By Terwase Lawrence
…but wait, is this how we immortalise legends now just by swapping names like football jerseys?
Over the past few days, the timelines of Benue social media have been on fire and not because NEPA brought light.
No, it’s the buzz around renaming Benue State University, Makurdi to Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu University supposedly as a grand gesture to immortalise the man who midwifed the university into existence.
The recent development has abbreviated what we all knew as BSU into MOAUN. I’m not sure if that sounds like a cow grunting or a cat softly singing love songs. It’s quite confusing. MOAUN? Please, who can pronounce that without twisting their tongue like dried meat under the sun? It’s definitely going to be a tough one!
Now, don’t get me wrong. The late Rev. Fr. Adasu was no small fry. He was the founding father of the institution. He pulled the trigger on BSU’s birth with the Benue State University.
The university kicked off in the 1992/93 session and it has since produced different graduates including medical doctors, not just fine boys with stethoscopes.
The point is, the man laid a serious foundation. And yes, credit must be given where it’s due even if it’s posthumous.
Now, here’s where I press pause.
Inscribing his name on the school is cool. I mean, it looks good on paper, sounds fancy in press releases and definitely makes politicians feel accomplished. But then, is it really enough to honour the man’s legacy?
Renaming the school is like putting a shiny new bumper on a car with engine problems. It looks better, sure but the real issues are under the hood.
The man’s dream was to make education affordable even to the guy selling groundnuts by the roadside. But have you seen the current school fees? Students are breaking their backs just to pay and some even take loans they’ll still be repaying by the time their kids are in school. So, again, what are we really doing?
He wanted students to be problem solvers. But how many laboratories within the school are in good condition? Ask science students for verification.
The campus radio station meant to be a grooming ground for future broadcasters is practically running on poor infrastructure. Ask Communication and Journalism students.
From what I read prior to my admission into the University in 2016, the man wanted to build competitive technocrats. Instead, we now have stories of students paying to submit assignments. I mean, what kind of academic hustle is that?
So yeah, calling it Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu University is nice. It sounds elite. It’s Instagrammable. But if that’s all we’re doing, then we’ve missed the bus and the driver didn’t even honk.
Immortalisation of the school should go beyond the nameplate. It should be about fixing the very system he envisioned
I mean a system where education is a right, not a privilege. A system where students are equipped to lead, not just recite theories from handouts older than Nigeria’s democracy.
So, while I applaud the government and the VC for this symbolic gesture, I also say this. We need to think deeper. If we truly want to honour the legacy of Rev. Fr. Adasu, then we need to go beyond the name and build the dream.
Otherwise, we’re just decorating a leaking roof.
Let me stop here.