Broadcasters
In recent days, disturbing reports have emerged of candidates being arbitrarily posted to examination centers far outside their immediate environments for a mere mock exercise. What should have been a preparatory assessment has turned into a perilous journey. Tragically, road accidents linked to these displacements have reportedly claimed the lives of prospective admission seekers young Nigerians whose only “offence” was daring to pursue education.
This is not just administrative inefficiency; it is systemic negligence.
Equally alarming are reports of candidates who duly paid and registered for the mock examination, only to be denied access under the familiar refrain of “technical glitches.” Nigerians have heard this before. When mass failure rocked the system previously, JAMB initially blamed students for not meeting standards, only to later admit much to public shock that the problem was indeed a glitch. That admission, while necessary, came too late for many whose academic trajectories had already been derailed.
The appearance of the Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, on national television, visibly emotional, may have evoked sympathy in some quarters. But emotions, no matter how sincere, cannot substitute for accountability. Tears do not restore lost opportunities. They do not heal grieving families. They do not bring back lives cut short or repair the psychological damage inflicted on thousands of anxious candidates.
Even more heartbreaking are reports of extreme distress among affected students, including a case of suicide linked to the outcome of these systemic failures. When an examination body becomes a source of trauma rather than opportunity, then it has strayed far from its foundational purpose.
With another major examination around the corner, the question on the lips of Nigerians is simple: what has changed? Where are the concrete safeguards to prevent a recurrence of last year’s chaos? What technological upgrades have been implemented to eliminate these recurring “glitches”? What logistical reforms have been put in place to ensure that no student is subjected to dangerous and unreasonable travel for an examination that should be accessible within their locality?
Excuses will no longer suffice.
JAMB must remember that it is not a revenue-generating agency like the Nigerian National Petroleum Company. It is a public institution with a clear mandate to fairly and efficiently coordinate admissions into Nigerian universities. When profit appears to overshadow purpose, the consequences are devastating. The perception that the system is more interested in extracting fees from desperate youths than in serving them only deepens public distrust.
The ripple effects of these failures are far-reaching. Thousands of capable young Nigerians are denied admission each year, not solely because of academic deficiencies, but due to systemic bottlenecks. Many are forced to wait endlessly, while others abandon their aspirations altogether. In a country already grappling with a growing population of out-of-school youth, such institutional shortcomings are not just unfortunate they are dangerous.
Idle minds, as the saying goes, are the devil’s workshop. A generation denied opportunity becomes a generation at risk—economically, socially, and morally.
This is why reform is no longer optional; it is urgent.
JAMB must immediately prioritize transparency, efficiency, and student-centered policies. Examination centers must be reasonably accessible. Technical systems must be rigorously tested and independently audited. Communication with candidates must be clear, timely, and honest. Most importantly, there must be consequences for failure not symbolic gestures, but measurable accountability.
Nigerian youths deserve better. Their dreams are valid. Their efforts are real. Their futures must not be sacrificed on the altar of incompetence or institutional complacency.
Enough of apologies. Enough of explanations. Enough of crocodile tears.
What Nigerians demand now is simple: competence, responsibility, and results.
Our Reporter
