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ASUU: Asking For The Anger Of Allah

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Bala Ibrahim

 

By Bala Ibrahim.

I had stayed clear from comments over the protracted protest of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, on purpose, because I have many friends in the academia, some of whom may not be happy with my position, which is almost always completely against them. Yes, as far as this particular strike of ASUU is concerned, the leaders of the union have been insensitive to situations, and from the look of things, having angered the government, the parents and the students entrusted to them, they seem set to anger Allah, the maker of the union and it’s members.

I don’t know what chance ASUU stands against kismet, but the leaders are acting at variance with the thinking of those who reckon with nemesis.

It may be recalled that, on Monday, February 14, 2022, ASUU embarked on a nationwide strike, blaming the government for failure to meet some of it’s pressing demands, amongst which are the release of the earned allowances for lecturers, deployment of the University Transparency Accountability System for the payment of salaries and allowances of lecturers, the release of revitalization funds for universities, as well as what they call, poor funding of public universities.

From the very beginning, many were sympathetic to ASUU, especially with regards the issues of the revitalization funds for universities, and that of poor funding of public universities. These are genuine and germane demands that should be supported by all education enthusiasts, because it is the duty of every responsible parent to support the learning of their children.

By the same talking, it is the duty of every responsible teacher to partner with parents in order to extend learning beyond the classroom. And these can only happen, where there is a tripartite arrangement between the teacher, the parent and the students, to seek the source of funds for the success of the mission.

So when sometimes towards the end of last year, the Federal government said it was in the process of disbursing N30 billion as revitalisation fund to public universities, the news was received with joy by everyone that has interest in education.

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We all know that poor funding has a negative effect on the opportunities for students to meet their academic potential. Lack of funding means the students would not be able to invest in what matters for them. But the question is, in the search for such funds, must we be engaged in egotism and self-absorption?

A reasonable mind would say NO, but for reasons best known to them, ASUU, under the leadership of Professor Victor Emmanuel Osodeke, is compelling everyone to conclude that the answer is YES.

For reasons of time and space, this article cannot give details on the series of meetings held between ASUU and the Federal government, nor can it comment much on the outcomes of such meetings, but it can say something about the anguish of parents, and the agony of the students, who have been harmed, and academically injured, because of what is perceived as undue pride on the side of the leadership of ASUU. Hence the question, Is ASUU asking for the anger of ALLAH?

People are particularly questioning the reason behind the insistence of ASUU to have their own invention of UTAS, as the system of paying the University workers remuneration instead of IPPS. And ASUU’s rejection of FG’s position that State Governments should be allowed to implement what each can afford to pay, rather than a uniform national wage for university workers, at a time when some states can not even pay the national minimum wage to their workers.

Already, because of the incessancy of the strike, and the seeming intransigence of it’s leadership, accusations of sectional prejudice has began to enter, alluding that, the strike is so prolonged, to work to the disbenefit of a particular section of the country, which has already been at a disadvantage, historically.

There is a particular cliché with such sentiment that is circulating in the social media, viz:

ASUU STRIKE UPDATE !!!

It is *common knowledge* that even without strike; *65 -70 percent of NYSC members serving in each state of the federation are from the South*( Check current Statistics of Participants per state) .

Now with *more than half of a year on the strike,* what Will be the Ratio of next batch of NYSC participants in January 2023, since more than 90 percent of Private universities are located in Southern Part of the country?

*Answer* : lt may likely *be 90-95 percent Southern corpers as participants and 5 -10 percent Northern corpers as participants.*

What this means is that *the strike is further widening the educational gap between north and south.*

*It is my considered opinion that Northerners, (particularly Lecturers) should have a second thought about continuing with the strike.*

*Please note:* some State Universities in the South are not on strike for a single day since ASUU started strike, eg , Lagos State has 3 state universities and none of them is on strike.

*Hattara mutanen Arewa*

A word is enough for the wise!

Hattare mutenen Arewa means, the people of the north should be wary.

With the coming of such sentiments, alongside the directive of the minister of education, Adamu Adamu, that students should sue ASUU because of the strike, coupled with the long standing anger of parents and students, I think the leadership of ASUU needs to revisit it’s conscience, to ensure that it does not plunge Nigeria into an unwarranted crisis, or earn the anger of ALLAH.

Opinion

Izala Sect: Crisis of Leadership, Accusations of Shiism Meddle in Polarising Its Members, History Repeats Itself

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By Yakubu Nasiru Khalid

Formally, the Izala sect was formed in 1978, created to eradicate innovation (bid’a) within the Islamic doctrine. It has a modern structure and leadership both at the state and national levels. Therefore, the leadership of the Izala has come with a well-structured and hierarchical bureau and the feeling that they are different from who they see as the “Conservative Islamic Group.”

The structure comprises three arms: the Council of Ulama, the Administrative Council, and The First Aid Group. Each of the councils has its own head and followers to achieve designed goals. Even with this structure, the sect experienced crises at both levels, which polarised its leadership.

The reasons attached to the polarisation of Izala at the national level later descended to many states where the organization has a large following. The reasons were multifaceted, from jurisprudence, political, financial, and external meddling to sundry issues.

Initially, there was a problem regarding the leadership of the organization, especially the question of who was the supreme leader of the organization between the Administrative Council and the chairman of the Ulama Council. At the time, the head of the Administrative Council was Alhaji Musa Muhammad Maigandu, from Kaduna, and Sheikh Ismail Idris was the chairman of the Ulama Council, Jos faction recognized Ismail Idris.

The Jos faction rejected Maigandu for not being a scholar but a businessman, arguing that an Islamic organization should be led by a scholar, not a businessman. This added more fire to the crisis.

Furthermore, the Kaduna faction was very critical of some views and fatwas of Ismail Idris, especially those that dealt with the issue of bid’a. According to Ismail Idris, the followers of Izala would not pray behind an Imam who’s not a member of Izala, they would also not marry from the family of a person who inclined to Sufism and would not eat the meat of an animal slaughtered by a follower of the Sufi group.

The Kaduna faction was outrightly against these views and opposed them. Another vital factor that played a role in the split of the Izala group was the accusations and counter-accusations of financial management. Ismail Idris was accused of organizing in the Arab countries, and he was further accused of personalizing vehicles donated to the Izala sect.

In addition, Ben Amara argued that the eruption of the Gulf War in the 1990s between the USA and Iraq was another important factor in the polarisation of the Izala. The Jos faction supported the American invasion of Iraq because of the Saudi Arabian interest, while Kaduna supported Iraq. The Jos faction called Kaduna “Saddamawa” meaning (supporters of Saddam) while Kaduna called Jos “Bushawa” meaning (supporters of American interest).

The leadership of the Jos faction blamed Shia for the internal crisis of Izala and accused some Ulama of being secret agents of Shiism who were working toward dismantling the group.

yakubunasirukhalid@gmail.com

 

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Opinion

Gov. Yusuf’s executive order extending retirement age for HoS, Kano Assembly Clerk, and others unconstitutional

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Sani Usman-DanAbdullo, a Director of Admin and General Services at the Kano State Agency for the Control of Aids, KSACA, has written to the state assembly, seeking its intervention in the
Executive Order issued by Governor Abba Yusuf.

Mr DanAbdullo, in a petition dated January 6 and addressed to Speaker of the Assembly, Jibrin Ismail Falgore, recalled that the governor had in January 2025 issued Executive Order No. 1 of 2025, extending the service period of some civil servants.

According to him, the governor extended the service year of the Head of Service, Assembly Clerk, some judicial officers, Permanent Secretaries and a host of other staff in the state health sector for 2 years after they were due for retirement as of December 2024.

The lawyer also recalled that the state assembly had enacted a law fixing the retirement of staff at 60 years of age or 35 years of service, depending on whichever comes first.

Mr DanAbdullo, therefore, asserted that the governor’s executive order was unconstitutional, “since the House has already made laws which the order seeks to alter”.

He noted that that executive order is not meant to alter, amend, modify or expand the law made by the legislature.

“This act, is, therefore, a clear violation of the principles of rule of law and separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution being not only a clear attempt to usurp the legislative powers of this Honourable House, but to contradict the existing laws already enacted by it in exercise of its powers as such,” the petition added.

While dismissing a claim that the governor issued the order in the spirit of the Doctrine of Necessity, Mr DanAbdullo said there was no justification for extending the service years of the affected retired officers since there are many competent hands with adequate qualifications to be appointed.

“And as for the staff in the health sector, they can be retained on contract arrangement in line with the existing service law of Kano State,” the petition added.

Mr DanAbdullo, therefore, warned that the provisions of the Constitution must not be subordinated to any other law, and must not be subjected to the indignity of deletion of any section or part thereof.

“In view of the foregoing, I urge this esteemed House to employ all legal mechanism at its disposal to overrule the Governor’s decision in the act complained of, which is capable of setting a very dangerous precedent that will ruin the entire public service system of our dear State, if allowed.

“TAKE NOTICE Sir, this act of indiscriminate issuance of executive order, if allowed, will cause the entire Kano State the following catastrophic effects,”

The State Assembly failed to attend to the petition even if it means dismissing it for fear of the governor, if the petition is not attended to we will have no option but to go to court”. He added

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Opinion

The Movement (Tafiyar Matasa) and the Very Big Questions to Answer

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Comr. Habu Hassan Abdullahi

Comr. Habu Hassan Abdullahi

Yes, I am not some sort of social critic who would unfairly denigrate someone’s achievement for personal gain or political interest that I do not have. Thus, this is pre-eminently the right time to speak the truth to the members of my generation in Nigeria whether they care to accept it or not. But remember the truth is always truth and can stand alone.

No doubt that not everyone is happy with how leadership is running in this country, with the exception of those at the corridor of power. But this is not enough to be a raison d’etre to handle our dear nation to the hands of inexperienced youths. Forgive my pen for the use of “inexperienced”. Just because most of them have never been to real leadership. Of course, I am myself opposed to the exclusionary habit of the present politicians, they’ve relegated youths to the mantle of power but we have to cautiously control our faculty of thinking to avoid getting entangled in a lust for power.

I was very happy when I heard the idea of “The Movement” known as “Tafiyar Matasa” in the Hausa language. And of course, the genesis of the movement was attributed to the unavoidable “EndBadGovernance” protest of 1st August, 2024. The movement began immediately after the protest, in fact, it is one of the noticeable outcomes of the protest due to the unity it brought. The idea of the movement was preached and promoted by some prominent northern activists and social media influencers to serve as a last resort to the youths in their effort to bring good governance. No one can deny the fact this is a laudable effort. But the very big question supposed to be asked here is: youthfulness is the only parameter and yardstick to measure the caliber of a good leader? If yes, why Yahaya Bello (Former Governor of Kogi) and Abdurrasheeed Bawa (former EFCC Boss) were arraigned for looting the public treasury! The point I want to make here is, being young or old will not be a determining factor for an individual to be a good leader. We can have corrupt leaders within any range of age.

Another important issue to take into cognizance is the failure of some youths to comprehend the logic and existing distinction between being a good activist and being a good leader. Leadership is quite different from activism, therefore, a good activist may not necessarily be a good leader. It is common knowledge that the conveners of this important movement lack practical leadership acumen and organizational skills that are fundamental for successful leadership. Okay, should we handle our future to the trial and error leaders? We have to exercise extraordinary care when it comes to leadership.

Yet another problem faced by this movement is financial constraints. To be sincere and frank, the quantum resources required to run a great national political movement like this oversizes the pockets of the conveners. Another organic question to ask here is: where the movement conveners can solicit humongous financial resources? From the politicians they are castigating? If yes, this is performative contradiction!

Finally, I would like to remind my fellow youths that new breed, as the late Yusuf Maitama said, cannot solve the Nigerian problem. There must be mutual cooperation and understanding between the new breed and old breed. We must work together with them to acquire all necessary experience, knowledge, and practical leadership skills.

Written by
Comr. Habu Hassan Abdullahi
From Bayero University, Kano
Department of Education
Contact via 07065941454 or habu92hassan@gmail.com

 

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