Two years ago, following the convocation ceremony of a private university where 188 students graduated with first class degrees, there was an online discussion on the lack of quality control in our educational sector. According to the report that generated the conversation, 568 other students obtained second class upper degrees while 322 graduated with second class lower and 47 with third class.
A female member of my church who works in JAMB was transferred from Abuja to her state of origin. The implication of being separated from her family became a serious challenge and my intervention was sought. That was what took me to JAMB but the moment I explained my mission, Oloyede sent for his senior staff and the file of the woman. In their presence, he explained the reason for the transfer which, as it turned out, affected several of the staff in a particular department.
Perhaps Oloyode’s greatest achievement is the introduction of real time monitoring of each of the JAMB centres before, during and after the examination. This he has been able to achieve by investing heavily in IT infrastructure. With CCTV cameras in the examination centres linked to the headquarters, some of the ‘miracle centres’ are now finding it difficult to game the exams because JAMB is one step ahead. Oloyede shared with me interesting insights.
One of his staff said it was not a problem to reverse the transfer out of Abuja, but what they would not do is bring the lady back to the same department. He suggested that she be posted to another JAMB office in town, away from headquarters. At that point Oloyede picked up her file. In my presence, he reversed the transfer with a proviso: There should be no financial cost to JAMB. He then explained.
While I am already compiling notes on the sundry acts of misdeeds that we have witnessed in the past one month, the 2019 general election is also unique in certain respects. Three things stand out. One, for the first time in the political history of Nigeria, there was no ‘bandwagon effect’ to render the gubernatorial election ineffectual.
Therefore, President Buhari deserves commendation for the manner in which he comported himself in the course of the 2019 general election. Only few leaders would accept what INEC did to APC in both Rivers and Zamfara states without finding a way to either circumvent the law or arm-twist the commission to backpedal.