Uji A. Iliyasu is the author of ‘TEACHERS NOT SAINTS. In an interview with journalists in Abuja, he said the book is a protest against the condition of service of teachers in Nigeria
What is the book ‘Teachers not Saints” about?
Teachers not Saints is the story of a society that neglects its teachers but overdepends on certificates they produce. It weaves around two Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) supervisors, Mr Hubi and Mr Hadi.
Mr Hubi is aware of corruption in the system, the hopelessness and frustration of Nigerian teachers and goes out to reap his reward while alive. He does not believe in waiting to receive it in heaven, so engages in exam malpractice for rewards from principals of exam centres.
Mr Hadi on the other hand, believes that receiving his reward in heaven is better thus goes out to WAEC supervision following professional ethics. But when he returns from an assignment and met his younger brother waiting for him in his rented one room apartment, with the message that their mother is dying in a hospital for want of N50,000, he shuns professional ethics and goes into exam malpractice in order to source money for his mother’s operation. He becomes corrupt, even more dangerous than his colleague, Mr Hubi, as they go to another WAEC exam centre the following day.
You are a journalist, what inspired you to go into book writing, how did your journey into book writing begin?
My first book, The Victorious Gamblers, is a thriller, entertaining my readers, mostly higher school students, because it tells the story of student union elections in a teacher training college. But I was inspired to write ‘Teachers not Saints’ to show to the world the plight of teachers in Nigeria. It is a one-man protest over the deplorable conditions of service of teachers. I am protesting against an educational policies that depends heavily on certificate qualification at the expense of practical ability; I am protesting against job vacancies that request for first class and second class degrees; I am protesting against making Mathematics and English Language compulsory for students as prerequisites for further education and job placement.
I think the best way I can protest is not to carry placards but to write to policy makers, parents, students, schools and exam bodies: WAEC, NECO, JAMB, and the like.
I was a teacher before becoming a journalist. So ‘Teachers not Saints’, though a fiction, is a an insider story of exam malpractices in Nigerian schools, with acquiescent roles of exam bodies, school heads, and parents.
I started writing ‘Teachers not Saints’ in 2006 and completed it in 2016. I abandoned it before, but later I thought I was failing in my civic responsibility, so dusted it and completed it.
What informed your choice of title and what lessons do you want readers to learn from the book?
I want to tell Nigerians that teachers’ reward is in heaven, but it must start from the earth. This is because nobody can pay for a teacher’s service. And by the way, will all teachers go to heaven? Those who may not make heaven, how can they receive the reward? Are all teachers saints? The saying that a teacher’s reward is in heaven is designed to cheat moulders of the society. God will reward teachers in heaven, but the government should first reward them on earth.
When did you launch the book and since the launch, how many copies have you sold?
The book was launched immediately it came out of the press. My intention is not to make millions out of it, but I want the first edition to get to 50 million Nigerian households. I want every policy maker in Nigeria’s education sector to have it; I want all exam bodies to have it; I want all school heads to have it; I want the National Assembly to have it; I want well-meaning, patriotic Nigerians to take up the challenge and help mass-produce this book. The cost of publishing is choking.
Since the book came out of the press in July, I have distributed close to 541 copies free of charge. I want a situation where I can distribute the copies at Federal Secretariat area in Abuja free of charge.
What are the challenges associated with book writing and how do you think they can be surmounted?
Book writing comes with a lot of challenges in Nigeria. Nigeria is a society that does not read books for pleasure. Nigeria reads books only to pass exams. Nigerians better use their time to search for food and money. Nigerians are in a hurry, they have no time for books, because the rich, irrespective of their sources of wealth, are more regarded in our society than intellectuals. Also publishers are not ready to publish new authors. If ‘Teachers not Saints’ were written by Wole Soyinka, publishers would be falling over themselves to have the copy rights. New talents must be discovered. Wole Soyinka was not discovered in heaven. Publishers should accept works from budding writers who will take the place of Wole Soyinkas and Chinua Achebes.
How many books have you written so far and how are they faring in the market?
So far, I have written three books: ‘The Victorious Gamblers’ , ‘Teachers not Saints’ and ‘Phone Call from Cemetery’ (a manuscript yet to complete).
Teachers not Saints is more successful than the first because readers are asking for it just for seeing the synopsis on the back cover as posted on social media platforms. But like children, the author loves all his books.