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Tag: ASUU

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    For Olatunji Dare

     

    Without doubt, former President Obasanjo and his political son, the incumbent President Dr. Jonathan have foibles of which no quarantine could purify them. That apart, there is so much that is bad about the best of both men and so much that is good about the worst of them that it does not behove one of them to criticise the other. May God give Nigeria leaders with good morals soonest. From Adegoke O. O., Ikhin, Edo State

    Dare, Obasanjo’s letter should not be used to divert the truth. I think what Obasanjo is calling for is the abrogation of the land use decree which gave him half of Ogun State lands on a platter of gold. If he calls for adjudication on corruption let us start from there and corruption will leave Nigerian shores. Thanks! Anonymous

    Dare, one gets peeved to read about an elder politician ‘railroading’ his ‘boys’ to presidency as claimed in “December 2013: A month in missives” with Obasanjo on Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Jonathan. What does such an act make of Nigerians and the electoral process than a pack of fools electorally supervised by corrupt and inept bodies? And yet the media knew Nigerians’ votes were in Obasanjo’s personal choice, competent or otherwise, but chose to lump into the ‘fools’ pack instead of protesting against such electoral malady. And what has the scrutiny of passports at the airport got to do with OBJ’s claim that Jonathan has a watch list? That is too cheap a proof. Jonathan’s response to Obasanjo’s letter was cautious and deserves commendation and not condemnation. Sanusi Lamido’s issue is most nauseating; considering his egoistic demeanour. And Iyabo Obasanjo’s case remains blurred from truth. From Lai Ashadele

     

    For Segun Gbadegesin

     

    Some of the issues you raised in your write-up “The centennial of greed” are the issues that would have been discussed immediately after the civil war but the elders lacked the foresight. From Ogo, Delta State

    I just finished reading your essay titled “The centennial of greed”. You said it pointblank. Thank you. Anonymous

    Segun, really interesting, your “The centinnial of greed (1)”. The only problem is that you seem to have left a truly critical question. What do you think caused the civil war? Until the rest of the Nigerians wake up to this aboriginal conspiracy by Lugard and his northern cohorts to dispossess the south, and address the issue with candor and fortitude, l am afraid we may spend another centennial running around in circles. From Marizu Ogbuehi

    Great write-up on “The centennial of greed”. Britain destroyed us from the start and religion is helping to sustain that destruction. From Archibong, Calabar

    Re: The centennial of greed. Greed did not come to Nigeria with the arrival of Lord Lugard, it was an attempt to civilize us and give us a near modern governance. In the process, southern protectorate proved to be civilized and got less. North cooperated and got big. We tasted governance and began the struggle to share the headship of number one. Our not valuing the centennial celebration lies in the same number one. Remove corruption today and Nigeria will appreciate centennial celebration. In that respect, I bow to late Gani Fawehinmi and Papa Jakande. The present crops are ‘jeunjeun’. From Lanre Oseni

    Your article will be of great importance if all Nigerians will have access to it. But the problem I see is that, hatred has been planted in the heart of every individual right from birth by our forfathers, even among different groups, ethnics, religions, e.t.c. From Bamaiyi T. Kaduna

     

    For Tunji Adegboyega

    Re: ‘Missing link on Okoh’s homily’. Your comment shows how narrow you can be in your write-ups. Why do you comment on areas that you lack knowledge? You don’t know anything about salvation. Prosperity was a blessing to Adam. He lost it to Satan. It was reclaimed in salvation. Tunji, you will win our minds when you write on matters that bring peace, that encourage it; certainly not on things that take peace away and put this country on fire. There is room for improvement. Anonymous.

    The Most Revd. Nicholas Okoh should be criticised for the unbalanced ‘sermon’. It is a confirmation that we are in an age of blandness, of superficiality, of submerged vigour and of atomized thought. Today, many worshippers’ relationship to public morality has diminished to a vanishing point. May God touch the hearts of our leaders for a positive change in due course. Anonymous.

    Thanks, Tunji, some of our religious leaders have turned their churches to political platforms for the President. Anonymous.

    My understanding of your Sunday write-up is that peace without justice is peace of the graveyard. In some churches, the front pews are reserved for the rich and powerful. They don’t speak truth to the front pews. So, Okoh’s incomplete sermon is not surprising to me. More grease to your elbows for your Solomonic writings on Sundays. Anonymous.

    Your article on January, 5 was super, articulate and direct to the issue at stake. You made my day with your write-ups a la carte. You went beyond religious bigotry. From Comrade Rufus Olusesan, Lagos.

    Thanks for telling it as it is to the Rt Revd. Okoh, the head of the Anglican Church in Nigeria, “Missing link in Okoh’s homily”. I won’t forget his extremely provocative, myopic, undemocratic call for the proscription of ASUU during the varsity teachers’ strike … From Gab A. Uche, Umuahia.

    Tunji, well-done. You have said it all. Anonymous.

    Dear Tunji, to preach only what pleases our leaders is a sign that our emancipation remains a mirage. Without fear or favour, I want all the churches to stand by the truth, just as the Catholic Church stood boldly against evils like gay or same sex marriage, abortion, paedophile and inordinate lifestyles of some men of God amid the prevailing hunger, abject poverty and penury in the land. Our religious leaders have the capacity to help reverse the nation’s seemingly gloomy future at the pulpits. From Collins Obodo, Kubwa, Abuja.

    I feel you; most of our men of God shy from telling our leaders their wrongdoings in government because of what they will get from the politicians. The funniest thing with them is that they see politicians who rigged elections and engage in other vices and would grant them space for thanksgiving in their churches. What a country! From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia State.

  • Ondo tertiary institutions resume

    The four tertiary institutions in Ondo State yesterday resumed academic activities, following the calling off of the almost six months strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    When The Nation visited the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), students were seen moving about the campus.

    A 400-level Mechanical Engineering student, Mayowa Egunjobi, said he was happy to be back in school.

     

  • How to avoid strikes, by TUC

    How to avoid strikes, by TUC

    President, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Comrade Bala Kaigama, has advised the Federal Government and other employers to honour the agreements they reached with their workers.

    Kaigama, who spoke in Lagos at a press conference, said this was the only way to check the spate of strikes and promote industrial harmony in the country.

    He expressed concern over the spate of strikes in the various sectors of the economy in the outgoing year and said there should be concerted efforts on the part of stakeholders to avoid repeat of same next year.

    He commended the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for suspending its industrial action and appealed to the university lecturers to re-dedicate themselves to their duties with a view to promoting academic excellence.

    He urged the Federal Government to consider creating an enabling environment for investors to stake their funds in Nigeria, saying the development would go a long way in boosting job creation in the country.

    He advocated a review of gratuity in the workers’ contributory pension scheme.

    According to the labour leader, the 25 per cent payable as first instalment to workers after exit from their work amounts to a pittance and merely portrays that the scheme is at variance with the plight of the workforce in Nigeria.

    He advised that the National Assembly should jerk up the first instalment under the scheme to 60 per cent, while the other instalment should be ration out in a sustainable manner.

    Kaigama said the challenges besetting the country are surmountable and must begin by solidly building the unity of Nigeria through the proposed national conference.

    “Indeed, there is need for the people to dialogue and agree on the terms to boost the country’s unity and address her myriad of problems. Nigeria is one country in spite of its varying cultures, religion and ethnic nationalities and we can only succeed as a nation if we stay united.

    “Constitutional conference is it and Trade Union Congress is in full support of it, taking cognizance of the fact that social dialogue is an important ingredient in nation building,” he added.

  • Fresh crisis in UNIJOS over payment of salaries

    University of Jos chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and management of the university are at dagger drawn over payment of salaries and allowances to lecturers following the release of funds by the federal government.

    The situation arising from the disbursement of the fund is causing fresh stir in the university with it’s lecturer threatening to frustrate resumption of academic activities Monday.

    The Unijos chapter of ASUU has said it members will not participate in any academic activity of the school until all its members are paid their full earned allowances out of what has been so far sent to University of Jos by federal government.

    University of Jos has slated Monday for resumption of academic activities in the institution following the suspension of the six month old strike embarked upon by ASUU last year

    In a press statement issued in Jos and signed by David Jangkam branch ASUU chairperson  said shortly after the commencement of the strike the branch wrote and intimate the administration of the University of seven local issues that agitate the minds of its members and the need for the administration to use the strike period to address them.

    According to the statement, ” in the course of the strike, federal government in an attempt to resolve the strike released the sum of 30 Billion Naira for the settlement of earned allowances owed to staff of Nigerian Universities who have earned same from 2009 to 2012.

    The statement pointed out that University of Jos got the sum of 1.16 Billion Naira as its share for onward payment to  staff that had worked and earned same based on computation done in 2011 submitted by department and units.

    They lamented that neither the initial computation in 2010 through 2012 nor the verified computation in 2013 was used by University of jos administration in disbursing the 1.16 Billion Naira it got from federal government as part payment of the earned allowances.

    The statement read in parts, “Instead the University of Jos administration shared the money as it deemed fit without regard to weather staff earned same entitlement or not, thus resulting in some members getting far less than what they are entitled to and most members getting nothing at all.”

    The Statement further stressed that most others who are not entitled to the allowance got 3 to 4 times what those who are entitled to should have got adding that ASUU University of Jos chapter have met and have written to call the attention of the University administration
    on this misapplication of their members money but no  avail.

    The union vowed that despite the suspension of the strike embarked by their National Secretariate ASUU University of Jos chapter will not resume academic activity today Monday until their internal demand are met by the University of Jos administration, the statement added.

    However, management of the university insisted that the situation is not enough to suspend resumption of academic activities of the school.

    Jilly-Dandam, registrar of the university announced yesterday in a statement that there has been some misrepresentation of facts on issues relating to earned allowances.

    The registrar explained that, “Earned allowances were paid to all staff of the University on 4th October, 2013 and 4th December, 2013 respectively.

    “Management has noted the observations of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Jos Chapter, of a few errors in the payment made. This is now being addressed with despatch.

    “The University of Jos has completed payment of the 5-months withheld salaries during the ASUU strike to all the academic staff of the University of Jos.

    The registrar said, “ASUU, Unijos Chapter held two meetings during the Christmas Break when most of the academic staff were still enjoying the vacation and thereafter took decisions that are detrimental to the continuous academic pursuit of the University.

    “Management wishes to re-affirm that the academic calendar approved by Senate of the University of  Jos which directed that lectures should commence on Monday January 6, 2014, subsists.

    ” Management therefore welcomes all students and staff of the University of Jos to a fruitful academic pursuit” said Jilly-Dandam

  • Making ASUU strike count

    Making ASUU strike count

    The long-drawn Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike was a nightmare for many students who found themselves stuck at home. Gboyega Alaka and Edozien Udeze and Simon Godwin went to town to speak with students, who were direct victims of the recently suspended. Their answeres were revealing.

    THAT the last ASUU strike lasted nearly six months and shook the nation’s tertiary education system to its foundation is no longer news. Same for the fact that it reared lots of casualties, ranging from the helpless students, to the lecturers (who unfortunately lost one of their own) and the numerous businesses and other endeavours dependent on the university system for survival. In the course of it, several students also lost their lives, either as a result of sheer recklessness- a direct result of the endless free time suddenly thrown at them; or due to the sheer idleness that came out of it and the resultant capitulations into devilish temptations.

    A good number of the students, especially the female are said to have suddenly become expectant mothers and would be resuming school after the yuletide holidays with protruding tummies. Kristy Ejikeme, a 300 level Mass Communications student of the University of Lagos expressed her shock and sadness at the sight of one of her promising hostel mates, who is now shouldering the burden of a blossoming pregnancy, concluding that the scars of the long strike may yet take sometime to fade away.

    Also worrisome is the fact that those of them who have all along been toying with prostitution in the veiled name of ‘runz,’ seemingly got the license to romp without limit. Johnson, a Lagos banker and man about town, who never toys with his Friday night rendezvous, recalled how the red light corners suddenly became flooded with ‘fresh young babes’ an innuendo for young undergraduate girls who suddenly joined the prostitution business full-time.

    A large chunk of their male counterparts have also naturally graduated into serious alcoholics and drug addicts; experimenting with all sorts of criminal acts, while some as a result, even landing in police net. Stories of all sorts abound. Some of them have also graciously become expectant fathers and would soon be sharing their meager student’s allowances with their new families.

    But it has not been all stories of woes and negativism. From news reaching us and according to our investigations, lots of stories also abound of students, who have turned what looked to be dangerously tempting time into judicious and positive use. They are the students who held their heads high, stood firm, with their feet dugged deep into the sands, thus refusing to be carried away by the temptations of the time. Rather than engage in any nefarious or immoral acts, they chose carefully what to do with the indefinite strike time and thus emerged better persons. While a good number promptly went into apprenticeship to acquaint themselves with vocational passions like fashion designing, bead-making, catering and others, some undertook brief courses of study in IT and the likes, to improve themselves or at worst prepare themselves for the very competitive outside world. A good number also went to work as casual labourers, earning wages as low as N1,500 per day, but nevertheless earning money for personal upkeep and saving to augment whatever their parents or sponsors would be handing out to them anytime the strike is called off. In a country, where the culture of formal holiday jobs is nearly non-existent, some students also braved the odds to get temporary office holiday jobs, thus equipping themselves with very vital job experiences that are sure to come in handy, when they finally graduate and get thrown into the labour market. A good number, who had been on internship before the strike got underway, took advantage of the indefinite time-span to elongate their training experience.

    Hannah Ojo, an English graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife is a good example of this last category. She had joined the Sunday Desk of The Nation for a voluntary graduate internship programme, pending when she would be cleared to proceed on the compulsory National Youth Service, when the strike got underway. As a result, the process of clearing her for the next ‘Service’ batch became stalled, as most of the staff that should finalise the process all got caught up in the strike. Even though she constantly lamented the negative impact of the strike on her graduation calendar, going as far as writing an article to chronicle the negative impacts of the strike on students, she nevertheless stayed back and committed herself to more learning all through the duration of the strike. As a result, Hannah confessed that she became better equipped for her career path. “The strike in a way helped my career path and gave me further insight into the challenges of my career.”

    In the same vein, Ibrahim Hassan, a University of Lagos 400 level Law student used the period of the strike to boost his practical skills in the legal profession, by working as an intern in a Law firm. He noted that the experience has helped him garner practical experience on the things he is being taught in the classrooms and lecture theatres.

    Ama Okoduwa, a 200 level Electrical Electronics student of Olabisi Onabanjo University is by far one of the most dramatic of the lot. In the absence of every other thing, Ama now knows that he would not need to wait on any white collar job offer once he is through with university. He now knows that with little or no capital, he can be gainfully employed while waiting for his big break. He recalled how he initially didn’t know what to do with the free time until one day after a month, when he suddenly realised that he could no longer cope with the idleness.

    “I woke up one day, and decided that I could not take it any longer. I went to a friend who ran a barbing salon and asked to use a section of his shop for a small electrical repair business. He agreed and I promptly bought a few coloured and white bulbs, which I fixed on the side of the shop and hung a sign carrying the message ‘Electrician is here.’ It sounded like a joke but before the end of the day, a lady came to complain about some burnt fuse in her house, which I immediately went to fix.”

    That was his first job and he was paid N4,000. The client was also sympathetic when she learnt that he was on holidays due to the current ASUU strike. In no time, more jobs started coming in and he now has a sizable clientele, which he says he is now very reluctant to abandon.

    On the average, he made N10,000 per week, recalling how he even made a whopping N30,000 when he got a mini-contract to help fix electrical appliances in a client’s new house in Shagamu. Now he has enough money stacked away to finance his year two education and beyond. He is also determined to continue practising this vocation in school, since he has already gathered enough expertise during this bold move.

    One lesson Ama has also learnt is that people would always gravitate towards you if you do your job very well, adding that that is what good education has helped him achieve.

    Tochi Udoka on her part is now fully convinced that there is enough money to be made in the system, once one is hard-working and committed to whatever he is doing. Like Ama, above, Tochi had been warned that the strike would be protracted, so she told her uncle the moment she got back home in Enugu, that she didn’t want to sit home idle. Her uncle made arrangement and took her to a business centre/cybercafe, where she got tested in computer literacy and found good enough. Fortunately, the office was located near the state secretariat and soon she was making about N15,000 in tips and salary. Because the place was also close to her house, she also didn’t need to spend a kobo on transportation, thereby getting to save all his earnings, save the little she had to give out to her younger ones who looked up to her.

    To here therefore, the strike wasn’t altogether a wasted period. For one, she learnt that no time should ever be wasted; secondly, she learnt how to make money and how to be good to customers to attract goodness and kindness. Even as she would be heading back to her University of Nigeria, Nsukka campus in Enugu, where she is studying Microbiology, she regrets that she would be missing the generous tips of the big men who spoilt her with tips. Even her boss at the business centre is already complaining about letting her go, while offering her automatic employment during her long vacation.

    Jeremiah Olatinwo, a 300 level student of Building at the University of Lagos, recounts how he used the strike period to obtain an online diploma in Web Development and Marketing and a certificate in Introduction to E-commerce. He explained that he undertook the course through the Advanced Learning Interaction Online (ALISON), a UNESCO-endorsed diploma-awarding website. He disclosed that he also seized the opportunity of the time to learn modeling application software called ‘Google Sketch,’ adding that the software would further hone his skills as a building student.

    Jeremiah also took advantage of the indefinite holiday of the ASUU strike to vigorously campaign and win the election to the position of Public Relations Officer for the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Zone D (South West). In his words, “The strike was really a blessing for me because I had enough time to campaign, travel attend meetings, which all contributed to my victory at the polls.”

    Osaleye Opeyemi, Jeremiah’s colleague in UNILAG and a 300-level student of Architecture reveals how he got employment by an engineering company after showing his architectural drawings to one of the company’s staff. “I’d kept myself busy during the strike with my drawings. So one day, I walked up to a construction site and showed one of the engineers my drawings. He liked them and asked me to start drawing for them. I was later offered employment in the company. So for me, it is ‘thank God for the strike.’”

    Alonge Abimbola, a 300 level Psychology student of Ekiti State University on her part disclosed that she used the free period to learn tailoring. Her decision, she said was influenced by the need to avoid idleness at home, she noted could be dangerous. She observed that one of her colleagues “became pregnant during the period, whilst there also news of students who lost their lives as a result of careless living.”

    Spurred by a desire to relieve his parents of the burden of providing for some of the family needs, Adekola Temitope, a 200 level Political Science student of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba worked in various capacities all through the strike to raise money. He revealed that he spent his income on his immediate needs as soon as his school pulled out of the strike, leaving his parents to concentrate on his siblings.

    As for Aina Ibukunoluwa, a final year student of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Lagos, it was a time to tidy up his project.

    “The strike enabled me to invest the best of my intellect and time towards maximising the output and relevance of my project to the society. Were it not for the strike, I probably would have muddled up lots of things, which would have adversely affected the relevance of the project.” He concluded.

    Students with entrepreneurial prospects also took advantage of the strike to launch their businesses. One of such cases is Adebayo Tolulope, a 400 level Law student at the University of Lagos, who revealed that running a business has always being in his blood, even though he has never had enough time to launch his plan. Today, he is the chief executive officer of Yannie 360, a registered online fashion market the first of its kind in Nigeria. According to him, “The strike gave me enough time to prepare well from the conceptualization stage to actualization. It also helped in widening my horizon, as I was able to think beyond the four walls of the classroom.

    Students with entrepreneurial prospects also took advantage of the strike to launch their businesses. One of them, Adetayo Tolulope, is now the Chief Executive Officer of Yannie360, a registered online fashion market- the first of its kind in Nigeria. In a chat with our reporter, Tolulope who is a 400 level Law student in UNILAG noted that business has always been in his blood but he didn’t get enough time to showcase his plans. According to him, “The strike gave me enough time to prepare well from the conceptualisation of the idea to the actualisation. It helped in widening my horizon as I was able to think beyond the four walls of the classroom.”

    He explained that the major aim of the business is to create a meeting point for fashion lovers, thereby bringing fashion to the doorsteps of all. “This online shop allows uploading of pictures of products or designs, enabling potential customers to peruse them and order or contact designers according to their preferences. For products placed for sale on the site, the young entrepreneur revealed that customers, who order, will have them delivered to their respective locations.”

  • We’ll rebrand NANS

    We’ll rebrand NANS

    THE newly elected executives of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone D (South West) have pledged to work towards rebranding the students’ union body.

    This was disclosed by the Public Relations Officer, Mr. Olatinwo Jeremiah, during an interview with our reporter. He noted that NANS currently has a low rating among students and the public, thereby fostering misguided public opinions about it.

    He promised that students’ welfare would be the priority of the current tenure. According to him, “The new leadership of NANS zone D is pledging its total commitment to topnotch, apt and strategic advocacy for members. We will give our all in making the government do the needful. The welfare of our members is our priority.”

    He, however, appealed to students across tertiary institutions to see themselves as one indivisible body, calling on them to support NANS so as to reach the promise land.

    He lauded the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the federal government for resolving their differences and expressed optimism that the strike would mark a turning point for Nigerian educational system.

  • ASUU hails payment of lecturers’ salary arrears

    The Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ibadan chapter, Dr. Segun Ajiboye, has described the payment of lecturers’ five-month salary arrears by the Federal Government as encouraging.

    Ajiboye told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Ibadan that the federal government had with this started implementing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) reached with the union.

    “It is encouraging that the salary arrears have been paid to members, and I believe these cut across board.

    “Right now, members are ready to go back to work. We however expect government to be sincere in fulfilling other aspects of the MOU,’’ he said.

    Ajiboye expressed optimistic that government would not go back on the agreement.

     

  • ASUU to consolidate on 2013 gains – Fagge

    The President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr. Nasir Fagge, said the union would consolidate on the gains of its 2013 struggles this year.

    This is contained in a statement signed by Fagge on Thursday in Abuja.

    Fagge noted that 2013 was a year of struggle to salvage the Nigerian education system from the “jugular grip of Bretton-Woods Institutions.”

    He said a significant increase in budgetary allocation to the education sector would be pursued in 2014 to achieve UNESCO’s 26 per cent recommendation.

    The ASUU president said the union would also follow-up on its agreement with the government concerning the welfare of lecturers to ensure implementation and industrial harmony.

    According to him, the union will convene a National Summit on Education to X-ray the problems of the sector and proffer solutions.

    “There will be a general improvement in the quality and access to education at all levels for the Nigerian citizens.

    “2014 is the year in which, if we all do our bit as required, a foundation to genuine national development will be laid through the production of quality manpower at all levels for our dear country,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the ASUU president as saying in the statement.

     

  • OAU Prof yet to be found

    OAU Prof yet to be found

    As universities across the nation get set to reopen after the five-month-old face-off between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government, Prof James Bolarinwa Olomo may not return to work with his colleagues at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State.

    For over two months now, his whereabouts have been a cause for concern for his colleagues, family and indeed, the university’s authorities.

    They have remained persistent in their appeal to the public to provide any information that could lead to his recovery.

    Olomo, a Professor of Nuclear and Medical Physics at the OAU, was said to have left Lagos on Thursday, October 17 by flight for Calabar and later, by road for Eket near Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, supposedly to an oil & gas company, where he is a Radiation Safety Adviser (RSA).

    A statement jointly signed by the school’s chapter of ASUU, Search Committee (Department of Physics); OAU Administration, Otan Aiyegbaju Progressive Union; and the Olomo family, said Olomo was last reached on phone by a colleague from the institution and his secretary on October 19.

    The statement said the matter had since been reported to the police, State Security Service (SSS), Osun and Kwara states government, and major hospitals in Eket, among others.

    The statement urged any Nigerian with useful information to contact OAU’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Bamitale Omole, or representatives of the Olomo family on 08033580020.

    The statement added: “A Yoruba adage says: ‘The demise of a child is more tolerated than his or her disappearance.’ The disappearance of Prof James Bolarinwa Olomo is still a mystery and shock and has dealt a deadly blow to his colleagues, students, friends and relations.

    “The search must continue until he is found and therefore, we need to double our efforts. It is exactly two months and one week now since he disappeared mysteriously.”

  • MAJOR ISSUES IN THE YEAR

    MAJOR ISSUES IN THE YEAR

    The year 2013 was characterised by a myriad of both interesting and ugly occurrences across the country. INNOCENT DURU in this report examined some of the big issues that occurred during the year.

    Associated Airlines plane crash

    The nation was thrown into mourning on October 3 when a chattered aircraft conveying the remains of former Governor of Ondo State, Chief Olusegun Agagu, from Lagos to Akure crashed, killing 13 persons. The crash occurred shortly after the Embraer aircraft operated by Associated Airlines took-off at the local wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos. The aircraft broke into two.

    While the cockpit compartment was severely burnt, the casket was recovered and taken away from the wreckage. It was later conveyed to Akure in an ambulance belonging to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF). The lying in state and other burial arrangements were cancelled because of the incident. The family, however, went ahead with the burial the following day, October 5.

    Mr. Tunji Okusanya, the boss of MIC Funeral Company; his son, Olatunji; Deji Falae, Ondo State Commissioner for Tourism and son of former secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, were among the people that died in the ill-fated flight.

    Feyi, Agagu’s son, earlier speculated to have died in the crash, was one of the seven survivors.

    A season of strikes

    Academic and healthcare services suffered serious setback at various times during the year. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) embarked on nationwide strikes to demand payment of salary arrears and improved work conditions. Patients in government hospitals across the country were stranded when the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) embarked on a three-day warning strike to protest alleged poor funding of the residency training of its members by the Federal Government.

    The group commenced the strike after a 21-day ultimatum it gave to the Federal Government expired on June 18. The strike was called off on June 29 after which ASUU took the baton and commenced an indefinite nationwide strike on July 1. Expectations that the strike would end within a short time were dashed as series of meetings between the union and representatives of the Federal Government yielded no positive result.

    As Nigerians continued to lament the protracted ASUU strike, NARD on October 1 announced that it was commencing an indefinite nationwide strike. As usual, patients in government hospitals all over the country bore the brunt of the strike which lasted for more than three weeks. The strike was eventually called off on October 24 while the ASUU strike continued.

    The hope that ASUU strike would be suspended was further dashed when a former president of the union, Prof. Festus Iyayi of the University of Benin, was killed in an auto crash on November 12. His untimely death occurred in an accident that involved a vehicle in the convoy of the Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada, while he (Iyayi) was on his way to the National Executive Council meeting of the union in Kano.

    The NEC meeting was meant to decide whether the strike would be called off after ratifying the decisions of the 61 chapters of the union. Thereafter, the Federal Government gave a seven-day ultimatum to federal vice chancellors to reopen their institutions and warned the striking lecturers to resume duties on December 4 or lose their jobs. When the lecturers remained adamant, the Federal Government reviewed the seven-day ultimatum from December 4 to December 9 but the union remained yet unperturbed. The strike, which lasted for more than five months, was eventually called off on December 17.

    Less than 24 hours after ASUU called off its strike, the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) directed its members to commence a five-day warning strike. They embarked on the strike over claims that the health sector was poorly funded by the Federal Government. The association, however, called off the five-day

    Warning strike on December 22 and warned that it would commence an indefinite strike on January 6, 2014 if its demands were not met by the Federal Government.

    Anambra governorship election
    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to give Nigerians the assurance that it was capable of organising hitch-free elections in 2015 as it failed to organise the November 16 governorship election in Anambra State successfully.
    The governorship poll was marred by disenfranchisement, logistic problems and violence. These rubbished the electoral body’s promise to test-run its strategies for reliable elections in 2015. Even the commission itself admitted that the poll was a poorly conducted and had to reschedule the election in 65 units in Obosi, Idemili Local Government Area of the State. The rescheduling was necessitated by the late arrival of voting materials in the affected wards. Some of the candidates complained of irregularities in the conduct of the election, with the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Chris Ngige, alleging that there was a deliberate effort by INEC to disenfranchise his supporters.
    The PDP candidate, ComradeTony Nwoye; the Labour Party flag bearer, Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah and the candidate of Progressive People’s Party (PPA), Chief Godwin Ezeemo, also protested INEC’s handling of the election. The APGA candidate, Chief Willie Obiano, however, expressed satisfaction with the arrangement.
    In the face of wide condemnation of the conduct of the election, INEC announced that it was going to conduct supplementary election in the 210 polling units where election was cancelled to determine the actual winner. The announcement was greeted with massive protest by aggrieved women who called for the removal of Prof. Ataihiru Jega as INEC boss. They also demanded for a fresh election. But they were stopped by security agents who dispersed them with tear gas. The supplementary poll, which was later conducted on November 30, witnessed low turnout of voters
    In spite of the restriction of movement in the affected areas, most of the people went about doing their normal business. APGA candidate, Chief Willie Obiano, was eventually declared the winner of the controversial election.

    Kidnapping
    Kidnapping assumed a worrisome dimension during the year as it snowballed into a big syndicate venture. Kidnappers demanded millions of naira as ransom from the families of their victims. The perpetrators employed new strategies and made use of sophisticated weapons with which they unleashed terror on people, particularly security operatives who crossed their paths. In fact, the fear of kidnappers became the beginning of wisdom for many Nigerians during the year.
    Among the notable Nigerians kidnapped during the year was Chief Mike Ozekhome, a human rights lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). He was kidnapped on August 23. Three other persons who were travelling in a motorcade with him were also taken away. He was kidnapped at gunpoint in Ehor, Uhunmwode Local Government Area of Edo State on his way to his home in Auchi. The bloodthirsty kidnappers shot and killed four police officers who attempted to rescue the victims. He was released on September 12.
    Prior to Ozekhome’s kidnap, the wife of Supreme Court Justice, Rhodes Vivour, and her daughter were also abducted in the state. They were released after about three weeks of being held captive by the kidnappers. They were kidnapped between Ekiadolor and Okada along the Ore-Benin Expressway on their way to Edo State. The Justice’s daughter’s wedding ceremony was billed to take place a week after they were kidnapped on May 11.
    In what looked like an onslaught on legal practitioners in Edo State, kidnappers also abducted Justice Daniel Okungbowa of the Edo State High Court on September 27. He was also kidnapped in Benin less than three weeks after Ozekhomhe was released by his abductors. The kidnappers extended their dastardly act to Lagos State when they abducted the chairman of Ejigbo local council, Hon. Kehinde Bamgbetan. He was abducted by gunmen close to his Ona Iwa Mimo residence on April 15 and held captive for six days before he was released on April 21.
    It was not, however, a victory song for the kidnappers all through the year. The long arm of the law caught Kelvin Ibruvwe, a suspected notorious kidnapper in the Niger Delta. He was alleged to have masterminded several kidnapping incidents in the area. He was arrested by operatives of the State Security Services (SSS) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He was nabbed on September 25 and he is now under trial.

    RIVERS CRISIS
    Rivers State remained in the news for the wrong reasons for most of 2013. The sign that all was not well with the once peaceful state first emerged when the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, who was on official visit to the state, her home state, allegedly threw caution to the winds by openly confronting the state governor, Rotimi Amaechi, over a planned demolition exercise.
    From that point, the crisis quickly spread across the state like a forest fire in the harmatan, consuming everything in its path.
    Among the early casualties of the crisis was the state executive of the Peoples Democratic Party, led by Chief Godspower Ake, which was sacked by an Abuja High Court. The crisis degenerated when a caretaker committee set up for Obi/Akpor Local Government Area was prevented from performing its duty because of the sealing of the LGA secretariat by police operatives.
    Shortly after, security details were withdrawn from the principal members of the state government, including the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Attorney-General and principal judicial officers of the state
    Matters went from bad to worse when the five members of the 32-member state House of Assembly attempted to impeach the Speaker, Amachree. The failed ‘coup’ led to a brawl in the House, which landed a member in hospital.
    At this stage, the state was divided into two, with Governor Rotimi Amaechi remaining steadfast to his popular mandate on one side, while the state police boss, the Minister of Education, Nyeson Wike and the presidency constituted a staunch opposition to the governor.
    A most bizarre dimension appeared in the crisis when the Rivers State Police Command blocked a road leading to the Government House in Port Harcourt, forcing the governor’s convoy to turn back and take another route to his official residence.
    Calls by eminent Nigerians for the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to remove Mbu over his role in the crisis in the state and disrespect for the position of the governor fell on deaf ears.
    Trouble openly began when the state executive of the Peoples Democratic Party led by Chief Godpower Ake was removed by an Abuja High Court. Mr. Felix Obuah consequently became the new state chairman. From the outset, the Obua-led executive and the state government led by Governor Rotimi Amechi worked in opposite directions. The embers of their differences were further fanned by the suspension of the Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Timothy Nsirim, the Vice Chairman and 17 councillors over financial immodesty alleged by the State House of Assembly.
    Amechi, thereafter, put in place a caretaker committee to take charge of the activities at the local council. This and the preceding action miffed the Obua-led executive, which also enjoyed the support of five members of the state’s House of Assembly and Nyesom Wike, the supervising Minister of Education.
    The crisis degenerated when the pro-Obua and pro-Amechi members in the House of Assembly engaged themselves in a bloody brawl in July. Before then, five out of the 32 members of the House had been plotting to impeach the Speaker, Michael Chinda. A member of the House sustained huge injuries during the brawl. The State Police Commissioner, Mbu Joseph Mbu, became a key participant in the crisis. At a point, he directed that police guards be withdrawn from some government officials in the state.
    He went ahead to order policemen to prevent Governor Rotimi Amaechi and 75 former Speakers of State Houses of Assembly from using the Armed Forces Avenue route to the Government House. The governor and his guests eventually took another route to get to their destination.
    As at press time, six lawmakers were still desperate in their plot to impeach the governor in a now 31-member Assembly. But the Assembly chambers had remained closed to them following a court order.

    Terrorism
    Acts of terrorism did not abate in the country during the year. The northern part of the country continued to experience series of attacks from terrorists suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect. They unleashed terror on schools and even military bases and killed so many people in the process. On April 16, terrorists suspected to be members of Boko Haram engaged the military in Baga, Borno State and killed one of them. This led to a reprisal attack that claimed close to 200 lives. The attack attracted wide condemnation from within and outside the country.
    In June, suspected members of the group killed at least nine children in a school on the outskirts of Maiduguri and killed 13 additional students and teachers in another school in Damaturu. Sometime in July, they unleashed terror on the village of Mamudo in Yobe State, killing at least 42 people who were mostly students in their dormitories.
    Another deadly attack was launched on students of College of Agriculture, Yobe State, in September. About 50 of the students were shot dead in their dormitories by terrorists suspected to be members of Boko Haram. The group on December 2 attacked the Maiduguri International Airport and the Composite Group Air Force Base in Maiduguri. Several people were killed in the attack. The military, in counter air strikes, also killed a number of the terrorists. About five military aircraft were destroyed in the attack.
    The terrorists also attacked some Nigerian Army locations in Maiduguri during the attack. On Friday, December 20, a large number of terrorists suspected to be members of the group unleashed terror on Bama, Borno State. They attacked a military barrack known as Mohammed Kur Barrack and killed many officers and their family members. About four days later, the military launched a counter-attack on the terrorists, killing at least 50 of them. The military also arrested several others.
    The Federal Government and security officials have, however, continued to claim that they are winning the war on terrorism in the northeast.
    In May, the Federal Government declared a state of emergency in three North eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe to check the menace of Boko Haram.

    PDP crisis
    The year 2013 has been a turbulent one for the Peoples Democratic Party. The umbrella of the self- acclaimed largest party in Africa is not only leaking but torn. It has ceased to adequately shield most of its members who are now pitching their tents with the All Progressives Congress.
    The woes of the party became intractable after a special convention held at the Eagle Square Abuja in August ended on a sour note. After some teething challenges that earlier sparked off some disaffection, real trouble began when some of the governors confirmed that most of their candidates for the various offices had been unilaterally removed from the list of contestants. They mobilised their delegates and walked out on the President. The exodus began even before President Goodluck Jonathan could complete his speech.