THE STRIKE AND PEACEFUL PROTEST OF THE FACULTY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
History of the Problem:
In February 2015, lecturers from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine went on a one week warning strike that grounded academic activities within the faculty after which activities resumed in the faculty. Later that month, another strike was embarked upon, and this time, it stretched beyond one week and into examination period as lectures refused to invigilate examinations. However,The president of the faculty-Rt. Hon. Okechukwu Victor intervened and the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Nwosu ensured that exams were conducted for that first semester.
Returning for the second semester,the story was different as lecturers refused to conduct lectures.
As the pressure mounted on the president of the faculty's student association, he called for a congress where students agitated for an outright protest. He was able to calm the nerves of the students considering the fact that they were yet to hear from the other party in the case (that is, the university administration) to ascertain who has greater blames for the disruption of activities in the faculty. After much deliberation, a committee was set up to find out from the university administration their own side of the story. The committee swung into actions immediately and consulted widely in their bid to get concrete answers to their questions. They met with different persons like the Staff Adviser (Dr. Chuka Ezema), the Acting President, SUG, UNN, Comr. Nebo Joy, and finally, with Dean of Student Affairs, Prof. P. A. Akah who advised they wrote a letter seeking an audience with the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Benjamin C. Ozumba, as he is an easy-going person who will attend to student-related issues promptly.
The committee wrote a letter which was minuted upon by the Staff Adviser as well as the Dean of Student Affairs. The letter was promptly sent to the Vice Chancellor, and the secretary to the Vice Chancellor logged it into a file on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2015. Attached is a copy of the letter. Tensions continued to heat up as no response came from the university administration with many factions threatening to embark on a protest while the faculty president did his best to prevail on the students to give the university administration time. According to him, "Several meetings were called without my consent, and on hearing about it, I reported to the Chief Security Officer."
Students were worried for a number of reasons:
*They paid their school fees but were not taught, and there was no explanation for this from any quarters.
*Students from other faculties went about their academic activities uninhibited but they were not.
*They wondered what their fate would be when other students begin examinations while they had not been taught for a day since the resumption of the semester
*The fear of being forcefully sent out of the university hostels at the end of the semester when everyone is meant to vacate the hostels.
*The fear of being forced to pay extra school fees or accommodation fees
*Those in their finals saw their peers in other faculties go for project defence while they were yet to start theirs.
*Those in their finals also saw themselves held back in school while their peers are mobilized for the compulsory National Youth Service Corp.
These and many more reasons informed the agitation from certain quarters for a protest from Freedom Square but the Chief Security Officer and the Dean of the Faculty advised that one more week should be allowed for a reaction from the university administration. This reaction or response, nevertheless, did not come after the one week. Thus, the students decided to march peacefully, bound by a vow not to destroy any property or fight any security man no matter the intimidation.
The students remained true to their vow even in the midst of the maltreatment meted on them by men who came in military fatigue without any names or identification number on their uniforms. One of them smashed the phone of a student as he cursed loudly while several students were pierced with knives attached to the uniforms of these men. It took the Area Commander of the Nigeria Police Force to stop the brutality as he apologized on their behalf. After that, he enabled the delegation to see the Vice Chancellor before whom they expressed their grievances. The Vice Chancellor promised to meet with the Heads of Departments and the Dean of the Faculty that same day by 3:00pm, promising that students would go back to class soon afterwards.
Lectures resumed in the faculty on Thursday, July 2nd, 2015 following the Faculty Board Meeting held the same day. The faculty president, however, apologized to anyone who might have misunderstood their actions. According to him, "it is not our intention to disrespect constituted authorities and this is why we acted within the provisions of the law, ensuring that we did not disrupt human, vehicular as well as administrative activities in the cause of our demonstration".
The questions on our minds however remain, what happens to the fears of the students as stated above? Will the university authority grant the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine a new timetable for the semester? Will the students be allowed to remain in the hostels while their mates from other faculties are made to vacate? What happens if on resumption for a new academic session by the university the students are yet to complete their current semester, will their rooms be left unallocated or will new occupants be sent to trouble them? These and many more questions remain on the minds of students as they go about their resumed academic activities.
Comr. Okeke, Chibueze O.
Manager,
Electronic Information,
SUG, UNN
Comments
Post a Comment