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By: Favour Ogundare

On the evening of 2021, student activist Nurudeen Alawonle, popularly known as Omomeewa, was brutally shot in front of LASU U-turn. This incident occurred three years after he faced the disciplinary committee set up by the Lagos State University to suppress his activism and solidarity struggles in favor of students and staff members. Before then, he had faced victimization, including the withdrawal of certification, impending his graduation from Lagos State University in 2019.

The overbearing attitude and victimization of students by lecturers and management have been the order of the day in Nigerian tertiary institutions. The unfair and persistent pattern of dealing with students with injustice has rendered our academic environments an haven of fear where intellectual criticism of management by students often leads to institutional oppression.

One of the Universities best known to for the  perpetration of this altrocity  is Federal University of Oye Ekiti. The alarming case of victimization in the University came into limelight when Abayomi Fasina, the Vice Chancellor of the University was accused of sexually harassing and intimidating Folasade Adebayo, a senior staff member who worked with him. Despite evidence provided, including audio evidence revealing his crime, the biased panel set up by the Governing Council of FUOYE absolved Fasina of his atrocity, demanding that the victim should apologise “for bringing the name of the school to dispute.”

Also, of recent, Raphael Segun Larayetan, a lecturer in the Department of English and Literary Studies at the same University was reportedly alleged of raping a 400-level student.

According to the student, the sexual harassment began when she was in her first year, with the lecturer  making unwanted advances. Despite her relentless efforts to brush him off, Larayetan, the lecturer, forcefully raped her at his home in Ado-Ekiti.

The situation took a darker turn when the student mysteriously failed three courses, despite being confident in her performance. She suspected that Larayetan, who is the exam officer, manipulated her grades in retaliation for her resistance to his advances.Cases like raise serious concerns about the prevalence of sexual harassment and abuse of power in our academic institutions.

Also, in November, FIJ reported how Anthony Agbegbedia, a lecturer in the Department of Conflict Studies, FUOYE, deliberately failed a student who turned down his sexual advances. The school merely warned him “for unethical behaviour” and cleared the affected student for graduation after her exam papers were remarked.

In many Nigerian universities, victimization has become a major fear students live with daily from lecturers, hostel staff and management. It often comes in form of unsolicited rules, threat, sexual harassment, unfair grading and academic suspension.

Some students have been and are being punished simply for asking questions that a lecturer interprets as “challenging their authority.” Some are deliberately denied deserving distinction for challenging the status quo. There have also been cases where lecturers delay or refuse to sign project topics, recommendation letters for students as a form of retaliation for perceived defiance.

Worse still, some lecturers use grades as weapons of control. A student who dares to report misconduct, or refuse unethical requests might suddenly find their continuous assessment or exam scores mysteriously reduced. The message is clear: ‘Who are you to question my authority?” In many Universities, students cannot protest. Those who have done such have faced unjust consequences, including academic suspension.

The persistent victimization has turned our tertiary institutions to one when dissent is suppressed with students being coerced to dance to the tune of management. This of course has to stop to protect the sanctity of our citadels of learning.

All hands must be on deck to curb the un-called for phenomenon. Lecturers who mess up with the lives of the students should be called to book. Student leaders across campus and the leadership of National Association of Nigerian Students must also lend their solidarity with affected students to abolish the precedent. Until then, victimization in our Universities may continue to persist at the detriment of the students and the future of our nation.