The National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, has declared that every attempt made by the Federal Government or its agents to ban the union will fail.
Osodeke stated this while speaking at the special commemorative programme organised by the ASUU chapter at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye in Ogun State to honour a former vice-chancellor of the institution, Prof Ganiyu Olatunde, who was succeeded by a pathologist, Prof Deji Agboola.
The ASUU president accused the Federal Government of being envious of ASUU’s achievements at setting qualitative and enduring standards in the areas of infrastructural provisions and services compared to what the government had done, despite the sufficient fund at its disposal.
According to him, ASUU’s philosophy was premised on aligning with a worthy cause for the progress of the country’s educational sector and its positive multiplier effects on every other area of the nation.
He said, “I can see why (the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris) Ngige is interested in banning ASUU because once ASUU is proscribed, all the union’s assets automatically become the Federal Government’s property, even when the government is bereft of ideas to put in place, qualitative assets amid sufficient funds at its disposal as done at the University of Ibadan, UNIPORT, and the University of Maiduguri, among other places.
“You will never succeed in banning ASUU because ours is a union that assesses the system and aligns with the worthy course without being biased for the progress of the Nigerian educational society.”
While commending Olatunde, the ASUU president said the union was impressed with his achievement during his tenure.
Osedeke added, “One thing we have gotten wrong is that at the universities, we look at the VCs as chief executive officers which by the law, is not true. A vice-chancellor is just one among equals and it’s only when he sees himself as one that he will not have a problem with ASUU”.
Earlier, the Chairman of OOU-ASUU, Dr Joel Okewale, Olatunde’s cordial relationship with the union led to many fruitful discussions, acceptance, and implementation of proposals in the interest of OOU.
“As a union, we took advantage of that opportunity and made several useful proposals which he accepted and implemented in the interest of this great university. For this, we can boldly and openly say that we are proud of our relationship with Prof Olatunde, a quintessential vice-chancellor,” Okewale added.
The guest lecturer and former vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof Rahman Bello, who spoke on ‘The roles of Vice-Chancellors in the evolution and sustenance of a viable university system,’ said a VC should be an experienced academic, researcher, command respect from peers and have the administrative experience to galvanise both human and material resources to drive a university to deliver on its core mandate of teaching, research, and service.
