We shall never allow political jobbers in U.I again, say staff Unions
By Fredrick Wright
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) of the University of Ibadan (UI) have vowed never to allow political jobbers to dictate the pace in the institution again.
This position was in response to the controversies surrounding the process of appointing a new Vice-Chancellor for the premier university.
The staff unions during a joint press conference at UI, Ibadan, said there was need for a comprehensive change in the process of the appointment of Vice-Chancellors, saying, “The powers of the Vice-Chancellor in the selection/election of the Deputy Vice-Chancellors must be reduced. Composition of Councils must be reviewed”.
The aggrieved staff said: “We want to reiterate the point that never shall we allow political jobbers to dictate the pace in UI again. They have destroyed everything good about UI. The morale of workers is at abysmal level. They cannot pay workers. The university is insolvent. They are owing IBEDC. They have milked dry the DLC, College Of Postgraduate Studies and ALL IGRs points. University of Ibadan is in reds.
“We want to assure our members that this is just a beginning of our struggles to retrieve University of Ibadan from these predators.
“Only God knows the next Vice-Chancellor of the University. We have made our position known and we know we cannot be a judge in our own case. While we await the final resolution of the conundrum, we want to use this platform to commend all the shortlisted candidates for their maturity and forbearance during the protest. We also appreciate the Council Chairman for his fatherly presence to address our Congress. We also want to appreciate Professors Ezekiel Ayoola and Peter Olapegba for having the confidence in our congress that they are harmless and peaceful friends when the duo walked in through the protesting JAC to pick Professors Ayoola’s Toyota Sienna at the Niser Car Park,”
The group pleaded with the Federal Government to please pay the salaries of the university teachers because it is apparent that idleness is affecting the system.
“We also recommend a paradigm shift towards strengthening academic quality with the idea that students should assess their teachers on content, mode of delivery among others.
“It is laughable that the arm of university governance saddled with enforcing academic policies is still looking the other way in ensuring the implementation of the decision almost a decade since the decision was taken. Why? Perhaps because many who are to impart knowledge cannot because of their shallow depth in the subject area and their warped style of delivery, which is far from the generally accepted global best practices.
“We are also going to recommend a comprehensive change in the process of the appointment of Vice-Chancellors. The powers of the Vice-Chancellor in the selection/election of the Deputy Vice-Chancellors must be reduced. Composition of Councils must be reviewed.
“There is the need to correct the erroneous impression of any paid worker in the University, irrespective of the status, that the University is their fiefdom.
“They run the Universities like their captured territories. The rottenness in the University system, the servitude, the pillaging, the stealing, the oppression, the abuse of power, the crumbs scavenging, the divide-and-rule here dwarfs what you see in town! They have so much destroyed the University system to the extent that it is the town that impacts the gown now,” the group stated.
It would be recalled that the non-teaching members of Staff of the University of Ibadan, on the 28th day of October, 2020 staged a peaceful protest against the process of the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor.
The group said; “It is apposite to inform the public that long before the meeting of that day, specifically towards the process of Congregation election to Council, the non-teaching members of staff through the Union, wrote letters to the Vice-Chancellor and the Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of Council, pointing out the observed fundamental flaws and biased disposition of the Vice-Chancellor. We raised those issues for corrections and adjustments to be made. There was never a point where we assume the responsibility of the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor.
“We later realized at our meeting with the Chairman of Council on Saturday, 24th of October, 2020 that our letters were not allowed to reach the Chairman of Council. This was confirmed when he told us point blank that he was not aware of some of the issues raised,” the stated.
