ASUU President and 'Quack' Universities

[Ashafa Abdullahi]

RE: A STATEMENT BY ASUU NATIONAL PRESIDENT DESCRIBING KASU AND OTHER STATE-OWNED UNIVERSITIES AS QUACKS

The whole world was taken aback by the unguided, misleading and derogatory statement by the ASUU National President, Prof. Victor Emmanuel Osodeke during an interview with Arise TV  on Friday, 26th August, 2022 in which he irresponsibly referred to some State-Owned Universities in Nigeria including Kaduna State University as quacks. 

It is obvious that by such a statement, ASUU, represented by the unguarded vituperatons of its chosen President, is not actually struggling for a better educational system in Nigeria but for personal and irrespondible aggrandisement. One may wonder whether the Professor of Soil Science really understands what the word quack represents. Quack means a person who dishonestly claims to have knowledge and skill in some field with little or no foundation, as better exemplified by professionals.

For the benefit of hindsight, KASU is a new generation University and the second most-sought State-Owned University as well as the fastest growing in Nigeria, which was established 18 years ago with eminent scholars like Prof. Idris A. Abdulkadir, OFR and Prof. Abubakar A. Rasheed, MFR as the pioneer Council members. These scholars-administrators  made sure that the appointments of qualified Lecturers was never compromised. The foundation and ethical determination to sustain same has remained the basic principle of engaging academic & non-academic staff.

By the foregoing, the general public may wish to note as follows:

1. KASU is recognised by NUC as a standard University.

2. KASU has some of the best brains that is competing  favourably with their counterparts around the globe. The world No 4 best polymer chemist is in KASU.

3. Lecturers in KASU have attracted grants both locally and internationally and are highly rated.

4. KASU graduates are rated among the best in the world and enjoying scholarships from different parts of the country and the globe.

5. KASU has members in ASUU, and it is unfortunate if the ASUU President is saying that they are quacks, while enjoying monthly check-off fees from their salaries. Does this not  gives good reason for every reasonable academic staff in the University to pull of from the Union for this labeling and stereotyping?

I like to mention here that the highest stage of irresponsibility is insulting  fellow colleagues in the academia. I thought leadership in the academia is about mutual respect and mentoring while also living by good example which the ASUU National finds it too tasking? The ASUU President was a bigot for neither mentioning Ambrose Alli University, where he came from which has pulled out from the strike long before KASU Management decided to resume academic activities in spite of the strike, nor did he refer to his own University as quack.

By resuming academic actities as our good conscience in KASU dictates, should never be a reason for us to be insulted and stereotyped.  After all, ASUU claimed to be on strike for:

* Rejecting IPPIS for UTAS (KASU has nothing to do with how other employees are paid in a country where education is in the concurrent list) 

* Renegotiate the 2009 agreement (KASU Governing Council informed lecturers  they shouldn't worry that after negotiation between FG & ASUU led by its loquacious President, it'll look into how to implement the agreement without encumbrances)

* Release funds to revitalize the infrastructure of the Universities (release of funds is being determined by the economy and income of government and not by any strike action)

*: Pay outstanding EAA to date (Kaduna State has paid far more to its lecturers the EEA than any FG University did to its own Universities)

* Release of the White Paper on Visitation Panels (This has nothing to do with State universities & KASU should not stunt its progress in a protracted strike that is becoming unreasonably insensitive)

Lets I forgotten, when ASUU in KASU joined the strike in 2019 and govt paid the 40% salary for work done for the month, ASUU National did virtually nothing positive beyond ranting so that the outstanding 60% has not been paid till date. If someone thinks the National President of ASUU  can go on strike because of this only joking!!! 

Let me use this medium to call on Academic staff on strike in KASU to reason and be more concerned with their University and people than the irritating attitude of their irrational leader that label's them as Quacks.

 

Best wishes. 

Signed:

Adamu Nuhu Bargo

P.R.O-KASU

For: Acting Vice-Chancellor

26th August, 2022

[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

tragic development.

should a misguided utterance by ASUU President be seen as negating  ASUU's initiatives?

Has there been a time, since the 90s at least, when academic staff welfare was not advanced through strikes rather than the govt doing its duty without any pressure from ASUU?

I doubt it. I would be  pleased to be educated otherwise.

thanks

toyin

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[Owojecho Omoha]

ASUU is made up academic staff in Federal and State owned universities in Nigeria, and they have fought and will continue to fight together to save university education from a total collapse.

If ASUU chairman in KSU had responded to the so-called "quack" so brief like match flare in the dark and the response attracts a sitting KSU acting Vice Chancellor's attention as the basis for this write up, it sounds better and credible. 

The response is from an acting Vice Chancellor, and not ASUU as a body in KSU. Who is the acting Vice Chancellor fighting for, KSU branch of ASUU or the University certificated largely for quality academic programmes? It's hard to believe the acting Vice Chancellor who is struggling to be confirmed as a substantive Vice Chancellor. I so disbelieve that there was any "quack" utterance and conclude that the remark was fabricated by the "paid press" or perhaps, the acting Vice Chancellor as a brief to attract attention to the awaiting confirmation of his appointment.  

If you believe the acting Vice Chancellor for his academic sense in quoting "quack" to refer to  Professor Emmanuel Osedeke, I don't.

Owojecho Omoha.

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[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

the subject can be investigated with a Google search as a starting point

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