Abeg, make we yarn about the wahala wey dey ground for our universities for Naija. We don dey talk say the Western world no dey own knowledge, but you go surprise say many of our scholars still dey bow down to dem foreign indexing sha.
Na wetin we call ‘intellectual dependency’, and the way e dey happen, na serious gbege. As the PUNCH talk am, predatory publishing don enter our academic space, but no be us wey start am. This na global wahala wey dey affect Asia, Easter Europe, and even Latin America. Abeg, make we shine our eye.
When we look China now, we go see say dem don tighten dem academic rules, no be like wey dey happen for Naija, where dem dey point finger at individual scholars like say dem be dem wahala. Na governance and soak-and-dry system wey dey make these predatory journals dey flourish for our side.
For Naija, platforms like Scopus and Web of Science don turn to dem ‘holy grail’ of academic validity. But this mindset no gree make sense. Even Chinese scholars dey manage these platforms eh, but no be dem entire life be dem index. Dem sabi say real value dey for the quality of research and impacts wey fit change society, not just where e show.
Another serious thing wey dey pair us na the way people dey see our local journals. Wetin be dis narra naira? People dey paint dem as inferior, but no be true! You no go see China abandon dem own journals; instead, dem dey upgrade dem! Most of our schools need to wake up and support these local papers, no just dey chase after foreign recognition.
And for all the talk about international mobility, abeg make we drop that mindset. No be everybody fit travel go abroad. Plenty scholars for China don make wave within dem system, and dem dey use dem knowledge to impact national policies without packing dey go abroad every time. Naija must change this narrative wey dey link academic worth to foreign exposure.
Promotion and assessment criteria for Naija universities dey mostly focus on just how many papers you publish. But wetin about policy impact? Teacher quality? Innovation? We need change! We should dey judge academics on how their work dey affect society, not just the number of journals wey dem fit enter.
For this our university matter, we gats stop to dey put all the blame for early-career scholars’ neck. Dem dey face heavy workloads, poor funding, and confused promotion standards. If we no fix these systems, all our lectures and motivational talks go just dey useless.
Nigeria gats learn from China’s story—strong institutions dey produce strong academics. We must work on our governance, clear up our academic systems, and build our local journals. Predatory journals go dey scatter when we get intentional governance. Naija no lack brain; we just need strong academic support and strategy.
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