‘What lack of ASUP leadership has cost us’

Mr Ajadi Kelani was the chairman, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), The Polytechnic, Ibadan chapter; his tenure ended last September. In this interview with MODUPE GEORGE, he explains why his chapter did not partake in the national strike by the union, and other issues in the union. Excerpts

Can you tell us more about the ongoing ASUP’s national strike?

There are many issues, ranging from non-implementation of the report of the National Economic Empowerment and development Strategy (NEEDS) assessment to report of 2014. This has to do with provision of infrastructural facilities on campuses, the government’s suspension of the funding of public projects, discrimination against the HND holders, victimisation of some ASUP members, interference of the management in the union’s activities, non-payment of arrears, and the demand those who are working in the polytechnic should be able to rise to the position of a rector, instead of bringing people from the university. These are issues that government has refused to respond to.

But why did your chapter back out of the strike?

The Polytechnic, Ibadan chapter of ASUP has no leadership in place; everybody is just a member.

Why is there no leadership in place?

Each administration has the opportunity to do two terms. Last year, when it was some months to the end of our tenure, an electoral committee was set up to start the process of conducting another election; and we requested for the presence of the national body. We had word of the national vice president, Mr Timothy Ogunleye, to come and monitor the elections. He even confirmed to us that he had been given a directive by the national president that the elections must hold.

On the day of the election, we waited for him till 11a.m. before we could start the election, whereas the election was to have commenced at 9 a. m. The electoral committee had to wait till 11a.m. before they started the elections. This wasn’t a new thing to do. The College of Agriculture and Technology, Igbora chapter had their election without anybody monitoring it. In fact, they were already counting the votes, when the national representative came in and those who emerged as winners were sworn in by the coordinators; the election was not nullified. Ditto with the Saki campus too, they also had election without being monitored

Here, when the national executive came, to purposely monitor the election, they had to pay a visit to the management. When they came out of the place, they changed the music, saying we could not continue with the election, it was nullified. However, when the votes were counted out of the three people, who contested for the chairmanship position, which I was one,  I Ajadi Kelani had 128 votes, the second candidate had 14 votes, while the third candidate had two votes.

Meanwhile, it is clearly stated in the constitution of the union that if election is for any reason cancelled, it has to be handled by the national body through zonal officers\coordinators. Since then, we have been expecting a national officer to come and conduct another election.

Later on, we were informed by the zonal coordinators that they received petitions from this chapter, sponsored by some of our members; and that they would have to come down here to do some investigations before the election proper. Since October last year, they haven’t showed up. As a result of this, we don’t have ASUP leadership to attend the national executive committee meetings. There is nobody to relay the outcome of the meeting and whatever decision being arrived at to members.

Apart from the non-participation of the national body in the election process, do you suspect any other foul play?

Morally and legally, it is not in the constitution that the person who is coming to monitor the election must be present at the beginning of the elections. The electoral committee even waited till 11, but he came around 12 noon. If I say there is nothing fishy about the annulment of the election, I’m not saying the truth.

We have proofs that some people are sponsoring the so-called dissidents in the union. The number one proof is that since the time I have known ASUP, The Polytechnic, Ibadan, it has always used the NLT Lecture Theatre to hold its congress, and there has never been a time ASUP would have to write an application to the management, the security department or to the rector before making use of the place. On the day we were to hold our congress, there was polarisation. When we got to the venue, we saw security men who told us that they had been ordered not to allow ASUP to use the place; but another set of ASUP members who called themselves ‘The Concerned Members’ used the place. We were shown the letter they were issued! If the management had nothing to do with it, it wouldn’t have given another section of ASUP an approval to use the hall.

The second proof is that the day we were to have our election, approval had been given to the committee to make use of the Assembly Hall of the institution, but when we got there, there was an order from the management that the place should not be opened to anyone. The election had to hold outside the hall. After an approval had been given, why trying to truncate the election?

Lastly, these concerned citizens in a bid to malign our names also took a letter to the bank, requesting for the statement of the account of the union. Meanwhile, none of them was a signatory to the account. The statement of account was given to them and they looked at everybody’s name and any amount against those names was considered embezzled and they wrote a letter based on it and distributed it. Meanwhile, the statement of account is yet to be presented to the congress, let alone external auditor.

Are you saying management should not in any way interfere in ASUP affairs?

I’m not saying management and ASUP should be at loggerheads at all times; the management is out to serve the whole campus, while the union caters to the welfare of academic staff. Within the union, we have activists, and labour aristocrats. The latter are the set of people fraternising with the management. But in a situation where you see activists fraternising with the management, then, things have really gone bad.

How has this affected ASUP leadership in The Polytechnic Ibadan?

When you have this kind of situation, the management can do anything to the members, which is already happening. Our members are suffering, being cheated and enslaved. Recently, some members of our union were dismissed unjustly by the government. There was nobody to fight on their behalf, since there was no leadership in place.