PRESS STATEMENT
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Nyesom Wike
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History
is of scant importance to politicians who are either ignorant of the past or
are too mischievous to acknowledge yesterday’s events. This week, the supervising
Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, threatened the mass sack of striking
university teachers who refuse to return to work at the expiration of the
Supervising Minister’s ultimatum.
The
threat highlights the tragedy that has befallen governance in our country. That
a Public Minister who should understand the importance of dialogue to industrial
relations could issue invidious threat when the demands of ASUU have not been
met by government shows the depth public servants plumb. Nyesom Wike can be
forgiven for his arrogance.
When
a public servant creates his archipelago of power and begins to exhibit
incivility, he should be forgiven for his lack of understanding of power and how
history treats those who traipse reason to stay relevant; but who invariably
end up as footnotes of collective remembering.
Threatening
striking ASUU members has never worked, not even during our jackboots era.
Nyesom Wike forgets this bit of history. But, we must remind him of the then
Minister of Education, Professor Babs Fafunwa, who threatened sack of striking
university lecturers.
We
must also remind him of the failure of the instruments of violence the military
mobilised against ASUU. To issue threat of sack to universities lecturers with
rich historical tradition of struggles is pitiful; and to tread the same path
his predecessors trod shows a poor understanding of labour relations. More’s
the pity.
Empty
threats are what they are, empty. Nyesom Wike should know that meeting the
demands of ASUU is the first step towards ending the strike. This can only
happen when lecturers are accorded respect. No one denies negotiation the
essential element of confidence and still expects peaceful outcomes. Nyesom
Wike must learn from history.
Abdul Mahmud, ESQ
Public Interest Lawyers League (PILL)
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