The following post was contributed by Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, Charter Team Member from Nigeria

History teaches us that the pre-independence Nigerian colonial administration was structured in such a way that too much power was concentrated in the hands of the Warrant Chiefs and other stooges of the colonialists, who used these local agents to terrorize citizens while they exploited both human and natural resources meant for the development of the colonies. This turned out to be one of the legacies left behind by the colonial authorities, sowing the seeds of ethnic discord and remaining a trend characteristic of post-colonial governments in not only Nigeria, but in almost all of Africa.

As Nigeria celebrates 53 years of Independence this year, our post-independence history reeks of coups and counter coups, about thirty years of military rule, a seemingly never-ending fight against insurgent groups in both the North and South of the country, an internationally acknowledged declining standard of education that has encouraged revenue flight to countries far and near as parents cough up huge amounts to provide quality education for their wards, a sky-rocketing increase in corruption, and of course, a bloated leviathan of a government at the root of all these national embarrassments. Of all the above-mentioned, the falling standard of education in Nigeria serves as the reason for this article.

I represented Students For Liberty at a protest in Abuja tagged #OurNASS, which was organized by some pro-liberty groups in the country. The aim of the demonstration was to get the Nigerian law makers to make public how much they earn (it has always been shrouded in secrecy), demand a reduction in their pay which is believed to be too much compared with the work they presumably do (Nigerian law makers are the highest paid compared to their counterparts in selected wealthy countries of the world including the United States, according to a report posted by The Economist magazine in July 2013), and seek to open channels of communication between them and their constituents.

I attended that rally not only as a concerned citizen, but as a post-graduate student of a state government-owned university who has spent 3 months of academic work at home. I must state here that this is not by own making, but as a result of the Nigerian government’s indifference to the plight of millions of youths in state-owned universities. Of course, the politicians would rather have their kids in private or foreign universities, while we (“ordinary Nigerians” as they would call us) stay at home and wait for them to graduate on time and take over the offices and job positions their parents are reserving for them. But why are the “ordinary Nigerian” students at home this time, one may ask? A summary of the whole issue is that the federal government of Nigeria reached an agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities for an increase in the annual budgetary allocation to the education sector to 26% between 2009 and 2020, an increase of earned allowances to the tune of 92 billion naira between 2009 and 2013 for the academic and non-academic staff of federal universities, an injection of 500 billion naira for infrastructural development, etc.

During the protest, Senator Abaribe A.H from Abia State made it known that the National Assembly is allocated 157 Billion Naira annually. This is almost double the amount demanded by the academic and non-academic staff union, which also has more members than the civil servants working for the legislature  for a period of three and a half years. And because the federal government indirectly benefits from the rot in the Nigerian education system, it went ahead to woo the Committee of Vice-Chancellors with the sum of 100 Billion Naira for infrastructural development. Hence, some Vice-Chancellors have started calling for university lecturers to resume duty, despite being owed in arrears for over three years.

Though I am appalled by these happenings, I am not particularly surprised because my trainings as a Charter Teams Leader with Students For Liberty informed my belief that there is a need for the powers of government to be limited. Today in Africa we have a lot of evidence as to why we must work hard to check the excesses of our governments so as to ensure the protection of our rights and liberties, and secure our future. From the reckless spending of tax-payers’ money in Nigeria to the ridiculous increase in taxes of commodities in Kenya, the welfare state in South Africa to the despotism in Sudan, it is obvious that the state must be checked. I therefore urge youths in Africa and all over the world to rise up to the task of holding their governments accountable at any given opportunity.

To the students in Nigeria still sitting at home due to the on-going industrial strike action by ASUU, please do not be lazy. You can learn a skill or get involved in youth activities that would equip you for the future. Log on to www.old.studentsforliberty.org for more information. Alternatively, please contact Olumayowa Okediran at [email protected] to learn how to get involved in the student movement for liberty in Africa.