ASUU STRIKE: A Student’s Point Of View

“Why have strikes been the most viable option in the universities for pressurising government to meet its obligations? Is ASUU such an insensitive body that the plight of students does not matter to it? What are the overall implications of the strikes on academic programmes?” Culled From ‘The current ASUU strike By Hope Eghagha March 2003’.

This article is in reaction to the recent strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). While it is expected that arguments or objections would come up based on points I intend to raise in this article, I wish to make it clear that I write with the purest of intentions and without any inclination towards sedition.

Truly we have all watched closely, the drama between the Federal Government of Nigeria headed by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and ASUU comprising mainly of Lecturers of Universities in Nigeria. It is really sad to note that the strike is indeed an avoidable one but due to insensitivity on the part of the striking party, and the destructive nonchalance of the people who are not qualified to be in the oversized positions that they suddenly find themselves.

It is often said in Africa, that when two elephants fight, the grass suffers. Indeed this is true and only so because the two fighting elephants are inconsiderate of the fate of the grass beneath while they pursue their own selfish interest of supremacy or whatever they might be fighting over. I hereby liken the Federal Government and ASUU to the two proverbial elephants while the suffering grass in this situation, are the students who are innocent and yet are been punished.

I bear more grudges against ASUU and as a challenge, I say, let a representative come forward and prove to us that you (ASUU) are any different from the kidnappers in the Niger-Delta or anywhere in the world. A kidnapper for instance kidnaps a victim and demands for a ransom before releasing the victim. ASUU is kidnapping University students’ future to demand for a ransom from the Government and this they do time and time again. Come to think of it; when the students embark strike actions either to protest unwarranted increase in school fees or other imposition by the school authorities or the Government, your members (our lecturers) threaten heaven and hell to go to class and fail any student that does not attend so why should you force us to pause our future because of your own selfish gains? Is strike actually the only mean by which you can get a bargain with the Government even when you know the effect it has on our future? How many strike actions did you witness as students (at least you all were once students) and how many strike actions have you embarked upon as lecturers? Have you actually thought about these? You guys claim that you want the Government to improve the standard of education in the country but you force the students to stay home for almost a semester because you want more money; is that an improvement? It should be noted that if I am proven right on the kidnapping aspect, then ASUU and its members have committed a crime against humanity.

On the other hand, I am sad about the attitude of the Federal government in handling this issue but I must confess, I am not in any way disappointed. The present situation is in clear contrast with one asking a carpenter to do a mechanics job; he’ll simply make a mess of it.

When president Umaru Musa Yar’adua was elected, a lot of people thought he would favor the education sector having once been a lecturer. But do we have to be reminded that the fact that the lips, the tongue and the teeth live in the same domain called the mouth does not mean that they are best of friends. Some people express disappointment at the president but I say this is not about one person and so when we talk we must talk about the Federal Government headed by president Umaru Musa Yar’adua. Then we would be addressing him as well as all ministers and indeed everyone concerned.

The Government, to the best of my knowledge, among other things, protects the interest of the citizens. The present situation however puts a doubt in my mind as to whether there’s a Government protecting our interest in Nigeria or just a Government interested in making Nigeria a Partisan State. A country where the president, whilst having a lot of issues staring him in the face , would rather tackle a political opponent on a constitutional issue. A country where the secretary of States of The United States had to come all the way to tell us we had a problem of Governance. A country where money is spent and declared publicly but when we look we wouldn’t see the effect of the money spent. What do we really hope to achieve??? We, the students, are the youths of the future that you lay so much hope upon but what are you teaching us to do in the future when we hold the reins. May God forbid however, that we take after you!!!

Why can’t the Government take care of the lecturers and teachers until they resort to their kidnapping ways of striking. The allowance for each Senator to fuel their generating sets are enough to pay the striking lecturers and you still don’t care that we are been sent home due to your nonchalance. Infact this type of insensitivity proves how irresponsibly the officials involved would react if their children or wards are sent home from school due to non-payment of school fees. Oh!!! How would they know when virtually their entire needs are taken care of by the country. How can they know the pain we feel when all their children are either studying abroad or attending private Universities in Nigeria where you are given your graduation date on the day of matriculation.

It is high time we called a spade a spade. ASUU members are free to demand for an increase in their salary and the Federal Government is free to be deaf for however long they feel but all we are asking as students is STOP DESTABILISING OUR FUTURE!!!

We the students are ready to join ASUU in their struggle but there are better ways for them to summon us rather than force us; afterall, you are our lecturers and we can’t fail you if you ask for our help in the right way. We are organized as different students’ bodies and our voices when raised as one can reverberate around the whole world and that, the Government understands quickly. But first we ask that you (our lecturers), to return to the classrooms and give us our mandate. If after that, the Government does not respond, you can be sure that our own JTF (Joint Task Force) can really be a formidable one.

IT SHOULDN’T ALWAYS BE BY WAY OF STRIKE ACTIONS

UNSCRUPULOUS BANK CHARGES AND THE NIGERIAN FACTOR

Before now, people have explored different means of keeping their hard earned money safe. We've heard of people digging a hole in the ground, people hiding cash under their pillow and so on. There have also been legends of how some pirates keep treasures in isolated places and guard it with unfathomable spirits and curses that attack whomever dares to approach. All these means were explored by our fore fathers and they found peace of mind from it. Infact, that is the whole essence of it; peace of mind. However, with the advent of technology and civilization, the banking system was conceptualized and banks sprung up in different parts of the world. That would be the Genesis in brief.
In Nigeria, after the consolidation of the banking sector, there was a lot of competition amongst the banks and they were all out to impress the standing and prospective clients and they were launching packages to outwit one another (like the telecommunication companies are doing presently). They needed to increase their customer base to prove that they were doing fine and so they lured unsuspecting individuals with their enticing offers ranging from zero account balance, to free ATM cards and so on. All the while, the Nigerian factor was been manipulated.

Now you ask. What is the Nigerian factor?

Nigerians are probably the most intelligent people on earth and I'm proud to be born Nigerian. However I'll not fail to point out that we ahve always failed to utilize the potentials that we possess.For example, it is in Nigeria that we use our own intelligence to out-maneuver other Nigerians who are as intelligent if not more, than we us. Then the more intelligent Nigerian naturally identifies when they are been cheated but what do they do? They either idly sit on the issue and let it go or worse still, they talk about it amongst themselves without actually confronting the culprit. If you know what degree of intelligence it takes to uncover another intelligent man's moves, then you'ld probably know what I'm talking about.
The Nigerian factor goes further in a situation where a policeman pick up a citizen on the street and takes him to the police station. At the counter, they laid all sorts of allegations on him to declared him under arrest (and of course he was innocent). the Nigerian factor comes in where this citizen can see clearly right behind the man at the counter, an inscription that reads 'BAIL IS FREE' and he still manages to pay the police for his bail even though he was dubiously charged for a crime he did not commit. If you think you're wasting your time when you stand in the middle of the road and challenge a police man that infringes on your right, that's the Nigerian Factor at its best.
By now, you should know what I mean by the Nigerian Factor but if you still don't, then I give you one more instance. The Nigerian Factor is in play when you sign a piece of paper in a bank for account opening and you specifically stated that you don't want SMS notifications and yet they send it to you and charge you for it and you do nothing about it saying you don't like trouble. The Nigerian Factor is when you don't bother to write a long (if necessary) letter to the Branch Manager of your bank on issues that affect your account and state in the final paragraph that you intend to seek legal redress if necessary.
Finally, it is the Nigerian Factor, if we just raise this issue and don't get it to a logical conclusion.
To the banks, I say, the customers might not always be right, but the CUSTOMERS HAVE RIGHTS.

Auto-Medics: A Programme You Must Listen To

Do you own a car? Have you been having problems with your car? Do you have any reason to believe that your mechanic has been taking you to the dry cleaners? Then you should be happy you're reading this blog today.
This morning, as I was going to the office in my boss' car at 8:25am, he tuned the radio to 102.3 fm (Radio Continental) and I was wondering why; because I knew he was never interested in stuffs from local radio stations. However, I soon got the answer to my question when I heard a husky voice saying something about giving out a prize to anyone who was could prove how true a Michael Jackson fan he /she was, by answering three questions about his albums "up next would be auto-medics. So you guys with car problems better get set". There was a little musical sound and on came a cooler voice.
Three guys (Kunle, Mike and Ben) anchor the programme and the logic is simple. For the first few minutes, people are allowed to call in and state the symptoms of their cars while the doctors (as they refer to themselves), try to give precise answers either prescribing or giving total solution to your car problems right there without having to see the car. Afterwards, sms messages are read and one way or the other, you are sure of getting a solution to your car troubles. Without mincing words, the guys are just pure geniuses. Period.
You shouldn't miss it.

USA Vs BRAZIL MATCH : The Michael Jackson Connection

Sincerely which team did you think was going to win yesterday's match? Were you among those who said the United States' team was going to win? I can remember, when that guy scored the second goal for the US and the commentator said something like "The United States' players are really on the verge of proving to the world that indeed football has changed". The guys at the salon where I was barbing my hair were all saying all sorts of things but I just said silently (so that the guy with the clipper wouldn't cut my skin off) "this is only the first half. This game can still change and infact it would still change. Just watch". I can still hear the voice of one of the guys when he said "are we even sure this guy is not Brazilian?" Hilarious!.
I was sooo confident when I said the game was still going to change in favor of Brazil andI had my reasons. Firstly, it was a game of football. A game of ninety minutes where, more than once, we have seen teams turning around to win even when it was seconds left to the end of a match. Football, where we say things like 'it's not over until it's over' (just take Chelsea-Barcelona UEFA Champions League Semi Final Match as an example).
Notwithstanding all the points I have mentioned above as my reasons for been so confident in my assertion on yesterday's match, I noticed one thing that a lot of people missed (and I can understand if you missed it too), talking about eyes on details, Micheal Jackson was an American citizen wasn't he? and if I can boast confidently about knowing a lot about football, then I can rightly say that when an important person dies in a country and that country has an important football match to play, they observe a minute silence in honour of the person and then they wear a black hand band in respect for the soul. So, was it just me, or did the american players actually forgot or ignored to observe this age-long tradition in the history of football?
All over the world, Micheal Jackson is been celebrated even in death. So why would his own people, the people for whom he changed his color to satisfy, fail to honour him so?
Correct me if I'm wrong but immediately I noted this observation, I was sure that the team was going to lose and thank God! They did lose.

Dr. REUBEN ABATI Vs THE NIGERIAN YOUTHS

As much as I'ld like to avoid this issue, I can no longer evade my fans' curiosity as to my thought about the widely criticized publication from Dr. Reuben Abati titled 'A Nation's Identity Crisis' (see http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/reuben-abati/a-nations-identity-crisis-3.html ) . But first, I wish to state categorically that, of course, I'm going to state my opinion in the clearest possible way and that includes criticizing some other peoples responses to the publication, but some points have to be set straight .

Dr. Reuben Abati is a well respected writer whose reputation we cannot afford to slander due to such a trivial issue as the one on ground. See this page (http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/reuben-abati/index.php). If he insulted us, then he owes it to us to apologize but what if it wasn't intentional? What if we are attacking a defenseless opponent? Yes! a defenseless opponent; correct me if I'm wrong, but I think since Banky W led the onslaught some days ago, the man hasn't posted any reply on any page yet or has he? Yet you find every young man that can summon the pen, writing all sorts of things.

Indeed we have a right to voice our expressions, especially when someone attacks us in such manner as Dr. Reuben has done, but to what extent?

I'ld like to make it short and real quick so that your comments may take up most of the space I'll leave on the page.

I hereby wish to state my dissatisfaction with the article written by Dr. Reuben Abati titled "A Nation's Identity Crisis". I think he made a mistake by generalizing and condemning a whole generation of young folks amongst whom are innocent ones (and Banky W should note how easy that was without having to hurl insults).

To all those who are using the opportunity of the situation to say different things about the man, I think you should google the name and think again. Isn't it only human for us to make mistakes? He voiced his opinion, we are not satisfied, we voice ours but we don't have to take it personal like some people are doing. The fact that anyone's name was mentioned doesn't mean the person was been attacked personally.

It's not our fault that we have a limit of 153letters per page of sms and we have improvise/abbreviate/shorten words to manage that space for any message we want to send and that has made it a part of us e.g naija, 9ja, 2morrow, e.t.c. Times change and trend moves.

Dear Dr. Reuben Abati,

On behalf of my fellow exuberant generation mates (the hiphop generation), I apologize if you feel slighted in anyway, but it all comes down to one thing. We are a generation with passion and we are highly sensitive (and I'm sure you've seen that in action). We enjoyed reading your piece and we thank you for the message(s) passed; however, we would appreciate if you review that piece and come out with a refined version of it which we expect to be filled with more advice and encouragement to us.

Thank you in anticipation of your cooperation.

Yours sincerely,

Honourable Alugo Abdulazeez.

Is This How We Appreciate Fashola?

I'm going to be very frank about this issue.
Sometime ago, I typed Babatunde Raji Fashola in the search box at the top right hand corner on my facebook home page and there it was. I was happy to find that the Good Governor had a profile on facebbok and what thrilled me was the fact that it went a long way to prove that the governor was in line with trend which was a good thing. However, I had a doubt.
There was something within me that simply refused to believe that Governor Fashola would have enough time to squeeze out of his busy schedule to maintain his profile on facebook; considering the fact that he appeared to update the profile quite frequently. I also noticed that the profile, as frequently as it got updated, never had anything under the 'what is on your mind section'. Then an idea occured to me and I sent the following message to the facebook profile on the 26th of February 2009 with the subject; 'For starters'
"Hello your excellency,
I still dont believe that it is really you on facebook. This is the third week That I've been studying your profile just to be sure that it really is you.
Though it shouldn't really surprise me to find you on facebook because you've done some other things that just any other Governor would neva think of doing.
But if this is really you, then I wish help me out of my misery by answering these questions. (please these questions are directed to Gov. Babatunde Fashola).
Sir, considering the fact that you never dreamt of becoming a governor, and I can only guess the surprise u must have gotten when u were nominated by your predecessor (the Governor Emeritus), hw are you finding this job?
Were u always an internet surfer or are u on facebook just because of your status as the Governor? (I'm actually very thrilled to find you here because though, you might not realise the long term effect of your presence here, you are teaching me and a lot of other young folks who have an ambition for leadership.)
I'ld relax and hold back a bit till I hear from you. But sir, I really hope this is you ooo.
Eko oni baje ooo! O baje less."
And guess what? I got no reply and so I got really curious.
I therefore sent a mail to the Governor himself to ask him and I got a reply from his Senior Special Assistant (media).
"Dear Hon. Alugo Abdulazeez,
Thank you for sending your mail to Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) of LagosState.
The Facebook accounts of Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) are not genuine.We will update you with his social networking accounts (Facebooks andTwitter) shortly. In addition, we plan to update the blog section as soon aspossible.
Please, feel free to reflect to your comments on issues, practice andpolicies of Lagos State using the online email form. You are guaranteed thatGovernor Fashola will take appropriate response to them.
Best regards,
Hakeem BelloSenior Special Assistant to the Governor (Media)"
The sad thing now is the fact that, whoever is behind this scam is actually doing it for his love for the governor but ignorant of the fact that he is actually hurting the governor. How? you ask. Imagine you are Fashola and someone else is on the internet posing as you with a lot of your fans thinking it really is you. How would you feel. You should also consider the fact that whatever the person says is attributed to you beause everybody already think it's you.
Though I won't stop trying, but it's really annoying to note the insensitive attitude of our people towards such issues. Is this the way to show someone that you appreciate him? by impersonating him? And even after I have posted the message from the Governor's Senior Special Assistant on the wall of the profile for everyone to see and kick against the act, no one seems to be bothered as the list of friends keep rising.
Is this how we appreciate Fashola in his lifetime???

Micheal Jackson : My Last Respect

Please don't mind the title of this post. My last respect doesn't actually mean ths is going to be my last respect for the phenomenon called Michael Jackson. He lives on forever in my and our minds. However, I used that title because I find it very difficult to say something else for fear of plagiarizing someone else.
Imagine the fact that almost every blog, or atleast every personal blog that I know of, has something on it about Micheal. This was (it's sad to note that he can now only be reffered to in the past tense) an entity who has been enjoying stardom right from the age of 11!!! Can you beat that? He was named the king of pop without a tinge of argument or disagreement from any body worldwide. According to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson), He was one of the few artistes to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of Fame twice, he has multiple Guiness World Records - including one for the "most successful entertainer of all time", 13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one single in his solo career and sale of 750 million records worldwide- wow!!!. And these are just to mention a few.

If his, is not what you call a fulfilled life, then I wonder what your definition of a fulfilled life really is.

Anyway, for interested fans out there, I heard that 411 entertainment company is hosting a concert in respect of the great one (its on facebook):
Theme: Michael Jackson Tribute Concert.
Venue: New Afrika Shrine, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos.
Date : 04/07/09
Time: 18:00 - 00:00 (this makes it seem like a candle night to me).

INTRODUCTION

Hello guys,
My name is Alugo Abdulazeez but I love it when I'm called Honourable and please don't ask me why. I like to see myself as an astute writer and of course I know a lot of other writers for whom I'ld submit my pen at any time 'T'. However, they wouldn't mind us, young writers reffering to ourselves as astute because they need to be sure we'ld be there when they are gone.
If you have seen the name of this blog and wondered "why would he call himself Defatigue?", then I guess I owe you an explanation. The nickname 'Defatigue' actually evolved from another less-acceptable nickname 'Fatigue' and I'll tell you how it evolved.
It was my first week at Lagos State Polytechnic and two weeks left to the first semester exam in 2004/2005 academic session. Then, there was no Students Union Government in place due to disruptions during the previous election but a transition committe was put in place to oversee the affairs of the students. The transition committee then organized an interactive session between the new students and some top management officials, specifically, the Rector (Engr. olawumi Gasper), the Director of Students' Affairs(Barrister olasunkanmi Olayinka Longe) and the Chief Security Officer (Rtd. Col. Mekwonye).
Although I was only a week old at the institution, I already had problems that I thought needed to be addressed and so when it was question and answer time, I decided to bear my mind on the issue of transportation (I later wrote an article titled BUS TROUBLE and pasted it around the school. It put me in a little trouble but that would be a topic for another day). I complained bitterly about the fact that there were not enough buses to pick students up from the Garage to the school and not enough to move the students from the permanent site back to the gate in the evening. To butress my point then, I mentioned that the effect of making students trek from the permanent site to the gate after a long and tedious day in the classroom was FATIGUE. And that was it! I actually said a lot of other things before I finally took my seat amid deafening applause from my peers. After the session/forum, we all went back to our classrooms. As I stepped into the class, someone first whispered fatigue (it was tee-babs. We later became very good friends) and since then, fatigue it was. Anywhere I went on campus, I was more popular as fatigue than my real names.
My fatigue popularity got me a landslide victory when I contested for the post of Honourable to represent my department in the Students Representative Council (the legislative arm of the SUG. So now you know how I came about being called an honourable) and then, I was still in ND1; my first semester in the Polytechnic.
As I started mixing with people around the polytechnic community and outside, most especially, the top management officials of the Polytechnic, there was an urge to change the nick name which was, as much as I was enjoying it, becoming an embarassment. So I searched for the antonym of fatigue and I found Indefatigable and shortened it to defatigue for two reasons; politically, I had to keep the fatigue sound audible enough so I wouldn't be mistaken for anyone else and also to make it easy to inject back into the cirle that had come to love the fatigue entity so much. Secondly, defatigue is a good short form for indefatigable and I was hoping that someday defatigue would be substituted for indefatigable in the english vocabulary (if you know what I mean).
Have I bored you with that long story? Well, I just thought I should clarify that so you know the real me. Obviously this is my weblog and I intend to make it exciting to read at ll times and I mean that in the real sense of the word exciting.
Please feel free to always post your comments on any of my postings and if you dont break any of the web's standing rules on posting comments, then you can be sure I'll show your comments on my blog (afterall, this is a democracy isn't it?).
Well what else can I say than that I am accessible anytime so feel free to contact me and ask any questions you might have you can also make suggestions on how I can improve on my blog and maybe a little tip on how I can become the next president of Nigeria. Ciao.