The Parable of the Cab Man

by Eromose Ileso

It was a hot afternoon on 26 March, 2019. The sun enveloped the horizon like the burning furnace of a bakery oven; I had just walked out of the Benson Idahosa University Campus at Ugbor, as part of my itinerary in that part of town. At the gate, while I waited for a cab, several taxis drove from the adjoining streets from where they had picked up passengers from various destinations to the BIU campus gate which is the last bus stop for most commercial vehicles that ply that route. As I stood by the gate, a cab man spotting a white singlet and a blue jean, had just arrived from one of his trips, parked his taxi at a vantage position, few metres from the gate, and a little over three minutes later, he started having a heated exchange with a fellow cab man. He was shouting on top of his voice, and using expletives on the other man. He told the other guy, “is it because you see me dey drive taxi”. Me and you no dey the same level” you dey craze” “many of my school mates from university na lecturer for this university.” He went on and on. The other guy, just kept repeating one sentence, “na mental stress dey wori you”.

For some reason, not known to me, he fastened his eyes on me with a forlorn gaze, while he continued his foul mouthed exchange with this other cab man. Another cab man, sought to intervene to calm down both parties, when he told the other guy, “rest na for the mata, you no know am”. So as he bellowed Ring road, I approached him to know his last stop, it was the Oba’s Palace, but he promised he would dropped me by the street where Bob Izua lives. Before we left, while other passengers had joined the ride, he continued his exchange of words with his fellow cab man. As he drove through the Government Reservation Area, he told me his story. First, he asserted that, these drivers in the park, because, they see you driving taxi with them, they tend to classify you as just another ‘bloody taxi driver’ without being oblivious of your story. Of course everybody has a story to tell. He who tells is the person that is heard.

It turned out, he is a graduate of English Education, who was initially into teaching of secondary school students, but opted to be a cab man, when he could not make ends meet with his teaching job. He talked with gusto about one of his teachers who taught him while he was in secondary school; he mentioned the man’s name and the style of composition he taught him. The popular formula of “Introduction, Body and Conclusion.” He said this had stuck to him since he left school. The reason, he brought up his teacher’s name during our conversation, was that he used it as a nexus. He saw his teacher in a pitiful state that suggested a likelihood of insanity, because of the ragtag state he was in. He felt pained, that such an intelligent man that imparted his life so much, was in such a state, but that was not enough reason for him not to respect the man, especially taking into consideration, the knowledge the man still possess, despite his current state of mental health. It is this he says riled him, with the other cab man, as the guy had continually shown a tendency to disrespect him. I kept on saying to him, that I understood him, and that I knew the position from which he spoke. As it was clear that his annoyance stemmed from the Nigeria situation.

As he drove through Ihama road, he talked about how he could have turned to illegal activities to get money, but he decided to toll the path of honest living and not manifest evil works. He spoke glowingly and passionately about the number of students he had taught while he was a teacher. He mentioned one of his students, a girl that hired the cab driver he had an exchange with. He alluded to the way the girl in question had venerated him, because he was once her teacher, while the other cab man was almost on his knees to earn the girl’s patronage.

As he left Airport road to link up with Upper Ezoti Street by the back of the Oba’s Palace, he pointed to the house of the principal of the secondary school he attended to me, and mentioned his name, but that the man was now late, having died several years ago. I asked him whether he grew up around the Oba’s Palace area? It turned out; he is an ‘Ogbe guy’ as those that grew up around that area are typically referred to.

While, he was dropping me off at my stop, a young teenage girl walking with a little boy passed by his car, and greeted him, ‘good afternoon Sir”, he said to me, that was one of the students I taught.” As I was alighting from the cab, I thought of what to say to him, because I would never know why he was so open about his personal life that day, combined with the fact that he had gazed at me several times, while he rained insults on the other cab man. He was still parked by the road, and not in any hurry to leave as most cab man usually does, ostensibly waiting for me to say something. When I finally came down from his cab, as I stood by the door, I shook his hand and said to him: “More grace, it is only a matter of time.” The manner he held my right hand with his two hands and thanked me, dawned on me that those words meant a lot to him. Like he needed a measure of reassurance that within the Nigeria sphere, where nothing is easy for the common man, he could still attain his dreams.

The question then is, what did this encounter portray?

It showed the lamentable state of Nigeria, where there are now more graduates driving taxis to irk out a living than at any time in the country’s economic history. In most cases, if not all, the decision by these classes of persons to be a private cab man wasn’t down to choice, but purely based on circumstances. All over the place, there are several brilliant and sound Nigerian graduates of various disciplines who for lack of jobs have resorted to driving cabs own by them, by the way.

Four days earlier, I was in another cab, being driven by a graduate. I knew he was one, because while the passengers discussed about the just concluded elections, especially the plight of corpers who had not been paid for the job they did as well as those that lost their lives. He stated that, when he served in Anambra state in 2013, he opted against working as an ad hoc staff for INEC despite being amongst those chosen and trained for the task, because according to him, he wanted to save his life, and return to his family in one piece.

All over the country, there are several Nigeria University and Polytechnic graduates who are now full time or part-time cab drivers, some for lack of available jobs, others, after losing their jobs, had decided to use it as a means to make ends meet.  

In the past, it was popular for most Nigerians, to claim that, “the job wey Nigerians no go gree do for 9ja, na dem dey go do for Oyinbo land like the ones wey dey drive taxi’  That adage used to be a popular line by some who had sought to argue that Nigerians should stay back home to do jobs that ordinarily belies their status as graduates. Now in Nigeria, there are now Bachelor and Master Degree holders driving taxis. So the aforementioned adage has been taken over by events.

Just like that cab man at Ugbor, who asked when his situation would change from being a cab man, there are also several underemployed Nigerians in the same situation who are asking the same question daily.

Interestingly, I ran into the cab man in question again on 6 April, 2019 in his signature white singlet and blue jean. For reasons best known to him, he called me a pastor. And he said it multiple times. I boarded his cab to Ring Road again. As it turned out, he wasn’t in a reflective mood this time, but rather he was vivacious this time around, narrating his experiences with several of his passengers and the gist he had scooped from them over time some of which were unpleasant to the ears.

Using this cab man as a case study in relation to my second meeting with him, it showed another side of the average Nigerian, that despite the difficulties that many face daily, especially those that are either unemployed or underemployed, within the quest for survival, there is always room for light moments and the occasional humorous episodes that provide momentary laughter. That was the mood this cab man was in when I met him for the second time in two weeks.

The Nigerian spirit of putting up a brave face is seldom cast down, it is always willing, but the will could be sucked dry by the Nigerian situation that is lacking every bit the adequate support system for people struggling to lead a semblance of a near comfortable life. 

Ekosodin: A stagnant stream in the midst of a flowing river

by Eromose Ileso
                                                       

A portion of Ekosodin road in it current state

When the names of certain places are mentioned, they invoke a feeling of nostalgia either in the picturesque, personal or prosaic sense.  There are many places in such sphere that bring about a reminisce when their names are mentioned. They immediately bring back memories flooding back that are either savoury or labyrinthine.

Ekosodin is one of such places, where anytime it is mentioned, it connotes a sense of negativity in the sub conscious of those who once lived there. Either through the cult related killings or the unrest between indigenes and students. But, others have a positive view of the place as not all things have negative a trail there.

Ekosodin is a community in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State that shares a boundary with the University of Benin. As a result it commands a large student population, apart from the local inhabitants. Practically it is an extension of the university, as it is separated by just a fence, and there is a gate that connects both places.

However, that is not the remit of this piece. Rather it is centred on the fact that in spite of the 'status' of Ekosodin, by being close to one of Nigeria’s foremost ivory towers, the University of Benin, the place has gone backward in recent years. It as if time has stood still as far as the place is concerned, while it moved on in other places.

In June 2017, a friend that graduated from the University of Benin in the early eighties had cause to ask me what Ekosodin was like presently. I was able to give an accurate assessment, prior to being asked that question. I had visited for the first time in over five years a few weeks earlier. Instead of changes for the better, it was a case of a community that has effectively receded to the extent that nature is firmly against the place.

Starting from the road that leads to the town, which has been the subject of terrible underhand dealings between indigenes and government officials’ alike with both taking turns to feast on what they consider as spoils. 

In 2002, the road was first awarded to a contractor by the Ovia North East Local Government with a remit that it should be completed within two months. The contractor set out to work, with earth sand used to fill the road from the beginning at the Benin-Lagos road towards the community itself, after that the contractor asphalted just about 200 metres of the road which ended by the first street on the road. (Ehigiegba Street) That was as good as it got. As there were reports at the time that monies meant for the construction of the road was shared by some indigenes of the community which is why the contractor couldn't complete it.

In 2014, the road was again awarded by the NDDC, the Niger Delta Development Commission. Again, it was a terrible job. A contractor that was clearly confused and one clearly devoid of what he was doing, initially did some work at the heart of Ekosodin at the gate, by constructing a gutter that was more like a funnel for fetching water than a drainage. While some part of the road towards the express were dug, and later covered. When they pretended to be working on the road months later, they asphalted it half way once again, this time by going beyond the first street, by ending at the third. (Igbineweka street)

At present, the road is a complete right off beyond the third street, after the boundary it shares with the Evbomore community, the portion of the road after that is so terrible that, it could easily be mistaken for a gully erosion site.

And talking of gully erosion, Ekosodin has also been hit by gully erosion with several houses swallowed up by the gully; it is so bad that it has affected some portion of the University of Benin premises. And the gully is getting wide at a fast pace and it has put the lives of people who live near it at risk.

When it rains or during rainy season, Ekosodin becomes a deluge. The popular Edo Street is usually overtaken by flood water, and virtually the entire community. You would only know how bad the situation is when you go deep into the community to see how terrible it is during the rains. And the access road to the community is receding so fast with flood water making it worse, with the road to the left of Ekosodin road when coming from inside the University of Benin, now completely bad as the entrance is now several feet above the main road because of flood water.

Many residents of the community now use the University of Benin as car park during the rainy season, as it is suicidal to the state of any vehicle to venture deep there during the rains. You only have to look at the state of the taxis that ply the road on a daily basis to see what the road could do to a vehicle.

Yet when the Ivory Tower that looms large over Ekosodin is considered against the back drop of the degenerating state of the community, you begin to wonder why the presence of the University of Benin has not fostered any development let alone any sustained development. Still the school remains the live-wire of the community’s economy.

Prior to 2002, when the main entrance to the community was through the Ekosodin gate via the school’s ground, when vehicles could access it through the gate, not much thought was given to working on the main access road leading to the community for years. Until the gate was shut permanently by Professor Aburime Anao, the vice chancellor at the time, following a student crisis cum riot, with only the pedestrian gate left open for students to use. The previous gate was a see through one that was always opened, but after the crisis, an elevated gate that fits more in a maximum security prison has been in place to this day.

At different times, the school has taken turns to carry out palliative measures on the road. However, that measure has receded in recent years, which has left the road in a terrible state.

The domino effects of the current state of Ekosodin is that some property owners there, are now putting it up for sale due to the fact that some have not been able to derive maximum returns from those properties as majority of them are hostels.

The environment and terrain at Ekosodin isn’t conducive in many ways especially when it rains. 

When Ekosodin became a name synonymous with the University of Benin more than four decades ago, little was known about Bwari in the Federal Capital, Abuja. Both have similar location in terms of how further away from the main road they are with Bwari some distance from the Abuja-Zuba expressway than Ekosodin is from Benin-Lagos expressway. But in terms of development, Ekosodin cannot boast of the most modicum of development. Ekosodin doesn’t even have a tarred road that runs through it.

For starters, Ekosodin is a paradox when everything about it is put side by side with how it has fared in all indices of capital development when compared to how the University of Benin has grown in leaps and bounds over the years.

The blame for the current state of Ekosodin lies squarely in the hands of the indigenes, their pursuit of self-interest has set the community backward in terms of development. When people who are not progressives approach a situation, the first thing they consider is to line their pockets.

With portions of the community rapidly giving way as environmental degradation hits it, it would take more than the reconstruction of the access road to the community for it to gain a semblance of light. The environmental state of Ekosodin has to be addressed, not just the gully erosion site, but several roads within the community that have become mini gully sites.

For what it is worth, Ekosodin would always retain a special place in the hearts of students who went through it either for good or bad. But whether, it one day becomes a place that would measure up in terms of developmental strides remains to be seen.

Edo State University Iyamho: Between Consolidating An Existing Legacy And Building A New One

by Eromose Ileso

 

Administrative Block, Edo State University Iyamho, Photo Credit: Edo University website

The Edo State University, Iyamho became the 41st state University in Nigeria and the 142nd University in Nigeria after it was approved by the Nigeria Universities Commission (NUC) on 23 March, 2016.

The University in Etsako Central Local Government Area of Edo State officially came into being following a law passed by the House of Assembly in 2013 which established it, and another law was passed that upgraded the College of Education, Ekiadolor to the status of a University now christened Tayo Akpata University. 

When the law was passed it was hotly debated in the local media, with the argument centred on the wisdom in the decision of the government to establish more tertiary institutions when the existing ones are bedeviled by chronic under funding and lack of any plan of sustainable infrastructural development. 

However, few, if nothing was said in the media circles for up to two years after the aforementioned law was passed, but after the Edo State University, Iyamho released a statement which announced vacancies to fill various positions at the institution, it suddenly awakened people's consciousness.

The announcement came as a surprise to many, as questions were asked about the fact that, while nothing had been done at the College of Education, Ekiadolor which was upgraded to a University, being an existing institution already on ground, meanwhile, an entirely new institution which started from scratch now have enough structure and infrastructure on ground to call for vacancies.

Lecture Thearte at Edo State University, Iyamho

When the law establishing the institution was passed, the debate was different because nothing was on ground at the time, but now that there are now physical structures and the announcement of the NUC of the university’s approval, the questions being asked now is whether it was a good move to build a new legacy or whether consolidating an existing legacy would have served a better purpose?

The existing legacy here refers to the Ambrose Alli University, (AAU) Ekpoma which was established by Professor Ambrose Alli. The Law establishing the institution was passed in 1981 by the Bendel state House of Assembly. It officially took off in 1982 to become the first state university in Nigeria. 

However, despite the fact that AAU is over thirty years old, it has not enjoyed any sustainable development plan since it was established. The institution suffers from under funding, and several of the courses at the school repeatedly suffer from lack of and withdrawal of accreditation from the various professional bodies.

1500 Capacity Auditorium at Edo State University, Iyamho

It is unfortunate that an institution that is over three decades old, does not sufficiently boast of the status of a university that is actually a University. 

Most state universities in Nigeria that are not as old as AAU can boast of more infrastructure, organisation and funding. With the problems facing the ivory tower at Ekpoma, one would have thought that it would be more economically viable and better for the state government to consolidate on the gains of previous governments by building on the structures already on ground at AAU. 

Ordinarily, nobody would leave a structure still under construction over the years, to commence the building of a new one. It could be possible in exceptional circumstances, but it is not the norm in a society where things actually work. 

With another state university coming on stream, bringing it to two the number of such institutions in the state, who is to say that the same problem that has bedeviled the Ambrose Alli University over the years, will not affect the new Edo State University in the years to come.

 

Already, with the country currently 

undergoing an economic crunch which has made it impossible for various state governments to pay salaries, building more institutions at this time raises questions bordering on motive and priority.  It is ironical that at a time when the Ambrose Alli University could do with more infrastructure and staffs, yet nothing is forth coming, while a new institution is calling on people to fill vacancies.

Lecture Theatre at Edo State University, Iyamho

There have been talks in some quarters that the establishment of another university in Edo state is a good move because it would create more employment, and that it would help open up another area of the state to development. However, should this be at the expense of an existing institution that is already struggling, and keeping it head just above water? 

Since the return of democracy in Nigeria in 1999, it has been the manner of various state governors to establish tertiary institutions in different places for motive that can seriously be questioned. It is this lack of continuity and consolidation of existing legacies that has caused the proliferation of abandoned projects all over Nigeria, with successive governments preferring to commence new projects instead of completing or building on the old ones left behind.

This attitude has made it almost impossible for Nigeria to have mega universities, at a time when universities all over the world especially in Europe are merging to form mega and specialist universities, meanwhile in Nigeria, there are universities springing up all over the place that do not meet the required standards.

Already the existing tertiary institutions in Edo State are all currently suffering from under funding, poor infrastructure, irregular payment of salaries and lack of a sustainable development plan. From the aforementioned Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma to the College of Education, Ekiadolor, College of Education, Abudu, College of Education, Igueben and Edo State Institute of Science and Technology, Usen, the situation is the same. With all these problems facing the existing tertiary institutions, who is to say that the new university at Iyamho will not suffer from the same fate.

The reason why most institutions are established in Nigeria in the present climate goes beyond a genuine attempt to address any educational problems that are on ground, rather the reason borders on the age long adage popularly referred to in local parlance as “let me develop my own” it is the same reason why government at different levels have over the years set up industries and institutions in places that do not need such, but because of political, ethnic  and personal reasons, structures are sited in places they should not be in the first place. When a dedicated attempt to develop what is already on ground would have served a better purpose.

The Ambrose Alli University was established in a little over a decade that the University of Benin came into existence, yet the contrast between both schools in terms of infrastructural development is very obvious. Why UNIBEN has continually expanded existing structures being a federal institution, AAU has stagnated in this area, with what could only be referred to as an haphazard development at the University in the more than three decades it has been in existence.

The reason why Edo University, Iyamho has taken off at such great speed and in such a short space of time, is because it is located in the country home of the present governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole. However, the situation will be different when he eventually leaves office as governor. At that time, it would be left to a new government to build on what is on ground. And with the existing Nigerian mentality of not wanting to build on existing legacies, it could go the way of other institutions in the state that has stagnated.

Whatever the reasons the Edo University, Iyamho was established; it would have been a better bet for the Edo state government to consolidate on the legacies of Professor Ambrose Alli by building and expanding on the existing structures at the University main campus in Ekpoma. 

Funding two universities will definitely be a financial challenge on the government in the long run especially with the present economic climate. The funding might end up coming from students that will be made to pay exorbitant tuition fees. With the university now in place, only posterity would judge whether it was a good decision. 

For now though, the problems aching existing institutions in the state remains.

Benin City: From the Ambience of Street Credibility to the ambush of Street Cultism

Benin City: From the Ambience of Street Credibility to the ambush of Street Cultism by Eromose Ileso

The streets of the ancient city of Benin the capital of Edo state, old Bendel state and the Former Mid Western Region used to be a place where serenity reigns to a certain degree. It was a place where healthy competition for educational achievement was the pursuit of majority of the youths especially in the days when the Bendel and later Edo state Library Board was still a semblance of a library. 

In the different locations where these libraries were, there was a striving verve for a pursuit of excellence through studying. A case in point was the library located in the suburb of Okhoro. This library aided in shaping the educational destinies of various youths that lived in this area of the city when it was still functional. And many including this writer could attest to that fact. The library had two sections: a general reading section, and also a section that housed different books on various subjects.

It was easy then to see youths who after their daily school activities would proceed to the library after their domestic chores. The place was a Mecca of some sort especially during examination period. It was a place for the serious minded and the indolent. They all converged to do justice to their books. The indolent eventually ended up being influenced by the positivism of the serious ones who saw reading and studying as a tool to unravel the miseries of their life.

Besides the library, there was a striving artisan industry which was a glowing way by which those who could not cope with school education either by reason of finance or their inability to cope with the rigours of education. 

Those in this category where able to build a profession for themselves in the areas of being involved in carpentry, welding, mechanical, electrical , technical works, fashion designing  and learning the trade of buying and selling in different goods. It was easy to see those involved in this taking to it as a duck takes to water. It was a case of verve and fervour from those who found their way to this part of the divide in whatever circumstances it was that took them there.

In a nutshell, the library and artisanship were avenues through which youths and teenagers alike could channel their energies for the improvement of their lives.

Another very important tool that many used to occupy themselves besides education and artisanship was sports especially football. There were several known centres that were breeding grounds for emerging talents to display their skills. Areas like Iyaba Street in the Suburb of New Benin where the playing field inside the popular third cemetery was a field akin to the theatre of dreams. And it was from there the dreams of footballers like Yakubu Aiyegbeni were realized. That field today now houses a health centre and a wood processing industry. But, it still being used for football. AmbroseVansekin remains a regular visitor to the field.

Sadly the library and many other things highlighted above that were avenues through which youths could occupy themselves have all been confined to the vehicle of historical oblivion where the scenario now is a case of replaying the cards of nostalgia.

Although, there were remote and immediate causes which made things to go bad. 

Two significant issues accounted for why things have nosedived.

Firstly, the military administration of Adamu Iyam in 1994 and 1995 made several government agencies to be self sustaining without funding from the government. This complicated policy affected the running of the library board in Edo state. They could no longer sustain the previous template and several of its complexes were closed with workers going unpaid for months. The collapse of the library system in the state gradually eroded the reading culture prevalent in the past and a vacuum began to emerge and the spare time the youth had had to be spent one way or the other.

Besides that, the massive retrenchment carried out by that administration affected the growth of education in the State. A particular teacher known to this writer eventually resorted to selling wood and planks to keep life moving and that’s what that teacher still does till date.

The collapse of the school system brought about an educational vacuum that affected the psyche of students and teachers alike.

The vacuum spilled over and of major significance to the present state of affairs in the streets of Benin was the domino effect of what transpired in a particular institution in the city several years ago.

The Vice Chancellorship of Professor Aburime Anao of the University of Benin embarked on a policy of public renunciation of cultism from students who were members of different cult groups with an incentive of amnesty granted to them.

This policy while novel in outcome at the time it was implemented eventually led to a vacuum just like the vacuum created by the collapsed educational system, and the only way this vacuum could be filled was via the streets. The streets became a breeding ground where willing and unwilling youths were recruited and inducted into various groups as activities in different campuses scaled down due to the public renunciation.

Today in most suburbs of the city, you could easily see all categories of people involved in this social menace. From primary school students and to the rampant activities of those in secondary schools where students go as far as holding teachers and the entire school to ransom. Even those in the artisanship cadre are heavily involved in it. The menace is more serious in some suburbs in the city than others.

An instance is the suburb of Uselu. Which happens to be a cathedral of street cultism where there is always an under current that flows like a time bomb which when ignited inevitably leads to nearer to thee I have come.

The present state of most youths and teenagers in the city is no longer a case of going to library after school or on weekends, combining school with artisanship or attending lecture houses whose retainer where to sharpen the skills of students. 

Rather the situation now is a case of bickering amongst youths. It is on record that cult related killings amongst youths are now rampant in the streets especially when there is a supposed ‘war’ between rival cult groups. Then you would easily notice that many would completely go into hiding and the streets suddenly become hollow for a while. When the tension dies down, those that initially disappeared into thin air would make a return like a whale that initially went into the deepest part of the ocean.

The libraries and competent lecture houses which hitherto served as avenues of transformation have been replaced by mushroom private schools and lecture houses whose main calling is to perpetuate examination malpractice in various forms and shapes.

In the areas of artisanship, the fervour from apprentice of yesteryear have been replaced by inertia and slothfulness with the get rich syndrome now the crave of the moment amongst youths. Practically nobody wants to engage in the act of artisanship in the present times.

The effect of this state of affairs in the ancient city of Benin has reshaped many lives. The past festive season also witnessed the killing of several youth as a result of the same cult activities with the police making several arrest.

It is difficult to gauge whether such a menace can be tamed for the simple reason that it is a complicated network of passages that involves many people even to the top echelons of the society.