the
continued rape and pillaging of the resources of the Niger-Delta
while the inhabitants of that region have nothing whatsoever to
show for their God-given resources. The life span of oil reserves is
at most 100 years; the Nigerian economy has become too reliant
on oil (accounting for 80% of the country’s revenue from exports)
while its vast mineral deposits (which in contrast to oil have a life
span of 400 years) have remained untapped. There is an urgent
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need for policy re-evaluation and economic diversification with a
view to re-energizing the nations economy and the subsequent
re-structuring of the body polity.
In Northern Nigeria for example, there is clearly high literacy rate,
even noticeably higher than the literacy rate in the Southern parts
of Nigeria, the fact that the North did not embrace Western World
education or Western European definition of education, simply
does not change the fact that most persons in the Northern parts
of Nigeria can Read and Write in Arabic, and being able to Read
and Write is sufficiently accepted definition of being a literate
person, unless we are to say the Germans, the Chinese, the
French and the Japanese etc. are all illiterates as they conduct
their lives not in English. The majority of the Nigerian citizens of
the Northern extraction can Read and Write Arabic, so that, if we
were to teach medicine and law in Arabic, these Nigerian citizens
will be quite at home (even at age 100) whereas, correspondingly,
there is no such high literacy level in the Southern part of Nigeria,
and this fact is more pronounced in the older generation citizens
of Nigeria of the Southern extraction.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main purpose of this research, therefore, is to explore the
tatus of the quota system in Nigeria. This the researcher will try to
achieve by;
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I To evaluate the relationship between the Nigeria quota
system and the federal character principle of Nigeria.
ii. Exploring the causes of stigma of educational
imbalance in Nigeria.
iii. To examine carefully the reality of competitive ethnicity in
Nigeria with as it relates to power sharing and recruitment.
vi. To proffer recommendations on the most effective ways
of curbing the problems of quota system in Nigeria
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In order to ascertain the status of quota system in Nigeria,
some questions were developed. These questions are:
i. What is the relationship between the Nigeria quota system
and the federal character principle of Nigeria?
ii. What are the causes of stigma of educational
imbalance in Nigeria.
iii. What is the status in terms of competitive ethnicity in
Nigeria with as it relates to power sharing and recruitment.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
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There is a need to revisit and reissue, for publication, this
opinion on federal character, quota system, our affirmative action
program; this topic, upon which a substantial portion of this
article was first published in June 2003, it is slightly modified for
this republication, which is as a consequence of the reignited
debate about the importance of true and effective
implementation of federal character in public appointments to
reflect the multi-variables of a multi-cultural, multilingual, multi-
religious Nigeria’s national development. It is important,
particularly, in a plural society such as Nigeria, that all citizens
feel a sense of equal voice, equal representation and equal
participation. No citizen or group of citizens should feel
marginalized.
Scope of the Study
The study cover issues on the state of the quota system
procedures in Nigeria in the areas of employment education
power sharing, ethnicity and Nation and cultural co-existence. The
focus is whether quota or federal character is a curse or blessing.
Nonetheless, the significance of this study is to throw more light
on the understanding of federal character commonly known as
quota system. Therefore for this purposes, federal character will
be used throughout the work as defined in our constitution.
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THE FEDERAL CHARACTER PRINCIPLE
In other countries, the on going debate has been on how to create
equal opportunity for all the people living in their territories;
whereas in Nigeria, the focus is whether quota or federal
character is a curse or blessing. Nonetheless, the significance of
this study is to throw more light on the understanding of federal
character commonly known as quota system. Federal character is
akin to US affirmative action or UK race relation and sex
discrimination act, which amongst others attempt to compensate
for discriminatory practices that have in the past denied fair
consideration to members of minority groups. For example, an all-
white government office may take steps to hire people of colour.
Or, a mostly-male college programme may seek to balance its
admissions by giving preference to female applicants. Ayoade
(2000)
It is quite interesting that time have recruited some Nigerians to
become advocates and supporters of federal character in
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appointments to federal appointments. Disparate groups have
joined this worthy discourse! All Nigerians should in good faith
advocate that appointments and how we do business reflect our
essential composite make-up as Nigerians, from local government
to state and federal levels. All hands should be on deck. All
engines for Nigeria’s development should be firing at full-throttle,
from our diversities!
There is a need to revisit and reissue, for publication, this opinion
on federal character, quota system, our affirmative action
program; this topic, upon which a substantial portion of this
article was first published in June 2003, it is slightly modified for
this republication, which is as a consequence of the reignited
debate about the importance of true and effective
implementation of federal character in public appointments to
reflect the multi-variables of a multi-cultural, multilingual, multi-
religious Nigeria’s national development. It is important,
particularly, in a plural society such as Nigeria, that all citizens
feel a sense of equal voice, equal representation and equal
participation. No citizen or group of citizens should feel
marginalized.
The Constitutions of Nigeria, ( since 1979 to the present 1999
version) for decades now, have made provisions for a Quota
System and the reflection of a Federal Character in appointments
of public office holders, this, in my view makes perfect sense, in a
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diverse country and society as Nigeria. Diversity needs to be
actively and purposefully encouraged and even, legally enforced,
this should be provided by our laws, at local, state and federal
levels and as well made justifiable by Nigeria's Supreme law, the
Constitution of Nigeria. All successive government of Nigeria have
talked about federal character in a flimsy manner without the
necessary administrative framework to make its impact felt. For
example, admission into federal universities and colleges are
often determined on three differing percentile criteria such as:
merit, state of origin and a rather clumsy educationally
disadvantage leverage cover. In a normal circumstance, only the
first two former criteria will do since at least, they will produce the
best transparent result as opposed to the latter. Again, the
absence of national identity card indicating state of origin and not
sworn affidavit leads to inconclusive results and a fraud ridden
system that leaves federal character to all kinds of abuses.
Even though, it had been suggested earlier that state of origin
criteria will do, however, a problem remains for those who may
have changed residence and no longer have ties to their state of
origin because of their economic activities in the state of their
permanent residence. Hence, to tie federal character to state of
origin criteria is flawed and unsatisfactory since it may lead to a
number of difficulties and discrimination. In this regards,
residency as criteria will be most appropriate as practised in most
countries. Assuming we were to adopt residency and not just for
taxation purposes only, states of the federation would become
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competitive in other hindsight in order to attract those wishing to
take advantages of freedom of mobility and opportunities
elsewhere which in turn results in balanced mutual benefit for the
migrants and the state in question. All states, but especially the
educationally disadvantaged states, need special provisions and
protections in the admission process in Nigeria's educational
system, especially in higher education and the professions! All
Nigerians and Nigeria will be the beneficiaries of such good policy,
that encourages the grooming and nurturing of opportunities for
every Nigerian from every communities in Nigeria, and particular
effort should be made, in order that Nigeria does not live anyone
behind, economically, socially, educationally and
developmentally, this is in our national interests, it’s nothing to
jeer or sneer at.
In Northern Nigeria for example, there is clearly high literacy rate,
even noticeably higher than the literacy rate in the Southern parts
of Nigeria, the fact that the North did not embrace Western World
education or Western European definition of education, simply
does not change the fact that most persons in the Northern parts
of Nigeria can Read and Write in Arabic, and being able to Read
and Write is sufficiently accepted definition of being a literate
person, unless we are to say the Germans, the Chinese, the
French and the Japanese etc. are all illiterates as they conduct
their lives not in English.
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The majority of the Nigerian citizens of the Northern extraction
can Read and Write Arabic, so that, if we were to teach medicine
and law in Arabic, these Nigerian citizens will be quite at home
(even at age 100) whereas, correspondingly, there is no such high
literacy level in the Southern part of Nigeria, and this fact is more
pronounced in the older generation citizens of Nigeria of the
Southern extraction. The later day acceptance of Western World
education has severely and severally hindered the numbers of the
“educated” among peoples of Northern Nigeria, but since we are
in the same boat, all Nigerians are in the same boat! Our destiny
is and will forever be intertwined, it is therefore wise and good
investment to actively and purposefully invest in increasing the
numbers of our brothers and sisters the Northern part of Nigeria
in higher education and in the professions, we will be doing
ourselves a favor, favor not to the recipient, but those who are
willing to make the collective investment and sacrifice, to bring
about a balanced, equal and fair society which Nigeria deserves,
this is our path to greatness.
Historically, some Southerners have also been huge beneficiaries
of programs and policies similar to what I now advocate, for
example, many years ago, There were also, many Students, of
Southern Nigeria origins, who benefited immensely from the
Remedial Education Programs at the University of Maiduguri, even
though, the Remedial Programs were specifically targeted at
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Students of Northern origins from the immediate areas or
neighboring states (catchments areas) the direct and indirect
benefits are clear to me, or anyone who cares to examine it! The
students for whom the programs were intended benefited,
students who were outside the targeted group also benefited, the
entire Nigerian nation benefits! What could possibly be wrong
with that? Affirmative Action Programs Policies and the Quota
System and Federal Character Policies reflect visionary thinking, a
wonderful foresight, that should have the force of law, that we
should all support and encourage and see that these policies
continues to be enforced in Nigeria and America, the Big Picture is
that we will all benefit! The more equipped Nigerians from every
community in the nation are, the better we all are! When all
Nigerians become equipped with skills, training and professional
education in every level or strata, Nigeria will be on the way to
our destined greatness!
The basic principles of federal character are similar to
fundamental human rights, which are seen as central to social
justice and the foundation of peace, law and order, and dividends
of democracy. However though, in spite of the wishful desire for
anti discrimination programmes, they nonetheless remain
controversial in some countries. Essentially, the above subject
title shall be examined critically within the definition of federal
character and accordingly, the paper shall be examining sections
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14, 42, 217; and third schedule part 1 sections 7, 8 and 9; which
gives the meaning as follows:
section 14 (3), the composition of the Government of the
Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its
affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the
federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote
national unity, and also to command national loyalty,
thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of
persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other
sectional groups in that Government or in any of its
agencies;
subsection (4), the composition of the Government of a
State, a local government council, or any of the agencies of
such Government or council, and the conduct of the affairs
of the Government or council or such agencies shall be
carried out in such a manner as to recognise the diversity of
the people within its area of authority and the need to
promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all the
people of the Federation;
section 42 (1)(2) states that, a citizen of Nigeria of a
particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex,
religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he
is such a person: (a) be subjected either expressly by , or in
the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any
executive or administrative action of the government, to
disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other
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communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions
or political opinions are not made subject;
be accorded either expressly by, or in the practical
application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any such
executive or administrative action, any privilege or
advantage that is not accorded to citizens of Nigeria of other
communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions
or political opinions;
subsection (2), no citizen of Nigeria shall be subjected to any
disability or deprivation merely by reason of the
circumstances of his birth;
third schedule part 1 section 8 (3): notwithstanding any
provision in any other law or enactment, the federal
character commission shall ensure that every public
company or corporation reflects the federal character in the
appointments of its directors and senior management staff;
and
section 217 (3), the composition of the officer corps and
other ranks of the armed forces of the Federation shall
reflect the federal character of Nigeria.
From the foregoing definition of federal character, sixteen
important terms namely: federal, state, local council, all
parastatals and agencies, public companies and corporations,
composition, conduct, promote national unity, command national
loyalty, predominance, persons, ethnic or sectional groups and
diversity, disabilities or restrictions and circumstances of his birth
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come to bear. However, for the purpose of this essay, it maybe
unnecessary to examine the wording and meaning of each term
but nevertheless, they will be put into context in the substantive
discussion in order to highlight how they impact on the north and
south divide.
Clearly, the founders of the constitution recognised and took into
account our multicultural diversity when they formulated the
social justice charter even though our people were denied their
rights in vetting its coming into force, which had been envisaged
by section 14 (2a). That states that, sovereignty belongs to the
people of Nigeria from whom government through this
constitution derives all its powers and authority. In theory, it is an
important principle, which seeks to protect people's democracy
and give credence to their vote and voices. Unfortunately, our
politicians never have consideration for important provisions,
whenever it contradicts their interests even when it would have
backed their policies. Some of which raises the question whether
Obasanjo's regime is an extension of military dictatorship in view
of the fact that, his government continues to be run like a private
business with no regards for democratic institutions including his
obstruction of the EFCC - the only credible institution to discern
his eight years of power. Owoyemi(2010)
At the moment, federal character in its present form has only
benefited in reality the people from regions that have held power
and who still enjoy the influence of their fallen fathers- Awo for
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Yoruba, Zik for Ibo and Balewa for the north. Furthermore, Yoruba,
Ibo and Hausa divide would have been most appropriate rather
than the misleading north and south political divide discourses on
federal character. Nevertheless, in spite of all, it is still absolutely
correct to keep the discussion on north and south divide since
Yoruba and Ibo falls within the south and Hausa in North.
However, it must not be forgotten that these three ethnic groups
are responsible for the marginalisation of other minorities despite
the little they contribute to our national wealth as shown by the
underneath illustration of diplomatic officials at the Nigeria
Embassy, Austria. Out of a total of eight diplomats, Yoruba have
four including the Ambassador; Hausa have three and Ibo has
one. Whereas, the other minorities had none including Edo and
the oil producing states. This scenario does not affect just Foreign
Service's postings but it is also prevalent in other areas such as,
OPEC, International organisation and etc. If one is to use north
and south divide assessment, you are forced to agree that, the
north is marginalised and unfavourably disadvantaged in
accordance with federal character. And if you explore the
argument further, there is no way of knowing whether all the
Yoruba officials are not actually from the same state or President
Obasanjo's cronies and likewise the Hausa represented. Yet, none
of politicians from the region marginalised or not represented
care about bringing any action before the federal character
commission.
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There is no doubt that, there might be cases where, it may be
difficult to apply federal character to everyone's satisfaction
especially, if applicants vying for the vacancies are more than the
places available. In that case, the best common denominator
should be used as much as possible in order to narrow the
division of all the ethnicity that make up Nigeria. The suggestion
by president Obasanjo that, appointment into federal civil service
be made on the basis that, applicant has to achieve second class
upper degree or above, is incompatible with federal character and
absurd. Because such hurdles may unduly affect certain groups
whose people have been disadvantaged in the past to be able to
compete with the so called educationally advantaged group.
Rather, the primary purpose of federal character should be
integration - one that serves the ideal of equal opportunity.
Obasanjo's model of second class upper or above civil service will
cause more trouble in the future and result further rift in north
and south divide.
It is also an aberration that Obasanjo has never had concern for
federal character in selecting his ministers and political
appointments! A mere look at his cabinet will say the iniquitous
state of his ethnic Yoruba domination, followed by Hausa and Ibo.
Again, implementing federal character according to the dictate of
these three big ethnic groups is inconsistent with his oath of office
and the spirit of our constitution. This kind of tribal politics is
responsible for the divide and not a well implemented federal
character that guarantees equal opportunity. One must say here
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that, federal character intertwined our national unity and to
undermine it, is like asking our people whether one Nigeria is ever
possible!
Therefore, public understanding and debate of federal character
or quote system has been on wrong assumptions. Firstly, there
has been no practice of federal character so far other than lip
service since there is even no institutional framework for it to
function. Secondly, the system has only served those in power
and their associates, and it is the same politicians who use false
information to cause malice among us whenever their powers are
threatened.
The constitution clearly envisage that federal character is the only
instrument that can truly unite our people and guarantee
inclusiveness, economic integration, equality of treatment and
mobility of labour within any part of its geographical territory. It
gives Nigerians the legal basis to pursue any of its violation
whether by the individual or federal character commission or
similar body at the state level. Despite the fact that affirmative
action is increasingly coming under attack in other countries,
where the issue of how to integrate all the ethnicities is recurrent,
nonetheless, the good of affirmative action outweighs its
drawbacks since its intent is to do compensatory or distributive
justice without which, would lead to mockery of democracy,
equality, liberty and justice - the very values on which nations are
founded (Dennis Kucinich: Affirmative action).
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Quota system or federal character can in no way be responsible
for the north and south divide if adhered to in its strictest term
since it equally applies to private bodies and corporation. Equally,
the federal character commission must be forced to do its
constitutional duty by ensuring that the tenets of federal
character are complied with because, only its full implementation
will strengthen citizenship, social cohesion and economic
integration, loyalty and patriotism - inseparable dividends of
democracy. However, for federal character to succeed there is
need for its reformation to incorporate the necessary framework
and bureaucracy in spite of any financial concern in terms of its
monitoring and enforcement bearing in that only federal
character can truly harmonise our difficult historical marriage.
So far, politicians and their political allies have exploited this
artificial north and south divide to cement their power base to the
detriment of healthy political debate, development and how to
eradicate corruption. What would have been wrong if president
Obasanjo and Atiku had established new federal universities in
any of those states without a federal university instead of pushing
for a US education for sale model? What about building a new
elite university like Oxford or Cambridge in Nigeria; where merit
should be the only criteria and not Obasanjo and Atiku model of
supporting only their own private universities. This would have
been better use of our petroleum trust fund rather than been
used to finance their private interests to the extent that private
universities are now equally asking for their own shares to the
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detriment of public schools and institutions. Politicians and power
holders are the root causes of the north and south divide and not
federal character. They are drawing the lines; spinning and
manipulating our people at the backdrop of tackling what ought to
empower our people and nation. They have failed to realise how
far our nation has been left behind by their lack of vision and
focus.
Finally, the survival of the Nigeria state lies on its ability to
resolve the impasses in power, resources control and the
economic integration of all the component ethnicities. Equally,
our people must take the fight against those sowing the seed of
hate and division and be proactive in defending their rights
through the use of the court's authority. We expect the federal
character commission to do its work in order to end the perverse
discrimination against minorities. We cannot properly evaluate
the impact of federal character, if politicians and policy makers
continue to use it only whenever it suits them rather, it has to be
applied in its strictest term because, it is a good law in practice
and the supposedly criticisms are artificial and have nothing to do
with the north and south divide. Ayoade (2000)
THE REALITY OF COMPETITIVE ETHNICITY IN NIGERIA
One obvious subject that has continued to elude the Nigerian
nation is integration. Neither the political structure nor the law of
the land is sufficiently positioned to redress the situation. The
state of origin of every Nigerian has remained the most important
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ticket for getting anything. At the youth level, many Nigerians
are favoured or deprived by the quota system of admission into
schools- a system which accepts a scenario where two pupils of
the same school write the same examination for admission into
the same college and it is the pupil with the lower score who gets
admitted because of his state of origin. At the adult level, the
situation is no less inexplicable. In the larger environment, ethnic
groups in Nigeria cohabit under a cover of mutual distrust and
suspicion with each scheming to undo the other. The majority
groups naturally have the upper hand and they tell the rest of us
that Nigerians are Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba. In fact, once one of
them gets a position, the next consideration is what goes to the
other two. Among the minorities, the bigger groups hold tight to
whatever is available in their areas. For this reason, ethnic groups
like Igede, Etulo, Abakwa and the Idoma, may as well forget ever
occupying the office of governor of Benue State. It appears
reserved for the Tiv because they are the majority. Fajana(2011)
Recalling that although the Benins are the majority in Edo State,
neither the incumbent state governor nor the minister
representing the state in the federal cabinet is one of theirs. On
its face value, one may be misled into seeing the Benins as
liberal-minded and accommodating. The truth however, is that at
this point in history; the Benins are just a sleeping majority. The
last time one of them got into the federal cabinet, he was made a
junior minister when some other states had two full ministers. Till
date, no one knows or asked who negotiated that for the Benins.
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The story is the same even outside politics. For example, although
the catholic faith came to Benin over one hundred years ago, no
Benin man has been able to become the Catholic Archbishop of
Benin. To say such matters are ordained and directed by God is to
be unfair to the Almighty because everything is ordained by Him
and because He is all fairness, He would not disapprove of
members of only one tribe moving up towards the apex of their
occupation. Why can’t a Benin man be the Bishop in other
peoples’ homelands? In the area of education, a Benin man has at
last become the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin after
40 years of its existence. The puerile argument for long that
heading a university was not an ethnic thing is a language of
deceit as only one group can head my own revered University of
Ibadan.
What then is the problem of the Benins? It can be seen that
disunity, lack of courage and selfishness among others. Yes, the
Benin political class has lately been engaged in atomistic politics,
a term which aptly describes a class that is at war with itself and
thus unable to negotiate a right. Once some wealthy individuals
among the minority groups can spread some resources around,
the Benins collapse and begin to doggedly project their
benefactors. If one listens carefully, one would hear things like
that there are non-Benins with Benin interest as if other people
can love somebody more than himself. Under the circumstance, it
would not be difficult for a minority to win an election in Edo
state. When compared to what our forbearers did, the fall of the
25
famous Benin Empire of old shows clearly. If the late Chief Omo-
Osagie was self-serving, he would not have declined to be Premier
of the new Midwest region in 1963, so that Benin City could be
the capital of the region. The warrior Obas of Benin built an
expansive wall as long as 20,000km around the empire. The
defensive edifice is the world’s longest self-protective complex
which according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the greatest
earth work ever constructed by man. Today, the Benins have only
one town-Benin City-all their other areas remain villages.
No one else except the Benins can take responsibility for their
poor state of affairs. They must thus rise now and take their
destiny in their own hands because it will be unacceptable to
posterity that the Benins were marginalized as a minority tribe in
Nigeria and at the same time, allowed themselves to also be
marginalized in a state where they are in a majority. To worry that
some people would describe this argument as parochial is to
overlook the imperatives of competitive ethnicity in a multi-ethnic
society like ours. Some people may not like it but the truth is that
ethnicity is one of the ‘settled’ issues of our federalism. If not, we
would not have had an arrangement where our President had to
go to his ‘place’ to register and to vote during the last general
elections. But for the same over-all importance of ethnicity,
zoning would not have assumed its important status in our
political structure. Abia state would not have disengaged from its
public service more than 1,800 workers of Anambra State origin.
26
The indigene-settler imbroglio in Jos, Plateau State, would not
have been as fatal as it has become.
These and many more examples of inter-ethnic problems in
Nigeria confirm that ethnicity is still the decider of all matters in
the country as it was in those days when the late sage, Obafemi
Awolowo, who has been aptly described as the best President
Nigeria never had, could not win either the general election of
1959 or the presidential elections of 1979 and 1983.The United
States which like Nigeria, is heterogeneous, does not have our
type of problem because ethnicity is not worshipped there. An
American citizen born and bred in a place does not go in search of
his ancestry to identify with a group so as to participate in any
event. Until we take the issue of integration seriously, our ethnic
groups would justifiably be engaged in cut-throat competitions.
Those who avoid it through self-centered rationalizations would
naturally decline because every other ethnic category has its own
agenda.
Nigeria's nations and the challenges of federalism
AS we move inexorably towards a sovereign national conference,
Nigerians must reflect again on the federal character principle
enshrined in every constitution since 1960, its origins and how it
works in practice. In paraphrase, the principle states that the
government of Nigeria shall be run (appointment to high office,
and resources, shared) in such a way as to reflect the federal
character of the nation, and those of the states ditto to reflect
27
variations in the make-up of local governments. At the pre-
independence negotiations, it became clear that there was need
to give constitutional expression to this sentiment in order to
ensure that one or other of the three negotiating regions, East,
West, or North did not get a greater share of the plumb jobs soon
to be vacated by the departing Brits. The regions were not equally
endowed with men/women for such jobs, so it would not have
been fair to base appointments to those jobs on open competition
(there, was the origin of the quota system).
It is important to note that although the country was structurally
federal with three autonomous regions at that time, the
sentiments and passions that gave rise to the federal character
principle were tribal, predominantly, Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and
Ibo. As time went by, these rulers of Nigeria began to see
themselves as 'nations,' not 'tribes'. If there were any tribes in
Nigeria they were the smaller ethnic groups, the so-called
minorities. Not only did the rulers not want to use the word 'tribe'
to describe themselves, they did not want the 'real tribes' (the
minorities) to be too conscious of their own identities. The rulers
developed a pathological abhorrence of the word 'tribe.' As is
characteristic of the relationship between the ruler and the ruled,
the former feared that too much tribal consciousness among the
minorities (I almost said natives) would create tension and
instability, just as the rulers of apartheid South Africa feared
Steve Biko's advocacy of black consciousness.
28
The minorities could see this tyranny of the majority in our form
of democracy, but there was nothing they could do about it. The
rulers banned tribal unions (but they carried on their tribal
agendas under other names Afenifere, Ohaneze, Arewa whereas
MOSOP, Egbesu must be dealt with firmly to prevent a threat to
national unity (or more truthfully, to prevent the natives from
destroying the source of the rulers' wealth around which the
federal character principle is built). The rulers changed our
national anthem leaving out 'tribe and tongue may differ.' They
hoped that if we did not use the word 'tribe' all the time for some
years, Nigerians would become good Nigerians; a good Nigerian is
someone called a 'detribalised Nigerian, meaning a tribal minority
who has become assimilated by one of the tribal majorities, or a
tribal majority member who does not recognise the existence of
tribes. A detribalised Nigerian can also be described as someone
who wears European or Arabic suit all the time.
Now some people are calling for a sovereign national conference
where all Nigerian nationalities, all, including the smallest, can
express a view on how they wish to relate to other nationalities
(tribes) and to the Nigerian federation. Naturally, most of the
minority tribes, who have never really been able to express their
options on a Nigerian constitution, support the idea of a national
conference (some hide their objection behind the word
'sovereign') is that the conference will, for the first time in the
history of Nigeria, bring the 'tribes' to a negotiating constitutional
table with the rulers. The rulers fear that the natives who do not
29
really know what is good for them, will make unreasonable
demands (such as a say on how the resources in their backyard
and their environments should be managed) and cause problems
for them. Why can't the natives see that the rulers know best
what is good for them and that at all times the rulers have the
interest of the natives at heart?
To return to the federal character principle and put it point blank
(to borrow a phrase from Tony Iredia), the principle derives from a
tribal instinct and was enunciated to ensure that none of the
three tribes (nations) that mattered then and now, Ibos, Yorubas
or Hausa/Fulani, got a greater share of the national cake than the
others. The Federal character compromise enabled Nigeria to gain
independence in 1960, but it gave rise to a constitution that is
negative in spirit and perspective, consisting mainly of
arrangements for sharing Nigeria's wealth and characterised by
mutual suspicion. It is not a constitution that inspires the citizens
to work together to create wealth that would make Nigeria great.
It is a constitution that actually encourages individuals in high
office and groups to loot the treasury to buy influence among
their tribes men or women, and justify it as doing something for
their tribes or communities.
One cannot urge the young Nigerian or even the old Nigerian now
"not to ask what Nigeria can do for you, but what you can do for
Nigeria." Such sanctimonious nonsense would not wish, given the
ethos of the Nigerian constitution. It actually sounds
30
preposterous. Even if we are to assume that Nigeria has all the
wealth and that our only problem is how to share it equitably
(there is no country in the world that can retain a reasonable
quality of life for its citizens without continuously creating
wealth), a federal character principle would still not be a
satisfactory basis for such sharing, given the multi-tribal
composition of the country and the inevitable controversy
concerning a federating unit's prospective share in the production
of the wealth, and its share out of it.
The big three see themselves as the main beneficiaries of the
federal character principle. When one of them complains of
marginalisation, it always means that in that one's view, the other
two have got a greater share of the cake than it. The equation of
marginalisation which the rulers have to constantly balance by
means of quotes and zonings always ignores the factor of minor
tribes; it has to, they are just too many. What is worrying to the
rulers now, and that is why they do not want a sovereign national
conference, is that the wealth they are sharing comes
predominantly from tribal homelands. Some of the states that
were created by the rulers to increase the sharing units for their
nations are so unviable, so unbelievably poor, that they are a
joke. One state raises an income of 20 million naira monthly, but
receives 400 million as subvention from the federation account. It
is obvious that the tribes will be coming to a sovereign national
conference advocating true federalism, including fiscal federalism
in which the federating units pay taxes to sustain the presidency.
31
Clearly, many of the states created by the rulers will not survive
such a structure, and yet it is the only structure that will release
the tremendous creative entrepreneur energy locked up in
Nigerians by a 'sharing' mentality, engendered by the present
constitution. Owoyemi(2010)
The way the principle of federal character presently works is a
travesty even of its spirit and purpose. The principle arose from
the compromise of the leaders of the three major tribes each
wanting a fair share of the national cake for his tribe; but the
federation where the principle now applies is one which the
national wealth is divided into, not three tribes, but 37, sharing
states. We have deviated from the spirit of the principle not so
much because we have increased the number of sharing units but
because of two crucial reasons. The first is that the increase in the
number of pots is due to the division of each of the large tribes
(nations) into several states, so that instead of sharing into, say,
one Ibo tribe, we now share into several states of the same tribe,
and this has occurred at the expense of the smaller nationalities
or tribes. This now gives the major tribes an even more
disproportionate share of the national cake. Also, the fact that
states, rather than tribes, are the sharing units, enables the ruler
to appear to be upholding the federal character principle even
when he appoints a preponderance of his tribesmen or women
into high office, by selecting them from different states of the
same tribe. On the other hand, the small tribes are too small in
32
population to constitute states, and many are in fact crunched
together in tension-ridden states. Ayoade (2000)
For appointment to high office in federal departments, the rulers
use the quota system. This applies in admission to unity schools
and institutions of higher learning, appointments in federal
parastatals, ministries, etc. It is in the use of the quota that the
federal character principle has wrecked its greatest havoc on the
moral psyche of the Nigerian. Brilliant young Nigerians are
quotaed out of their deserved places in schools of their choice.
The disappointed youngsters carry a grudge against the country
for what they rightly see as injustice. There is nothing they can do
about it; they may find other ways to beat the quota, but the
wound is there festering and preventing any roots of patriotism
from sprouting. There are thousands of them. For every one
admitted into federal school on merit from the so-called
educationally-advantaged states, there are hundreds who are
quotaed out and who see Nigeria as a country where injustice is
institutionalised, where honesty and hardwork do not lead to
success. Those youngsters who are quotaed in are also corrupted
by the system, corrupted by the arrogance and assumption that
their privileges in special considerations for admission and
employment are God-given.
The federal character principle has gradually rendered the word
'merit' unfashionable in the Nigerian educational and employment
sectors where merit should matter most. Those who have been in
33
charge of admission, know that, given the chance, many parents
will do anything to have their children admitted, they will swear
affidavits to falsify the age of their under aged children, pay a
surrogate candidate to take the examination for their children,
buy leaked examination papers for their children. The educated
elite parents with influence have taken advantage of
opportunities offered by the nebulous federal character principle
and quotas to totally corrupt the educational system.
Owoyemi(2010) What about people in high office? Nigerians
actually want their ministers, director-generals, perm secs and
their commissioners to be corrupt and divert official funds to
themselves, their communities or their regions. How else can they
justify their quota appointments? The rulers find it difficult to
sanitise the system by removing an incompetent or corrupt high
office holder, even if they wish to; the royal fathers from the office
holder's region will mount pressure on the rulers for the
reinstatement of their incompetent or corrupt son or daughter.
We have been conditioned by years of federal character principle,
and we have come to accept appointments in terms of quotas not
ability. The National Assembly has even set up federal character
committee to monitor how well this constitutionalised corruption
is working.
Recruitment Practices in Nigeria: Issues of Equality and
Diversity
34
Recruitment is viewed as one of the key factors to organizations’
growth and success (Tanova, 2003). The profitability and survival
of an organization usually depends on the calibre of its employees
(Wickramasinghe, 2006). Taylor (2006), defined recruitment as an
activity which generates a pool of applicants wishing to be
employed by an organization out of which suitable candidates are
selected. Though there are a range of activities and processes but
irrespective of that, organizations should reflect equality and
diversity in practice. Previous studies have shown the importance
of recruitment practices to business success. (Tanova, 2003).
Ahmad and Schroeder (2002), opined that the first step to
ensuring the success of organizations, is to make sure that
employees possess the right qualities thus; effective recruitment
practice reduces labour turnover and enhances employee morale
(Bonn and Forbinger, 1992; Lee et al., 1999). Ayoade (2000),
opined that subjecting recruitment, appointment and promotion
to the Federal character usually discriminates against merit. This
results in the recruitment of incompetent people in the workforce
which will eventually lead to poor performance (Gberevbie, 2010).
This condition is mostly common in the public sector. In Nigeria,
employment discrimination has not been adequately addressed
because of the quota system that is still present especially in the
public sector (Fajana et al., 2011).
Equality and Diversity in Recruitment
35
There has been a lot of debate over the definition of diversity and
equality (Owoyemi and Sheehan, 2011; Torrington et al., 2005;
Wickramasinghe, 2006). Up till now there is no unified agreement
as to what the two terms really are. But they could be analysed
based on the components such as age, religious beliefs, sex,
nationality, race, equal pay and harassment. Equality and
diversity are used interchangeably most times though they have
different connotations. Equality is about creating a fairer society
where everyone can participate and has the opportunity to fulfill
their potentials while diversity literally means a difference (DOH,
2004).
Human Resource (HR) management is aimed at developing and
implementing policies that provide a balance whilst considering
the needs of different stakeholders in managing workforce
diversity (Armstrong, 2006). HRM practices could be improved by
adopting effective recruitment in organizations that reflects
equality and diversity, (Taylor, 2005). Equality is the tendency for
organisations to give out equal opportunities to all irrespective of
race, sex, disability, age or marital status (Armstrong, 2006). The
workplaces in recent times are cumbered with various forms of
diversities coupled with differing work ethics, deep-seated
attitudes, opposing perspectives and diverse motivations
(Owoyemi et al., 2011).
36
Diversity characterizes the preferences, motivations,
personalities, group identity and visions of people as well as their
supernatural ambitions for dominate. The Chartered Institute of
Personnel and Development (CIPD, 2009, 2010) Code of Conduct
stipulates that the recruitment process should have an accurate
and updated job description that does not discriminate against
sex and avoid over inflated job criteria in terms of person
specification. The code also covers areas like interview process,
selection criteria, training and development and promotions.
Workforce Diversity and Equality in the United Kingdom is
covered by the Equality Act of 2010. The Act harmonises and
replaces previous legislation such as the Race Relations Act of
1976 and the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995. Thus, the
employment law in the UK and Nigerian both protect employees
from discrimination.
Public and Private Sectors Recruitment Practices In
Nigeria
Similarities and differences occur in the recruitment practices in
both the public and private sectors which are reflected in the
methods, budget, organization culture, skills and knowledge
requirement. The public sector is characterized by an aging
workforce (Greenfield, 2007) thus, there is need to recruit others
to replace the retiring workers. All public organizations are
mandated by the Federal Character Principle (FCP) of 2003 and
37
Quota System Policy (QSP), to recruit employees according to the
national diversity legislation. In the public sector, equality in
recruitments is marred by personal interests such as preference
by management, ethnic and social class influences (Fajana,
2009). The private sector is more rigid in applying best HRM
practices to ensure that only credible candidates are recruited
into vacant positions.
The public sector is highly unionized towards protecting
employees’ rights. The private sector has not witnessed a high
participation in workers union in the private sector (Fajana et al.,
2011). These trade unions could be used as forums to identify and
discuss issues not only concerning work relations but also issues
of an effective recruitment process such as diversity. The
similarities between the public and private sector is seen in their
struggle to manage equality and diversity.
38
EDUCATIONAL IMBALANCE IN NIGERIA
Incalculable effort and personal sacrifice have gone towards
uniting Nigeria politically. A truly united nation, however, is not
achieved by political or military decisions alone. The problems of
unity in this country have always had a dominant social
undertone. Social restructuring is therefore necessary before a
just and egalitarian society can be attained which in turn has the
potential of lasting unity and stability. For a just and egalitarian
society to be produced, employment opportunities must be equal.
That is, no section of the country should feel or be made to feel
that they are, or will become, "the hewers of wood and drawers of
water". The most important ingredient of employment opportunity
is education, especially higher education.
39
People are now sufficiently aware in this country of the fact that
political power, not backed by social development, and the full
participation in all aspects of the national life and management, is
shaky. The development of skilled manpower is therefore
intricately bound to the future integration of any group in the
society - "to know what the future holds out, see what the young
people are up to or up against."
Certain sections of this country will be highly disturbed about
their future in a united Nigeria if they study the pattern of higher
educational opportunities in the country. It is this kind of
disturbance which promotes among the people some actions and
counteractions, mutual suspicion, nepotism and loss of confidence
in the concept of fair play. This leads to unhealthy group political
and social instability as each identifiable section then attempts to
devise ways and means of protecting its own position - hence the
problems of ethnic politics, census crises and the like.
Fajana(2011)
In Nigeria, the problem of disparity in higher education among the
various ethnic groups has been a long standing source of friction.
Efforts have been made from time to time to correct this disparity
and it has always been clear that, at some stage, the issue will
have to be faced squarely if it is not to have adverse and
inevitable effects on nation building and social integration. If
there is any Government that can bravely confront the issue, it is
a military Government, especially this military administration,
40
which has excelled in the boldness of resolving long standing
contentious issues, such as the creation of more states,
corruption, the issue of Federal Capital and so on.
Other nations of heterogeneous composition have faced this
problem of regional education disparity. Those free countries,
which managed to remain one, had to solve it. In Canada, as we
found in our recent visit, the French and the English-speaking
peoples were kept in the same country by complete
regionalisation of all levels of education. In Malaysia deliberate,
and seemingly unfair measures, were temporarily adopted to
bring up the Malays to the level attained by the Chinese. Since
Nigeria has decided to put higher education in the Exclusive
Federal Legislative List, thereby rendering all Universities Federal
institutions, it is even more incumbent on (and easier for!) for the
Federal Government to remove this disparity in higher education.
The Evidence
The figures to be produced in this section are derived from
National Universities Commission sources based upon the returns
obtained from the Universities, Government records, etc. This is
probably the first time that these facts are being brought out in
this stark form. The reaction to their publication should therefore
not be taken for granted; although at the same time they do
provide the basis for the suggested solutions. It is hoped that
these solutions will be applied as from the 1976/77 session in the
Universities. There is still time for that to be attempted.
41
There is great geographical and ethnic imbalance in University
education. In relation to their population, the Northern States
suffer most, followed by Rivers and Cross River States. The
situation is not improving. It is getting worst each year. For
individual Universities and for the whole group the imbalance is
increasing exponentially. The imbalance is worse in respect of
disciplines. In the year 1974/75 the 4 states referred to above
monopolised 80% of the enrolment in Medicine and Pharmacy,
77% in Engineering and Technology, 75% in Pure Science and
Agriculture and Forestry as well as 75% in Education. They
monopolised 60% in Law and 56% in Public Administration. In
other words, the more backward states are in fact even worse off
in the really technical fields - important for development and for
education. How, even in ABU, the 4 advanced states are doing
relatively better in these technical subjects. The West appears to
monopolise the Education enrolment which is an indication of
further educational expansion.
According to the cost of University education as seen from N.U.C.
sources alone. The two conclusions are
(i) the gross imbalance in the distribution of the wealth of the
nation in this sector taking per capita expenditure on the student
and applying this to enrolment,
(ii) the rising cost of higher education (this year the truncated
N.U.C. budget is half of the total Federal Education budget). This
progressive rise could limit the expansion of the system. States
42
which are now backward do not have all that bright a chance of
catching up by way of increase in number of University places.
The future of the country, as it were, lies in the hands of the
Nigerian citizens hailing from the West, East Central, Lagos and
Midwest states (in the form of 12-State structure), since they
have enjoyed a long monopoly of highly skilled manpower
development in all disciplines, and since the situation is not
improving.
Causes of the Imbalance
Surely, the imbalance has nothing to do with the basic
intelligence of the people since this quality is found to be
distributed normally in the population. The cause lies in our
social-political history and is sustained by persistent attitudes and
differences in Lower Level Educational Facilities. The first and
foremost cause is the fact that Western Education came much
earlier in the South than in the North. Even in the South, the early
efforts were made by Christian Missionaries. The concomitant
proselytising activities of those educationists rendered them
unacceptable in the Muslim North.
But that is not the end of the story. The British colonialists
understandably did more havoc here. The first Teacher Training
School in the North was established in 1922. The same School
was later transferred to Kaduna, then to Zaria (last as a
Secondary School). Serial enrolment number in this continuous
43
school reached the 1000 mark in 1953.As a result of these factors
the North is lagging far behind. The Rivers and Cross River States
lag behind for a different reason - they were minorities in a large
region before the creation of states. At a time (1975) when the
West, East Central, Midwest and Lagos States were enrolling
238,964 students, the six Northern states enrolled only 60,693;
four times lower. It should also be recollected that quite a
proportion of these students from the North, would be students, in
fact, not indigenous to those 6 states. Apart from differences in
sheer numbers, the standards of the secondary schools also
differ. While the percentage of successful candidates (Divisions 1,
11 and 111) in the advanced states is of the order of 50-60 per
cent, in the four Northern States (Kano, North West, North East
and North Central) it was of the order of 2O - 40 per cent.
Apart from the stark ethnic element as the figures show, obtain in
most of these six Universities, there has been a long standing lack
of concern for the national problem of educational imbalance.
These Universities will be the first to quoter their token individual
efforts to encourage students from the backward areas of their
own country. No doubt, Ibadan, for example, will quote the
establishment of Jos Campus which was originally scheduled for
elsewhere. The prolonged Senate debates that went on over this
before the campus at Jos was accepted, and the real performance
of the Campus in terms of bridging the gap in enrolments,
however, act as cautious reminders. Why should some Nigerian
Lecturers be paid N2.00 a night inducement allowance for
44
working in Jos? What prompted a former Vice-Chancellor to rebuff
the Vice-Principal of the NECAS who came to him to discuss the
admission of NECAS graduates into the University of Ibadan (while
these graduates were accepted by ABU through an agreement
and by Lagos probably because of other connections of the
NECAS council), by simply saying that Ibadan did not recognise
the Examination taken at Maiduguri? It is quite clear that most of
the Universities, apart from political statements at suitable
moments, could not really claim to have addressed themselves
earnestly to the problem of the educational imbalance in the
country they were set up to serve.
Worsening Imbalance
It has already been indicated that this educational imbalance in
the country is getting worse, not better. The high representation
of the former West in Lagos, Ife and Ibadan is stable if not rising.
The preponderance of students of the East Central State origin in
Nsukka and of Bendelites in Benin are increasingly exponentially.
Enrolments in the technical and professional discipline are also
getting more and more in favour of the four dominant states. The
others are improving their performance but nothing like to the
same extent. A particular point to note is the huge preponderance
of teachers (as judged by enrolments in Education) these states
will have. This is an indication of further accelerated development
in Education and further widening of the gap, a vicious cycle.
Against the arguments of the widening educational gap will surely
45
be quoted the Federal (and State) Government efforts in
educational expansion at the lower levels. All very well, but these
efforts must be placed in their proper perspective in terms of their
universal nature, the likelihood of better utilisation in certain parts
of the country than in others, and the length of time it is likely to
take before the effects are seriously felt. It must also not be
forgotten that some of these ‘plans’ are not really plans, but
statements of intent or even of hope.
There can be little doubt that improved educational opportunities
will be better utilised in the four privileged southern States than
in the ten Northern (and the other two under-privileged Cross
River and River) States. In the North especially, well-known social
handicaps of poor infrastructure, persisting suspicion of Western
education as a threat to cultural institutions, still militate against
educational expansion and a greater motivation. In terms of
erecting physical structures and equipping these, sheer distance
from the ports is a serious handicap. With this in mind one can
now better judge the likely effect of the Universal Primary
Education Scheme and the expansion of the secondary school
system, and the increase in the number of Universities, on the
educational imbalance.
There is no question that the national expansion of education at
all levels is a very salutary social development which we are
fortunate enough to be able to plan and finance and we must get
on with it. But under the prevailing circumstances, and without
46
adequate safeguards and remedial measures, it will only worsen
the educational imbalance and would contribute to the creation of
more social and political problems than to national unity and
stability. By definition, the Universal Primary Education Scheme
applies to the whole country and in absolute terms, will not close
any gap. It could be argued that in the advanced states a much
greater proportion of pupils are already going to school than in
the North for example, and therefore the UPE will have some
absolute effects by more greatly increasing the number going to
school up-country. This is debatable from several angles. The first
is that before the UPE becomes truly universal will be at least a
quinquennium, if not a decade. Secondly, any one who knows the
handling of the UPE programmes by the former Administrations in
the Northern States will know that, unless radical measures are
taken, the whole thing will be UPE only in name. Fajana(2011)
Thirdly, even with the best management up-country,
infrastructural reasons render it easier to build in the areas nearer
to the sea. Fourthly, enrolment does not mean success from the
availability of teachers etc., the primary schools in the less
developed states are likely to have more poorer standards and
therefore a lower yield to the secondary schools. The great
disparity in secondary school enrolments has already been
referred to above. The recent decision by the Federal Government
to peg secondary school fees should be seen as potentially
encouraging more secondary school enrolment by providing relief
to State Governments and other sponsoring agents, in addition to
47
the parents. In other words, more secondary schools will now be
built and these areas that have more and better primary schools.
Since these areas will be the four states already referred to
above, it can be seen how the imbalance will be further
worsened.There is now massive expansion in the University
system. Those with better secondary schools, will, all things being
equal, take greater advantage of this in terms of occupying the
few University places. There is not the slightest doubt, that
without a radical alteration in University admission policies, these
new Universities will only serve to increase the preponderance of
students from the former West, East Central, Midwest and Lagos
States. Owoyemi(2010)
In the Universities themselves, the Federal Government is now
contemplating introducing free education. Whatever may be the
merits of this considered step, its likely effect on University
population must be mentioned. It is going to result in an even
greater imbalance in enrolment, for the simple reason that at the
moment, there are a fair number of highly eligible candidates for
University education, mainly from the educationally advanced
states, who unfortunately cannot enter University simply on
financial grounds. This must be partly responsible for the annual
shortfall of about 10 per cent of budgeted enrolment targets of
the Universities. In addition to this, one has to consider the aspect
of the new policy of student financing concerning the
liberalisation of loans to students studying overseas. Every one
knows that there are literally thousands of Nigerian students
48
scattered overseas studying on their own. Most of these are from
the already advanced states. Government loan scheme to these is
a timely and kindly gesture but must be seen in the perspective
of causing further imbalance. A final area, which is a very serious
potential source of imbalance in University education is the
matter of Extenal Degree either through correspondence courses
or part-time classes. One or two Universities are trying to embark
upon that. The University of Lagos has stated, and the University
of Ibadan would have started last October but for the upsets
caused by the retirements etc. As these External Degree
Programmes can effectively neutralise any measures that
Government may adopt in order to correct the existing imbalance,
it will be referred to later. Fajana(2011) It must be stressed that
the Federal Military Government is only performing its duty to the
citizens by the bold steps of educational expansion and "boosting
the educational opportunities of every Nigerian" and the FMG
deserves support for that, but, surely, every silver lining has its
cloud, the rain from which needs not be allowed to drench us all.
Dangers of Educational Imbalance
In the last few years there have been efforts at promoting
national unity - especially after the Civil War. Every one now sees
his or her future in the context of one Nigeria. But what will that
future be? The answer to this question will provide the basis for
planning for lasting national unity and harmony. The National
Youth Service Corps exchange of students and other personnel
49
and functionaries between states, the posting of principal officers
to states other than those of their origins, etc., are all gestures
intended to mix peoples at functional levels. Commerce,
guarantee of safety to non-indigenes of states are also intended
to encourage mixing. But all these are besides the point if it is not
ensured that all parts of the country have the same realisable
opportunities of participating in the national life now and in the
future. "Full opportunities" is meaningless if certain criteria before
the opportunities become accessible, which criteria effectively
discriminate against some sections. For example, every one can
enter the University if he has appropriate entry qualifications.
Every one has the opportunity to a good job if he has a University
degree. Every one can attain these appropriate qualifications if he
has passed out of a good secondary school and so on and so
forth. So criteria must only be uniformly applied if they are fair
and just from first principles; namely, if all started the competition
from the same line.
One thought which could defuse the time bomb of geographical
and ethnic educational imbalance would be what the late General
Muhammed referred to as all of us "learning to live together as
Nigerians". If people from one part of the country, as individuals,
will work in other parts of the country and treat these parts, in all
respects, as their homes; if all Nigerians, as individuals, will treat
all other Nigerians exactly as they now treat members of their
one ethnic groups, then, educational imbalance would hardly,
have occurred, and, even if it happened, would hardly have been
50
noticeable. Every one knows better than to conclude that these
happy days are with us yet. As it is, this existing and deteriorating
educational imbalance will worsen the differential employment
opportunities of the indigenes of the backward parts of the
country. Even the attempts made by the Federal Government to
rectify the massively anomalous geographical representation in
the public sector are being frustrated by one thing or the other.
For example, the decision to decentralise the Federal Civil Service
was first taken about eight years ago; it was renewed last year,
with very precise guidelines given, but up till now little or nothing
appears to have happened. If employment opportunities are
different, standards of living, life expectancies and other
parameters of existence and of well-being, will be different. In
other words, in our present capitalistic vegetation, there will be
many more have-nots in some parts than in others. The
Distribution of the haves will be the exact reverse. Fajana(2011)
If the haves and the have-nots assume distinct geographical
distribution, the wealth of the country will follow the same
pattern, by definition. No one needs to be persuaded to believe
that this is exactly what happened over the first phase of the
indigenisation exercise. Mutual suspicion will thereby be further
entrenched and, in order to avoid outright political domination
and oppression by those who can control events through their
vantage position, the deprived will resort to survival tactics which
will attract appropriate anticipatory counter-tactics by the
affluent. In this climate there can be no national exercises, like
51
Census and elections, that can be conducted without drawing
hostility, bitter disputes and clashes which may be physical. All in
all, the society will be eminently poised for ethnic crisis if not
strife. This is the apocalypse Nigerians have just got to avoid.
Government Responsibility
It is the task of the competent Government, which has the
responsibility for defending the country’s integrity and
constitution, to remove all sources of strife - imminent or
potential. Here, it is necessary to emphasise that this must not be
considered a North-South dispute. For one thing, the Rivers and
the Cross River States are also affected. It must be seen positively
as a question of correcting a dangerous educational imbalance in
the whole country. It will be an exercise embarked upon in order
to lay a sound foundation for unity and for contentment among
the peoples. It is a task for which the Federal Government needs
to offer no apologies, and the Committee on University Entrance
needs to have no hesitations in recommending.Serious social
problems of this nature are solved by facing them, not by
avoiding them, since sooner or later they will have to be faced. It
is better to face them when we can do so in a measure of peace
and goodwill, when we have the Government that can do so.
The Government will find it necessary to immediately prescribe a
solution to the problem. Some of this prescription can be applied
immediately, the rest will be long term. There may be protests,
even stormy protests, from the so-called privileged. But this is
52
natural. These protests will simply have to be contained and the
measures pursued with the political firmness they deserve, until
every one comes to accept the situation; until every one realises
that what was done was for the lasting peace of the nation.
Rationalising the System of Quota Admission
It will be necessary to work out the method of selecting the quota
students from the various areas, and also to give guidelines as to
which of the various institutions they should be sent for any
necessary remedial courses. A review of the WASC results for two
years presented in the form of the Grades achieved, and then in
the terms of credits obtained, may help. If candidates with
Division III in WASC are prepared for university education, the
numbers of students from the underprivileged areas will increase
substantially. Using only Division I and II as the universities tend
to do now, will not redress the imbalance even if all the qualified
candidates enter university. Using the GCE pass rate, the
numbers benefiting will also increase substantially, but not as
much as by using Divisions and taking Division III as well.
At the moment, universities consider only candidates who score 5
credits. The numbers likely to benefit in the underprivileged
states will be small. Using four credits especially for remedial
course is not likely to make great difference. Figures are not
available for candidates who obtain three credits and two or one
credits. But clearly it maybe necessary to go down to these levels.
In all categories, the problems likely to be faced are those of
53
subject combinations, but if the institutions are seriously
determined they can rectify this.
Regularising University Admissions
It was already indicated that the educational imbalance at the
university level can be redressed by two complementary means,
increasing the eligibility of candidates from the backward areas,
and detribalising the process of university admissions. Admission
has become a national issue, and therefore a political issue. It
should therefore be handled by the political organ of the
university - the Governing Council . At the moment, admission is
the responsibility of Senate. It is regarded as an academic
exercise, and Council is sometimes not even notified of admission
figures giving detailed analysis.
Senates are very conservative bodies which jealously guard what
they call university autonomy and academic freedom. But neither
of these can over-ride national unity and harmony. Concerning
the Senates’ modest record of concern with the geographical
imbalance in our universities education, the composition of these
Senates (the staff of the existing universities classified by
ethnicity of geographical areas will yield similar graphs to those of
student enrolment) and the unexpected inability of these bodies
to completely divest themselves of all ethnic sentiments, one
should not allow university admissions to remain their exclusive
responsibility, at least not that portion of it related to correcting
imbalance. Universities admission should therefore for the time
54
being, be transferred from being the ultimate responsibility of the
Senate, to being that of the Governing Council. The Councils
should be given clear directives by the FMG as to what is
expected of them in terms of redressing the imbalance, using set
guidelines. The Councils will then arrange to take over the control
of the admission apparatus. Each Council should report to FMG,
within four to eight weeks of the beginning of any session an
analysis of the university’s admission for the year - with details of
State by State breakdown, and States by Disciplines, as well as
States by Remedial Courses breakdown and clearly shown. This
should be observed for a number of years with policies and
mechanics appropriately adjusted according to the feedback
obtained.
Apart from vesting the Councils with responsibility for admissions,
some general shake-up may be needed in university
administration - to reduce allegations of tribalism at the lower
administrative staff level, if necessary by shuffling the staffing of
certain positions. It does appear that what the Universities want is
leadership. Respectable Universities do not want to live under the
shadows of the politics of tribalistic admissions or the charges of
ignoring national needs hanging over their heads. Our universities
are no exception.
Problems of Quota System of Admission
55
The problems to be faced in introducing the quota system of
admissions into the Universities are two types - the real ones and
the obstructionistic ones.
Genuine Problems
1. Expense
It could be quite expensive. The State Colleges of Arts and
Science, will cost at least 15 to 20 million naira each. The Federal
schools of Arts and Science may require expansion. The
universities, the older universities, will use the introduction of a
remedial course as an opportunity to press for funds for capital
development. To prevent lack of funds being used as an excuse to
frustrate the whole exercise in so far as the universities are
concerned, generous provisions will need to be made here too.
2. Logistic
To organise the quota system requires an efficient coordinating
machinery. As already indicated, a Quota Implementation
Committee can be set up to serve as a Common Entrance Board
of limited scope. The Committee will have to be fairly high
powered. Of course, the problems of staffing and equipping any
remedial centres to be established need no emphasis.
3. Congestion in the Universities
56
Introduction of remedial courses in the universities will increase
congestion already existing in some of them. The staff will need
to put in extra work. However, it has already been shown that
these remedial courses enrol half of those who could have been
enrolled into preliminary courses. The net effect tends to be less
serious than imagined.
4. Problems of Injustice
This is the most emotional part of the whole undertaking, but the
system proposed must be seen in the proper perspective. It is not
the intention to lower entry qualification for degree courses for
any group. That will not be in the interest of any one. What is
proposed is to give a second chance at entering into a degree
courses to those who come from weak secondary schools.
It is therefore not as if there is someone with qualifications for
entry into a degree course who is turned away in favour of
someone with lower ones who happens to come from a particular
area.
In addition to giving a second chance to the weaker candidate,
more equal opportunity for entry is also introduced by fair play,
which means abolition of all traces of tribalism in the university
admission process. This is the job of a briefed political body - the
Governing Council. Nevertheless, there will still be problems since
the quota will need to be preserved for the Colleges of Arts and
57
Science in the backward States, and since preliminary admission
will be halved in favour of remedial courses.
Questions will be asked like: The son of a farmer in Ekiti or
Arondizuogu is as deprived as the son of a farmer in Eket or
Argungu, so why ever discriminate? Whose fault is it that the
secondary schools in the states affected are fewer and standards
poorer? Since we are all committed to unity, why cannot every
Nigerian be regarded as a Nigerian and given equal opportunity?
These questions are quite searching, but the answers to them do
exist. On the two farmers’ sons - you promote national unity; by
doing justice to groups rather to individuals. This is the concept of
the greatest good for the greatest number. Anyone who asks
whose fault it is that there is educational imbalance in the country
needs to be told that the future of the nation is more important
than apportioning blames, and that historical errors are corrected
by determined men fortunate enough to have the opportunity to
do so. We are in the position to correct these errors which
threaten our national oneness, and should not dissipate energy in
laconic circumspection and recriminatory adjudication. As can be
seen in the article by Dr. S.D. Onabamiro, there will inevitably
have to be "temporary injustice" done to certain individuals. This
is the give and take of peaceful and harmonious co-existence. The
Chinese accepted it from the Malays in Malaysia. On the question
of Nigerians having equal opportunity, it can be replied that the
quota system is designed to promote just that!
58
5. Surplus Youth
If there are some highly qualified candidates for university
education, who wish to, but cannot get in, there will be surplus
youth. But the expansion in the university system can absorb
most of such any way. Then the others can get into other post-
secondary institutions like Colleges of Technology, and para-
professional courses and the Armed Forces. Here too a quota
system should be adopted. A fair redistribution of manpower
would then result.
Employment opportunities, currently high in the country for the
realistic ones in this group, will obviate any problems.
6. Non-Co-operation and Sabotage
If the introduction of a quota system generates the expected
heat, then this factor will have to be reckoned with.
First of all, the university staff could theoretically refuse to teach
the students any remedial courses. This is not very likely, since
the university staff are responsible people and since the
University authorities will be required to see to that. What is more
likely is that these students could be taught grudgingly, without
goodwill. If the final examination of the remedial course is made
internal, a high proportion of these candidates can also
theoretically be failed just to prove that they were never
"university material" any way. A system of external examiners
59
nominated (not on individual but) on institutional basis can help
reduce this unlikely problem, which should however not be ruled
out because of human weaknesses.
The act of non-co-operation and sabotage can also be applied to
the marking of the WASC and the JMB examinations. The only
answer is to take steps to increase confidence in the conduct of
these examinations. The most effective way will be to
decentralise them, and establish regional centres. To safeguard
local cheating, a small sample of schools from other parts can be
made to take the examination of each designated area and vice-
versa. Another possible reaction is non-co-operation in staff
recruitment and in erecting physical structures. These are most
unlikely, and can be discounted. They are the sort of things which
could only accompany open hostility.
7. Civil Strife
It is not expected that civil strife will result from this, but it should
not be ruled out completely. More likely will be violent reactions
from the students who justly (or not) feel deprived. There could
also be mob taunts to remedial course students in the universities
or to those coming from such course. This could lead to all sorts
of things, but will be a temporary phenomenon.
8. Effect of Quota Admission on Morale of Candidates
60
It is possible for the quota students to develop a -complex as a
result of the taunts referred to above. That would not be new and
is the reason why in white America the Black Universities do not
physically separate remedial course students from the others. A
measure of such taunts has always existed and is no more than
mere friction. Let the affected students learn to be thick-skinned.
It is good for them.
9. Poor Motivation
The problem of poor motivation in the affected states, to the
extent that the whole effort to introduce quota admissions
becomes not worth the pitch, is a possibility. There will need to be
organisation to overcome this as indicated above. The authorities
may also be too slow or too busy to respond in the pursuit of the
establishment of the remedial centres. All these should be
expected.
10. External Degree
The External Degree programme can be effectively used to
maintain or worsen the imbalance even if the quota system
comes to be accepted. This will not only be in the Arts but also in
Science since there are plans to bring these students in for
Laboratory work during long vacations. In a way these
programmes can act as a safety valve but it will be necessary to
observe that they are not misused by anyone to counteract
Government policy on imbalance.
61
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECCOMMENDATIONS
SUMMARY
It is a sure bet. No Nigerian government is likely to escape
accusation of marginalisation in any national political
appointments. That is somewhat, natural. Nigeria , a nation of
more than 250 ethnic nationalities, has since it attained
independent 52 year ago, sought to give everyone the
opportunity to share in the so-called “national cake.” But there
are always suspicions that the political leaders favour their geo-
political regions or states to the detriment of other areas.
There may be serious arguments with rancour and heat to oppose
the quota system of admission. There will be figures bandied
about. While cautioning on the limitations of statistical analyses, it
should be pointed out that in this case the only valid correlation
will be that of a population sample against the given higher
educational opportunities of that sample under prevailing
circumstances.
Arguments about lowering standards by adopting the quota
system will be spurious since all that is intended is to remedy the
effects of poor secondary schools. This is best done in the
universities or similar institutions. You cannot remedy a student in
the same institution where he was retarded.
62
There will be hue and cries of infringement of University
autonomy, insult to Senates, rape of the University system etc.
(coming from expatriates as well) if admissions are removed from
Senate to Council in the universities. A few show piece
resignations from certain Government bodies can be anticipated.
This will all be part of the expected trials of a problem which is at
least being tackled.
Of course shortage of funds, staff and facilities will be put in the
fore front. Elaborate details will be obtained of the already
deplorable state of the universities. The short answer is to
improve the facilities, but, more important, to make better use of
the existing ones in the national interest.
In education, It will be stated that students do not wish to leave
their areas to study elsewhere, and citations made of individual
unsuccessful heroic efforts to enrol students from deprived areas.
The latter may well be true, but this wide imbalance gap requires
more than "token" or "showpiece" efforts of well disposed
individuals however sincere. It may be argued that quota
admission will engender complex in the students concerned and
give them a bad start in life. A remedial course leading to a
degree surely engenders less complex than lack of university
education. All these arguments should therefore be expected, but
must be seen for what they really are: obstructionist. In fact, the
debate on federal character as a means of ensuring equity and
social justice is almost as old as the Nigerian nation. In his first
63
administration as a military head of state, Obasanjo tried to tackle
the problem through the introduction of quota system in
university admission, admission to federal government colleges,
and recruitment into government ministries and parastatals.
Pertaining to recruitment matters, the federal character
commission Decree No. 34 of 1996, was signed into law, to give
the commission the legal muscle to operate. The 1999
Constitution lends weight to the fundamental objectives and
principles of federal character in section 14. Item 3 of the section
says: “The composition of the government of the federation or
any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried
out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria
and the need to promote national unity, and also to command
national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no
predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic
or other sectional groups in that government or in any of its
agencies.” Item 4 of the same section prescribes a similar idea for
each state of the federation.
Thus, it is incumbent on the commission, to among other things:
work out an equitable formula for the distribution of cadres of
offices in the federal and state public services, as well as
government-owned companies and agencies; promote, monitor
and enforce compliance with the principles of proportional sharing
of all bureaucratic, economic, media and political posts at all
levels of government; and take such legal measures against any
64
individual, ministry, government body or agency which fails to
comply with any federal character principle or formula prescribed
or adopted by the commission. But has the principle of federal
character furthered the cause of Nigeria as a nation? Opinion, as
in the past, remains divided.
CONCLUSION
Nigeria has the largest population in Africa with an estimate of
about 160 million people thus; it has an abundance supply of
human resources. Its natural endowment in oil attracts investors
from across the globe and it is gradually integrating into the
global business environment. Globalization has impacted HRM
practices because it demands that organizations conform to
global standards of operations (Fajana et al., 2011). But increase
in globalization further increases the diversity of the work place.
Recruitment in Nigeria is governed by the Nigerian Labour Act of
1974 and also the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria hence, section 14 (3) states that the composition of the
government of the federation or any of its agencies and the
conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to
reflect the Federal Character of Nigeria and the need to promote
national unity. And also, to command national loyalty by ensuring
that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states
or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government
or in any of its agencies. The significance of the Federal Character
Principle cannot be overemphasized but some human rights
65
activists believe that it is a mere euphemism for balancing ethnic
dichotomy (Bodunrin, 1989; Ayoade, 2000 in Fajana et al., 2011).
The imbalance in enrolment in the Universities was first brought
to light as far back as 1952 when a delegation of the British Inter-
university Council for Higher Education in the Colonies (now called
for Overseas - IUC for short) paid a visit to the then University
College, Ibadan. They noticed a shortage of students from the
then Northern Nigeria but firmly rejected a quota system of
admission on the grounds that this would lower academic
standards.
When the debate on the imbalance in University enrolment
heated up and it appeared that the then Federal Government was
going to be unyielding in its bold determination to do nothing -
the underprivileged states embarked upon serious plans to build
and own Universities. This included the Rivers State (the then
South Eastern States entered into a fruitful political association
with the then East Central State over Nsukka). The then top
functionaries of the Federal Government, very interestingly
blocked these efforts by working against very formidable States’
opposition to transfer Higher Education from the concurrent to the
Exclusive Federal Legislative List in the Constitution in order,
according to them, to stop the "tribalisation of our Universities".
RECOMMENDATION
66
This work identified that there is little research in the area of
diversity and equality especially with regards to recruitment,
education and in Nigeria thus; academic research is needed to
help address the dilemmas of equality and diversity. This is
deemed compulsory if the effects and gap of inequality must be
reduced to achieve the fundamental millennium goal of
eradicating poverty in Nigeria. The government is therefore
enjoined to pursue policies of equitable balance especially in the
area of gender discrimination. HR experts and agencies could be
engaged to recruit credible candidates based on their capabilities.
This will help organizations to curb the factors of nepotism and
favouritism in the workplace.
There should be mandatory birth and death register; compulsory
place of permanent residence register to be managed by an
independent body or police authority. Residency must be
evidenced in print copy to be handed to the person making the
registration with the possibility of verifying its authenticity and
time of issuance. All information should be stored in a databank
subject to data protection law, which is accessible to all
government agencies and institutions. Any change of place of
residence must be registered within a week at the latest and
failing which should make it a strict liability offence with fines
high enough to ensure compliance. Adopting all these measures
would lead to transparency and remove the lapses that could give
room for the manipulation of federal character.
67
The Federal Military Government will need to also make a bold
attempt to correct the unsavory educational rotational imbalance
in the country, by taking the following steps in the entire system.
1. Retention of the present admission formula for the power
rotational.
2. Establishment of Quota Implementation Committee.
4. Campaign to increase response to educational opportunities in
areas.
Any approach to solution should be seen in the context of
promoting national unity and maintaining the standard of the
Nigerian University degree. It should be based on two
fundamental principles. The first is to increase the real
opportunities and the eligibility of the students from the under
privileged areas. The second is to remove as much as possible, all
traces of tribalism and sectionalism in the Universities. There is
no question at all that the eventual solution to the educational
imbalance is to improve the number and standard of the primary
and secondary schools in the deprived areas. There must also be
a concerted campaign to improve motivation and enterprise in
these areas as well aim at eradicating any entrenched social
attitudes which militate against a spurt of education at lower
levels. Here, the State Governments, Local Authorities and all the
68
citizens have a tremendous role to play. They must have the
funds to put into practice what they will be expected to preach.
In Nigeria, it would be absurd to expect that merit should be main
determining factor for seeking employment and admission in view
of the paucity of available places. Rather, we ought to device a
new formula of say for instance 60:40 for merit and state of origin
as the only yardstick with similar mandate on state government
to take account of all the ethnicities within its area of authority;
since the constitution is salient on merit other than that, which
promotes a sense of belonging, loyalty and national unity.
Leaving federal character to two criteria only would bring about
significant development such as:
(a) ensures that only the best have assess to higher education
since the government cannot provide adequate institutions and
places;
(b) The prevalent negative cultist culture in our institutions of
higher learning would end, because our institutions would in turn
have only those committed to serious academic work.
(c) It would bring about new human development since a policy of
preference based on mental capacity in any case enhances
economic productivity.
If federal character means that every Nigerian ought to have
equal opportunities and treatment irrespective of ethnicity or
circumstances of his/her birth when seeking employment,
69
education, economic development and services. So, what is then
responsible for the dichotomy between north and south if federal
character, which ought to cement social cohesion as succinctly
defined in the Constitution, has been unable to do the magic.
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