By John Akubo.

When late Prince Abubakar Audu, the first executive Governor of Kogi State established the Kogi State University Anyigba, he was aware that Universities are ivory towers, where instruction is given and received without harassment and undue influence from the outside world. Thus, the universal idea of the university as a community of scholars, free to pursue knowledge.

He knew also that there was the need to fund the system effectively, so that the goals of university education could be realized hence the resources he deployed for its take off on November 18, 1999.

No wonder the presidential media tour put together by the then minister of information Professor Jerry Gana named Kogi the best performing State on account of the University which was established within six months of Audu’s inauguration as Governor.

18 years down the line the story has changed from the vision for its establishment to that of neglect as there is an alleged mass exodus of many of its choicest lecturers.

To this end the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of the institution have been raising alarm over the danger the lack of a Governing council for over a year poses to the survival of the institution.

They claimed that the absence of the Governing council has affected the statutory functioning of the institution.

Another major issue of concern they raised is the non payment of salaries of lecturers for upward of eight months.

This the Union observed has been taking its toll negatively on the system as many academics dissatisfied with the terms of service have migrated making it difficult for necessary accreditation to be achieved.

The chairman of the union Dr. Daniel Aina, lamented that no fewer than 60 lecturers had left the institution due to the prolonged delay in salary payment and other problems affecting the staffers of the institution.

He warned that if nothing was done urgently, more qualified staff would join the exodus. Aina said the sad situation prompted the union’s industrial action in May 2016.

He indicated the Government cannot achieve accreditation through the backdoor because ASUU will resist it.

He explained further that it is the reason why they have been mounting pressure on the government to live up to its responsibility in prompt payment of salaries.

“For example, it is a fact that no University has exhaustive number of staff in all fields. For the accreditation exercises, academic staff may be appointed on Sabbatical.

“Who will want to go to a University where the staff may be owed salaries and when part payment is made, they will be expected to be celebrating?”

Aina said prompt payment of salary is a sine qua non for the sustenance and growth of the Ivory Tower.

According to him, the ivory tower cannot be bogged down with the civil service rules as lecturers when dissatisfied can easily move to another university.

“How many Permanent Secretaries or any other civil servant can freely migrate from state to state at will? Academic staff can and they do.

“Non payment of salaries as at when due is one of the reasons why they do. Universities that pay salaries promptly will sustain, retain and even attract staff, while those that celebrate backlog of salaries lose staff.”

He explained that the operation of the University system is by strict adherence to academic calendar universally hence reason it cannot be subjected to the civil service whims without something going berserk.

“The clear line of communication and operation is anchored on the tripod of Management-Council-Visitor. The government must see the University as it is in practice and not by convenience, to eliminate rifts and bumps in its operations.

“ASUU has the responsibility to ensure congenial working environment and efficient operation of the system. The Management and Council are the operators of the system, who report directly to the Visitor.”

The chairman pointed out that the issue of salary is only but a fraction of the issues at stake saying that if the issue of salary becomes insurmountable to government and is being subjected to politicking, what will happen to other grave matters that are pending before the Union’s NEC for approval?”

He explained that Over the past one year they have been on a long drawn struggle of one type or the other, with the government of Kogi State on a number of issues as they relate to the smooth running of the University.

The chairman however, acknowledged Government’s response in the instalmental payment of the arrears of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) saying it is an indication that the government has the ability and capacity to meet its obligations to the University.

“ASUU-KSU has sought to have audience with the Visitor to educate the administration on the modus operandi of the University system but we have been denied such opportunity. Our demands have been forwarded to government but there has been no formal response.

“We have cried out to the world about the deteriorating situation in Kogi State University, the climax of which is the mass exodus of choice lecturers with its attendant debilitating effects on the psyche and academic standard of the University.”

Dr. Aina said they loudly and clearly applauded the staff screening exercise embarked upon by the government with the believe it has the capacity to reposition the financial status of the state when leakages through which ‘ghost’ workers and other untoward methods are blocked.

However he said, “Worrisome, embarrassing and laughable however, is the final outcome of the exercise. May be due to the size of the net, a rabbit will easily walk through a net meant to catch an elephant.

“A little inkling from the right quarters may have plugged several loopholes and the fears now is that if care is not taken, ghosts may develop flesh and blood after all, and all the tax payers’ money would have been spent in futility. This we pray not”

He condemned the hardship meted out to the perceived “ghosts” or “improper” workers saying they were needless because even the law of the land deems everyone innocent until proven guilty.

“As it affects the University, the kind of screening exercise we were subjected to is an aberration.”

The chairman observed that, Statutorily, the visitor to the University has the prerogative to send visitation Panel to the University which should perform such task within the Ivory Tower.

“Alternatively, the Visitor may direct the Governing Council to perform the task.”

He said they did not resist the screening exercise because there was no Governing Council in place and the Visitor was then first settling down.

“The conduct of the screening exercise is alien to the University System and ASUU-KSU has resolved never to be subjected to such unethical practice within the system again.

The chairman therefore declared a total and indefinite strike action starting from Friday February, 3rd, 2017.

He demanded the immediate reconstitution of the university’s governing council and the payment of all arrears of salaries to all categories of academic staff who have outstanding of upwards of 8months.

Aina explained that the absence of governing council for more than one year had affected the institution negatively that it could no longer function statutorily.

In his words, “In view of that we demand for the immediate reconstitution of the university’s Governing Council, as the lack of the council appear to be a ploy to erode the university autonomy which stands it out from all other institutions

“ASUU-KSU will resist this. The autonomy of the university is sacrosanct and cannot be compromised any further.”

He said not less than 200 of his members have not been receiving salary for the past eight months and they have been working. ‘It is the height of injustice, it is persecution. Enough is enough.”

He indicated that they had made several appeals to Government with no useful outcome.

Aina pointed out that they were to adopt the ‘No pay No work’ action to put paid to the issues of incessant strikes in KSU, but the Government used the opportunity to cajole the union but he said it shall never happen again.

According to him because it seemed the Governor does not seem to understand the workings of a university system they wanted to meet with him to educate him of the situation however he said they were shielded from seeing him.

The chairman explained further that the amount of money committed to the university by the State Government for infrastructural development is not up to the quarter of what came from the TETFund intervention which itself is a product of ASUU struggle.

“We are tired of working without salary . We are tired of seeing our legacy progressively destroyed through the systematic erosion of the University autonomy.

“We are standing up to oppose oppression and impunity. We are not politicians but the vanguard of academic integrity

The state commissioner for education, Dr Sunday Tolorunleke, expressed regtret over the closure of the university because of the strike embarked upon by the lecturers, particularly as some of the students were about to write their semester examinations. He said ASUU should be patient with government as steps were being taken to address the issues raised by the lecturers.

He said, “On the part of government, it is not very happy with ASUU going on strike at this crucial period when some students are writing exam. What this government is out to do is to forestall anything that can truncate the academic calendar of our schools.

For the current ASUU strike, government has taken proactive step to make sure the outstanding is cleared and the money is in the institution’s account..

On the allegation that the ASUU members were not suppose to face the screening without governing council in place, the commissioner said, “The constitution of visitation panels for the higher institutions is in progress, they just have to be patient. Governing council will come in place immediately after the staff verification exercise.

“There are problems in some of our higher institutions, forged results and certificates, we cannot be keeping lecturers or workers with forged certificates.”

In what seemed like a swift response the Governor appointed members of a visitation panel for the State University the Panel four weeks to complete its assignment and submit its report to the state government.

The 8-man panel, which is headed by the Former Vice Chancellor of the Osun State University and present Provost of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offenses Commission Academy, Prof. Olusola Akinrinde.

The panel was inaugurated at the Government House, Lokoja, on Tuesday 14 February, 2017.

He asked the committee members to be faithful and carry out their work with the highest level of integrity. He said he expected the best quality of work given the professionalism exhibited by the members in their various fields.

“Of the eight people in this panel, the only person I have ever met is our State Legal Adviser, Barrister Femi Adegboyega, who is from Lagos but now serves in Kogi State,”

Bello said. “I am a kind of person who gives people assignments if I am convinced they have the character and competence to do the work. Please, carry out your assignment with out fear or favour.”

The Governor also constituted the governing councils for all tertiary institutions in the state.

Professor Adams Ahmed is the new Chairman, governing council for Kogi State University (KSU), Anyigba.

Other members of the KSU governing council are; Professor Mrs. Emily Alemika, Professor Sunday Atawodi, Momoh Jimoh Ahmad, and the Vice Chancellor, Professor M. S. Abdulkadir.