ASUU unfair to students over ongoing strike –NANS President by MOJEED ALABI on Sep 19, 2013 | The cold war between the leadership of the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and that of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) took a strange dimension recently with NANS accusing ASUU of being inconsiderate, selfish and parochial in its actions. In this interview with MOJEED ALABI, NANS President, Mr. Yinka Gbadebo, bares his mind on the reasons behind his outbursts, his alleged impeachment, the rot in the education system, and possible solutions. Excerpts: In an unusual manner, NANS seems to be opposed to ASUU over the ongoing strike. Why this is so? Well, we understand the public insinuation that NANS is anti-ASUU in the current struggle. But if it is about ASUU, I will tell you that if objectively appraised, we hold a very strong view and without any apology that Nigerian students have no reason to be pro-ASUU because at no time has ASUU ever been on our side over any popular demand. For instance, whenever institutions increase tuitions or students’ unions are proscribed; it is the students that carry their cross. Rather, ASUU usually maintains criminal silence. In fact, ASUU members would even threaten to fail us if we don’t accept injustices. I am a living example. The Chairman of ASUU at the University of Ado-Ekiti in 2001, Sikiru Eniola was a member of the panel that rusticated me because I fought against increment in school fees as the students’ union’s Welfare Director. When five of our colleagues including NANS Senate President died recently, not even a condolence letter came from ASUU but four days after, when former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu lost his mother, ASUU President, Dr. Nasir Isa led ASUU’s team on condolence visit to his house. It is that bad. Ask ASUU if it carried NANS along before declaring the strike? That means ASUU does not see NANS as a stakeholder. Are you now saying ASUU’s demands are not genuine? NANS can boldly to say that not all the demands are correct and sincerely speaking, the infrastructural development thing they are crying about is just a smokescreen. If ASUU is so concerned about the rot in the education system, let it first address the issues of immoral behaviours and corruption among its members. Is everything about funding? We know of lecturers today, who, before students can pass their courses they must do what we call “sorting,” that is, students pay them. If ASUU wants the nation’s education system to become what it is painting before the public, there must be self-cleansing among its members. It is a common knowledge that ASUU members sleep with our girls before they pass them. Why are we not talking about that? We cannot be blaming government for everything because we also constitute government. At our individual capacities, we are more corrupt than government but we are not checking ourselves. We know of lecturers who lecture in more than three universities while some don’t even come to classes for more than two weeks, yet we blame government. So our position is that beheading an aching head is not the best cure. This rot has been on for years and we don’t think it can be resolved overnight. So, how do you think this ASUU strike can be resolved because it is taking longer than expected? We believe with what is on ground now ASUU should resume to classrooms while negotiation should continue. Now, the Federal Government has allocated N100 billion for infrastructure and N30 billion for allowance but the strike still lingers and students are crying to go back to school. It is never in the history of this nation that the Federal Government would release such huge fund to institutions at a go and we say let’s go back to class but with a caveat that there will continue to be regular release of such funds. ASUU claims the Federal Government doesn’t always honour such agreement. I think there are usually clauses to be put in agreement that bind the parties. But there is this thing lacking in ASUU-FG agreement, and that is the definitive period of implementation. But ASUU claims that there are usually such clauses but that FG just acts otherwise. You know, over this matter, ASUU has been using what we can call “appeal to pity” strategy. Could you believe that we had written both ASUU and the Federal Government over the issue but only the Federal Government replied us by asking us to meet with the Chairman of the Needs Assessment Report Implementation Committee, that is, Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State, who declared all the facts on the tables. I don’t want to be quoting the contents of the agreement because we have not heard from ASUU but when you see these contents, students would feel like whipping ASUU members. What is ASUU’s business with FG’s landed properties that it is claiming should be ceded to it? What about project supervision allowances despite bribes they collect from students? So many nauseating things like that and I don’t blame ASUU but the Federal Government representatives that jumped into signing it. There are allegations that you have been impeached and that you run moneybags Union. About my alleged impeachment; impeached by who and when? That is just a figment of some sponsored individuals ‘imagination. We know their sponsors but we also appeal to them to come open. On that of running moneybag NANS, let anyone substantiate this claim with empirical fact. Where did I collect money and when? I have only one account with Ecobank and it could be verified. Past NANS leaders who are in private and public establishments are aiding us. And if the students are saying no, ask anyone of them when last they paid their dues and when anything happens in Maiduguri, Abuja or Warri, they want me to be there using my father’s resources? There are claims that NANS leaders are usually non students. How correct is this? I wouldn’t say no and I wouldn’t say yes, but that was the impression I came to correct when I was elected. I am a student of the Department of Local Government Studies at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in Osun State. Before I joined OAU, I had graduated with Second Class (upper division) at the University of Ado-Ekiti but my results are yet to be released due to political issues. The facts of my brilliance are there and they are verifiable. Beyond ASUU, what is the position of NANS on the poor state of education in the country? Well, the position of NANS is very clear. We have said it over and over again that government should declare a state of emergency on the education sector. But everyone is talking about funding and funding alone. How do the institutions spend the little allocated to them? This year alone, about N444 billion was allocated to education, how has it affected the system? How do vice-chancellors conduct their activities on campuses; like lords? We need proper monitoring mechanism to ensure that money being allocated are judiciously utilised to achieve desired targets. If not, how do we know that if the entire Nigeria’s budgetary allocation is allocated to education that it will be adequately utilised? So, I think government needs to be proactive too and increase monumentally the allocation to institutions. Much more importantly, government must listen to Nigerian students because as far as we are concerned we say no to incessant increase in school fees and absence of students’ unions on our campuses because students’ unions are training grounds for future leaders.
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 19:49:48 +0000
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