In 2019, the BBC used an undercover reporter to expose sexual harassment at two universities in Nigeria and Ghana, which sparked debate on social media about the problem of “sex for grades” in higher institutions of learning.
However, little has changed since then, with stakeholders accusing the government of failing to stamp out the practice as sexual harassment has assumed an alarming proportion.
The illicit practice has continued to eat deep into the school system in Nigeria which seems to be an overflow from the larger society.
As a social ill, it cuts across culture, strata, age and countries as exemplified by the report quoted above. It is worrisome, in our opinion that what is essentially a social disorder is becoming a norm among students in tertiary institutions. Even though the social scourge seems to be assuming multiple dimensions in institutions of higher learning, yet its existence in Nigerian universities appears to be under- researched or better put, less reported.
In a survey conducted in 2019 by the World Bank Group, 70 per cent of female graduates from Nigerian universities have been sexually harassed and these numbers keep increasing every year.
Last year, at an anti-corruption summit in Abuja, immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, said sexual harassment had reached alarming levels at the country’s universities, with “sex for grades” also part of corrupt practices that are being investigated by authorities.
He said his government was concerned and that the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) was prosecuting sexual harassment as abuse of power in educational institutions.
Though he did not give any statistics, Buhari said students had come up with language to describe different forms of corruption at campuses.
There is sorting or cash for marks/grades, sex for marks, sex for grade alterations, examination malpractice, and so on,” Buhari said. Although there are male victims, their female counterparts are the ones that are mostly affected. Few days ago, the management of the University of Calabar( UNICAL) suspended the Dean, Faculty of Law, Prof. Cyril Ndifon, for alleged violation of the provisions of the extant laws and policies of the institution.
Some Law students of the institution , armed with placards inscribed with very distressing and obscene inscriptions, protested against the dehumanising experiences that female students have endured due to molestation by some lecturers in the faculty.
A letter by the University Registrar, Mr Gabriel Egbe, said the current suspension takes effect from August 17, 2023, while the matter is referred to a panel that will be set up to investigate the allegations.
Despite his denial, reports say over 15 victims of the said allegations have spoken out and are willing to testify against the embattled professor in court.
However, the scale of the menace of sexual harassment in our campuses is underplayed because of under-reporting of cases.
Although we have seen some outcomes with outright dismissal of lecturers in some of ivory towers, obviously arising from the few reported cases, but it still leaves much to be desired.
For instance, this is not the first time Ndifon, who is reputed to be the first Professor of Law from Cross River State, will be mired in this sort of impropriety with his female students. For him to remain as Dean signals that lecturers’ inappropriate behaviours towards female students may as well be the norm at the institution hence no serious sanction was imposed on the randy lecturer to repel a recurrence.
According to a Lagos lawyer, Tony Odiadi, sexual harassment in tertiary institutions and in work or play environment is anathema to civilised living.
In November 2019, two days after the release of the BBC documentary, ‘Sex For Grades,” Nigeria’s Anti-Sexual Harassment bill was introduced. The bill titled “A Bill for an Act to prevent, prohibit and redress Sexual Harassment of students in tertiary educational institutions and for matters concerned therewith 2019”, seeks to promote and protect ethical stance in tertiary institutions, as well as protect students against and prevent sexual harassment by educators.
The bill also proposes up to five years in jail for offenders and up to 14 years in jail for having sex with students.
This is not the first time the bill has been proposed. It was originally introduced in 2016, however, the bill was not passed due to criticism of its limitations, it did not cover sexual harassment in the workplace and other sectors in society.
Presently, many women groups, non governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations (CSOs) and development organisations are calling on President Bola Tinubu to assent to the bill which, to the dismay of many Nigerians, didn’t get the nod of former President Buhari before he left office. This newspaper is of the opinion that having a punishment in place, could serve as a deterrent to randy lecturers who violate the sanctity and right of female students to relationship and education. For too long, we have had cases of harassment where some lecturers take sexual access to female students as a right.
The ills of sexual harassment are legion; it has compromised academic standards in countless situations, truncated careers and academic performance of many hardworking female students.
While it has elevated compromised students with good grades for being available to lecherous lecturers, it has demoralised hard working male students, who are on the firing line for either proving difficult, or try to date the male lecturer’s choice of a female student.
It is clear that the menace of sexual harassment is very prevalent in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions as a systemic challenge. It is for this reason that we call on the universities’ authorities to work towards ending or reducing this abhorrence, with stringent laws put in place to deter culprits and protect the victim’s confidentiality.
This is even as we call on the National Assembly to return to the drawing board to see how it can cement the lapses and come out with a law that will not only protect our female students but ensure quality outcomes in our ivory towers.
