Revealed: S*x Between Female Students and Teachers In Nigerian Universities (Photo)

 In many ways, Nigerian institutions of higher

learning are no different from other such

institutions around the world: They are

confronted with several contending issues

such as budget cuts, plagiarism, cheating

during exams, alteration of data by researchers, unhealthy rivalry and tension

between faculty members and between

faculty and administration and between

students and other echelons. These are

constants within the academic community. And of course there is the issue of séxual

relationship between some students and

some of their teachers, and between some

students and some members of the

administrative staff… To be sure, there is not a teaching and

learning institution anywhere in the world

where such — séx between students and

faculty and between students and staff — is

not a concern. None! What makes the

Nigerian context different is the propensity, the frequency and the severity of the

aforementioned.Parents send their children

to school to learn, no to be harassed and

séxually molested. Young men and women

come to school to learn and learn how to be

contributing members of their immediate and global society. They go to school to learn

to be good citizens, good human beings.

They go to school to develop many skills –

including critical thinking skill. And though

many show up in all their naiveté and

gullibility, still, it is not a reason or an excuse for them to be taken advantage of. Sadly,

these are some of the horrors that happen to

many Nigerian students, especially the

girls.Sadder is the fact that millions of girls

and young women are being abused and

exploited on a daily basis. Many are denied their human and civil rights. Many have no

access to education, to medical care, or to a

caring home and environment. They are the

“wretched of the earth.” While there are

some shining examples within the Nigerian

sisterhood, there could have been several millions more if the Nigerian society had

taken its female population more seriously.

But we don’t! For the most part, and in many

settings, women are things, objects – things

and objects to ignore or séxualise. Thinking about it now, I cannot remember

which came first: the súgar daddy syndrome

or the séxual exploitation of students by staff

and faculty members (sometimes referred to

as “Bush allowance”). Long before politicians

became conquerors and rulers of the maiden and their honey jars — and long before

military officers freely roamed the séxual

landscape — súgar daddies were the kings. Súgar daddies paraded and patronised

UNILAG, UNIBEN, BUK, UNIPORT, ABU,

UI and every Nigerian university and

polytechnic and college of education. And in

some cases, they snuck into secondary

schools and in the process committed r*pe and alarming perversions. Today, the larger

Nigerian society does not worry itself with

what was initially an aberration. It is now a

given. Basically, súgardaddism has now

become a practice, part of our cultural

milieu. Tell me: How many women, 17-37 years old,

do you know who do not have one or two

moneybags as a lover or séx mate? I am sure

there are. But they can’t be that many.

Poverty and unemployment and the general

state of confusion and hopelessness have greatly contributed to the mental and

psychical anarchy that now characterises the

country. In the minds of many, the kingdom

of God can wait. Money is the new paradise.

You either have it or you don’t. In many

enclaves, if you don’t have it, you don’t matter, you don’t count! No matter how you look at it, séx between a

student and a teacher or an administrator

cannot be considered a relationship. This is

so because there is an element of abuse and

exploitation involved. What’s more, many

students – especially secondary school and undergraduates — who are so abused and

taken advantage of, may suffer psychological

and physical damage. As many universities in the western world

have come to understand, there is “power

imbalance between the parties” that makes

such a liaison unsound and injurious. The

University of Connecticut’s Board of

Trustees recently voted against “séxual interactions between students and

professors.” Similar measures are in place in

many universities. One does not know what the policies are in

Nigerian universities and other institutions

of higher learning. What seems clear – very

clear – is that a whole lot of r*pe and abuse

and exploitation and blackmail are taking

place. But really, the complaints are just too many: teachers who demand séx for better

class grade and other favours; and teachers

who pimp students for financial and non-

financial gains. Séx-for-grade or grade-for-

séx is indeed a mess, an epidemic that’s been

threatening, along with other vexing issues, Nigeria’s educational environment. To whom do aggrieved female students lodge

complaints when many of those in positions

of authority are committing the same or

similar offence? Do you complain to the

Vice-Chancellor, the Dean, the Head of the

Department, or to the Faculty Senate? I do not mean to say that the entire rank and file

of the Nigerian academics is guilty of these

abuses and exploitation. No, not at all! But

the fact is that the number of those involved

in such inhumanity outweighs the innocent

and pious ones. Are there cases where female students

lodged false protests against innocent

teachers? Yes, of course! Are there cases

where rival teachers used séx to trap and

blackmail other teachers? Yes, of course!

And are there cases where female students séxually pursued their teachers? Yes,

without a doubt! But such incidences are

small, very small. In the end, I wonder if there are academic

studies that gauge the impact of séx-for-

grade on our educational system, and how

they impact the lives of our young women.

Even so, these practices and transgressions

cannot be good for the country’s culture and educational system. It could be that these

injuries cannot be wiped out, but they can be

substantially minimised. No one sends his or her daughter to school

to be abused and exploited by depraved

minds. Consequently, the learning

environment should be a safe and enriching

one for all. No society can be great and

prosperous if that society refuses to treat her women population with love, respect and

dignity. A healthy learning-teaching

environment is a human and civil right for all

— especially for our young women.