Nigerians unhappy with the current National Assembly —Shamaki

Dr. Gad Shamaki, former Executive Director of CLEEN Foundation and a prominent advocate of social change, human rights, and good governance, was recently elected National President of the University of Jos Alumni Association. In this interview with ISAAC SHOBAYO, he discusses his goals for the alumni body, student loan controversies, ongoing violence in the Middle Belt, and other pressing national issues. Except:

WHAT motivated your desire to run for the national president of the University of Jos Alumni Association ?

My aspiration or desire to contest for the office of the National President was borne out of my desire to change the narrative, and because I was a chapter chairman of the Plateau State branch, I was able to change the interest; people no longer have interest in alumni associations. Alumni are not participating in congress; they were not giving back to themselves, nor are they giving back to the institution, but under my leadership, we were able to do something for our alma mater: we were able to get support for indigent students, and we were able to get visibility for the Plateau Chapter. So from that I saw the need that we can do better at the national where we can be able to reach Nigerians from all walks of life who are products of the university and to refocus our minds to support our institution. So my focus as the national president is first to ensure that all the products of the University of Jos have a sense of belonging. When this happens, they will be more than happy to give back to the institution. So I hope to galvanize that sense of ownership to be able to fix as many things as possible, especially the hostels, mentorship program, and other things. The alumni center that has been lying fallow for some time will be touched by looking at the possibility of completing the building so that we can have a functional secretariat. But in summary, what we intend to do is to ensure that the story is no longer what it used to be in the past. There are a lot of things that alumni can do; scholarships can be provided, and endowment funds can be put in place.

What is your opinion on the National Student Loan Fund, which is currently embroiled in controversy, particularly over allegations of students being short-changed by universities?

It is part of the Nigeria issue that even if there are good intentions, you always have people that want to take advantage of such a laudable program for their selfish benefit. This is an initiative we need to keep our eye on. In the University of Jos, we want to follow up to ensure that students are not shortchanged. The idea of the student loan is good; like I mentioned, we have been paying tuition fees for students, and as I talk to you now, there are students in that school that cannot buy some of the basic things that they need because they are coming from poor homes. The idea of student loans is a good initiative that will benefit Nigerian students if properly monitored.

What do you think should be done to improve the student loan scheme so that it is more functional and advantageous to Nigerian students?

The process should be made more transparent and inclusive. There must be people that would do what is called quality assurance to look at those that apply, how many apply, and what courses they are reading. Where are they coming from, and how many applied per university? But when the criteria are not very clear, we need to have more respected Nigerians, more professionals, and people who are selfless to provide good service for the applicants.

Though there have been no strikes in Nigerian tertiary institutions for quite some time, what role do you think an alumni association can play to consolidate this?

This conversation is for all alumni associations in the country to ensure that we are engaging the union in our institution whenever the need arises. In the University of Jos, for example, we have a good working relationship with the ASUU Chairman, SSANU, NASU, and other unions within the system. If there are issues that need our support, we will definitely intervene because we are equally stakeholders in the university. If there is a dispute that is internal, we should be able to come in and interface with the management and the union so that students would not suffer unjustly.

The national president of ASUU recently said in an interview that the federal government is yet to assent to most of the union’s demands. (cut-in)

This is the right time to start the engagement process; like the white man would say, prevention is better than cure. I will suggest that the federal government should line up discussions to avoid a strike action that might throw the tertiary institution into another round of strikes again. The government, too, should be more proactive in meeting these conditions. If there are agreements they have entered into, such should be honored, and where those agreements are not achievable or attainable because of the economic challenges, both parties should come to an understanding on those demands. But keeping quiet and not respecting agreements is not the best, and I think this is what has brought us to where we are. But I must equally say that behind the issue of the strike, there are other issues that need urgent attention, like the issue of security in tertiary institutions.

The vice chancellor appointment process is another problem plaguing Nigerian universities, frequently resulting in litigation and, most times, crises. How can this unhealthy condition be resolved?

Looking at the incident that happened at the University of Abuja, which is now Yakubu Gowon University, and how the vice chancellor emerged and the controversy around such, clearly it is a lesson for anyone contesting for the position of vice chancellor. I think we should always put merit in front of us to ensure that people are adequately qualified in the sense that if the regulation says you have to be a professor of ten years, for example, those in the system should ensure that those vying for such a position have been professors for up to ten years. The overall interest of the institution should be put above all other interests. The federal government should be sensitive by looking at the peculiarities of each university in this regard and ensure that it is rancor-free. The clear laydown criteria should be duly followed.

From a civil society perspective, how would you rate the National Assembly?

I think the National Assembly needs to do more. This National Assembly, especially the Senate, has gone through one controversy or another, and Nigerians are crying loud that they are not satisfied with what they are getting there, and I think the National Assembly needs to be a true representative of the people, and whenever the people are in distress, they should be on the side of the people. For example, in the North Central part of Nigeria, there are issues of insecurity; farmers cannot go to farm, women cannot go to market, and those in the rural areas can no longer marry and celebrate because insecurity in those communities is high. These are part of the problems the National Assembly should interrogate and address properly by asking relevant agencies to give an account of their work. What is noticeable at the moment is unnecessary personal controversy among themselves. My worry is that most of those in the Senate are elder statesmen; quite a number of them had previously occupied positions of governor, minister, retired military generals, or captains of industry. These are people that are expected to live far aboveboard because of the experiences they have gathered over the years. Some of them have been in the Senate for sixteen years. One thing is that politics should not take the place of governance, so they should pay attention to issues that are affecting Nigeria, not issues affecting their parties. It is quite sad that most of their discussions these days center on their parties and constituencies, not on issues that affect the generality of Nigeria. I think the Senate or the National Assembly as a whole should refocus their minds on how their actions affect Nigeria as a whole.

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What are your thoughts on the raging insecurity in Benue, Plateau, and other Middle Belt states?

No one will be happy when people go to the farm and do not return or are killed in their sleep. The whole community is ransacked, and people are killed at random. This is a concern to me, especially as the Nationalnt of the University of Jos Alumni Association, because a lot of students of the university are from these states hit by this insecurity, and several staff of the university are from those communities. The University of Jos is a catchment area for those communities. We cannot be talking of children coming to schools when their parents and guardians are being killed and sources of livelihood are being destroyed. If children are in school and they are not sure of the safety of their parents, they cannot pay attention to their learning. And so all these will have multiple effects. These are concerns that governments at all levels need to address.

There is always a tragic scene that often plays out whenever there is a crisis in Jos: students from the University of Jos are frequently assaulted, and there were instances where students were killed. What is the way out of this?

In recent times, efforts have been made to ensure that students don’t get killed in crisis situations, not only the students but also other members of the university community. What we discussed with the security agencies during our courtesy call to them was that security should be enhanced within the University of Jos premises. During our courtesy call to the chairman of the Jos North local government, JMDB, we requested that the motor park at the Bauchi road junction should be relocated because over the years, hoodlums have taken advantage of that place to molest students, and there is a crisis: students are trapped because that is the major gateway to the hostel. So we think security needs to be enhanced there, and we must ensure that we don’t have unhealthy business premises around there. At one point we requested that there should be a flyover from Bauchi Road down to the university’s permanent site. If you don’t have business going into the university, you have no business using the flyover or going under the flyover. These are doable because we must create a university community; there must be an environment where students and staff must feel comfortable. Once you are able to create security or a buffer zone, it means when there are crises, the security men know where to go to ensure law and order.

What about relationships with the neighboring communities that are considered hostile?

Most of these communities had provided cover for students in times of crisis; the university has done a lot in ensuring good relationships with the neighboring communities. Five or four years ago, when a student was killed, the then chairman of Jos North local government shut down all the business premises in the affected area and gave them a strict warning, and since then we have not heard of that kind of incident again. On our part and with the support of the university, we would continue to enhance the relationship.