Sexually Transmitted Degrees: 7 Things You Should Know

The term sexually transmitted degrees refers to degrees, diplomas and certificates obtained not by academic or intellectual prowess or capacity but through granting of sexual favours in an academic setting.

The term was first used by Ademule David December, 2012 and became recently popular following the undercover report by BBC which exposed some Nigerian Lecturers.

Nigerian institutions are populated by fantastic lecturers many of whom labour extremely hard under unfriendly working conditions to transfer knowledge to their students. Unfortunately, they are also packed with sexual predators and malevolent creatures destroying lives and wrecking destinies.

In this piece, I have tried to capture all the issues around the sex for grades scandal with the hope that society will rise for up for what is right and make our institutions a place we can all be proud of.

1. The Excuse of Skimpy Dressing

Our educational system has become almost useless because sex and money have become a weapon within a system that is meant to groom individuals both in character and learning. While it is true that students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria are legends of provocative dressing, that must never be the yardstick to sexually harass and humiliate them. While not making excuses for the Unclad nonsense and nudity on our campuses, it must be said that if Western students , their South American counterparts and their lecturers can interact without molestation, especially in summer when the ladies wear little to nothing, Nigerian lecturers should not use this excuse. They can wield their moral powers by sending such crazy dressers out of class or their offices, instead of plotting to a sexual collabo.

2. Non Academic Students and Slay Queens Also Harass Lecturers

Sexual harassment on campuses is not one sided as many claim , ask any reasonable graduate of Nigerian University and he or she will tell you that Non Academic students who got into the system through “voodoo” means will always use ‘voodoo’ means to secure a degree. Slay queens with nothing but ‘akamu’ in their brains are not left out, they party all night running from one club to the other while their colleagues are taking lectures. Such fellows will be off campus often for weeks spending valuable time with yahoo boys , politicians and money bags . These class of students hound lecturers for grades with offers most cannot resist and blackmailing those who resist sex or money. When results are out they end up with an A or B, thanks to the settling schemes that has become a tradition in our institutions.

3. Course Rep Usually knows everything

The class /course representative or captain often knows more than he is ever willing to tell. Having spent more than 10 years in that role, I must assert that female students some times are the architect of their own misfortune. Many of them visit lecturers taking a course at unholy hours often alone to seek for one help or the other. During these sessions they try to use their feminine charm to form a platonic relationship with these lecturers. However, this signal is often misinterpreted by the male lecturers as a signal for a relationship often sexual and when the other party withdraws the green light and takes off often after getting what they wanted, these lecturers feel betrayed and unleash their venom either directly or through their colleagues who are also co conspirators.

4. Demons Posing as Lecturers

This category of persons are the ones that insist on seeing the pants of a female student or she will not graduate, no matter how brilliant she is. These group of lecturers have all the blackbook tactics used by lecturers of the underworld. These range from giving a student who scored distinction in a course D or E simply because she refused advances or asking a colleague to out rightly fail her. These lecturers prey on girls as young as 16, many of whom are barely the age of their children or grand children. Have you ever wondered how the exam script booklet of a student suddenly gets missing after she turned down the advances of a lecturer in another department when evidence clearly shows that she signed in and signed out of the exams and all students that took part in the exams submitted their scripts as confirmed by the examination officers?

The cabal that molest students are in different departments, they know each other and share these girls among themselves. They often protect each other and go to extreme limits to ensure that they get what they want, it does not matter how many times a girl spills over.

5. Religious cover most times used

One of the most disappointing aspects of this trend as we have seen is the use of the religious organizations to cover or commit atrocities. Persons parading as pastors, imams hide under these cloaks to destroy the lives of young people leaving them scarred for the rest of their lives, forgetting that their own children will one day pass through the four walls of institutions like theirs. This practice is more prevalent in polytechnics and colleges of education where students are lured in the name of religion and transformed into sexual slaves by their demigod pastors-lecturers, most times leaving them infected with sexually transmitted diseases.

6. The NYSC Disaster

Although this is applicable to both male and female students, it is more rampant among persons who obtained their degrees by the settling schemes in our schools. This group of people are grossly incompetent and many are either unemployable or declared incompetent by their employers after a trial period because they bypassed the necessary training and skill acquisition process during their higher institution days. At the extreme level, you will find a 2:1 graduate of English and Linguistics committing grammatical blunders and malapropisms in every sentence they utter. Some cases are so severe that they cannot even read, write or spell simple words correctly.

7. HIV /AIDS Angle

As a disease control specialist I have seen countless cases of HIV Carriers being raped by randy men lecturers and the so called men of God inclusive. One recurring decimal in all these cases is that a randy man on heat will not mind inserting his manhood into the mouth of a viper disguised as a female reproductive organ. Unfortunately, most of our schools have become brothels and centers for breeding criminals, yahoo boys and cultists.

This piece will not be complete without celebrating the intellectual capacity of the Nigerian student. History has shown that Nigerian students especially our sisters and daughters have blazed the academic trail since independence. From America to India, from the United Kingdom to Gods own country, Nigeria, the convocation of any institution is never complete without Nigerian ladies carting away awards for academic excellence. This spirit must not be destroyed on the altar of sex, money or ego.

History has shown that the Nigerian woman has contributed most when called upon for National assignment than all men combined. As a Nation, we remain eternally grateful to Professor Dora Akuyilli for saving us from menace of fake drugs , to Dr Stella Ameyo Adadevoh for sacrificing her life to save millions of Nigerians from Ebola, and to Ngozi Okonjo Iweala for rescuing us from the bondage of Paris Club Loan. To every Nigerian girl out there, striving legally to earn an education and make a living, your labour will not be in vain.

Oche Joseph Otorkpa is a fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health UK and Author of the Unseen Terrorist

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