ASUU insists NUC should be scrapped

The Academic Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU) yesterday reiterated its call for the
scrapping or an overhaul of the National
Universities Commission (NUC).
The union restated its stand in a statement by
the Chairman of its University of Ibadan (UI)
chapter, Dr. Olusegun Ajiboye.
ASUU urged the National Assembly to probe
the activities of NUC, adding that the
commission has failed to reposition the
nation’s universities as shown by the NEEDS
Assessment Report carried out by genuine
academics.
The statement said this contradicted NUC’s
accreditation exercises.
The union said the NUC accreditation
exercises, which gave a “controversial” clean
bill of health to most universities in the
country, were the result of what it called a
mago-mago (unethical) accreditation.
The union said in accountable climes, the NUC
chief would have resigned, following the
revelations in the NEEDS Assessment Report.
ASUU stressed that the ongoing strike was
total.
The union said it could not be fooled again
with “promissory notes” of the Federal
Government, which has never worked.
The statement, titled: Where Okojie Got It
Wrong, said NUC’s Executive Secretary, Prof
Julius Okojie, cannot absolve himself of the rot
in the university system because he has
allegedly been regulating quantity instead of
ensuring quality delivery.
Prof. Okojie, last Thursday, absolved the
commission of any accreditation misdeed.
He said ASUU members were to blame for the
development.
But Ajiboye described the statement credited
to the NUC chief as “careless”.
He alleged that Prof Okojie was using his
friends for the accreditation.
The university lecturer said the success of the
2011 elections could be attributed to the
patriotic zeal and contributions of the ASUU
leadership.
According to him, it was through the ASUU
leadership that the election was freer than
most of the past polls.
He said: “ASUU cannot be blamed for NUC’s
mago-mago accreditations. Rather than blame
the union, Prof Okojie should take full
responsibility for all the deeds in the NUC,
including the work and accreditations…
“Nigerians should be proud of ASUU in its
efforts at repositioning public universities. One
of these major efforts is the NEEDS Assessment
document. This was a product of a rigorous
academic exercise carried out by dependable
and credible members of our union. Unlike the
numerous faulty accreditation reports, which
had given these universities a clean bill of
health, the NEEDS Assessment Report stands
out as a classical document of reference
detailing the rot and decay in public
universities in Nigeria.
ABU VC seeks divine
The Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello
University (ABU), Zaria, Prof Abdullahi
Mustapha, has urged intending pilgrims to this
year’s Hajj to pray for Allah’s intervention in
the ongoing feud between the Federal
Government and members of the Academic
Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
“I want to use this opportunity of Hajj to
appeal to all Nigerians, especially those
embarking on this highly spiritual mission to
the holy land, to pray to the Almighty Allah for
the country’s unity, sustainable peace and
immediate resolution of the Federal
Government-ASUU dispute,” Prof Mustapha
said.
The vice chancellor, in a statement by his
spokesman, Mallam Waziri Isa Gwantu,
expressed concerns over the lingering dispute.
He said the face-off is threatening to ground
the universities and the entire education
sector.
The academic noted that the non-resolution of
the dispute may affect Nigeria’s image in the
perception of international education
community.
Prof Mustapha said if the dispute was not
resolved within the shortest time, to save the
universities from further degeneration, the
nation may witness another unfortunate phase
of mass exodus of the few intellectuals in the
system to other countries in search of
alternatives.
intervention