The Public Perception That Every Lecturer Is Doing It: Extortion
Some number of students from NOUN were assigned to me for project supervision. The first student who booked an appointment with me met me last year in my colleague’s office (Godwin) with three proposed research topics for approval. I approved one out of the three, and as he was leaving, he dropped an envelope on the table for me.
I wasn’t comfortable, but I didn’t want to embarrass the student in the presence of my colleague. So, I picked up the envelope and followed him outside. I then returned the envelope to him, emphasizing that such an act wouldn’t help the process. I told him clearly, “I am assigned to guide and support you, and throughout the process, I don’t need an envelope.”
As a Doctor of Philosophy, I could tell he was a struggling young man, barely meeting his basic needs in this harsh economic, but he is trying to make an offer because of the public perception about lecturers. I could tell he just needed this first degree badly, hence he felt he need to buy his way in other to have the necessary support and cooperation from me. But I already have eight degrees through the support I equally received from others.
Why shouldn’t I support him even without receiving an envelope? Why should I receive from someone I’m supposed to give to? I asked myself many questions within a minute. In summary, at last I politely rejected the envelope.
Undoubtedly, he passed the same message to the rest of the team because none of them brought an envelope again throughout my contact with them as a supervisor. After they completed their research and had been graded, they all came back and met me in the office. They appreciated the way I guided them and described me as a father and mentor during the process. Finally, they gave me an envelope, saying: “We did not give you this during the process, as you rightly warned us.
Now that we have completed everything, it’s not a bribe but an appreciation.” I smiled and collected the envelope with my shoulders high; my integrity was intact and not compromised in the process.
Hey, if you think every lecturer is involved in extortion, you are wrong. There are many who will always give to students without ever collecting from them in the process. I can’t count the number of times my colleague Godwin gave cash to students. In fact, he has paid school fees for students on several occasions. My lecturer and mentor, Prof. Akogun, recently requested for my account details and sent me something after I successfully handled a task which made him impressed. I am no longer a student to him in an official level, yet I received from him. This proves that there are many teachers out there who will forever give to their students.
To the general public, having this generalized perception against lecturers is not necessarily a problem; it won’t change the truth. And we are team of individuals who are never ready to impress the public. Our training has made us stubborn to public perception. If we are doing what is right and you define us differently, we are too busy to bother.
To the lecturers who engage in extortion: should one continue to collect money from students whose one monthly income is by far more than the income of most of the students’ sponsors? No, this is a juju. No wonder, you will never see the money on such individuals that engaged in such act.
Integrity has nothing to do with one’s qualifications, it has everything to do with how we handle the simplest issues of life, including how we relate with others and deal with money. Remember, at some point, someone supported you to get to where you are. It is your duty to support the younger generation to rise. However, if help won’t come through you, it will come through someone else, because the young must grow and rise.
Dr. Philemon Babylon
Lecturer & Youth Advocate
