Nigeria has just increased her stock of the professoriate by one. He is Chris Kwaja, most likely the newest professor in town. That’s not the news anymore as Intervention learnt reliably that Facebook has taken the lead in providing the details of the Modibbo Adama University, Yola scholar’s moment.
If we follow the debate that there is no reality as such outside of how a reality is interpreted, then it is interesting that Governor Muftwang of Plateau State has already advanced a discourse of Kwaja’s emergence. The governor has issued a statement crediting Prof Kwaja with works which “have significantly shaped development policies and the political landscape across Africa”. That is a fascinating frame game because, going by the reigning philosophical wisdom on the useless debate on the real/unreal, an earthquake or the falling of a brick do not need human thoughts or permission or consciousness to happen. They are real to that extent “but whether their specificity (or meaning) as objects is constructed in terms of ‘natural phenomena’ or expressions of the wrath of God’, depends upon the structuring of a discursive field”. So, thank you, Mister governor for the discursive field.
But the ultimate discursive structure on this will be or should be or must be the night when Kwaja’s professorship is ‘washed’. Those who may not understand what ‘washing’ in this usage might mean are advised to organise to know because it is too much taking that up here and now). Until then, the reported coverage of Kwaja’s professorial rise on Facebook is more like the philosophical puzzle which coverage in that space almost always invokes in terms of whether a tree which fell in a forest with no one around to experience the fall or hear it made any sound. Did the tree even fall? Is the fall real? Similarly, does a Kwaja become a professor if the circle of activists in Nigeria were not there to witness it?
There is no debate about the imperative of such an episodic reception beyond the question of where it takes place. Yola, Jos and Abuja are competing. Two, a chairman has to be in place. The last known chairman should be Mallam Y. Z. Yáu. It is not clear if he ever handed over to anyone when that tradition was in vogue among radical activists in Nigeria. or whether he is still on the chair. He has the advantage of knowing the protocols. In his absence, there will be problem of finding a successor.
Prof Jibrin Ibrahim would look like the ready-made chairman. Everything else about his chairmanship is in place except that gist merchants are likely to say that he is too democratic minded. Activists may be soldiers for democracy but not necessarily people who hear word (to use that expression). What about Kole Shettima? Excellent but is he not too much of a workaholic? Someone who doesn’t know how to ‘enjoy’ may not know how to superintend an episodic letting go.
What of Comrade John Odah? He should be a perfect chairman for those who take note of his ability to organise things except that he plays the devil’s advocate too much. In other words, he suffers a bit of the Jibo ‘problem’. What about Prof Adele Junaid? Certainly the perfect chairmanship candidate but for the age/authority gap between these eaglet professors and their own generation. But he has to be at the function or it will not be complete. Nobody is uncomfortable with him, we hear.
May be the search continues, very unlikely to be anyone other than Prof Victor Adetula of UNIJOS. If anything, he must have taught Chris at UNIJOS. If that is true, then he has the moral authority to preside. That is if Mallam Y.Z Yáu is not serving in that position anymore and it is now vacant.
It is the ‘washing’ under reference that affirms Kwaja’s professorship as far as this circle is concerned because activism more than dry academe provided the backbone of Kwaja’s professorship. So, welcome to the coming boundary re-drawing that Kwaja’s professorial exertions should be unleashing!