Faith Akinsola

16th October, 2019

SEX FOR GRADES: OVERCOMING THE MENACE IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES
A
t the core of every problem is usually not the big obvious things we can see and talk about. The real issues always lie in a silent but salient part of us, it lies in our MIND-SET. For every issue, every story, there is your opinion, my opinion and the real opinion: the truth. It is an understanding of the truth that drives our mind-set and brings lasting solution to the problems that plague us. So in case you think there is a tiny little bit of justification for a lecturer to actively pursue a romantic relationship with a student under his jurisdiction, you should most definitely read through, let us get the truth out, let us get mad and let us fight this broad daylight harassment on our campuses.

Since the release of the BBC exposѐ on the sensitive issue of sex for grades on the 7th of October, 2019, so many Nigerians have had a lot to say, a good number making comments that painfully excuse the hideous practice, some going as far as defending the predators. Please indulge me, let us look at the facts and the truth without the concave or convex lenses of your opinion or my opinion. Some have said, once the agreement to pursue a romantic relationship is between two consenting adults then there is no case. But the truth says, “How can a person that has power to wield and has access to determine a student’s fate ever justify that ‘consent’?” Others have said the victims are to blame, because if only they read a little harder they would not be easy prey. The truth says, “If the consequence of failing a course is unsolicited sexual advances from the lecturer, then the treatment for malaria prone patients should be sexual advances from their doctors too.” Yet, a few others have argued that a good number of the inappropriate advances come from students seeking favours, so they are not victims. The truth has this to say, “No matter how hard the prisoner begs the jailer to set him free, until due time, terms and conditions have been served, the jailer can never be justified if he sets him free. So also every lecturer answers to the law and not the student.” Seeing things through the eyes of the truth will birth effective solutions and provide the determination to drive them.
What happens when the lady that should proffer solutions to the economic crises of the state has nothing to offer simply because she got grades in exchange for sex instead of knowledge. It gets more personal when the nurse at your wives delivery has nothing to offer because she lacks competence simply because she exchanged sex for grades. The depth of the decay is seen more in the hollow eyes of victims, even after many years of the abuse, whose dreams were snatched and snuffed out by predators that groomed them by complimenting, flirting, manipulating and ultimately punitively demanding sex in exchange for grades.
It is high time the truth we stand for is enforced. A country as large as Nigeria with a robust academic outfit should boast of laws to protect the sanity of her institutions and the safety of her citizens and foreigners as well who pass through these citadels of learning. Ideally we should at this point be talking about the implementation of these laws, but sadly we have nothing concrete to implement. If we stand by the truth and keep speaking even after the BBC exposé stops trending, we will be moving in the right direction to have these laws written, approved and implemented. I dare to say no penalty is too high to pay for snuffing the light of hope off the face of a girl child who just wants an education; her ticket to a better life.
Prevention they say is better than cure. Let the flag of justice be raised high. Let the laws be held in high esteem. Let every campus be mandated to have sure procedures for reporting and dealing with every case of sexual harassment while ensuring the confidentiality and safety of easy targets. Let the awareness be high. The way to cure the wound is to treat it. Nothing must be swept under the carpet. Rumours must not be ignored but treated as rumours with a firmness of purpose to confirm the truth. Victims must be encouraged and supported to speak out, for the predators strength lies only in their victims silence.
Every silence on injustice because it does not directly affect you today is only granting it permission to gym, mature and come back to get you. Today we are talking about the female folk, tomorrow you will find out this issue affects males too. I enjoin you to get mad at this evil that has thrived because we allowed it. Say NO to SEX FOR GRADES.

Written by: Akinsola Faith

Faith Akinsola
OS/19B/3537
ATBU Bauchi
Chemical Engineering
Oyo state.