No fuel everywhere - Teachers on Strike!
Today is a new week and we are currently experiencing the stress of strikes - The National Union of Teachers are on strike, and NUPENG has joined, meaning that fuel is now a scarce commodity, and everyone can feel the tension.
The thought of it all brought tears to my eyes, not because I was too stressed (Its a Monday morning - you expect the stress on Mondays), but because I realized that we are only suffering ourselves. Its the masses that are feeling the heat, not the government, and most of all, its the children that are suffering for it.
I appreciate the actions of NUPENG, don't get me wrong. What just keeps me wondering is the fact that I don't know when Nigerians will understand that striking will never work, and that our leaders are insensitive to anything educational - we have eight years of experience to prove it. And even after electing a former lecturer to the Presidency, it is still the same.
All we should be doing is praying, not practicing 'two wrongs' to make things right.
It will not work out this way.
That is how I fee though. I stand to be corrected.
The thought of it all brought tears to my eyes, not because I was too stressed (Its a Monday morning - you expect the stress on Mondays), but because I realized that we are only suffering ourselves. Its the masses that are feeling the heat, not the government, and most of all, its the children that are suffering for it.
I appreciate the actions of NUPENG, don't get me wrong. What just keeps me wondering is the fact that I don't know when Nigerians will understand that striking will never work, and that our leaders are insensitive to anything educational - we have eight years of experience to prove it. And even after electing a former lecturer to the Presidency, it is still the same.
All we should be doing is praying, not practicing 'two wrongs' to make things right.
It will not work out this way.
That is how I fee though. I stand to be corrected.
Comments
I completely agree.
But you have no idea what these teachers are being paid. You know what you were earning as a youth corper. Your sole hope is that the year will soon run out, then you can start earning beta money.
Imagine if you had no such option. Imagine if you were stuck to that salary for the rest of your career, with minimal periodical increments.
Then imagine you have a family to raise.
Food to be eaten three times daily.
School-fees to pay.
Utility bills to foot.
To worsen an already horrifying picture, teacher's salaries are rarely paid as at when due. Sometimes, as much as 3 months pass without a hint of salary. Meanwhile, they are expected to work everyday, even when not paid.
Then ask yourself this.
What motivation level are the teachers operating on?
What motivation level are they being encouraged by the system to operate on?
Where is their zeal to teach fired from?
Is the system encouraging them to impart their best to the students when they are barely surviving?
I agree that two wrongs do not make a right. But I also think that oppression in any form should not be taken lying down. If we were to apply the "two wrongs" logic, then Barack Obama would most likely be in some plantation south of the Mississippi. He wouldn't even be able to vote, talk less of contest.
The fuel issue is another matter entirely.