SOME UITES AND THEIR CULTURE OF DISRESPECT

YEMI  MOTOLANI

As we settled down for the first lecture of the day, I noticed that we were unusually few. Many of the students who used to be among the first set of students were nowhere in sight. But as the lecturer began teaching, many began to join the class, one after the other, as though they planned to arrive together and disrupt the class. The lecturer, read their minds, paused to allow them settle down so she could continue without interruption.
Just then, I heard a female voice behind me say, Madam, hurry up, we don’t have time. I immediately looked back and gave her the you dont have sense look and shook my head. As the lecturer continued, some guys were talking and as she asked them to be quiet or get out of her class, a boy sitting two seats away from me said, Peeleeee! in a muffled voice for he knew the implication of his voice being heard (Peeleee is a mild form of sarcastic sorry now common among youths when they disprove of whatever you are saying). I was angry and disgusted at the same time. This was only an iota of disdain some Uites have over time developed for their lecturers, needlessly proven themselves to be rude and disrespectful.
Ironically, University of Ibadan as the first and the best university, gives certificate to its students upon completion of their academic work based on ‘character and learning’. It has been reiterated many times that the University of Ibadan places so much importance on character, while determining if anyone would be awarded for successful learning or not. You may be the most intelligent of all humans but lack the character that fits into the universitys standard, then you are not worthy of her certificate. Unfortunately, many UItes lack the character that should make them worthy of the universitys certificate after their learning. Many lecturers, including the grey-haired ones, are disrespected and talked back at.
At times, one would be forced to ask how some of these UItes with uncurbed disrespect for their lecturers relate with their parents at home especially when one listen to them throw jibes at their lecturers. To worsen this disrespect, many students replace the names of lecturers’ with the courses they teach. For example, if English 101 is being taken by Professor Alebiosu, you would sometimes hear students ask questions like is Alebiosu holding today instead of is English 101 holding today. It is even more worrisome when students leave the comfort of their room to come to class, not to listen to their lecturers and take notes, but to be discourteous and disrespectful to them and also disturb other students who have chosen not to be like them.
As UItes, we can boast of being social and classy from sunup to sundown, but many of us lack refinement. By this I mean an unusual difficulty to maintain decorum and show relatable good character in the public space. Many times, it is when you plead with UItes to behave like cultured people and show themselves as men and women of good character that they usually parade themselves as the opposite. The recent Jaw War 2019 suffered from the untamed display of proper character by UItes. According to reports, Beat 97.9 FM, Ibadan, that planned to sponsor the event withdrew its sponsorship because the noise from the audience was unreasonably loud, and the audience uncontrollable. At every stage of Jaw War, judges always correct and complain about the audience’s unruliness and indiscipline. Yet, UItes carried on with their unruliness without minding that some of the judges are lecturers they would still meet in class.
If UItes could disrespect those who are teaching them, and in many cases old enough to father them, treating each other with disdain is therefore not surprising. Although not all UItes are this bad, yet it is hard to find someone with good manners. This for me makes it look as if UItes in general lack good character.
Freedom and youthfulness/adulthood should not be an avenue to disregard people, neither is being outspoken a gift to be used to disrespect others. Lecturers, no matter how young they may be, should be regarded as of high importance, and treated with utmost respect. Sanity should be inculcated and brought to the fore, not only in school but outside the four walls of UI. People are not objects and should not be treated as such. Being ill-mannered does not portray you as a no-nonsense person. As a matter of fact, it only shows you lack self-respect because respecting others for me could only come after you have respected yourself.
Discipline, good character and respect should be the fundamental behaviour of an individual. Treat people the way you would want to be treated and you will have a good interpersonal relationship with others. People like to be around those who respect them (only that some people do not like to be treated well).