ASUU threatens another strike
By Emma Ogbuehi
The Nigerian university community may again be up for another round of crisis, following a three-week ultimatum issued the Federal Government by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to meet its demands contained in the Memorandum of Action (MoA), signed by both parties on December 23, 2020.
Failure to comply, it said, ASUU could resort to industrial action, The Nation newspaper had reported.
The Union also set up an independent committee to probe what it described as questionable appointment of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, as a Professor of Cyber Security at the Federal University of Technology Owerri.
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President of ASUU, Comrade Emmanuel Osodeke, who addressed newsmen on Monday in Abuja at the end of the Union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held over the weekend, listed several criteria for the position of professorship of which the minister was said to lack thus, not qualified for the position.
ASUU rejected Pantami’s academic position in its entirety saying, “We know something is wrong in the appointment of Isa Pantami as a Professor, it doesn’t look right.”
The two developments came on the heels of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ilorin (Unilorin) Chapter, condemning the attack of a female lecturer of Faculty of Life Sciences, Mrs Rahmat Zakariyyah, by a student of the institution.
Prof. Moyosore Ajao, the Chairman of the association, made the condemnation during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Ilorin.
A 400 Level student of the Department of Microbiology, simply identified as Salaudeen Waliyu, aka Captain Walz, allegedly beat the lecturer to a coma.
The victim is said to be the project supervisor of the student.
The student was said to have attacked the lecturer in her office after he realized he could not get the lecturer to render for him help to escape the consequence of non-performance of one of his academic obligations.
He was said to have failed to undergo the compulsory Student Industrial Work Scheme (SIWES) without which he could not have graduated
This, he was said to have sought a cover-up for from the lecturer which he could however not obtain as the lecturer was not ready to render such help.
It was learnt that when the student stormed the office of the lecturer, he first started banging the table before moving closer to the lecturer and started slapping her.
The lecturer was said to have made an attempt to run away from the attack but while doing that fell down and sustained injury in her head.
His attacker was however said to have continued to beat her even when she had fallen down and sustained injury making her to slip into comma before security personnel in the university came to her rescue and arrested the student.
The Director of Information of the University, Mr Kunle Akogun who confirmed the development in a statement, said the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Sulyman Age Abdulkareem had assured that justice would be done in the matter.
The statement reads: “This is to confirm that Mrs. Zakariyyah is now relatively stable and recuperating after the ugly incident of Thursday where she was attacked by a 400L male student.
A visit by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sulyman Age AbdulKareem in company of the Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences, Prof. Oladiji; the Director, University Health Services, Dr. Odunola and a few other staff to the victim and her family this morning, Saturday, 13th November, 2021 confirmed that.
The VC who described the incident as sad and unfortunate, assured that justice shall be done on the matter.
He, however, has ordered proper care of the victim on the bill of the University.
He reiterated his commitment to the welfare of all staff and law abiding students.