The National Association of Nigerian Students has asked the new Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, to resolve all outstanding issues before the resumption of full academic activities at the Federal College of Education, Technical, Lagos, which re-opened on Monday after a two-month closure.
The Lagos State Joint Campus of NANS said in a statement that it could not guarantee peace on campus without the resolution of the issues.
Recall that the college was hurriedly shut when the crisis on leadership, which lingered for over three months, degenerated into violence as some workers and students reportedly attacked the Chairman of the Governing Council, Olatunde Adenuga, and other council members, vandalising cars and properties.
But NANS is spoiling for another fight on the N10,000 levy imposed on all students without identifying and prosecuting the ring leaders among staff and students who destroyed five vehicles and vandalised the official quarters on campus.
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NANS said: “The Lagos State Chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has been made aware of a recent decision by the college management to impose a blanket charge of 10,000 Naira on all students.
“This fee is said to be in response to damages sustained during the recent upheaval on campus, which stemmed from students’ expressions of their concerns regarding the college’s leadership.
“This development has come as a significant shock and is widely seen as both unfair and insensitive, especially given the current economic climate.
“Families across Nigeria are grappling with soaring living costs, and many are struggling to afford basic needs, including food and essential supplies.
“As an organization committed to the welfare of Nigerian students, we find this measure to be unacceptable.
“It not only fails to address the root causes of the unrest but also penalizes all students collectively, irrespective of their involvement or lack thereof in the incident.
“Collective punishment of this nature disregards due process and overlooks the underlying reasons that led to students’ demands and frustrations.
“In light of these concerns, we strongly urge the college management to reconsider and reverse this imposed fee.
“Failure to take immediate corrective action may leave us with no choice but to initiate a peaceful protest aimed at addressing this injustice and amplifying students’ voices.
“We are hopeful that the management will choose the path of dialogue, empathy, and fairness in resolving this matter.”
The letter to Dr. Alausa was signed by Comrade Alimi Lekan Idris and Comrade Abefe Abdulrazak Yusuf, chapter Chairman and Secretary respectively.
Genesis of crisis
As the crisis boiled over last July, the Governing Council of the College asked the Provost, Dr. Wahab Ademola Azeez, to step aside and appointed Dr. Isaac Miller as the Acting Provost of the institution.
In an internal memo on August 8, referencing FCE/T/AK/RO/IM/2/206 and signed by the Registrar of the College, Rasheed Dada, the council said Azeez should “step down” as the provost effective July 31.
The Lagos State Police Command also arrested 32 persons, staff and students in connection with the violence.
They were subsequently charged at Yaba Magistrate Court.
“This is to inform the College Community that at the inaugural meeting of the 8th Governing Council of the College on Tuesday, 30 July 2024, the Council directed that Wahab Ademola Azeez should step aside from office as the Provost of the College with effect from 31 July 2024,” the statement reads in part.
The Council had raised two panels, one to investigate allegations against the provost on maladministration and financial impropriety.
The second one, a special committee, was mandated to investigate the riot by some students and staff, which resulted in the closure of the college.
A circular dated August 7, 2024, signed by Dada, said the 8th Governing Council at its sitting on July 31 constituted an investigative panel and a committee to probe allegations against some staff and the crisis that engulfed FCET.
The second circular, titled: “Special Committee of Council to Investigate various allegations against College Management and Staff,” had a five-man committee with an external council member as chairman.
The special investigative panel comprised the representatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, Attorney General of Lagos State, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigerian Institute of Quality Surveyors, Minister of Education and Chairman of Oluwole Residents Association.
The panel was mandated to look at the remote and immediate causes of the students’ unrest leading to the vandalisation of five vehicles, damage to part of provost’s lodge, identify the ring leaders of the students’ crisis, staff, students and outsiders, itemise the damages suffered by the college in the course of the crisis, evaluate cost of replacements of the damaged items, and assess the students facilities to be replaced and recommend those to be immediately repaired.
Many students and staff of the college have expressed concern that two months after their inauguration the findings of the panels are yet to be published.
“It is unacceptable to punish all the students when those who participated in the riot were taken to court. Where is the outcome of the police investigation and the panels set up by the college,” Segun Olusola, a second-year student queried.
Background
Protest began at the college on May 27, 2024 when students and some staff locked up the office of the Provost of the College and issued him a notice to quit his official residence over his tenure of office.
The protest was organised by the leadership of the Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education, FCET chapter and other unions who called themselves “concerned staff.”
The protesters insisted that with the amendment of the Educational Colleges Act, 2023, which introduced a five-year single term of office for provosts and other principal officers of the colleges, the tenure of Dr. Azeez had ended on May 26.
However, the provost said he was appointed for the first term of four years in 2019 and that having been duly reappointed by the institution’s governing council in 2023, he had resumed his second term in office on May 27, 2023 before the amended act was signed into law on June 12, 2023.
The staff unions asked for clarification on the tenure of office of the provost based on the amended act.
The former Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, wrote the unions, affirming the legality of Dr Azeez’s second term of four years.
The protesters ignored the minister’s verdict and continued to stage daily protests on the campus, denying management members access to their offices even after the former Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, met with the warring parties in Abuja to reach an amicable settlement.
Despite signing resolutions reached at a reconciliatory meeting chaired by Sununu, some workers of FCET continued to threaten a showdown should Dr. Azeez return to the office.
The resolutions, signed by the representatives of the ministry, Governing Council, and staff unions included the reopening of the office of the college’s provost and his return to the office.
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