National Telescope national telescope newspaper
By Daniel Ayantoye | Ibadan
Rev. Fr. Prof. Jude Mbukanma, a Professor of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies of Dominican University, Ibadan have called on government at all levels to fix the problem of tribalism currently salvaging the country.
He said Nigeria will be a better place if tribalism can be eradicated from all sectors.
Prof. Mbukanma made the disclosure during an interview with newsmen shortly after delivering a lecture at the 1st Inaugural Lecture of Dominican University held in Ibadan on Wednesday March 16, 2022.
Expressing concern over the current ASUU Strike, he said, “People are not patriotic, they don’t love the country. If they love the country, they will not do some of the things they are doing that is giving this unrest by the University academics.
“Patriotism is no longer a virtue, people don’t like it. I think the reason for the failure of the Country is precisely because people don’t obey the dictates of moral law in their heart.
“If we can be able to get our youths to begin to love the country, we might be able to solve the problem but to solve the problem with this adults seems to me that it is very difficult because they seem to not love the nation”.
“If appointments and whatever are based on merit; on those who have the power to do it and not anyhow choice, I think there will be a change meritocracy has died in Nigeria, for example look at the Universities, it has been tribalise. An igbo man cannot be a vice chancellor of Ibadan university, neither will a yoruba man and a vice chancellor of Nsukka University, so how do we go from there. I think this country has lost a sense of one nation, one group of people under one government.
“I think if we are going to get the government to respect merit, respect people’s gift, charism, I think that will be the beginning of the change”. He added.
Earlier, while delivering his lecture on the topic: ‘The Abandonment of the Moral Science in the Pursuit of Natural Science Education: The Great Mistake of Modernization’, Prof. Mbukanma enjoined policy makers on education to include in the Syllabus of Moral Science, the teaching of philosophy of value
According to him, this will eliminate the consequences of moral crises.
Also speaking in an interview, the Vice Chancellor, Dominican University, Rev. Fr. Prof. Anthony Akinwale stressed the need for morality in the political system of the country.
“We do not separate politics from morality. The moment you separate politics from morality, you end up in all kind of problems, rigging of election, assassination of political opponent and eventually when such people get into government, they are going to steal the resources of the country, they are going to impoverish the people.
“The problem with Nigeria is that we have been practicing politics without morality. And just as the inaugural lecturer has told us that education and ethics should go together, politics and morality should go together”. He added.
The event which was held at University’s auditorium was attended by dignitaries, members of Staff and Management Board as well as students of the Institution.
