Strike on ‘till the cows come home’
It is a very good resolve. University lecturers all over Nigeria have been on strike since July 1 for reasons that many people do not even know. I was very afraid that ASUU will heed the deafening calls by traditional rulers, clerics and market women’s associations and end its strike action, hence my happiness when […]
It is a very good resolve. University lecturers all over Nigeria have been on strike since July 1 for reasons that many people do not even know. I was very afraid that ASUU will heed the deafening calls by traditional rulers, clerics and market women’s associations and end its strike action, hence my happiness when I read that this is not the case.
The story said ASUU members in the Imo State University [IMSU] and their counterparts at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri have said the strike will continue until the Federal Government implements in full the agreement it entered into with their union in 2009. A communiqué they issued after a joint meeting, signed by IMSU’s ASUU chairman Reverend [?] Dr Chidi Nwadiaro said the union’s members will remain at home until the Federal Government implements the agreement.
I refuse to ask certain questions about this communiqué. I refuse to ask, as some people are certain to do, why a reverend father is leading a strike action when he should be preaching the biblical teaching of turning the other cheek. The communiqué spoke about “the Federal Government” implementing certain agreements. I know some Nigerians will say, “Then what is Imo State University lecturers’ own in this matter?” I refuse to ask this question.
Rev. Nwadiaro said the total money due to Nigerian universities under the terms of the 2009 agreement is N500billion but that government has so far released only N100 billion. This amount is needed to provide infrastructure in the universities, he said. I am very happy that ASUU is pursuing its strike action irrespective of all appearances of reality. They should ignore all those who are saying that N500 billion is nearly half the amount of money voted for fuel subsidy and nearly as much as the National Assembly consumes. ASUU should not listen to the argument that government’s income has dropped precipitously due to oil theft. They should dismiss the theatrical falling apart of the Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting due to alleged shortfall in funds and press on with their strike action. They should not be intimidated by the growling of students who have been idling away at home when they can still open their old lecture notes and re-read them. In short, they should continue this strike until the cows come home.
Mo, open your tight fist
Sob! Sob! So no one is going to chop Mo Ibrahim’s millions this year. For the fourth time in five years, the board that governs the world’s juiciest individual prize of $5 million announced that there is no winner. The award, endowed by Sudanese-born British telecoms’ billionaire Mo Ibrahim, is awarded to an African ruler who governed well, raised his countrymen’s living standards and then stepped down peacefully. Ibrahim’s idea is to encourage African rulers to govern well and to shun corruption for fear of a penniless aftermath. The prize is dished out over a ten year period, after which the winner still gets S200,000 every year for the rest of his life.
Since its inception seven years ago, three former African rulers have bagged the mouth-watering prize. They are Cape Verde’s Pedro Verona Pires, Botswana’s Festus Mogae and Mozambique’s Joaquim Chissano. Since then however, the award committee has regularly looked over many deserving ex-rulers some of whom, I hear, have even arranged big parties in anticipation of winning the Mo jackpot.
Why, Mo, there is no shortage of candidates to win this money. Why not Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, to begin with? I hear that Kenya’s Mwai Kibaki was overlooked because of the violence that attended to the 2007 elections in his country and Egypt’s Mohamed Morsi was overlooked because he did not leave power peacefully. What about grand old man Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal? He needs this money in retirement after conceding victory in an election. Niger Republic’s Mahamadou Tandja is there, if you overlook the small matter of his extra-constitutional usurp. Or the Mo Ibrahim board can give “anticipatory award” to some people in anticipation of their stepping down peacefully in the next election. I cannot list them here…