NIGERIANS WOULD NEED THE POWERS OF COMMON SENSE TO REPEL THE NEW SOCIAL MEDIA WARFARE OF THE CRIMINAL SIDE OF THE #ENDSARS - Chief Umeugoji

Story by Razaq Adedeji Jimoh

 

Chief Reuben Umeugoji

A Lagos based Igbo Chief and industrialist, Chief Reuben Umeugoji, has advised Nigerians not to lower their guards as peace begins to return to the State and other parts of Nigeria in the aftermath of the #ENDSARS protest. He stated that as the governments are succeeding to reclaim the cities’ physical space from the hoodlums that hijacked the protest to undermine their authorities, the criminals appeared to have shifted their crime base to the social media for a new strategy he described as “social media war” to sustain their mission to divide Nigeria through “destructive powers of fake news”.

Chief Umeugoji may appear to have spoken the minds of many Nigerians. The piece of Paul Ade-Adeleye of The Nation’s Barometer page gave the same gauge of the Lagos mood as one where the social media narratives is redefining the identity of the ruling APC in the wrong perspective and it appears many of the party members are not doing enough to counter this offensives. He entitled his own missive as Lagos: #ENDSARS as Cyber Warfare

Thus so, Umeugoji suggested that “Nigerians would also need to evolve the powers of common sense to repel the new warfare strategy”.

The industrialist gave this advice while praising the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for coming out at the appropriate time to debunk all the fake news wrapped around his person in the course and climax of the protest. He was referring to the visit of Tinubu to the State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the State House in Marina on Saturday, October 24, 2020.

There were many parts of the social media reports that insinuated many stories about Tinubu with regards to the protest. That included the one of Sahara Reporters that underwent three metamorphosis stages. It began with one that read: “Tinubu Orders Military to Open Fire on EndSARS”.

Perhaps after the online medium owned by Omoyele Sowore realized the grave unethical implication of that publication, it flagged down the story and replaced it with another that read: “Live: Nigerian Military Open Fire on Peaceful EndSARS at Lekki. It however retained Tinubu’s photo for visage of the story. The third caption Sahara Reporter would release on its online porter – all within 24hours interval – for the same story read: “#ENDSARS: Ex-Lagos Governor , Tinubu, Justifies Use of Force on Peaceful Protesters by President Buhari’s Government”. This latter headline was however retained for many days probably because it believed that to be subtler in slander.

It turned out that the Sahara Reporter’s deliberate manipulation of information to misinform the public was powerful enough for the obvious incitement it was intended.

Trailing the reports in the terrestrial space were the arson attacks on all properties directly or remotely linked to Asiwaju Tinubu. That included but not limited to the burning of Television Continental (TVC), a broadcasting station located around the CMD area of Alapere in Keu; torch of the premises of Vintage Press – publishers of The Nation newspaper and; the vandalisation of Oriental Hotels by the successfully incited mob.

From the social media front while the insurrection lasted, the attack on Tinubu should reasonably and rightly pass for assaultive psychological trauma. He was reported to have fled the country in the heat of the crises. A viral video of this version gave a live radio interview of unspecified media firm where Tinubu was purported to be speaking from France and denying his link to the yet mysterious “Lekki Shooting”.

Closely related to that in strategy was another version of social media news which had it that his son had been kidnapped by the rampaging youth. In that, he was also simulated to be purportedly heard live, weeping in similar radio interview with appeal to the kidnappers to spare the life of his son.

In the Adeleye’s observation given on Sunday October 25 and found to corroborate Umeugoji’s point, he said it was right time the Lagos State realised that “it is already at cyber war with peddlers of fake news. He said the “Lekki Shooting” is mischievously pushing the “narrative that there was a massacre orchestrated by the former governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, approved by President Buhari and executed, with finesse by the incumbent Governor, Sanwo-Olu. The narrative started as a low din of the social media, but it finally rose to decibels loud enough to beat the band. Unfortunately, precious uninspiring little was done to counter these devastating offensives.

“The siege to the character of these persons are powerful and it is testament to the level of ignorance in the society and among the social media youths”.

Upon the visit of Tinubu to Governor Sanwo-Olu on that Saturday, all this became clearer to be a part in the many versions of the “Cyber Warfare” the hijackers of the #ENDSARS had perfected to incite the youth and Nigerian masses to insurrection against the government and a section of the Nigerian elite. Clearing the air to pressmen on all the social media reports mentioned above at the visit, Tinubu said they were all fake news because he never left the country in the first place.

He said: “I didn’t go anywhere. I am a Lagosian and I still hold the title of Asiwaju of Lagos and I am still (the) Jagaban. Fake news is all over the place. They said Seyi my son, was kidnapped and was chased; but look at him here. I didn’t pay a penny to bring him here”.

Chief Umeugoji, who immediately spoke to Civics Journal on this first public appearance of Tinubu after the crises, described it to be “timely”. He also said it was a “powerful statement” to his (Tinubu’s) traducers on one part and a “resounding message” to the Nigerian public at large on the other part.

He said: “It was a strong message to his enemies that he was never demoralised by their antics of the social media assault and propaganda. He had told them in clear terms that he did not earn the title of Asiwaju of Lagos for the fun of it. It is meant to lead the State in time of peace and crisis.

“To the Nigerian Public, Tinubu had evinced what we all might require to fight the rave of fake news merchants with a cause to shame them. When you come out to expose their lies as Tinubu had done now, you put the liers to shame and very soon, people would begin to be wary of them and take cautions in believing what they read or hear on the social media”.     

The industrialist, who is also a chieftain of the APC in Alimosho, charged all the Progressives minded public to join the APC members across Nigerians to give a cause to repelling all forces that may be rising against the genuine party leaders like President Buhari and Asiwaju Tinubu.

He also disclosed that he felt more concerned by divisive and dangerous ethnic dimension the crisis was tilting to as he yet condemned the invasive attack on the palace of Oba of Lagos. He added that it was high time we deployed the powers of common sense to differentiate criminals from their ethnic identities.

When Tinubu visited Sanwo-Olu

He said: “As the criminals are on the rampage both in the social media and in our physical neighbourhood, what we need to fight them collectively as responsible citizens is the power of common sense reasoning. It is this power that will help us to see the hoodlums, the looters, the arsonists and criminals generally in their identity of crime rather than seeing them in the identities of their ethnic origin as Igbo, Hausa/Fulani or Yoruba.

“This is the only way we can win the war against the enemies of Nigeria in their different categories as religion bigot, ethnic chauvinists and outright criminals.

“If our common enemies could be united in their resolve to destabilise and divide the country, we are already defeated before the raise of our arms if we move against them severally without a united front coalesced around our own patriotic strength.

“Therefore, he continued, as Igbo man who has spent about the golden years of my life in Lagos, I condemn the invasion of the palace of Oba of Lagos by these enemies in the strongest terms. I could only see criminals and not Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa doing that.

NAPPS WAS NOT FOUNDED WITH THE SPIRIT OF DISCRIMINATION

 By M. O, Shutti-Jimoh

THE National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) may have originated from Alimosho Local Government in Lagos. While anyone may have cause to contradict or question this reasoning, it is what the findings of Project Alimosho Heritage (PAH) point to as fact.

            Once in a thesis entitled Living Vision of the Light Bearers published on this page; it captured an aspect of the origin of education in the writing of the History of Alimosho as the purpose of PAH. According to the writer, the PAH Team, while on its mission, marveled at the living visions of “The Light Bearers” – a term it literally applied in documentation of its report to mean those who brazed all odds to bring education to expose the sleepy ancient setting of Alimosho to the light of civilization.

The marvelous factor that fascinates the team was the envious growing of their visions in passionate manner that bespeaks the resolute renewal of their mission to re-invent and restore the past glory and values of education in that sub-city corridor of Lagos. Thence the writer added that 2018 seemed to be the onset year for the restoration, as they all began to showcase developmental infrastructure aimed at consistency with the demands of Lagos State’s Quality Education Assurance (QEA) factors.

            One of the “Light bearers” featured in the thesis was the founder of Aunty May School in Idimu. She was said to have returned from decades of sojourn abroad to renew her passion. She purportedly showed this in a language that meant she was no longer content with just a block of about six classrooms and an office. “She impressively opened the past 2019/2020 Academic Session with a new block of L-shape two-storey building of many more classrooms without compromising the need for adequate space for recreational activity”. Curiously, this came at a time when report gathered by the PAH team indicated that many have concluded on the school as just passing through a phase of winding up, given particularly the earlier eventual death of its secondary school – Aunty May College at the Alake Area.

However, to the PAH Team; the return of “Mama Aunty May”, as she’s fondly called in the educational parlance, was the Eureka for the bundle of knowledge and testimonial authority it had long sought for writing an uncontroversial history of private school education in Alimosho. And consequent upon that, a part of the history the Team gathered from her in theme was the spirit of solidarity amongst the private school owners in Alimosho in the late 90s of the 20^th century. And in the opinion of the Team, that spirit may be valid to pass for the existentiality theory that gave birth to NAPPS.

Last week thereabout, NAPPS celebrated its yearly Day. With my privileged access to what Mama Aunty May gave for the origin of the Association, I strongly feel the best speech that should worth a presentation for such NAAPS Day is the need to re-invent that spirit of togetherness with which the founders of the Association proclaimed it to existence. This is why I found it worthwhile to present the relevant excerpt of her interview with the PAH as a vital message to all NAPPS members and other private school proprietors. Enjoy the interactions! 

From the understanding of your origin, you were about the first school here in this Idimu axis, how did you manage your early rivalry as new schools began to emerge in competition with you?

            It could be interesting to narrate this experience and it will lead us to how the formation of Association of Private School Proprietors (APPS) became imperative and helpful in making private schools became organised at the time.

            There was this particular school that was about to start, I won't mention names. He just came to stand in front of my school to mobilise for students and teachers. He was giving fliers to teachers and parents, telling them: 'come to my school'. I stood there by the gate looking at him. Everybody was taking flier as I was looking. Then he said to me: 'you, you, won't you take fliers or don't you want better salary?' I just laughed because he didn't know I was the Aunty May. I think he had done his survey to know the salary I offered and he raised his own salary for his prospective teachers by N10. That to him was his strength of poaching enticement he thought he could use against me. Although none of my teachers went there but some of my pupils went there because he came to start in a big way.

            But as time went bye, he got to know I was the Aunty May and there was no doubt that he was ashamed of himself for what he did. But what would have made him regretted was that when he was settling down, he realised it didn't worth all he was doing; all the madness he did. As I talk to you now the school is no longer in existence. That was 1988 and I think he closed down more than five years ago.

            So, how did NAPPS come about?

            I happened to be among those people that started what we once called APPS -- Association of Proprietors of Private Schools – that later metamorphosed to NAPPS just to identify it by its national status – National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools. I have been part of it from 1992. There was a school, Sholly Preparatory School – the founder is late now, and one Josemaria School; the three of us were at the inaugural meeting of the proposed association.  As such, we became the contact persons for our respective localities. Mine was Idimu. So I went to Tadey, I went to Racy & Sturdy and I went to Foundation Schools to sell the idea of APPS to them because we want all school to be member.

            Before APPS, actually, those of running schools in Idimu, we were having informal meetings here in my school because we had become many – Intelligent School, Johan School; there was also one Muslim mail school, Al-Shabab if I'm correct. We've been having our gathering here and with the arrival of APPS, I told them to let us key-in to that so that we would not be running a separate body from that and I think about 90 per cent of us agreed to that.

            Let us emphasise our own area of interest in all of this and that is getting it from where the idea of association of private schools evolved. By that, we would be able to establish the motive and sentiments behind it. That is to say, good, it started as APPS. The APPS itself, how was it initiated? Where did the initiative come from?

            That day we were at Alaguntan Government Primary School, the Supervisory Councilor for Education in that old Alimosho Local Government, one Mr. Egbeola, invited all private schools to an event at that Alagutan public school. While the Councilor was talking to us, the late Mama Anifowoshe of Niger Preage and Mrs. Deregos of St. Benedict sent a note to all private schools proprietors that we should stay behind after the Council officials have finished with us. It was that post-event gathering that proposed the idea of meeting under the name of Association of Proprietors of Private Schools. That was the origin of APPS.

            The meeting venues were however rotated between St. Benedict School, Niger Preage School and Palmville School, all at Gowon Estate area in Egbeda. All of us from Iyana-Ipaja to Ijegun – that is talking about Mama Aunty-Yemi School there; all of us will gather for the meeting and it was always such a large gathering whenever we had meetings.

            Thereafter, APPS was broken into zones: Zone 1 was Ayobo upward North of Alimosho, Zone 2 covered from Egbeda, Shasha, Bameke, and all that. We were Zone 3 from Idimu Southward Alimosho. That structure remains to date as NAPPS structure too. The only modification to this structure after becoming NAPPS was the introduction of ‘Chapter’ as the state level.

Looking at all these schools you mentioned as founding members, they were
elite schools if we would be fair to ourselves. But you and others from here were the locals; were there not elements of discrimination you could perceive in the course of your relationships?

            For me if I said I saw any discrimination, I would be lying. These prime schools you are talking about, I still quoted what used to be their words at the last Chapter meeting we had on the 16th of September. What were there words, as they would always ask then at that early time: 'What is holding you back?' Why are you afraid? If you go to Alausa and you have problems, come and meet people like us!’

            To test them on their words, I went to Alausa and I had some difficulties about my approval processes. I came back to tell them at the next meeting. They just said: 'Mama (that was proprietor of Palmville Schools), look after Aunty May's problem'. Then I went to meet her after the meeting and she asked: 'What do you need? I said I was in a rented property but the Ministry was requesting for my building approval before I could get approval. She got my name and address and said I should go.

            The next I would later see was somebody from Alausa. He said I should come and submit my form, which I quickly did. After that, my approval process began to move. Before you know it and with God's help, my approval was soon ready. Such was the power of association for you! So as you could see, I did not suffer any discrimination, rather I benefitted profitably from them.

            I could recollect another of such values of the association with the open minds of these elite schools. When we were doing National Common Entrance, there was a time I needed some documents, which I didn't have. I sent one of my teachers to St Benedict. The report I got was how the Mama quickly got went to her archives to search for the original, went to do the photocopy and sent it to me. Those were things we enjoyed from being in the same association.

When she was going to have her 20th Founders Day, I bought a set of My Book of Bible Stories as the gift for her. She drove here to thank me especially for that because she said she had been searching for the book for a long time but could not get. So while others may have a different experience with them in membership of the NAPPS; for me, I did not suffer any form of discrimination.

TEACHERS, ARE WE RALLY ACCESSORY OF POVERTY? A MESSAGE FOR OUR 'TEACHER'S DAY' TODAY

By M. O. Shutti-Jimoh  

M. O. Shutti-Jimoh

ABOUT tenth past edition of this magazine’s terrestrial print media, Civics Journal, the interview of Dr. Adebanwi was published with a curious heading that read: Private School Teachers have no Future. Based on the feedback I received over the publication, I have decided to go back to the basis in order to update my colleagues with the origin of that piece. From my evaluation of the rejoinders even when the concluding part of that interview is yet to be published, I had to conclude that many may have missed this very missive I had earlier put out with the above poser topic. Therefore; In the edition of September 21, 2020 of the same print media platform, I decided to republish it in complete verbatim in other to create a sequence that will rationally help to connect it to the relevance of Dr. Adebanwi's ultimate counseling position. In my opinion, this is one way the teachers that could have been privileged to encounter all the parts of the thesis would have a full grasp of the inherent motivational counselling aimed at building up their esteem. However, when this spirit of World Teachers Day crept in today, I considered it the best of gift I could post to all my colleagues at their various homes through this online platform since It is coming as a new serial. While I term it my best gift, you teachers have the final rating right after reading all. So let’s go there!  

Photo of a teacher Sourced Online

"WE were at a board meeting of our organisation, a Lagos based NGO, with membership mobilisation as agenda at stake. From every gerrymandering of flying opinions in contribution to the table, the idea of going to the teacher's constituency surfaced. But in immediate sifting with precision of timed sensitivity to the mention of 'teachers', the chairman broke his renowned tradition of attentiveness to all shades of opinion for his summary with a three-word sentence: 'rule out teachers'.

“Of course, with equivalent alacrity, the curiosity of the members flaunted out. What's wrong with teachers? One of us asked?”

That was a tale from a male family friend in an enthusing exchange of banter over my choice of education as a career, and the answer of the chairman to the last question is better kept away from this page against further discouragement of the youths of carrier prospective age from considering education for one. I can still recollect how touchy it was to me even with my passion for the profession.

For readers to get my passion for education as a profession is to reflect on my academic profile through primary and secondary school levels as basis for my distinction from career refuge in the sector.

Basically, I'm an educationist not by accident of poor academic grades at basic elementary levels of academics; not by dint of hard struggle to gain admission from desperate quest for university education; and not by blind desire for financial independence constrained by unemployment; but by intrinsic passion inspired by the career profile of the many personages of the Nigeria's Members of the Order of Niger (MON ) – known and latent –  that will never complete without the role of teaching profession in their paths of stepping stone to the height of greatness.

And in service, I tell you dear colleagues/comrades, that passion has consistently defined what value I place on myself as a teacher. But, additionally, that value is truly enhanced by the fact that along the paths of my academic profile to completing my course of teaching profession, I always had requirements far above official stipulations for the admissions qualification irrespective the pride status of the university in Nigeria.

Check it out: that I was the Senior Girl in a public primary school in the late 1970s could attest to my brilliance then. And at Secondary level, I finished with 5As (Distinctions) and 3 credits at a single sitting in 1984; a time when two sittings were liberal criteria for filling the university quotas.  And for my JAMB qualifying exams, I had 279 points for my Biology Education as First Course and Chemistry Education for the Second Course.  Meanwhile, the cut-off point for Medicine at the University of my First Choice for that year (1984) was 273 points.

Except from strict and satisfactory encouragement from my father, everyone around me thought I was an idiot wasting a Divine endowment for a great future! And the more the discouragement came, the more an embolden question stood out in my mind: “isn't there a good future for a teacher?” This question remains the driving point of my interest in teachers' welfare with pursuit of earthly reward to date.

The most interesting aspect of that year of my admission was the Dean of Engineering Faculty of the University wooing me to come and be the only female Engineering student to be admitted for that year because I had A3 in Additional Mathematics (now Further Mathematics) and A2 in both Physics and Mathematics at piece. But that poser kept sustaining my passion for education, especially in reconciliation with those Nigeria figures of the Order of Niger (I mean those with values).

Go through the biography of those great men that dotted the pinnacles of Nigeria's politics and businesses at the era in reference – the like of Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikwe, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, etc. They were all confirmed to have teaching experiences as part of their carrier profile. At a time, the Shehu Shagari's flaunting of teaching profession with pride then as President and Commander-and-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria also enhanced my positive perspective for the profession.

All this is about me and a few others of about one out of every thousands of Nigerian teachers, representing the visage of true value of education by self packaging from the intrinsic passion that drove us into it. But why not every teacher – just like every doctor, engineer, lawyer, accountant, and other professionals – who adore and beatify the true value of their professions naturally.

Rather we carry poverty in our faces as the trade mark of that noble profession by that persistent abject forlorn gaze of internal sadness with which we receive people.

            From the above understanding, it must now be clear to us what our primary problem is and I pronounce it as 'complex of inferiority' among the peers of professional bodies. But the question is: where does this problem originate from?

We can find the answer in an inverse question to this by asking it the other way round: what gives the other professional bodies their sense of pride?  It is because they are generally believed to be primarily driven by high level of intelligence and this is a fact that is justified by all parameters of academic templates to building a career.

We would be gliding in the air of fantasy of self-illusion if we fail to accept that the professions of medicine, law, engineering and accountancy are truly classified as the exclusive reserve of intelligent and super-intelligent categories of students.

Curiously, this is as much the education profession is also classified as the exclusive reserve for the below average students that 90 percent of us truly belongs. We should also not be surprised to know that this percentage has a majority class of us that hold what we may yet describe as augmented first degree certificate.

What do I mean by this? For having 2 credits and three passes, we rose from the level of Teacher's Certificate II (TCII) to qualify for the stage of National Certificate of Education (NCE) tertiary level. Alternatively, we begin from what is now popular as Pre-NCE because we have only managed to have three credits and two passes. Of course, as we should know, all these approaches are augmentation paths to getting the NCE just because we could not manage to get the Pre-requisite four credits and a pass in relevant subjects to qualify for direct admission for the NCE.

With the NCE, however we get it; we then apply to the University level with this, feeling comfortable to spend another three years of study to the already spent. And where we get direct admissions to the University through the JAMB's UTME in most cases, we were offered the education course not out of our direct application for it as First Choice, but an alternative the University offers to fill its admission vacancies in the faculty of Education.

It would appear that this third-rating background would have overwhelmed us, ramifying our psyche to becloud our sense of exploration of our potential in the post-academic career life. If not, we would realize that not all graduates of the high-flying professions we have so ennobled also make success of their career beyond the pride the profession confers on them.

We may ask ourselves; do we have one tenth of private hospitals to the numerical strength of the physicians, granted the ultimate goal of every medical doctor is to own one. Charge and bail lawyers are numerous. Many engineering graduates have not made any breakthrough by creative designing required of their practice, much more being creatively productive appropriately.

What I seem to imply by these observations is that at the era of our post-university education, the success of every graduate in the open society, irrespective of his/her career choice is a function of how he/she personally ennobled himself with the career.

That leads us to the question of how does a teacher ennobles himself with the teaching

Teachers are known to work in decent environment
A school environment sourced online

profession? Before dwelling into that, let me share a story narrated by Ubong Nelson with you.

Mfonobong gushed, “there was this boy who was experiencing learning difficulties, since I was not seen as being useful, he was asked to be dumped with me in the room, It was then I began thinking what could be the challenge”. After the encounter, Mfonobong scurried the internet for solutions to the child's learning problem. Today Mfonobong has become indispensable at the school she works, where a new unit for children with learning disabilities and other challenges are overseen by her ears.

“Relating her story to me, Mfonobong gushed: ‘there was this boy who was experiencing learning difficulties. Since I was not seen as being useful, he was asked to be dumped with me in the room, It was then I began thinking what could be the challenge”. After the encounter, Mfonobong scurried the internet for solutions to the child's learning problem. Today Mfonobong has become indispensable at the school she works, where a new unit for children with learning disabilities and other challenges are overseen by her. Not only that, Mfonobong is a consultant to many schools in Nigeria, maintaining a portfolio of staff in these schools, private homes, and holding trainings for others in addition to her many certifications internationally.”

This story may sound illusory if we fail to get a grasp of where Nelson was coming from. He dwelt into it after raising a poser thus: “Is it true that most Nigerian teachers are not ‘ambitious?’ He went further to conclude on this that we “run a regimented life of leading the learning process from the available curriculum” – and we believe the “job is done” routinely on daily basis! How does this notion relate to you? Give yourself the right answer in true conscience until we meet in the next serial that you should by now guess what may be its theme.