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Nafiu Aliyu is a fresh graduate from the Sokoto State University, the first person to achieve such a feat in his extended family of about 1,000 members. He speaks with OLAKUNLE MARUF about the accomplishment and the accompanying challenges.
You have become a person of public interest for being the first member of your extended family to acquire Western education and, better still, become a university graduate. Tell us about this achievement?
I am fortunate to be the first person to acquire Western education in my extended family. I am not talking about my immediate family but the whole of my extended family. We are more than 1,000 members in the family.
Is the family averse to Western education or what do you think took the family so long to produce the first lettered man, a university graduate at that?
The major reason is our family elders’ fear of cultural imperialism, fear of alcoholism, unrestrained interaction between the male and female folks, possible disrespect towards elders and other anti-cultural behaviours which they feel might result from the acquisition of Western education.
They also believe that in the process of acquiring Western education, a child could lose their Islamic faith and become a non-Muslim, a situation which they believe is forbidden.
How did you break the jinx?
To God be the glory. I broke the jinx through determination and resilience. It was not a smooth journey. There were lots of challenges against my dream but with God, I was able to surmount them all and today, I am proud to be a university graduate.
Tells us about your educational background and how you ended up in the university?
Like I said earlier, I was born in 1995 in the Sabon Birni area of Sokoto South Local Government Area of Sokoto State. I had my elementary education at the Marafa Danbaba Nizzamiya Islamiyya, Sokoto, from 2001 to 2006. I proceeded to the Government Day Secondary School, Kofar, in the Rini area of the Sokoto metropolis. I was there between 2006 and 2012.
After my secondary education, I went to Shehu Shagari College of Education (SSCOE), where I obtained the Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE). Afterwards, I gained admission into the Sokoto State University to study Hausa Language.
My struggle has paid off. I wrote my final exam a few days before last Christmas and I earned a Bachelor of Art (BA) degree from the university.
What was your parents’ reaction when they first knew of your pursuit of Western education?
One of my father’s friends who saw me in uniform was the one who went to my father and asked, ‘Are you aware that our son, Nafiu, has been attending school for Western education?’ My father told him that he was not. He was shocked at what his friend had just told him. I gave him no reason to be suspicious because I didn’t wear school uniform in the house until my secondary school days. When I returned home in the evening, my father asked if it was true that I was attending school and I answered in the affirmative. His response was: ‘Allah knows that I know nothing about this and I am not the one who enrolled you into such a school. Therefore, I will not be a witness hereafter; you will be accountable for your deeds’.
How did you get funds for your education?
As a young boy, it was not easy to raise money for education and see myself through school. I engaged in many vocations, especially tailoring where I started as an errand boy; I helped people there to buy food and I swept the shop for the owner. All the while, I took note and learned a thing or two about tailoring. I eventually learned tailoring, with which I still support myself up to today.
After being admitted to the university, the financial challenges worsened. It was difficult but, to God be the glory, I got a casual job as a cleaner in the university. I was both a student and a cleaner at the university.
After the state governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, ordered that all casual workers in the university should be given full employment, I was given full employment in the school. I used my monthly salary to take care of my studies and my basic needs. I made sure that my cleaning job and my studies did not suffer or get in the way of each other.
How did your school mates treat you, with the knowledge that you also worked as a cleaner?
I had no problem whatsoever with anyone regarding what I did. From the beginning, I knew what I stood to benefit and my mind was made up about achieving my dream of becoming a graduate. So, I developed a thick skin for any negative comments from any quarters. After all, I did not commit any crime.
Has your family reconsidered their stand on Western education?
Alhamdulillah, things are changing – although not with my father. Some of my elder brothers have begun to enroll their children in school to acquire Western education. I have also made time out of my busy schedule to teach some of my brothers’ children little things at home.
I believe some of them are motivated by the fact that I am the only one in the family that assists in writing and reading letters. I have been creating awareness among our family members and some have started to enroll their children in school.
Do all your family members know that you are a university graduate?
Not at all. I cannot inform them yet because of their stand on Western education. I will continue to do things the same way until, maybe, after my national youth service. That is when I intend to surprise them, probably with my NYSC uniform and discharge certificate.
What do you plan on telling when you get the NYSC call-up and depart for one year of national service?
Since they are already aware that I work as a cleaner in the university, all I intend to tell them is that the school is giving me a transfer to another place. That will help me to focus during the service.
Your parents don’t believe in Western education but do they visit the hospital when they fall sick?
In fact, my father has never in his life visited the hospital for any medical attention and he will never allow any of his family members to do so. But sometimes, when any of my younger siblings get sick, I smuggle them to the hospital and warn them not to let our father know about it.
What is your advice for the government on issues like this?
First, let me express gratitude to the state governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who directed that all casual workers in the school be given full employment. That has helped a lot in achieving my dream.
I want to also appeal to the government to continue to sensitise parents, especially those who are oblivious of the benefits of Western education to their children and wards.
I also appeal to Islamic clerics to use their sermons to throw light on the importance of education in the society and why parents should encourage their children to acquire Western education alongside Islamic education.
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