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ASUU Stance:Same Old Story Same Old Song

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Bala Ibrahim

 

By Bala Ibrahim.

When a friend, who is also an academic, received my previous article on ASUU, captioned, Is ASUU Asking For The Anger of Allah?, his response was, “yayi mallam B. Muna jiran reactions”. The meaning is, it’s okay mallam B. We await reactions. Indeed I knew there would be reactions, some of which would be unpalatable, but I am ready to damn the consequences, because, like late Mallam Saad Zungur said, tell the truth and prepare to be damned.

One of the reactions, which broadly reflects the general overview of them all, is, “Bala Ibrahim should keep his mouth shut. He’s lost touch with the reality as far ASUU’s strike is concerned. For example, the man is still trying to compare IPPIS to UTAS, while the Federal Minister for Communications and Digital Economies has just last week told the world that IPPIS has been compromised, and that he has been mandated by Mr President to inaugurate a presidential committee towards ameliorating its deficiencies. This goes to show that either Bala Ibrahim has lost touch with facts on the ground or he’s a hired agent by the Federal Ministry of Education in their bid to set the students against their lecturers”

Seven Die In Zamfara After Taking Vegetables

I expected something like this and even more, because ego is at work. However, because I anticipated their coming, my instinct simply classified them as comments in conformity with the song of Randy Crawford- Same old story, same old song.

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In Nigeria, once you go against the position of any union that is fighting the government, regardless of the reason, if the union is self-centred, or preoccupied with the gratification of it’s own desires, your name is, the paid agent of the government. It’s same old story same old song.

In her song, titled, Same old story, same old song, Randy Crawford said:

“It goes all right till it goes all wrong. Now you’re going, then you’re gone. Same old story, same old song. One hand will take, one hand will give. That’s all we know, that is how we live. One day hello, the next day goodbye. And everyone just stays high. Same old story, same old song.
One builds you up, one tears you down. To some you’re a saint, to others you’re a clown. What can you do but just see it through. And hold on to what is left of you? Same old story, same old song”.

I expected some of these critics from ASUU, particularly those of them in the English and Mass communications departments, to do a quick clinique on the article, and correct my grammatical blunder, where I said, By the same talking, instead of, By the same token. But because ego is at work, they were blinded by anger, because the truth was told. Hence the resort to singing the song of Randy Crawford- Same old story same old song.

The issue ASUU is refusing to look at is the moral position of the teacher, and the righteousness of the teaching profession. Some of us have taught before, and we know since then that, money and material possessions are the last in the curriculum of the teacher. Materialism, or the tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than social values are not suppose to be in the dictionary, or even constitution of the conscientious teacher.

Teaching is classified among the sacrificial services, which means, doing good works even when it’s costly, inconvenient or challenging. There is an African saying that: “Teachers’ reward is in heaven”, which simply means, the reward for teachers’ daily sacrifice, and hard work in shaping the minds and lives of the future leaders of the society, can never be adequately rewarded in monetary terms.

But ASUU, under the present leadership, is refusing to agree with that, rather, it is trying to change the narrative. And doing so by putting parents and students under unbearable pains.

Late Julius Nyerere, the former President of Tanzania, who preferred the title of Muallim, or the teacher, to the prefix, President, once said, “If I had known that the status of the President is less than the prestige of the teacher, I wouldn’t have left the classroom to become the President”.

Such was the stimulus in the motivation to teach, or be seen as a teacher- sacrificing your comfort today, for the progress and comfort of the students tomorrow.

If medical doctors for instance, whose course and period of training is adjudged as extremely tasking, were to ask for commensurate compensation for their sacrifices, and contemplate downing tools until such compensations are made good in monetary terms, public life would crash, or cease completely.

ASUU, under the leadership today, is hell-bent on crippling the future of education in Nigeria, and from all indications, the reasons are inseparable from the personal profit or pleasure of the leaders, whose agenda seems in concert with the agenda of an unpopular political party, that is working towards disuniting Nigeria. Why?

So long as ASUU keep our children away from the universities, we shall continue to voice out their insensitivity, without regards to whose ox is gored. And we know they would only react with the same old story and same old song.

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Kano State Hosts 8th Annual Audit Forum to Enhance Transparency and Accountability

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The 8th Annual Audit Forum, organized by the Office of the Auditor General of Kano State, was held recently, focusing on strengthening transparency and accountability in public financial management. .

Isma’ila Musa, the Auditor General of Kano State, welcomed the participants and highlighted the constitutional and legal mandates that guide the auditing process. “Sections 125(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and 36(i) of the Kano State Audit Law, 2021 (as amended) mandate the Office of the Auditor General to audit the accounts and financial statements of the State Government and all Offices and Courts,” he stated.

Musa expressed immense gratitude to His Excellency, Engineer Abba Kabir Yusuf, the Governor of Kano State, for his support in making the event possible. “It is very important to note that a strengthened fiscal transparency will help build trust in governance,” he emphasized. He added that the Audit Forum is a reform intended to reduce opportunities for corruption and abuse of public resources, thereby increasing the efficiency of public expenditures.

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The Auditor General also acknowledged the contributions of various officials, including the Hon. Commissioner Ministry of Planning and Budget, the Accountant General, the Executive Chairman of Kano Internal Revenue Services, and former Auditors General, among others. “My sincere appreciation to all the invitees here present for honoring our invitation. I wish us a successful 8th Kano State Annual Audit Forum,” Musa concluded.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Honorable Tukur Fagge, praised the exercise for its potential to enhance resource management and ensure the success of the tasks at hand. “This exercise will enhance resources management and will realize the success of the task,” Fagge stated.

Sarkin Shanon Kano, Shehu Muhammad Dankadai, who served as the royal father of the day, also graced the event, adding to the significance of the occasion.

The forum underscored the commitment of the Kano State Government to upholding transparency and accountability, reflecting the administration’s dedication to effective and efficient service delivery.

 

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Breaking: Former Secretary of Federal Electoral Commission, FEDECO, Ahmadu Kurfi Passes On at 93

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Late Alhaji Ahmadu Kurfi

 

A former secretary of the Federal Electoral Commission, Alhaji Ahmadu Kurfi, has passed away.

A family source, Jafar Yakubu, informed NIGERIAN TRACKER about the death of the pioneer secretary of the Federal Electoral Commission, who supervised the 1979 general election.

 

Jafar Yakubu said Alhaji Ahmadu Kurfi died at the age of 93 and his Janaza funeral prayers will take place by 2:30 PM at Kurfi in KATSINA state .

 

Dr. Amadu Kurfi, OFR, was born in 1931. He was a former chairman of the then Marketing Board, former Federal Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Defence, and the first person to acquire a BSc degree in the whole of Katsina State, at University College London in 1957.

 

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President Tinubu Sacks UNIZIK Vice-Chancellor, Registrar

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The governing council of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University has been dissolved by President Bola Tinubu.

The president dissolved the council and approved the removal of the institution’s vice-chancellor Bernard Odoh and the university registrar, Rosemary Nwokike.

A statement by Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to the president on information and strategy said the action by Tinubu follows allegations of procedural violations in the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor.

He also said that the council led by Greg Ozumba Mbadiwe and including five other members—Hafiz Oladejo, Augustine Onyedebelu, Engr. Amioleran Osahon, and Rtd. Gen. Funsho Oyeneyin was accused of bypassing due process to appoint an unqualified candidate, prompting federal intervention.

Onanuga said, “The sacking of the governing council and officials followed reports that the council illegally appointed an unqualified vice-chancellor without following due process.

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He added that following the controversial appointment, the Federal Government stepped in to address the rivalry between the university’s Senate and the governing council of the institution.

“The government expressed concern over the council’s apparent disregard for the university’s governing laws in its selection process”, Onanuga added.

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