Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has been criticised by the administrations of Kaduna State University (KASU) and Ekiti State University (EKSU) for calling them quacks.
The statement was reportedly made by the ASUU President on Friday during a national television interview.
EKSU, like KASU, which has broken off from the six-month old strike, demanded a retraction and an apology.
Adamu Bargo, the KASU Public Relations Officer, claimed that Osodeke’s statement was made for “personal and irresponsible aggrandisement” rather than to improve the educational system in Nigeria.
According to Bargo, KASU resumed academic activities in good conscience and for the betterment of the students.
He stated that the resumption should not be a reason for the university to be insulted and stereotyped by the ASUU President.
AKSU statement:
One may wonder whether the Professor of Soil Science really understands what the word quack represents. Quack means a person who dishonestly claims to have knowledge and skill in some field with little or no foundation, as better exemplified by professionals.
I like to mention here that the highest stage of irresponsibility is insulting fellow colleagues in academia. I thought leadership in academia is about mutual respect and mentoring while also living by good example which the ASUU National finds too tasking. The ASUU President was a bigot for neither mentioning Ambrose Alli University, where he came from which has pulled out from the strike long before KASU Management decided to resume academic activities in spite of the strike nor did he refer to his own University as a quack.
After all, ASUU claimed to be on strike for:
* Rejecting IPPIS for UTAS (KASU has nothing to do with how other employees are paid in a country where education is on the concurrent list)
* Renegotiate the 2009 agreement (KASU Governing Council informed lecturers they shouldn’t worry that after negotiation between FG & ASUU led by its loquacious President, it’ll look into how to implement the agreement without encumbrances)
* Release funds to revitalize the infrastructure of the Universities (release of funds is being determined by the economy and income of the government and not by any strike action)
*: Pay outstanding EAA to date (Kaduna State has paid far more to its lecturers the EEA than any FG University did to its own Universities)
* Release of the White Paper on Visitation Panels (This has nothing to do with State universities & KASU should not stunt its progress in a protracted strike that is becoming unreasonably insensitive)
Lest I forget, when ASUU in KASU joined the strike in 2019 and govt paid the 40% salary for work done for the month, ASUU National did virtually nothing positive beyond ranting so the outstanding 60% has not been paid to date. If someone thinks the National President of ASUU can go on strike because of this, is only joking!!!
Let me use this medium to call on Academic staff on strike in KASU to reason and be more concerned with their University and people than the irritating attitude of their irrational leader who labels them as Quacks.
For the benefit of hindsight, KASU is a new generation University and the second most-sought State-Owned University as well as the fastest growing in Nigeria, which was established 18 years ago with eminent scholars like Prof. Idris A. Abdulkadir, OFR, and Prof. Abubakar A. Rasheed, MFR as the pioneer Council members. These scholars-administrators made sure that the appointments of qualified Lecturers were never compromised. The foundation and ethical determination to sustain the same has remained the basic principle of engaging academic & non-academic staff.
By the foregoing, the general public may wish to note as follows:
KASU is recognised by NUC as a standard University.
KASU has some of the best brains that are competing favourably with their counterparts around the globe. The world’s No 4 best polymer chemist is in KASU.
Lecturers in KASU have attracted grants both locally and internationally and are highly rated.
KASU graduates are rated among the best in the world and enjoy scholarships from different parts of the country and the globe.
KASU has members in ASUU, and it is unfortunate if the ASUU President is saying that they are quacks, while enjoying monthly check-off dues from their salaries. Does this not give a good reason for every reasonable academic staff in the University to pull out from the Union for this labelling and stereotyping?
In its reaction, EKSU blasted Osodeke for his denigrating comments on the status of state universities.
The head of the Directorate of Information and Corporate Affairs of EKSU, Bode Olofinmuagun said the comments from the ASUU president were reckless and unacceptable, calling on him to as a matter of urgency apologise to the university.
According to him, “the management of EKSU views this denigrating remark about some universities, coming from the National President of ASUU as unfortunate, reckless and unwarranted.
“Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti is currently the 14th best university in Nigeria out of about 200 universities (Federal, State & Private) and the 2nd best State University according to the recent Webometric ranking of universities.
“Apart from the above, the university (EKSU) has nearly all its academic programmes accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and relevant professional regulatory bodies. The university is proud to have many top-rated globally recognised academics, and its alumni are making waves both nationally and internationally. By the grace of God, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, the Governor-elect of Ekiti State is an alumnus and a former lecturer at the University.
“Even in ASUU, a number of staff of our university had served and still serving in various capacities at zonal and national levels including but not limited to Professor Afolabi Popoola, Dr Sikiru Eniola, Profs. Eddy Olanipekun, Ayan Adeleke and Olu-Olu Olufayo.”
The statement added that “categorising EKSU as among the quack and irrelevant universities is a testimony to the fact that the ASUU President is probably uninformed and/or is bereft of ideas. This arrant nonsense coming from Comrade Osodeke is totally unacceptable and condemnable.
“The Management calls on Professor Osodeke to toe the path of honour by retracting the provocative remark and tender an unreserved apology without further delay.”
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