“Town Hall Different from Bala Blu”: Why I Set Exam Question Based on Tinubu’s Gaffe, Varsity Lecturer Reveals
- Frederick Oxford, a lecturer at the Nasarawa State University, has explained why he set the viral exam question on Bola Tinubu's gaffe, "a townhall different from Bala blu..."
- Mr Oxford in an email chat with Legit.ng explained that the question has nothing to do with politics, "but pure academics"
- The lecturer who shared other similar questions set for other students argued that schools are meant to apply theories to real-life situations
Nasarawa State University recently trended on social media after one of the varsity's lecturers set an examination question on a popular gaffe made by the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Tinubu had suffered a gaffe as he tried to dismiss some town hall meetings which he did not attend.
Source: Getty Images
Speaking at a political gathering in Imo state, Tinubu attempted to justify his refusal to attend town hall debates, saying something like:
“A town hall, different from balablu blu blu bulaba.”
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While some said the APC presidential candidate may have unsuccessfully attempted to pronounce the world hullabaloo, his campaign team passed it off that he was making fun of the word.
Nevertheless, the "balablu blu blu bulaba” trended on social media as opponents of the APC presidential candidate used it to mock him.
Nasarawa university sets exam question on Tinubu's gaffe
Subsequently, the photo of an examination question from the Nasarawa State University's Faculty of Social Sciences asking students to "justify the social judgment theory", using Tinubu's popular gaffe as a case study surfaced on social media.
The question reads:
"Using the social media trending Sarcastic statement “A Townhall, Different, From Bala-Blu, Blu-Blu, Bula-Ba”, justify the social judgment theory.
The question was for part-time 200-level students of Mass Communication at the state university.
Why I set the question, lecturer reveals
The lecturer who set the question, Frederick Oxford, explained that it has nothing to do with politics, "but pure academics".
"The purpose of the question was to justify the social judgment. Schools are meant to apply theories to real-life situations," Mr Oxford who said he was queried by his superiors for setting the question told Legit.ng via email.
He added:
"In other words, Nigerians are like a mass media audience; they are active, and no longer passive as it was in the past. People who are exposed to media messages, tend to interpret those messages based on their cognitive judgment, which often leads to acceptance or rejection of mass media messages.
Therefore, by asking students to justify the assumptions of the social judgment theory in relation to the trending "Balablu Blu Blu, Bulaba, they were meant to explain why, based on their ego, cognition, value, and experience, they should accept or reject the statement."
Nasarawa varsity lecturer shares other similar questions
Meanwhile, Mr Oxford also exclusively shared with Legit.ng other similar questions, he set for 300 and 400 Levels students of the university.
One of the questions set for the 300 Level students of Mass Communication asked them to use a theory to explain the recent media war between the APC presidential campaign council and Arise News TV.
The question reads:
"Arise News recently granted interview to David Hundeyin who alleged that the Presidential Candidate of the APC engaged in Drug Trafficking. Ever since that interview, the APC Presidential Campaign Council and the station have been at loggerhead. What theory can explain this situation? And why?"
Another question set by the lecturer focused on the recent statement made against First Lady Aisha Buhari by Aminu Mohammed, a student of the Federal University, Dutse, which led to his arrest.
The question reads:
"In June 2022, one Aminu Mohammed alleged that Mrs. Aisha Buhari is “feeding ‘fat’ on poor people’s money”. Explain how the Public Sphere Theory justifies both his allegation and the agitations that led to his release from police detention."
Source: Original
For the 400 Level students, one of the questions set by Mr Oxford focused on the Big Brother Naija reality TV show.
It reads:
"Using Catharsis theory and Aggressive Cue theory, explain the issues of obscenity and p*ornography in Big Brother Naija TV show, and justify why the programme should be banned or otherwise."
Photo of exam question paper at Obafemi Awolowo University stirs uproar
In another report, massive reactions trailed a viral photo of an exam question paper from Obafemi Awolowo university.
A student of the school who shared the photo on Twitter, broke down in tears as she called out the university. It was observed that only section A was numbered to the letter 't' which summed up to 20 questions.
Reacting to the viral photo, many netizens condemned the lengthy questions while some expressed shock.
Source: Legit.ng
