BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – The University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) female lecturer, Dr Rahmat Zakariyya, recently assaulted and beaten to a pulp by one of the institution’s undergraduates, says her relationship with students has generally been cordial over the years.
Dr Zakariyya, who is with the Department of Microbiology, said maintaining a good rapport with the students has remained her call until the recent incident where the final-year student, Waliyullah Salaudeen went overboard and nearly snuffed life out of her for no reason.
Recounting her experience in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust, Zakariyya clarified what she termed misconceptions about the whole issue, noting that there have been some missing facts from the dominant narrative currently in the public space.
Specifically, addressing the issue of her relationship with the expelled student, the lecturer said; “I have seen a lot of publications that said that I’m his Level Adviser and supervisor. But none of this is true. I’m neither his Level Adviser nor Supervisor, I’m just a lecturer at the department and the SIWES Coordinator.”
According to her, contact with Waliyullah can be traced to earlier November in relation to the SIWES, saying; “If at all we had contact prior to that day, November 11th, 2021, it was when he met me to tell me that he didn’t do his SIWES, that he only spent a month at the programme and I asked him why didn’t he complete it.
“He said he was ill. I told him to get his medical report to show that he was truly ill and take it to where he did his SIWES, he could be lucky and they may be compassionate enough if he was diligent when he was there to help him endorse the remaining part of the logbook and he left. He didn’t show up again. Then, I met him again on the University walkway and inquired why I didn’t see him again and if he has gotten his medical report. He said he had sent for it but he was yet to receive it. I was wondering why a medical report will become such an issue if truly he was sick. Then about two days after, I met him with his Level Adviser and I said he has to re-register SIWES. But the level adviser only smiled when I was giving him the way around it.”
On how the University SIWES operates, Dr Zakariyya said; “Normally, if you register SIWES for the second semester, the person will not be able to do other courses again because there won’t be any opportunity to add any other course. So, l said he should register for the programme but he will be doing his project and the SIWES at where we can monitor him at the Medical Research Lab very close to the department. I then told the level adviser to liaise with the director to make a placement for him.
“You see, he had carryovers in lower-level courses because he is actually a weak student. So, by this arrangement, he will be able to do his carry-over courses for the first semester, and next year when he comes back, he wouldn’t have a huge workload. He will just register for the project. That was the advice I gave to him and this happened like six months ago, maybe late April or early May when the university just resumed.
“The SIWES has the largest unit required to bag a Bsc – 6 credits, which is larger than a project. So, we had to start a new modality of grading the student because it is not possible that we will just be awarding them free marks. We now said after they submit their logbook, they are going to do the presentation of everything they experienced during the programme. The funny thing is that we just adopted it this session. This was how our contact started in the first place.”
Explaining that many students whom she is not their Supervisor or Level Adviser often seek advice and financial support, which she gladly render, the lecturer said; “Many students who I am not their Supervisor or Level Adviser want to come to me, just go and ask, because they know I will advise them and even support them financially in many instances, including my all students.
“I learned a lot of things from friends I met in the academic circle but maybe I was overdoing my own because I was too close and attached to my students and took them as my sisters and relatives. I became a Level Adviser immediately after I got the job.”
“In 2018, I was identified and awarded the best Level Adviser at our faculty. I have been soliciting for my student since my first year of becoming a Level Adviser. There were some of them, both Muslims and Christians that I assisted financially and their parents will come asking me when to pay back, but each time I declined.
“I don’t look at religion. So you can imagine my relationship with them but see what it eventually turned out”, she lamented
However, Dr. Zakariyya enjoined parents to always raise their children morally in accordance with the societal norms and values by instilling the fear of God in their mindsets.
“We should all try our best to bring up our children in the fear of Allah. We should all play our part and leave the rest to God, that is it. I pray God will have mercy on us with the level of moral decadence. I hope parents are learning from this episode. Though I don’t know how that boy was raised, we should all instill the fear of God in our children”, she said.
Zakariyya made national and international headlines after a final-year student, Waliyullah Salaudeen, attacked her following an alleged disagreement over SIWES, the student internship programme.
The story went viral with huge public condemnation and the University’s management eventually expelled Salaudeen after finding him guilty of assaulting the lecturer. He was thereafter given 48 days grace to appeal the decision.
“In case you are dissatisfied with this decision, you are free to appeal to the University Council through the Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences to the Vice-Chancellor within forty-eight (48) days of the date of this letter”, the University management has said in the expulsion letter.
