On Friday the 29 of December 2017, Jibrin Ibrahim whose column is published on the back page of the Daily Trust newspaper posted an article titled “Christmas in Niger Republic”.
The article was about some visit to Niger Republic which coincided with the Christmas period. A friend drew my attention to this article and asked me read a particular paragraph. I reproduce part of the paragraph below:
“In Maradi, we visited the Maryam Abacha American University, which was not really impressive. The academic staff were all on leave but the report we got from the non-academic staff was that all the academic staff except in the French department were from Nigeria…”
To fully appreciate the absurdity of this statement as quoted above, one would have to read the entire article. Suffice to say that this particular paragraph and opinion as expressed by Ibrahim has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the issues he discussed in the body of his article. To start with, even the reason he gave for visiting Niger Republic was conflicting, to say the least:
Then how or why he ended up in Maradi, some 700 kilometers away from Niamey only God knows. But that is his business. But what took him to Maryam Abacha American University? Maryam Abacha American University of Niger (MAUN) is a licensed private university which started academic activities about five years ago. What was Jibrin Ibrahim’s interest there? Assuming he had legitimate reason to visit the school, doesn’t he know that there are procedures to follow if one decides to visit any organization for whatever reason? Doesn’t he know that you don’t gate-crash into a private property for whatever reason and then expect to be received with civility.
Anyhow, our Mr. Ibrahim went to Maradi (for whatever reason) and then surreptitiously went to MAUN and attempted to force his way into the University premises. As is to be expected in a country like Niger which is well known for its discipline and adherence to due process, the security personnel at the gate of MAUN refused to grant him access. This was his only contact with the school.
No wonder his shallow statement that “In Maradi, we visited the Maryam Abacha American University, which was not really impressive”.
Mr. Ibrahim, how many of you were there and what exactly does “not really impressive” mean? What criteria did you use? What data gathering procedure and measuring instrument did you deploy to arrive at your very banal conclusion that the school is not very impressive?
All of that apart, what has the fact that all the academic staff apart from those of the French department are Nigerians got to do with anything? So just because they are Nigerians–like you–that makes them inferior by your implied statement?
And as if all of that’s not enough you had to tell a blatant lie by stating that all the students are Nigerians from the neighboring (northern Nigerian states). You lied Mr. Ibrahim; MAUN has students from more than seven countries including Rwanda, Ghana and Kenya among others. Do you know the damage you have done to the psyche and morale of the hardworking staff and innocent students past and present of this young but vibrant and promising institution with your unscientific, unverified, self-serving report of a school that you know nothing about?
Lawal Tahir, President, MAAUN Alumni Asssociation.
