THE SAD AUTOCRACY OF OUR NIGERIAN LECTURERS.

EDITORIAL.

We all think that autocracy begins in the government house, where national leaders who should be termed "first citizens" and "first class law upholding citizens" are the very ones who break the rules.

So my question is, why is the definition of my being late to class dependent on my lecturers punctuality? 

I know it probably won't make sense, or this argument may be termed baseless but I think that the same pardon ascribed to a lecturer who comes a few minutes late one out of three of his classes should be ascribed to a student who is only late one out of three of the said same class.

I think the faculty should cut us some slack. It's one thing to be entirely absent from class, it's another to be late. It's an offense to be extremely late, it should be pardonable to be a few minutes late given the distance of the faculty from halls of residence and the problem with the means of transportation at the school car park.

What pardon do we receive when we have to walk between different departments to have our lectures and a lecturer authoritatively says he has to end at an o'clock and another request punctuality at the same time not considering the fact that it takes about 5minutes to walk between the two distances.

Vet school is demanding enough without our lecturers putting extra strain on us. It's true that Vet school challenges us, and many of us have learnt the true meaning of resilience through the rigor that we have undergone. For those in 600level and 500level they have with doggedness gotten to where they are but the truth is, the journey will be much more easier with a bit of understanding from our lecturers.

There was an incidence that happened once, involving a pre-clinical student who got injured on her way rushing to class. This particular lecturer had a spoken rule that the moment he was in class no students was allowed in. That particular day, this student sighted his vehicle driving in while she was so close to class. She picked up speed in other to get ahead of him, unfortunately she fell and bruised her legs. Fortunately, the lecturer was nice enough to have someone drive her to the school clinic, but the truth is, that could have been avoided, if there is a civil consensus on the matter of late coming between students and lecturers.

We are of the generation that speaks out when we are displeased, we speak out long and loud enough until our voices are heard and our message received. Therefore, forgive me if I am angry that a few minutes lateness is recorded as absence from class in a faculty that rewards 75% attendance with being allowed to sit for exam and vice versa, yet when a lecturer walks into the class 14minutes late, such begins lecturing with no apology.

Another gets mad and proceed to leave the class when the entire class show up 3minutes late with a good enough reason of having to walk from one department to the other within 3minutes. Another proceeded to remind us that having access to his teaching material will be dependent on how he feels as it is not our right. Talk about passive aggression.

I am not writing that the faculty may lower its standard or hand us things on a platter of gold, but it would just be nice if the same concern that is being ascribed to helping us understand the importance of animal welfare is given to all of students' mental health and let's not even begin with the phrase "that's how it has always been" we know but we are asking for things to change.