|
This Teacher Didn't Teach Us Nonsense
By Uche Nworah
I still believe that our
encounter with Prof. Emmanuel David Akpan was pre-destined, that
God had placed him at the University of Uyo to bless us with his
wisdom, and to give hope and pride back to us. I remember vividly
our first lectures with him, in the Communication Arts studio it
must have been. How he started by running us through his
undergraduate days at the San Francisco State University, he
wanted to let the class see that he had also been through life’s
journey and that we could really achieve whatever we wanted to
achieve.
He may not have known it
then, but his regular pre-lesson pep talks did help keep our feet
on the ground, having journeyed through our teenage years at the
mercy of the almighty Joint Admissions & Matriculation Board (JAMB), some of
us came to Uyo as frustrated students, because Unilag, OAU (then
Unife), UNN, UI and all the other ‘Ivy League’ universities in
Nigeria had seemed out of reach.
He made us all to appreciate
the Uniuyo (then Unicross) that we had, and encouraged us to work
hard and excel, that way we would help to raise the profile of the
University. He narrated how he had to leave his lecturing jobs
first at UNN, and then Unical to come to ‘obscure’ Unicross to
help found the Communication Arts department. Teachers like him
don’t come any more in dozens; he was a true communication
scholar, alongside the other communication scholars of his
generation, the likes of Prof. Frank Okwu Ugboajah, Prof. Onuora
Nwuneli, Prof. Solomon Unoh and Prof Ikechukwu Nwosu. If there was
ever a Nigerian version of ratemyprofessor.com,
I am sure that the praises of the many students, whose lives he
touched will easily fill the columns.
He was one of the old school
teachers; he believed in what he was doing, and had so much joy in
helping his students come through, he believed so much in the
future, the future of his students. For this reason, all through
our 4 year degree programme, he never sold, nor caused to be sold
any handouts in his name, a practice that was prevalent at the
time.
Though he was a professor,
but that didn’t affect his teaching style, he still regarded
himself as a teacher, I remember the lecture we had with him on
the topic synergy, he couldn’t have explained the concept any
better with his pot of soup
and ingredients example. I used to marvel at the fluidity of
his thoughts, and the simplicity of the examples he used, tapping
from everyday things to explain difficult concepts. He did not
revel in academic jargons or big
grammar, something the academic world is known for.
This was obviously as a
result of his simple nature, attired usually in native adire
clothes, he was always reachable, we didn’t need any
protocols to see him, he didn’t mind our stopping him on the
sidewalks and discussing any issues. I remember also how he
wouldn’t be dragged into some of the university politics at the
time, especially over the deanship of the faculty of arts (a
position he eventually occupied) and the ASUU/Babangida/Jubril
Aminu crises; one of his expressions then was ‘let
me quietly go about my business’.
He couldn’t understand the
madness and irrationality of what was going on at the time.
Injustice inflicted on man by man.
It was from him that we
learnt about and experienced positive
marking, he judged the students more on their potentials, he
recognised that students sometimes have their bad days, and so may
not perform well in tests, quizzes and exams. This was at a time
that most lecturers took pride in branding students as failures,
never-do-wells, olodos,
etc. These types of lectures took joy in failing students, they
had no issues in awarding a zero out of ten marks for a
student’s effort, and then would throw in the icing by drawing
in human eyes, and a big smile inside the zero. For these
lecturers, such tactics opened opportunities for them to prey on
female students or to engage in sorting.
I have carefully preserved
this particular test script which he marked in my first year; his
comments on my performance couldn’t have come at a better time,
he had asked us to explain what we understood by the phrase; man
can not, not communicate, having spent half of the time,
scratching my head, and looking up to the heavens for help and
inspiration, I was surprised at the six marks I scored out of a
maximum ten marks, but still more surprised at his encouraging
comments; I could see some
hope in you, keep it up, he wrote.
Most of our teachers thrive
in a culture of condemnation, praise is not anywhere in their
dictionaries, not Prof. Akpan. Janet Jackson, the American R &
B singer once confessed in an interview that despite her success,
she was still hunted by her high school teacher’s comments; the
teacher had repeatedly told her that she would never amount to
anything in her life. What a difference Professor Akpan’s
positive approach made in our lives.
Though it’s now 10 years
since he passed on, I want to thank him and to tell him that I
enjoyed being his student, he is indeed one of the best teachers
that I ever had. His many students scattered all over the world
are indeed flying the flag of their Alma matter and proudly
carrying the torch lighted by him and the others.
Now that I have also become
an academic, I draw lots of inspiration from his style, I assess
the students based on what is there, rather than looking for what
is not there, this is something several teachers, lecturers or
what ever name they prefer to be called these days should
seriously consider, especially this one lecturer I once had who
seemed to have a penchant for terrorising
students, imagine telling me on the first day of his course
lectures that no matter how hard I tried, that I wasn’t going to
pass the course.
Hopefully, one day all Prof.
Akpan’s past students would be able to pay a more befitting
tribute to this great teacher.
In memory of the late
Professor Emmanuel David Akpan (Etok
Emman). 1938 - 1995
Uche Nworah is freelance writer, lecturer and brand
strategist. He studied communications arts at the
University of Uyo, Nigeria and graduated with a second
class honours degree (upper division). He also holds an
M.Sc degree in marketing from the University of Nigeria,
Enugu campus and obtained his PGCE (post-graduate
certificate in education) from the University of
Greenwich where he is currently enrolled as a doctoral
candidate. His articles have been published by several
websites and leading Nigerian newspapers. He received
the ChickenBones Journalist of the Year award in 2006.
* *
* * *
|
Strategic Vision: America and the Crisis of Global Power
By Zbigniew Brzezinski
By 1991, following the disintegration first of the Soviet bloc and then of the Soviet Union itself, the United States was left standing tall as the only global super-power. Not only the 20th but even the 21st century seemed destined to be the American centuries. But that super-optimism did not last long. During the last decade of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century, the stock market bubble and the costly foreign unilateralism of the younger Bush presidency, as well as the financial catastrophe of 2008 jolted America—and much of the West—into a sudden recognition of its systemic vulnerability to unregulated greed. Moreover, the East was demonstrating a surprising capacity for economic growth and technological innovation. That prompted new anxiety about the future, including even about America’s status as the leading world power. This book is a response to a challenge. It argues that without an America that is economically vital, socially appealing, responsibly powerful, and capable of sustaining an intelligent foreign engagement, the geopolitical prospects for the West could become increasingly grave. The ongoing changes in the distribution of global power and mounting global strife make it all the more essential that America does not retreat into an ignorant garrison-state mentality or wallow in cultural hedonism but rather becomes more strategically deliberate and historically enlightened in its global engagement with the new East. Q&A with
Zbigniew Brzezinski |
 |
* * * * *
 |
Scorched Earth: Legacies of Chemical Warfare in Vietnam
By Fred A. Wilcox and Introduction by Noam Chomsky
Scorched Earth is the first book to chronicle the effects of chemical warfare on the Vietnamese people and their environment, where, even today, more than 3 million people—including 500,000 children—are sick and dying from birth defects, cancer, and other illnesses that can be directly traced to Agent Orange/dioxin exposure. Weaving first-person accounts with original research, Vietnam War scholar Fred A. Wilcox examines long-term consequences for future generations, laying bare the ongoing monumental tragedy in Vietnam, and calls for the United States government to finally admit its role in chemical warfare in Vietnam. Wilcox also warns readers that unless we stop poisoning our air, food, and water supplies, the cancer epidemic in the United States and other countries will only worsen, and he urgently demands the chemical manufacturers of Agent Orange to compensate the victims of their greed and to stop using the Earth’s rivers, lakes, and oceans as toxic waste dumps. Vietnam has chosen August 10—the day that the US began spraying Agent Orange on Vietnam—as Agent Orange Day, to commemorate all its citizens who were affected by the deadly chemical. Scorched Earth will be released upon the third anniversary of this day, in honor of all those whose families have suffered, and continue to suffer, from this tragedy. Noam Chomsky & Fred Wilcox Book-TV |
* * * * *
The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
* *
* * *
Ancient African Nations
* * * * *
If you like this page consider making a donation
* * * * *
Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
1950
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
____ 2005
Enjoy!
* * * * *
The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
/
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
* *
* * *
The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
* * * * *
* *
* * *
ChickenBones Store
(Books, DVDs, Music, and more)
update 31 January 2012
|
