16th May, 2014 Alhaji Lawan Bukar Marguba The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, University of Maiduguri Governing Council, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri Dear Pro-Chancellor Sir, FURTHER RE: VACANCY FOR THE POST OF VICE-CHANCELLOR UNIVERSITY OF MAIDUGURI: THE NEED FOR FEDERAL CHARACTER COMMISSION COMPLIANCE My attention has been drawn to a bizarre letter written to you on the above subject matter dated 13th May, 2014, by Dr. Shettima Bukar Abba, a Commissioner representing Borno State on the Federal Character Commission. Apparently, Dr. Abba had also written to the Executive Chairman of the Federal Character Commission earlier on the 24th April, 2014, which was also copied to you as he indicated in his letter. Since I am not aware of the content of Dr. Abbas letter to the Executive Chairman, I will not comment on it. Sir, you will recall that I had cause to write to you two open letters on the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor for the University of Maiduguri following the intrigues and manipulations that have accompanied the process. I gave you a graphic picture of the machinations and exposed those behind the sad happenings surrounding the appointment. As I humbly await your reaction to my two letters, I have found it necessary to address to you yet another open letter, specifically in response to Dr. Abbas letter. I hasten to say that although Dr. Abba is a member of the Commission representing Borno State, all the views expressed in his letter to you, I strongly believe, represent his personal and distorted views and not that of the Commission. He is entitled to express such views in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the Commission as his letter to you conveyed. As a democrat, I respect his freedom of expression and will protect his right to express his views on any matter even when I do not agree with these views. Dr. Abba has in this case deliberately created the wrong impression that his views were the stand of the Commission. While he has sought to do this cleverly, the letter and its intent are in breach of ethical conditions of his appointment. At any rate, as a onetime Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Abba should know the grave implication of using official positions to prosecute a personal agenda. This is especially true when the personal agenda is in direct conflict with the official position. I see clear dishonesty and mischief in Dr. Abbas misleading letter, which required a response to put the records straight. As you may be aware, Dr. Abba is a staff (on leave of absence) of the Department of Geography in the University of Maiduguri and also an active member of the self-appointed group that are bent on rubbishing our values by using “ethnicity” and “State of origin” as the basis in the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor of the University. You would recall that I had earlier cautioned you about this group. I am therefore not surprised at his misleading, contradictory and distressed letter to you, which is part of his groups crude plot to impose a preferred candidate as Vice-Chancellor through crass manipulation, misinformation, misrepresentation and misdemeanors. However, to be candid and to say the least, I am dismayed and disappointed at the way Dr. Abba has descended this low to blindly prosecute a dreadful agenda of few selfish individuals in the University. As a matter fact, the main thrust of Dr. Abba’s letter clearly contradicts Section 14(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It also violates the very federal character principle that the Commission was established to promote and uphold in all Federal establishments, including the University of Maiduguri. Section 14 (3) of the Constitution provides that “The Composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few States or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies”. To this end, the appointment of all Principal Officers in the Universities should be spread equitably among the federating units of the country, which Dr. Abba’s letter, sadly, seemed to oppose. The “federal character” principle, which has been enshrined in Nigerias Constitution since 1979, seeks to ensure that appointments to public service institutions fairly reflect the linguistic, ethnic, religious, and geographic diversity of the country, which Dr. Abba seemed ignorant about or deliberately chose to misinterpret. The entire logic in Dr. Abba’s letter was actually the wrong application of the Federal Character principle, which will draw our University backwards rather than propel it to an enviable position in the comity of Universities globally. Besides, Dr. Abba’s invented principle has the tendency of promoting culture of indolence and low productivity, instead of meritocracy and hard work for which the people of Borno State and our University are known and respected globally. This will have adverse consequences for the institution in terms of discipline, morale, and overall effectiveness and efficiency. In a desperate attempt to mislead you and the Governing Council of the University, Dr. Abba, in his letter, presented a table of Federal Institutions located in Borno State and the State of origin of their Chief Executives. The table rightly showed that there was no indigene of Borno State occupying a Chief Executive position in the Federal Government establishments situated in the State. There is no dispute about Borno State’s underrepresentation in the Federal Government and its agencies. As a matter of fact, Borno State has been crudely short-changed in the area of employment, provision of infrastructural facilities and other social amenities by the Federal Government since 1999. However, I strongly believe that the Federal Government succeeded in abandoning Borno State and its people largely because of the attitudes of Dr. Abba and some PDP stalwarts in the State. Instead of speaking on behalf of Borno State and its people, they were more concerned about their individual interests. Some of them that were privileged to occupy important positions at the Federal level woefully failed to use the exceptional opportunity to assist Borno State and its people in the areas of employment, appointment and provision of developmental projects. Regrettably, but not surprisingly, Borno State has lost out in the scheme of things nationally. Dr. Abba should therefore solely blame himself and some of his fellow PDP stalwarts in the State for the dismal picture about the underrepresentation of Borno indigenes in the Federal Government and its agencies situated not only in the State but nationally. Although, I believe that it is time for sober reflection about the dismal failure in getting Borno States rightful share of the federal cake and to demand for our right from the Federal Government, the way Dr. Abba and his group want to go about it is totally wrong. If Dr. Abba is now determined to correct the hostile steps some of them took while they were privileged to occupy important positions at the Federal level, this is a welcome development but the University of Maiduguri is by no stretch of imagination a useful, convenient or meaningful starting point. The starting point is for all of us from Borno State to come together irrespective of our political party affiliations and other differences to diligently work towards regaining Bornos lost glory in the scheme of things nationally for the overall good of our people and State with genuine commitment and sincerity. In other States in the Federation, this has been the preoccupation of politicians and elders, which made it possible for their sons and daughters to get appointed into Chief Executive positions of federal establishments across the country and for their qualified indigenes to get appointed into the Federal Civil Service. At the moment, what Borno and its people badly need is a special intervention from the Federal Government in addressing the alarming unemployment among our youths; repositioning our educational sector to meet modern challenges; ensuring that parents from Northern Borno are made to send their children to school to resolve the existing educational imbalance in the State so that they can compete favourably with their peers elsewhere; addressing the endemic poverty that has ravaged our people; resolving the long and disturbing discriminatory power supply to the State; halting the frightening desertification amongst others and not fighting through foul means to get a Chief Executive position in the University of Maiduguri. I believe the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor for the University of Maiduguri is the wrong starting point of this crusade for many good reasons. The uniqueness of the University, its laws and statutes clearly protect the institution from external interference into its internal affairs such as appointment of Principal Officers, admission of students, discipline of staff and students among others. There are several positions in the Federal Government and its agencies that are filled directly by the President, which qualified indigenes of Borno can benefit to which that of the Vice-Chancellor is an exception. The genuine Borno Project should be all inclusive, well thought-out, comprehensive in approach and with sincerity of purpose in its execution. I doubt if the agenda of Dr. Abbas group falls into this project. The group to which Dr. Abba belongs are inspired by self interest rather than love for Borno and its people. I must point out that the activities of the self-appointed group are an embarrassment to Borno State and its good people, honestly speaking. I am glad to note that the Hon. Minister of State for Power, Hon. Mohammed Wakil has so far demonstrated the commendable genuine “Borno Spirit” in his relationship with the Borno State Government, which will surely benefit our people and the State. It will also hopefully reverse the disturbing lack of federal presence in our State and bring about fair representation of our people in the Federal Government and its agencies. Sir, Dr. Abba was just being clever by half and very economical with the truth in his unfortunate letter to you over the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor for the University of Maiduguri. On one hand, Dr. Abba is preaching merit, equity and fairness in the appointment of any Chief Executive Officer, which he contends should not be sacrificed in the name of Federal Character representation. On the other hand, Dr. Abba is confusing you with what he called “basic minimum requirements” (whatever that means in the case of a Vice-Chancellor) in order to surreptitiously impose his preferred candidate who had once abandoned the University of Maiduguri in the early eighties when his services were badly needed to build the institution. He only resurfaced in 2009 (27 years after) when others remained behind and contributed to the growth and development of the University under very challenging circumstances without abandoning it to search for greener pasture elsewhere. All the respected Professors that applied for the position of the Vice-Chancellor have the so called “basic minimum requirements”. The essence of the interview is to bring the best out of them to be appointed as the Vice-Chancellor, which the Joint Council and Senate Selection Board chaired by you did from the 22nd to 24th of April, 2014. So, what is Dr. Abba saying in his letter? One expected Dr. Abba to start by presenting the statistics of the Vice-Chancellors of the University of Maiduguri since its establishment in 1975 to buttress his self-proclaimed “marginalization of Borno State” in his letter to you. You may be interested in knowing that out of the seven (7) Vice-Chancellors of the University since 1975, three (3) have been from Borno State, two (2) from Adamawa State; the remaining two from Akwa-Ibom and Yobe States. Again, the only Sole Administrator appointed for about a year, in the person of Emeritus Professor Umaru Shehu, is also from Borno State. Clearly, therefore, the claim of marginalization of Borno State by Dr. Abba is false and misleading as far as the Vice-Chancellorship of the University of Maiduguri is concerned. In terms of qualifications, the position of a Vice-Chancellor requires much more than a “State of origin”. Academic excellence and high administrative capacity, rather than state of origin, are time-tested criteria that guarantee the maintenance of standards. It may interest you to know that my bosom friend and a distinguished intellectual from Borno State (Kanuri by tribe), Professor Kyari Mohammed has just been appointed the next Vice-Chancellor of Moddibo Adama University of Technology, Yola (MAUTECH) by the Governing Council less than 24 hours after Dr. Abbas ill-informed letter to you. His appointment was informed by his intellectual prowess, administrative capability and merit and not by the ethnic or State of origin card that Dr. Abba and his group are blindly playing. Professor Mohammeds appointment has further exposed the worthlessness of Dr. Abbas letter and its contents. There were no reported complains of extraneous considerations or such acrimony that Dr. Abba and his group have introduced into the process of the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor in the University of Maiduguri. Again, some State owned Universities have appointed non-indigenes as Vice-Chancellors namely: Gombe State (Prof. Abdullahi Mahdi from Borno State), Jigawa State (Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu, from Adamawa State), Sokoto State (Prof. Nuhu Yakuq from Kogi State), Nasarawa State (Prof. Adamu Baikie from Kano State) and Bauchi State (Prof Ezzeldni from Kebbi State). This exemplary action of these States should be commended and emulated by Dr. Abba and his group if truly they are desirous of promoting scholarship in the University of Maiduguri. They must isolate education from politics. Sir, as I earlier pointed out to you, Decree 11 of 1993 as amended by the University Miscellaneous Act (2003) has clearly spelt out the powers of Governing Councils regarding the appointment of Vice-Chancellors. Also, the law clearly mandated the Joint Council and Senate Selection Board to interview candidates that apply for the post and make its recommendations to Council for its consideration and approval. Reports indicated that there were two representatives from the Federal Character Commission that observed the proceedings of the Joint Council and Senate Selection Board and they signed the report with the other members of the Board as accredited observers from the Commission. Report also showed that no candidate was “penalized or disadvantaged” as Dr. Abba was claiming in his letter to you. So, where did Dr. Abba get his information that a candidate was “penalized or disadvantaged in favour of candidates whose States have been adequately represented in the leadership of Federal Universities” as claimed in his letter? This is an illegal intrusion into the process of the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor, which should be ignored and resisted. As hinted earlier, the ethical basis of the letter is receiving further scrutiny. Dr. Abba’s letter was written on the letter heading of the Federal Character Commission with no reference number, which suggests that it was not an official communication from the Commission. While it is the case that letters without reference numbers are not intended to be filed or to be tracked, we will not let this one go into the dustbin of history. This letter and others of its kind will certainly be one which the Chairman of the Commission and bodies that exercise oversight functions over the Commission will take a stand on in respect of their ethical and legal foundations. That is going to be an internal affair of the Commission to which we will only be too glad to make a legal and ethical contribution. Sir, you may wish to know that I have painstakingly read the Federal Character Commission’s Handbook, which Dr. Abba enclosed for your ease of reference but did not come across any of his conjectures in his letter to you. To the contrary, the Handbook clearly emphasized fairness and equity in the appointments and employment in Federal agencies. Dr. Abba is desperately trying to redefine the federal character principle so as to impose the preferred candidate of his group. We must all frown upon persons who throw decorum, factuality, integrity and common sense to the dogs in the course of canvassing support for their preferred candidates. It is also important that those in positions of authority measure their actions and utterances before acting or speaking so as not to lose respect and credibility. Those paid and sustained by the taxpayers’ money must justify the trust and confidence reposed in them by behaving responsibly. I appeal to Dr. Abba to refrain from such provocative proclamations and retract his steps in the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor of our University. This appeal also applies to the misguided group and their allies who have been unfairly dragging the name of our University into the mud unnecessarily. It has been observed that “the tragedy of life is not in the fact of death, but in what dies inside of you while you live”. I am among the many people that held Dr. Abba in very high esteem while he was in Kashim Ibrahim College of Education as a teacher because of his principles and exemplary conduct prior to his joining the University of Maiduguri. I still have very high regards for him as a senior colleague and a respected elder from my State. However, his deep involvement with a reprehensible group that is inspired by greed, selfishness, desperation, and deceit tends to make some of us have a rethink about him. Sir, once again, I passionately appeal to you and your good conscience to be wary of Dr. Abba and his group who will only succeed in further damaging your hard-earned reputation. You risk slumping into instant disrepute if you allow yourself to be misled and if the issue of the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor is not carefully handled in line with the extant laws governing the exercise. I enjoin you to please borrow a leaf from Alhaji Ballama Manu, the Pro-Chancellor of MAUTECH, who you replaced in our University. At issue is the conflict between principles, laws and consistency on one hand and opportunism and illegality on the other. Some people should stop playing God in this matter and must know that history never goes blank. The role of everybody in this shameful drama shall be recorded for posterity and we shall all account for our deeds before Almighty Allah. All the machinations and desperate acts by a tiny group to impose their candidate illegally is not in the best interest of our University. What example or standard are we setting to our students, who are the leaders of tomorrow and the wider society? Mr. Pro-chancellor sir, you cannot continue to allow the process of the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor to drag on any longer in disregard of the statutory process which has been duly followed and in utter disregard to the of values of the academic community, which is increasingly voicing the following view: Enough is Enough! It is hardly arguable that anti-intellectual and parochial attitudes will not be helpful for the growth and development of our University. I hope you will be guided by the lessons of world history in this regard. The consequences of disregarding the peoples voice have often been dire. It is better to avoid the path of crisis and chaos. Mr. Pro-Chancellor, on a final note, I, once again, pray to God to give you and other honourable members of Council the strength and wisdom to act rightly on this matter in the overall interest of our University and the country at large as you meet again on Tuesday, 20th of May, 2014. Thank you Yours truly, Shehu Mustapha Liberty (SP 3807) Department of Political Science University of Maiduguri Cc President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces and Visitor to the University Secretary to the Federal Government His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Borno State Hon. Minister of Education Hon. Minister of State for Power All Honourable Council Members National President, ASUU Chairman, ASUU, University of Maiduguri ASUU Zonal Coordinator, North East Zone Members of the University Community The Chairman, Federal Character Commission, Abuja Dr. Shettima Bukar Abba, Federal Character Commission, Abuja Respected Borno Elders
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 22:11:59 +0000
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