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Corruption has eaten very very deep into every fabric and aspect of the nation called Nigeria.
This has gotten so bad that the honest and good Nigerians have continued to wonder if Nigeria will ever survive it or if the monster will eventually kill Nigeria.
Over the years, many persons in political and other offices have always done everything to steal, milk the nation dry, divert, misappropriate the commonwealth of Nigeria for their personal use and gains.
The problem is so deep that some organizations and individuals under the present administration have also continued to take every advantage open to them to milk the nation dry and beat any well-thought out programmes that have succeeded or succeeding in other countries.
They always have perfect plans and strategies in place to beat even the best and well-thought out programmes of the government for their selfish interests.
These bad ones go all out to ensure that programmes and policies that have been easily implemented successfully in other places do not succeed in Nigeria.
An issue that has blown open that is so sad to even think about is what is happening in the implementation of the Students Loan Fund.
Seeing the suffering of youths, especially students in tertiary institutions, President Bola Tinubu administration pushed for the empowerment of the Students Loan Fund in order to assist students having financial problems to further their studies.
But the latest news is that the monster called ‘corruption’ has found its way into the scheme in order to beat the government’s and National Assembly’s desire to assist students, as the monster is now wickedly ensuring that Nigerian students do not benefit from the aims of the Fund and to make them to continue to suffer the hardship in the country to the detriment of their studies.
It’s so sad that the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act 2023, established by the Federal Government to break financial barriers in higher education, is now being defeated by some selfish individuals.
The bad eggs are stopping at nothing to defeat the federal government’s plan to revolutionize higher education accessibility to interest-free loans by eligible students to pursue their academic aspiration.
During the week, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) raised the alarm that some tertiary institutions are colluding with banks to shortchange some students applying for the Federal Government's Students Loan.
It said that recent investigations into the disbursement of the Student Loan Fund have shown some irregularities including the banks and the institutions deliberately withholding financial information from the students for their monetary gains among other fraudulent and unethical practices.
A statement by Paul Odenyi, Deputy Director, Communications and Media, reads "According to the latest report by the Community Orientation and Mobilisation Officers (COMO), of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), schools and banks are conspiring to short-change the students.
"Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, the Director General of the NOA, announced the findings after meeting with NELFUND Managing Director, Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr, over the weekend.
"Initial reports indicated that certain university officials have been withholding vital information regarding loan disbursements, prompting immediate action from NELFUND."
The NOA's feedback, it said, showed how specific institutions have, "in connivance with some banks, deliberately delayed payments to successful student applicants for personal financial benefit.
"Some universities fail to acknowledge the NELFUND’s disbursements to the students."
The statement also said Mr. Akintunde Sawyerr confirmed that some institutions are failing to inform students about loan disbursements made in their name while still requiring them to pay tuition fees.
The statement quoted him saying “Recent findings by NELFUND have shown that some institutions have received student loan disbursements directly into their accounts yet neglect to inform the affected students or record the payments in their financial records, leading to unnecessary confusion."
Withholding critical financial information from students, he noted, is not only unethical but also a breach of the principles on which NELFUND was founded.
"We are prepared to take legal action against any institution engaged in such deceptive practices.” he stated.
In response, Mallam Issa-Onilu has issued a strong warning to these institutions and collaborating banks to cease from such activities.
"NOA has directed its state directorates to provide further feedback from students across the country to ensure that the Federal Government takes appropriate actions against erring schools and banks." the statement concluded.
Knowing the bad effects of these fraudulent and evil practices on the system, it is hoped that someone will actually be caught and made a scapegoat to discourage further evil scheming by others against the well-intended Fund.
This Fund, that will help students actualize their dreams and position them well to give back to the society, must not be allowed to be killed by these selfish and corrupt Nigerians.
Anyone caught on the wrong side of the law should be made to face the music to act as deterrence to others and allow the fund and other well-thought out programmes to succeed for the interest of Nigeria.