Africa at the moment is challenged because there is a sort of quick erosion of values among the younger population.

This explains why it is now routine to see youths aspire to become rich at all cost without being disposed to grow through the ranks to achieve greatness.

Politics in Africa remains one of the easiest ways to ascend to becoming stupendously wealthy and influential within a very short span of time just by under developing your society and stealing from the people you swore to an oath to serve.

These above stated reasons are why, when you see a young person decide to tow the part of scholarship to earn a living in this part of the world, one is advised to applaud such individuals at least for towing a path less travelled by most of our compatriots.

Beyond making the choice of becoming a lecturer in the university with respect to the Nigerian academia community, we are not unmindful of the fact that some of our revered scholars who are supposed to play critical roles in being custodians of exceptional values, end up being the worst forms of criminals in most cases with just very few exceptions.

The academia and their complicity in the electoral hopelessness of the Nigerian state

Nigeria is a country where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the national electoral umpire is largely populated by university dons whom are recruited during elections to almost always do the bidding of the people in power.

The very dysfunctional nature of the Nigerian political space shows very clearly that these lecturers who often compromise election processes are parts of the reasons why we may never develop as a people. Moreover, there are a few exceptions who would rather not get involved than compromise on what they are convinced is right.

This explains why we picked interest in the write up shared by a university lecturer, Professor Amadike Ugbogu a seeming media shy, well published and consummate researcher of global repute in the academia, former dean of the faculty of biological sciences at Abia State University Uturu, Abia State on his Facebook handle. Atleast we are not here at this time to talk about leadership scandals in ABSU, relocation of the law campus or the present state government’s tactical abandoning of the Faculty of Engineering being built close to Aba with the aim to serve the technological development of the commercial town and the world at large.

Prof. Amadike Ugbogu’s Facebook post

On reading through the publication by the university don whom we later found out after in-depth research to be a scholar with international outlook and so many publications that has transformed communities across Africa, we were more drawn to the publications by the detailed shared in the write up. Prof. Amadike Ugbogu, Amaku Nvosi Isiala Ngwa South born scholar took to his Facebook handle to share this below;

“This evening, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a generous sum of five hundred thousand (N500,000) naira from my former students who are currently pursuing their Ph.Ds in the United States of America. In their message, they expressed their gratitude for my integrity, sincerity and commitment as a lecturer who prioritizes the success of her students. They also acknowledged my role as their mentor and the vital contributions I made that have helped them achieve their successes today. I was filled with joy, not only because of the financial gift, but also because of the sincere words of appreciation. I thank Uche Arunsi, Victor Nwankwo, Favour Jonathan, James Nneoma, Miracle Uche, and Dike Emmanuel for this thoughtful gesture and for affirming the positive impacts I have had in the department of Biochemistry, Abia State University. As your mentor, I pray that God will bless you all abundantly and multiply your resources a million folds “.

The beauty of this post shared by Prof. Amadike is that he was deliberate about the names of the donors and where these alumni are based at the moment as this eliminates the suspicion of this story being an arranged show aimed at hoodwinking some of the gullible users on social media, to believe what does not exist anywhere just as it is the pattern with most content creators or desperate folks with very low moral convictions who seek public validation at all cost.

After all hope is not entirely lost yet in the Nigerian academia

This shows that irrespective of how hopeless our society maybe at the moment, that there are still professionals who are worth their salt in their various fields, who go the extra mile to impact the lives of others in no small way without stealing or exploiting the system in a mean manner

We must appreciate these alumni for not forgetting their lecturer who played a critical role in their academic journey. Gratitude is a great virtue, and it opens doors to so many fortunes that one would forever be grateful for.

We celebrate professionals like Prof. Amadike Ugbogu and every other member of the academia whose major interest is in the growth and development of their students rather than mean exploitation. These are men who are needed in every society to see to its growth and transformation. Men with such conviction as Prof. Amadike in the Nigerian academia community may not be able to afford flying private jets yet or the fees with which to go for vacations in Santorini, Greece or the Maldives with mistresses of all sorts of curves and shapes because they are men of very firm convictions who believe more in nation building than destoying our societies with their greed for primitive accumulation of wealth through unethical means. We would continue to celebrate men of this exceptional worth and class as it pertains to service to our various communities.