•Staff Industrial Actions Truncate Semester

•Acute Water shortage and poor students’ welfare culminate in lecture boycott

•Imposition of pro-chancellor challenged.

•Management shuts campus indefinitely.

•‘We don’t deserve to be sent home’ – students

•‘You can’t kill our message’ – students·

•‘Management and F.G. must meet all demands’;

•‘Reinstate the OAU-3’-SUG.

•‘Which way forward? Stakeholders.

For a few weeks now, multiple industrial actions by universities’ staff trade unions, comprising ASUU, SSANU, NASU and NAAT, coupled with series of students’ peaceful protests, under the aegis of NANS and ERC have been making the rounds, paralyzing all activities in the universities thereby. At OAU, Ile-Ife, it is a different kettle of fish entirely, as greater crises of multiple dimensions continue to threaten the institution’s march to the next level. NIYI OLASINDE was on a fact-finding mission to the campus, and here reports.

Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, popularly known by the acronym O.A.U., is indeed one of the greatest institutions of higher learning in Nigeria. With its motto as For Learning and Culture, this great first-generation university has impacted and towered prominently the education terrain of Nigeria and yonder for almost forty-seven years now. The enormity of its landmarks of excellence consists not only in the vast number of technocrats it has produced in all fields of human endeavour, but also in the volumes and import of research findings it has contributed to global advancement in science and technology. In arts, literature, management, social sciences, education and languages, its colossal influence is overwhelmingly impressive, so much that it has all along displayed great attributes that are indicative of the fact that it exists really for learning and culture.

In addition, great feats of life-saving significance have been made through the institution’s giant strides in the medical field.

Unfortunately, this great institution, popularly applauded as Great Ife, has currently been in the news due to the various problems of diverse thick and shades that had plagued it for sometime now. As expected in a community characterized by erudition, progressive forces have been vibrantly striving to channel the institution back on course to its old path of rectitude and alertness. But as also expected in any subsect of the much larger Nigerian society that has had the misfortune of groaning under the yoke of poor, visionless and conscienceless leadership, a downward extension of the huge, oppressive and despotic leadership that has hoisted and brandished their cabalist swords of terror to unleash untold hardship on the citizenry, seems to be appearing more and more prominently influential on the campus.

Going by the famous and eternal biblical injunction that “a house that divides against itself shall not stand,” and by its more recent analogy by Yeats, viz:….. “things fall apart, the centre cannot hold, mere anarchy is loosed upon the earth”, the greater cabal in the greater Nigerian society, has pitched the smaller cabal it has recruited and/or conscripted within the university, against the workforce (academic and non-academic) and students in general, thereby making life fundamentally intolerable for all.

The institution’s management has obviously defied the moral lesson emanating from the famous Yoruba maxim.”irorun igi ni irorun eye”, meaning “the bird is at peace only to the extent that the woods (trees) are calm from storm.” Artificial storm, avoidable storm, has characterized the tenure and temerity of the lackadaisical administrative style of the management. In effect, the staff and students, who are the tree and pillar of the system, are restive due to the billows. Government (federal), Governing Council and functionaries that comprise the internal management, who are the bird, are never at ease. This is not strange. What you sow is what you reap, and in greater magnitude!

O.A.U has been turned into a campus of multiple crises. On the part of management, a combination of dereliction of duty; misplacement of priorities; laissez – faire attitude and insensitivity to others’ genuine and deserved needs; corruption and inordinate ambition to acquire material wealth; naked desire to exert political influence and power; unbridled greed; slight and disregard for the dignity and worth of others, who are viewed as mere subordinates – all of these have combined to take an ugly toll on lives in OAU community, and make free with the vast resources that would have been beneficial to all.

The tale of the abyssmal conduct of management with active connivance of the cabalistic PDP –possessed Federal Government is much the same on the lips of all interest groups and stakeholders on campus viz: Students’ Union Government (SUG), Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU); Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) Non-Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Educational Institutions (NASU), and Non-Academic Association of Technologists (NAAT). However, some sort of variances exist, based on some peculiar secular interests.

With the on-going nationwide strike action embarked upon by the national bodies of ASUU and SSANU the just-suspended one by national NASU and the imminent industrial action by the OAU local body of NASU, academic and administrative activities have been paralyzed on campus. The ever-busy campus is now almost completely deserted, justifiably, for the cause of justice and rights. Even, the students who are always considered as suffering the eventual brunt of the effects of these industrial actions stand solidly in support of these trade unions. Why? Because their cause is RIGHT. “Irorun Igi Ni Irorun Eye.”

The emergence of the present SUG was preceded by a two-year proscription and its decimation by means of cunning by management. The sledge-hammer that snuffed life out of the students’ democratic organ at OAU was dealt by management, due to orchestrated machination than excesses on the part of the last SUG that held the fort prior to the ban. In a clear bid to dismember the union, nine of the activists were suspended from the school since 2006/2007, while two were expelled. While two were detained for over five months, one was detained for over seven months. Two of the eleven were disallowed from attending Law School. In the end, eight were reinstated after long pressure from other groups on campus, of which Education Rights Campaign (ERC) was a principal actor. In other words, three of the eleven students are yet to be reinstated. These are the ones referred to as the OAU-3.

The fate of the OAU-3 and their reinstatement hang on the balance and the SUG cries loud for their reinstatement. The students are Akinola Saburi (Malcolm X), former SUG President, expelled and remanded for over seven months; Aderibigbe Muyiwa (Liptino) was expelled since 2003; while Oguma Andrew Segun (Karl Max), former speaker SRC, was suspended since 2007. The case of the OAU – 3 has been the persistent cause for political actions like rallies, symposia, lecture boycotts, protest marches and the likes, over the years, to which the management has inclined an apparent deaf ear. Quick and timely reinstatement of these remaining three will go a long way to restore normalcy and tranquility to OAU campus. After all, the student activists in question were said not to have committed any heinous crime. They were said to have stood firm to fight the cause they strongly believed in.

Students’ outcry is also spurred by poor welfare conditions on campus. OSUN DEFENDER, in separate chats with Davidson Olaniran Adejuwon (Devaino), incumbent SUG President and Tosin Adeniyi (Jasper), Head, Social Committee of the SUG., lend credence to this. The chat, which held at Ken Saro Wiwa (SUB) Building on OAU Campus came at the instance of the declared closure of the institution about three weeks ago by the management.

According to Tosin Adeniyi, students’ welfare on campus is at minus zero level, while be described toilet facilities as an eye-sore. He went further to identify unsteady water and electricity supply and burst sewage pipes (toilet pipes in particular) as problems, the latter, being a threat to students’ health on campus as it could cause epidemics. Also the New Bukateria was said to be filled with foul odour emanating from stench from burst sewage pipes. “This bukateria has become more of a threat to students’ lives because of its crowd-pulling nature, as students have no other choice of place,’ he added. The case of burst toilet pipes was said to be most prevalent at Awo Annex, a male hostel of residence for students.

The two activists of the SUG narrated the ordeal that the students’ populace had undergone for some past sessions, which reached a head during the first semester of the present 2008/2009 session. For instance, there was said to have been a terrible water crisis on campus for complete three weeks during the first semester. As an intervention, the OAU Management was said to have pre-warned that students might need to endure certain hardship associated with acute water shortage. At the wake of the two-week ASUU strike last semester, a two-week mid-semester break was declared for students, as an opportunity to complete the on-going refurbishment of the institution’s water dam. This was further extended by additional two weeks. At the end of the eventual four-week mid-semester break, the dam project was never close to completion. Not even now, five weeks into the interrupted Second Semester! In his wizadry for metaphorical expressions, Tayo Adeniyi revealed how at times the water supplied from taps on campus, could turn out to be adulterated Lipton Tea.

Closely woven to the acute water shortage is the N400m scam and allied matters connected with alleged inflated sums of awarded project. In recent times, this issue has been widely reported and given prominence by the media. This has culminated in the alleged dragging of the OAU management under the Vice Chancellorship of Prof. Michael Faborode and some other principal officers before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The dust raised by this alleged scam has had its turn on projects, that are on-going on campus as all projects, including the water supply expansion are apparently on hold for now. The attendant hold on on-going projects, normal in situations that demand some investigations, is viewed by Management as a distraction, especially, as far as the water supply project is concerned. The costly question remains: What would the water supply look like on campus, should academic activities resume any moment from now? It is alleged that the present lack of water supply is a grand strategy to force students to comply with the quit order issued by the authority. It is, however, a measure out of place, since the closure was not really as a result of a violent rampage by the students.

The alleged N400m scam does not leave innocent students completely obliterated from the vindictive fangs of OAU management. A student writer who was said to have carried the news under the auspices of a press club on campus was said to have been summoned. The management , in an attempt to robe him in, withdrew his identity card from him and alleged him of cultist activities. If this account is anything to go by, then this student’s case may likely be yet another in the line of the previously mentioned suspended or expelled students. When allegations are made in a normal society that upholds the sanctity of rule of law as a democratic ideal, the ball lies in the court of the alleged to come out pungently to defend himself and get exonerated, if his cases are genuine.

Poor power supply is also reported on campus. Prior to the current cut-out of hostels from electricity supply as a means to repel students from campus, the power supply had reportedly been erratic. Nights are said to be the worst as students are kept in perpetual gloom. This, apart from being a drawback to studies, is also a threat to lives of students. Bites and stings from reptiles and insects are a great possibility. Darkness also foments the dastardly and nefarious acts of cultists. At best, a university campus of OAU’s status is expected to be adequately well provided with light, via uninterrupted electricity supply.

Security of lives is also reported to be at zero level. It is further reported that students themselves have transformed into security operatives in view of the need to help preserve their own lives. Though the reported cultists’ threats on campus at the wake of the on-going crises was not confirmed, the spate of cultism on Nigerian campuses in the last one decade should be enough signal to a discerning mind that security alertness has become both a matter of necessity and compulsion. The OAU management has been accused of slack and lack of consciousness in matters relating to security. Surely, no reasonable person would desire a repeat of the July 10 1999 saga at OAU, during which five young, astute and promising children of the great Nigerian nation were gruesomely sent to their early graves in a cult-related bloodbath.

Medical care on OAU campus is reportedly poor. The campus medical centre is said to be poorly staffed and in dearth of drugs.

This is said to be a reflection of what obtains in the larger society, where priority attention is not given to medical service by governments at all levels. Granted that a campus medical centre dispenses primary health care services, subsisting in first aid and basic prescriptions, the university teaching hospitals, as tertiary health service providers, are not well-funded and catered for. About a month ago, the death was reported of a student named Alaba Sokunbi. The deceased was said to have been a victim of the on-going industrial action by medical doctors of OAUTHC, necessitated by the Federal Government’s poor funding of the health sector. Alaba, in a bid to survive the undisclosed ailment, took recourse to a private hospital where he was allegedly killed due to wrong administration of injection by a quack nurse. That was on Tuesday June 16, 2009.

Underfunding of the education sector by the Federal Government and its lack of priority attention to institutions of higher learning is another cause of grouse. Classroom facilities and other infrastructure like library, buildings, sport facilities, transport and hostels are said to be complete right-off. A room in the students’ hall of residence, initially designed to accommodate eight students is now said to be occupied by not less than sixteen students. These hostels have so much depreciated due to ageing, while new ones are not provided. Libraries are said to be poorly-stocked and most textbooks and other materials are old and outdated.

Pursuant to the Federal government’s lack of priority attention to education, it flouts the UNESCO recommendation that 26% of a country’s annual budgets be committed to education. Nigerian governments’ committance of only 7.2 per cent of their annual budget to education is the root of all catastrophe plaguing the system today. The universities are not left out.

That university lecturers and non-academic staff deserve better earnings is an unhidden truth. Compared with their contemporaries around the globe, lecturers in particular earn far less than they deserve. Within the Nigerian context, enormous resources and fund are lavished on politicians and political activities, while the actual contributors to the national wealth are starved lean. OAU students deeply identify with their lecturers in this regard. The non-implementation by Federal Government of certain terms and agreements reached with ASUU over the years is baffling. At OAU, some allowances approved for payment, that had long since been paid to their counterparts in other universities have not been paid. Double deduction of staff pension contribution that had been made from source by the Federal Government, in line with the Pension Reform of 2005, is made again internally. While the workforce kicks against this double deduction, the management justifies its step as right and quite in order. Some intervention is needed by the Industrial Arbitration Panel, perhaps, because this indiscriminate practice is the preserve of OAU alone.

Another sensitive issue that is a bone of contention is last year’s constitution of the new governing council of the institution. The Governing Council of a university is its apex decision making body, which role, contribution and good standard have a far-reaching effect on its growth and development.

The appointment of the Chairman of the Governing Council, who doubles as pro-chancellor, has a definite procedure and requirement stipulated in the statute book. Appointment of Chief Abiola Morakinyo as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council has been contested since last year, based on allegations that the old-generation politician violated two vital regulations. First, he is said not to be a bachelors degree holder. In other words, he never attended any university. Secondly the one-time commissioner in the administration of late Chief Bola Ige in the Old Oyo State, is said to be (and have personally confessed to be ) ignorant in the workings, procedures and running of the university system. He is even said not to be computer-compliant. Not even in the simple context of accessing the internet!

When the agitation against the nomination of Chief Morakinyo came, the staff unions on campus were said to have suggested the name of Dr. Oladunni, a better qualified candidate as replacement. President Yar’Adua, the Visitor to the Institution made a spurious move, appointing Oladunni to replace Morakinyo. Surprisingly this was later reversed and Morakinyo was reinstated

Factors not unrelated to nepotism are adduced to this back-pedalling by Mr. President. Firstly, Morakinyo is a staunch member of the ruling-PDP. Being an old-time politician, the devilish cabal that hold sway over the nucleus of the PDP prevailed on the President to impose Morakinyo. Secondly, the devilish cabal has an unquenchable thirst to posses and capture every sphere of our national life, so, appointing Morakinyo as Pro-chancellor and chairman of council of the university would be in their best interest, to dominate and destroy the intellectual lofty pedestal from which the institution has ever been known to operate, repressing every oppositions thereby, for their own selfish gains. Thirdly, politicians and political office holders of the PDP leaning, led by Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, are said to be making efforts at getting Morakinyo compensated and placated, having been out of job for some time. The voice of reason is that sensitive appointments like that of a university’s pro-chancellor and chairman of governing council are not supposed to be traded anyhow. However, the unions have reportedly resolved never to attend any event of the senate of the institution until Morakinyo is eventually removed and replaced. The dire consequences of this step portend great danger for OAU and our dear nation. Government is advised to acquiesce in appointing not compulsorily Oladunni, but any other Nigerian of credible and reputable character that is better qualified, to move the university forward.

Perennial hike in tuition fee paid by student is another ugly trend in the nation’s institutions. This does not spare OAU as students confessed to be held under the burden of palpable, prohibitive and exorbitant school fees. And what do they get in return? Abject nothing! Facilities for conducive learning are not in place, researches are not funded, teachers and other members of the workforce are ill- remunerated, hostel accommodation facilities are at complete right-off state, libraries are ill-equipped, laboratories and workshops are mere dumping archives for obsolete equipment and apparatus(es), tertiary health institutions are in shambles, talk of it – it is all a complete break-down instead of breakthroughs and feats! What a shame!

In a democracy it is expected that tolerances should be wide enough for diverse opinions to be aired. But OAU management has been alleged of making all deft moves to silence and repress any voice of dissent. Even, staff unions, of which ASUU is one, are being fidgeted around by management in a witless bid to outwit and press-gang them to submission, on matters concerning their welfare. How much more students, who the management attempt to toy around as if they were mere robots! Why do people tend to forget their antecedents and first-calling so soon, having crossed to the other side, higher echelon of management?

The vice chancellor was once a student. He rode to the top on the platform of being a lecturer. He is still a (financial) member of ASUU. Other top-ranking functionaries have been students and workers at various levels before their elevation to the top. They are still (financial) members of SSANU. It matters much what we aspire to be. What we have become, too, is impressive. But what we have become should not be allowed to blind our foresight from what may become of us someday. It is quite unbecoming to betray your own people on account of what you have become as a result of a time-bound office you occupy. Members of OAU management should please take note and take their cue from this.

In spite of all these myriads of problems, students of OAU have remained calm and law-abiding, embracing peace and towing the path of dialogue to drive home their points. So the sudden closure of the school with effect from Wednesday 17th June 2009 was due to no fault of theirs. Rather it was due, in part, to the series of industrial actions currently embarked on by staff trade unions of universities either locally or nationwide. It was also partly due to lack of preparedness, proactiveness and sincere devotion by management and the Federal Government to meet the demands of these trade unions and students.

Earlier attempts had reportedly been made by management to close down the school due to acute water shortage and the on-going dam project that is intended to increase water supply by 50 per cent. To this, the students responded that they were willing to study, having paid all the prohibitive fees required. It was then up to the management to buckle-up and provide adequately for comfortable living on campus. This sincere position annoyed the autocratic management.

The last two weeks to the institution’s closure witnessed a warning strike by ASUU. Incidentally, all the problems highlighted above are not peculiar to OAU students; they confound all Nigerian students together. In consequence, a three-day lecture boycott was slated for June 15, 16 and 17, which was to follow the earlier two-week warning strike by ASUU. It is noteworthy that this lecture boycott was culled at the instance of Education Rights Campaign (ERC), a body formed on OAU campus five years ago, but which has a national coverage and colouration. The body has as its national coordinator an OAU student. The NANS, having been plagued with decadence, it was this body (ERC) that took the bull by the horns to summon a national congress held at OAU, where the decision to stage the boycott was reached. The boycott was intended to protest against a number of issues, including FG’s non-prioritization of education, poor funding of schools, poor budgetary allocation to education, hike in tuition, poor infrastructure, colossal corruption at the top, among others. Essentially, the common goal was to make the Federal Government to increase budgetary allocation on education. The Congress of OAU students was briefed of this decision, so the stage was set for staging a highly formidable boycott in grand style.

In the line-up of activities for the two latter days, were rallies and protests. Day one was to protest against internal crises, poor welfare, neglect and other internal problems on each campus. Day two, the grand finale, was a nation-wide protest against under-funding with protests organized in all state capitals of the federation.

As the boycott approached two days, students remained focused as they prepared towards resumption after the nationwide rally that was to climax the protest. The Vice Chancellor of OAU, Professor Michael Faborode, suddenly summoned the SUG leaders, briefing them of the management’s intention to close down the campus. Students’ leadership declined to the closure attempt. Really, there was no violent demonstration and they were not unwilling to resume lectures after the events of the next day. They further reiterated their standpoint that declaring the institution closed in such a situation would imply management’s incompetence, since the acute water shortage, N400m scam that attracted EFCC to campus and the successive strike actions by the trade unions were all the fault on Management’s part. Visibly vilified, the V.C. closed the meeting abruptly.

Next on that Tuesday was the issuing of a press release by management. declaring the OAU campus closed with effect from Wednesday, 17th June 2009. An ultimatum of 12 noon on Thursday 18th June was given to all students to vacate the campus. Apparently stupefied, students failed to adhere, as a sincere signal to their willingness to resume class. A congress was held on Thursday to debate the rash, military approach of management in giving out orders. It was decided to mobilize staff unions not to allow students to go home. This succeeded partly, but management resolved to make campus inhabitable by disconnecting water and light from all halls of residence and other students’ areas.

However, the protest at Osogbo received an impressive turn-out of students from various institutions of higher learning within Osun State. From OAU alone, students were mobilized en-masse, conveyed by four chartered 18-seater buses, filled beyond capacity. It was reported that Gov. Olagunsoye Oyinlola was as a matter of regular trade mark visibly and conspicuously absent to listen to the students. His Deputy, Erelu Obada who stood in for him excused that OAU is, a Federal Institution, so, there was little the State Government could effect on it, she promised, however, to deliver students’ message to her boss.

The students, who are always abreast of devices to beg issues by misguided leaders, reminded her that the protest and the demands that led to it transcended OAU affairs alone. She was reminded that state-owned schools – primary, secondary and tertiary existed and the issues agitated against concerned them as well.

Perhaps it was an inkling of the degree of preparedness by OAU students that prompted the school’s management to hurriedly declare a closure. However, the students had clearly demonstrated that whatever line of action they are resolved to tow is unstoppable. What a degree of determination!

In actual fact, the OAU campus has been closed down since almost four weeks ago. OSUN DEFENDER’s visit to the campus met the whole premises deserted, with few students trickling in and out. Some lecturers and non-academic staff were seen milling around, most of them activists of the trade unions. However, attempts to get members of top management to speak out their own side of the crises proved abortive.

With all activities on hold at OAU, Ile-Ife, it is not yet clear when matters shall be resolved so that normalcy could return once again. Students, however have spoken through their (SUG) leaders with messages to the management of the institution and the Federal Government. Their messages are:

•Meeting up with ALL the demands of ASUU regarding all violated agreements in the past, payment of outstanding allowances, a stop in double deduction of pension emoluments and payment of such arrears as have been wrongly deducted, upward review of salaries etc, is both necessary and sufficient conditions for resumption;

•Due recognition of the university as the engine-room for the development of nations in all spheres;

•Meeting up with UNESCO’s recommendation that 26% of annual budgetary allocation be committed to education as against the 7.2% obtaining in Nigeria; and

•Total democratization of the university system as against the autocratic, military approach that currently obtains.

Finally, the students, through its organ, the SUG, speak with one accord that ‘you can only kill the messenger, killing the message is an effort made in sheer futility’.

___________ To be continued ____________

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