ASUU has been on strike for about 3 months.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU) has blamed the rot in the Nigerian
university system on the Executive Secretary of
the National University Commission, Julius
Okojie, saying his failure to insist on quality
has bastardised Nigerian universities.
The lecturers also vowed to continue their
strike unless the federal government honours
the 2009 agreement it had with the union.
In a statement signed by its University of
Ibadan branch chairman, Olusegun Ajiboye,
ASUU renewed its call for the scraping or a
total overhaul of the regulatory institution if
the nation wishes to get it right in university
education management.
While calling on the National Assembly to
beam its searchlight on the activities of the
NUC, Mr. Ajiboye said the recent NEEDS
assessment report on universities reflects how
much the commission has failed in its duties as
a regulator.
According to him, the report undertaken by
genuine academics contradicts NUC’s
accreditation exercises which gave
‘controversial’ clean bill of health to most
universities through “magomago accreditation.”
The union contended that only in a society like
Nigeria would Mr. Okojie still remain in office
after being heavily indicted in the report,
saying “in sane climes, the NUC boss ought to
have resigned through the revelations made in
the NEEDS assessment report.”
Mr. Okojie had, last week, absorbed his
commission of any wrongdoing in the rot
plaguing public universities in the country,
particularly as regards undeserved
accreditation, blaming members of the ASUU
instead.
Mr. Ajiboye, who described the statement
credited to the NUC boss as ‘careless’, accused
Mr. Okojie of using his cronies who can do his
biddings to embark on accreditation.
He said the success of the 2011 elections was
based on the patriotic zeal and contributions
of genuine and patriotic ASUU members
nationwide saying that was why the election
was free of hanky-panky recorded in past
elections.
The ASUU statement titled ‘Where Okojie Got It
Wrong,’ insisted that the NUC boss is fond of
using his ‘yes sir’ boys to do hatchet jobs
during accreditations, thereby compromising
quality most of the time.
The union said its almost three-month-old
strike is fully on, adding that the it would not
allow itself to be fooled again with ‘promisory
notes’ of the federal government which had
never worked in the past.
“ASUU cannot be blamed for NUC ‘magomago’
accreditations. Rather than blaming the Union,
Okojie should take full responsibility for all
the fraudulent deeds in the NUC, including the
work and eat accreditations.
“The NUC knows the kind of academics they
select for their ignoble exercises. These are
cronnies of the big man in the NUC. They can
never say no to his biddings. Nigerians should
be proud of ASUU in it’s efforts at
repositioning public universities in the
country. 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 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.
All well meaning Nigerians can see the contrast
between okojie’s ‘packaged accreditation
reports’ and a credible job done by ASUU.
“It has become very clear from the Needs
Assessment that Okojie and his cohort of
accreditors have fooled this country for too
long. Enough they say is enough. Time is now
for the Government to beam a searchlight on
the activities of the NUC.
“The Education Committees in both the Senate
and House of Representatives have an arduous
task to do here. Nigerians are calling for
dismantling of an omnibus body that has done
the country more harm than good. NUC must
go.
“Professor Julius Okojie cannot absolve himself
from the rot in the university system by
regulating quantity instead of ensuring quality
delivery,” ASUU said.
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