Dr Niyi Sunmonu is the National Coordinator of the newly-registered Congress of University Academics (CONUA). In this interview by Clement Idoko, he speaks on how uninterrupted academic calendar could be achieved, why strike is not the best option in the university system and issues that led to formation of CONUA.
Your union is seen as a break-away faction of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). What exactly led to the formation of Congress of Universities Academics?
There are issues that led to the formation of CONUA. This started around 2013 in the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Those issues came to a head in 2016 and I hope in the course of this interview, this particular question would be alluded to and provide more details. For now I can say that the issues can be categorized into two. Number one is the violation of constitutional provisions on so many occasions by the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the other one has to do with the selection process of the eleventh Vice Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University.
ASUU has been there over the years in the struggle for better funding of public universities in Nigeria and welfare of lecturers, what new thing is CONUA bringing to help students and University environment?
First and foremost, Unions are created to fight for the improvement of the welfare of its members. In doing that the Unions should also be mindful or are also mindful of the environment in which they work because the survival of that environment is the survival of their jobs and the improvement the Union would seek to have. Our duties as unions, one is to one fight for the improvement of the welfare of our members and ensuring that university is properly funded. However, somehow with respect to your question in specific terms; we have evaluated over time, well, there are issues in the universities, but our intervention will be with respect to change of tactics in addressing those issues. We hope that as we move on, the government will see reasons for the improvement of the university environment so that the Nation can develop up to its potentials.
Our union has evaluated over time the negative effect the industrial actions have on the survival or the improvement in the university environment or to its critical stakeholders. One, the academics, and I give you as an example, in the last 7 and 8 months colleagues have not had salaries. The lecturers are adults with some of us that would need regular medication foot the bills for families and unfortunately, are unable to do that in the last eight months; that is a serious agony on the part of father, mother, and even the children. With that we have to look at that perspective with respect to the approach in driving home our demands that will put colleagues at serious disadvantage.
The other stakeholders are the students. The students have not learnt anything in terms of what will lead to award of their degrees in the last eight months and we have army of youths that are not busy and could easily be recruited into something in the society and make the society lack peace. This also has to be considered. Third, is our environment, which is this country. There is a saying that no nation can develop beyond the capacity of its Ivory Towers. The closure of universities has brought untold hardship to many in this country. So, for our Union, we want to look at ways, especially in a democratic dispensation to avoid industrial action. Yes, we have problems with government because they have not done what is required of them.
Are saying that ASUU’s approach is not good enough, what then could be done to avoid confrontation and frequent industrial actions?
First, is the negotiation, which is the time-tested one. It is time-tested one because history is repleted with the fact that even in situations of outright wars, those issues are resolved in a round table. What we want to do differently is that we will look at an environment where stakeholders will come to a table and have discussion with open mind. This is what we think should change. The environment in the past is such that minds are already made before coming to a table.
We want to look at a situation in which minds are not made. All stakeholders must see themselves as partners in progress, when you have that; if you don’t make up your mind before you come to negotiation, coming into negotiation with mind that what can we do to foster progress? That is number one. Number two, we will take advantage of the current democratic dispensation which we started in 1999 to invoke some democratic norms such that we don’t wait till budgets are finally prepared before we intervene. We will find a way to become parts and parcel of budget preparation right from the university level, so that things that are needed, facilities we want them to be included are considered before budgets are presented and approved. We don’t have to turn round to start shouting when the budgets are finally approved, which is tantamount to violating democratic norms and will not speak well for us as academics. Third one is to invoke another democratic norm, which is legislative intervention. We have to seek their support, collaborate with them because they are also very important people, for them to see that the neglect of our universities will spell doom for our country. We want to have their buy-in and then we have a smooth ride from there.
The fourth one for now, will be to invoke also the democratic norm, in a situation where the Federal Government agreed to put pen to paper and sign an agreement and wants to renege on the agreement, it is to take it through the instrument of court. We know this will take long time, but that is what is required in a democratic set up all over the world.
From your position, it is clear that you are not in support of frequent strike actions by ASUU but will CONUA collaborate with ASUU in carrying out your activities?
First and foremost, I would not want to join issues with a sister Union, I want to say that. With respect to speaking on decision to embark on strike and prosecuting industrial action, it will not be right for me to comment on that. However, with respect to collaboration, we cannot achieve anything if we work at cross purposes. The system that we seek to protect will suffer. So, as far as we are concerned and I have to state that clearly that we are open to collaboration, open to discussion, not only from sister academic union, even the non-academic staff unions because we work within the same university. If you permit me to use this word loosely in Nigerian parlance, “if you are settled by Government”, that is when Union is settled by Government in terms of meeting their demands and the other union or unions are neglected, they will make life unbearable for the Union that is settled by Government. For us, it will be wisdom to seek collaboration, it will be wisdom to seek things that will be good for the other unions so that we can together paddle the canoe in the same direction, which is nothing other than progress.
While reacting to the registration of your Union recently by the Federal Government, ASUU said CONUA is a group being sponsored by Government to sabotage its efforts in fighting for the betterment of the university system,, what is your take on that?
As I said before, I wouldn’t want to join issues with ASUU but just to put the record straight, and for me to respond to that I will first say, he who alleges, the onus lies on that person to prove. But I wouldn’t allow this opportunity to go without saying some facts. I alluded to it earlier when we started, CONUA was actually formed on 12th February 2018. Let me state categorically clear here, that date I mentioned preceded the current industrial action. In fact, on that day, there was no industrial action in Nigeria by any Union. The formation of CONUA was as a result of high-handedness by our sister Union. Let me quickly go into conclusion, because I know I do not have enough time, and that is ASUU on 4th of February, 2018 at its National Executive Council (NEC) held in Gome State University, made a lot of pronouncements, which certainly included but not limited to expulsion of members. I want you to mark that date February 4, 2018.
When you expel a group of people and that group of people belong to only one academic union that could take care of its welfare, it is synonymous to throwing them under trailer because they will have no union to fight for their welfare, and those involved are not kids, we are certainly adults including professors. In fact, that time, they were about 709 academics according to the document of that Union, who were expelled. It was then, some members felt that can we form another Union? This indignifying statements to colleagues, can’t we just push aside once and for all, and at a Congress held on 12th February, 2018 CONUA was formed. After the formation of CONUA, between that time and April a number persons needed for the registration of this union was obtained and we proceeded to apply for registration. In a letter dated 30th April which was submitted on 2nd of May of that same year. I give you one example of issues that led to expulsion of some members by ASUU. The leadership then flagrantly violated the constitutional provision of the union. The leadership at that time, took the resources of the union, for personal engagement outside the country, that is the Bus and the money of the Union to Niger Republic. That wasn’t much of the issues, but when members raised questions on it, the leader failed to heed. So, this is just one.
Maybe I should give you another one. The national leadership at that time, it was professor Biodun Ogunyemi, cause the mandate of two Banks to be violated; by mandate, I mean the signitries to the account, by removing one person, the Treasurer, with disregard to provisions of the constitution of the union, and replaced by another officer of the union to whom allegations were made and to whom eventually, the committee set up by that Union found those ones guilty. The only allegations they had against us to be expelled was that we formed a caretaker committee, which has no place in the constitution. Of course, we agreed with them and we then said, we were wrong. In all the allegations that we had against the other people, in their judgment, they gave those ones slap in the wrist by given them suspension six months, some have one year or two years and they said by the method in which we called the attention then merited expulsion. It is only in the “method” in quote that they found us guilty. And we found that as unfair, it was after we were expelled that CONUA was formed and that predated all industrial action. The whole thing started in 2016.
What is the current membership figure of CONUA?
Well, this is not the time to tell you that because I take October 4 as the date we were given birth to. I told you earlier that according to the document on expulsion of members, we were 709 that affected. I’m not saying all of them are now members of CONUA. That does not mean we have not organised ourselves in the past. When CONUA was formed in 2018, it was only in OAU. But by October 2019, we had spread to five universities, including the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti; Kwara State University and Ambrose Alli University. But we have grown to 17 universities now.
What in your opinion will bring an end to the endless crisis in education sector in Nigeria?
Let me first, make this clarification, tertiary education is a sub-sector in education sector, because we have primary, Junior secondary, Senior Secondary and post secondary, which is tertiary, but I want to concentrate my discussion on tertiary, even though it is the products of primary school that is handed over to the secondary school and it is the product of the secondary school that is handed over to the university. You will agree with me that in tertiary education the quality is going down. But for now let me confine myself to the tertiary and in particular university education. What is required is a change of method. In the days of military era, it required passing through different methods because a military Head of State or a dictator can wake up and promulgate decrees but there is no democratically elected President that can promulgate decree except for Executive Order but that also have certain limitations. So, we want to take advantage of democratic governance to have a change of perspective, to have a change of modus operandi and that change is what I alluded to before. Because in democracy you need to continue to engage. I even alluded to that for instance, if you fight outright war, you still engage. We need a powerful instrument of lobbying not necessarily compromising your integrity. What about getting the religious bodies, respected persons in Nigeria to be part of negotiation process.
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