KWASU VC Crisis: Between Professors Na’Allah and Adeyemi
By Ibrahim Sheriff (Gold)
As an Ex-students’ leader and Graduate of the world class University, KWASU, a University that did not just expand my academic acumen but also strengthen my zeal and passion for community development, I owe the outgoing Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Abdulrasheed Na’Allah some accolades for his visionary leadership of the University, which have pride it as one of the few in Nigeria with stable academic calendar, fast growing and strong entrepreneurial orientation.
I will also not be fair to my own conscience if I fail to knock Professor Na’Allah for his highhandedness and authoritarian approaches to domestic on-campus issues; management-students and management-staff. Which today, is responsible for the weak nature of the Academic Staff Union of KWASU. I imagine the kind of heat the Universitu polity would be subjected to if there had been a truly independent and nationally recognized ASUU in KWASU. I hope Professor Na’Allah did not forget so soon how he embarrassed ASUU delegates from her University of Ibadan headquarters in 2015, after insultive press statements against the 17 academic staffs that championed KWASU ASUU formation. Describing them as ‘nefarious people holding cladenstine meetings at odd venues in Malete in the name of cultism or combative unionism’, just because Professor Na’Allah felt ‘his own people’ must be there and the assumption that those forming ASUU might be rebellious.
Later, the Vice Chancellor was able to oppress, suppress and subjugate the Champions of KWASU ASUU, led by Dr. Dauda Adeshola, with the backing of the erudite Professor of Mass Communication, Innocent Okoye. Which was primely the reason why Professor Innocent Okoye left KWASU, because he couldn’t cope in a zoo-like academic environment. I recalled many students’ wept, knowing the academic and leadership value they lost with the exit of Professor Innocent Okoye from KWASU. This is just by the way.
In the year 2011, less than 2 year to the establishment and operation of Kwara state University, there were significant number of students’ who couldn’t meet up with their annual tuition obligations and consequently, were unable to complete their registrations. At that time, there were departmental associations and no Students Union but the then departmental association was more active and formidable that the KWASU Students Union of today. They pleaded severally for extension of payment period by the school management, ably led by Professor Abdulrasheed Na’Allah but he refused their plea and insisted all affected students defer their admission till the next session.
The departmental Presidents led by Abdulkadir Mustapha, who as at then was not affected but acted as a truly passionate leader, after pleas to the school authority met deaf hears with others led a peaceful protest to Ilorin to demand for extension of registration period for his subjects. For this reason, Professor Abdulrasheed Na’Allah led KWASU management almost expelled all those involved in the protest, it took ceaseless effort to reduce their penalties for ‘leading protest’ in the interest of their fellow students to a-year suspension. Among those suspended then were Abdulkadir Olatunji (Fabulous) who later graduated with a First Class and now lectures in KWASU, Abdulateef Bibire, Tayo Adepuji, Lateefat Soliu Business administration and Adex from political science department among other. Many thanks to Comr. Shakir Akorede-led NANS Kwara and other distinguished Comrades who fought the battle with them.
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In the years 2014, when subvention from Kwara state Government to KWASU was to be stopped, allegedly owing to an agreement with the school management that KWASU is buoyant to take care of its recurrent expenditure, the first action of Professor Abdulrasheed Na’Allah was to make the students bear the brunts. After paying annual tuition fees, which was the only fees being paid since 2009 till 2014, departmental fees, ICT fees, library service fee, career fair and exhibition fees among other splinter fees were introduced to extort money from students for the purpose of covering Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed’s Government’s inadequacy! Some students had over #50,000 increment as a result, depending on your department. As the NANS Kwara Secretary then, I along some very few brave KWASUITE took it up and because it was election period and almost turning to political blackmail, KWASU reversed that obnoxious charges to every students that have paid. But it continued unchecked after 2015, when Maigida have won his reelection bid.
These are periods Professor Abdulrasheed Na’Allah ought to have cried out about the evil of Governor Ahmed against KWASU and ultimately Kwarans, whom are spending their hard earned resources for their wards to study in KWASU. But then, he appeared comfortably quiet at the expense of the students’ and their parent’s financial discomfort.
KWASU has her pioneer Students’ Union in 2016 (SRA then) and currently have about three sets of SU executive, ‘none’ of these sets have deem it fit to query all of these obnoxious charges, talk less of knowing the reason why they were introduced or see reason to fight it in the interest of their primary constituency. We have had the incessant cases of KWASUITES losing their lives and sustaining fatal injuries from supposedly off-road commercial vehicles plying the campus routes, meanwhile the University rake annual tag fee without proper inspection and standardization, yet, no protest! But the same SU have been so seriously active in the fight of the ‘Elites’, in a manner they never felt KWASUITES deserved to be fought and sacrificed for. Hypocrisy and insensitivity!
As effective and efficient Professor Abdulrasheed Na’Allah have proved to be as an academic leader, I make bold to say that he ran a KWASU that breeds graduates of sound academic background, but at the same time, churning out sets of ‘cowards’ who sees cowardice as a mean of ‘survival’ and modest ‘achievements’. He successfully built a KWASU that produces KWASUITES that contributes to community development but failed to institute a system that produces societal leaders that can stand for what they believe in and make drive changes. A check will convince you that any KWASUITE you see with exceptional leadership charisma must have inherits it probably from a previous academic institution, save for the first set who paid huge price for their courage and Professor Na’Allah’s scape goats, deterring subsequent KWASUITES from following same path. They were empirically taught how to be cowards.
Today, Professor Abdulrasheed Na’Allah is a subject of injustice by the Maigida-led Kwara state Government for allegedly refusing to dance to their tune of monumental corruptibility. I applaud him for that, but I have always wanted this day to come for long, he would have been a greater hero, but no time is too late to do the right thing. I vehemently condemn the desperate attempt by Governor Ahmed to cover his tracks using KWASU as a conduit and salute the sagacity of Professor Na’Allah for protecting his name and hard earned integrity jealously, by refusing to be used for such dirty assignment, leading to his removal. He has made history.
At the same time, I am imagining if KWASU had truly independent and formidable ASUU, seen to truly belong to the academic staffs, this would have probably locked down activities on campus that it will even threaten resumption of the lorded Acting Vice Chancellor. I imagined if there had been truly confident, psychologically free, charismatic and formidable student structures who sees their unions as true reflection of their interests, may be many students will sacrifice their Lagos trips after examinations for standing with our VC today. Just to say what goes around, comes around.
As much as I know, the appointed Acting Vice Chancellor of the University, having taught me at Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels, Professor Kenneth Adeyemi is a retired Executive Director of a first generation Nigerian bank, a personality laced with integrity who would not soak his hands in blood for any reason. I am believing that he will be upright and against the political factors that informed his appointment, he will, in the spirit of Academics sort things out with Professor Na’Allah in the interest of the University and shame Governor Ahmed’s heinous motives for posterity sake.
On a final note, I want to pose a moral challenge to KWASU management, in consonance with the precedence of Professor Abdulrasheed Na’Allah, would the University suspend all KWASUITES involved in the protest on campus and even SEALED THE VICE CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE’ in the interest of Professor Abdulrasheed Na’Allah, just like they did to students’ who protested in the interest of their fellow students’ some 8 years ago? If the answer is NO, then the University has a moral burden and must tender unreserved apology for being unfair to the poor students’.
**Ibrahim Sheriff is a KWASUITE, Management Science Researcher and Columnist with Fresh Insight Newspaper. He writes from Ilorin,Kwara State.
