Gbenro Adesina
The National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) of the University of Ibadan (UI), branch on Friday November 19, 2021, staged a peaceful protest to warn the institution’s management against failure to comply with the federal government directive in sharing the recently released N293million earned allowance to the non-academic staff of the institution.
The union frown at sharing the money to staff who do not deserve it, saying that they would vehemently resist their sister unions: Non-Academic Staff Unions of Education and Associated Institutions (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) for demanding for what is not due to them.
The union members, who gathered in front of the Vice Chancellor’s office, displayed placards of different colours with different inscriptions.
The inscriptions in their placards read: “UI, Please, obey the federal government instruction”, UI, it is criminal to buy peace with corruption”, “No peace without justice”, “Pay the deserving eligible and entitled staff”, “Enough is enough”, “Pay NAAT, Laboratory workshop, studio and the clinics, “Shike Na”, “Pay according to agreement in the university”, “Do no rob Peter to pay Paul”, “No peace without justice”, and “Illegal payment is corruption”.
The Union asked the management to use the already prepared distribution table known to the Federal government to share the N293,031,063.18million earned allowance just released to the institution’s non-academic staff.
They unanimously pointed out that if the earned allowance is fraudulently shared, they would ground the institution, asking the management not to yield to the threats of their sister unions, who are used to crook means of manipulating the sharing of earned allowance to their advantage.
Speaking, the union’s acting chairman, Comrade Yahaya Paul said that the union is not known for violence because they believe in handling matters with civility and maturely, warning that their civility should not be taken for foolishness.
He said, “In this university, I make bold to say that civility is taken for foolishness. When one demonstrate high level of civility, it will be taken to be stupidity. We are professional, we cannot be locking gates and blocking roads. We are not moron. We are not miscreants. We are not hoodlums. We don’t extort. We do not involve in illegal deduction and we don’t tolerate it”.
He lamented that in most cases, UI management had been doing the wrongs in the sharing of earned allowances, urging the institution’s authority to obey the federal government in the distribution of the earned allowance just received.
“What we are saying is that UI should do the right thing. UI management doesn’t obey agreement. They want to buy peace. The allowance is called earned allowance; therefore, it is what you do not give to who do not earn it. We are imploring the management to distribute this earned allowance rightly to avert impending tragedy”, he concluded.
Others who took turn to speak include Comrade Siseku Jimoh Andrew, Chairman of Maintenance Workers, who said that previously, the management of the institution has been paying allowances to those who were not captured on the table to the detriment of those who have worked and deserve to be paid what they are entitled to.
Stressing that cheating of NAAT members would no longer be tolerated, he said, “The federal government had agreement with the union that only the deserving staff be paid earned allowance. There are processes of agreeing on who get what. Allowances are tied to specific profession. For instance, only drivers are entitled to accident allowance. I am not entitled to shift allowance because I am no longer involving in shift. A particular allowance was recently distributed, I was not given because I was not entitled to it. It will be wrong for me to now say that I must benefit for what I did not work for”.
The chairman of Laboratory Workers, Comrade Emmanuel Inodeem, who noted that the allowance is not a jamboree, said that the union request to follow the agreement it reached with the federal government in the sharing of the allowance.
Comrade Babatunde Oshunnuga said that the union has nothing against the Professor Kayode Adebowale-led administration, reiterating the position of his colleagues that they would not take it lightly with the new Vice Chancellor if he adopts the illegal pattern of sharing earned allowance as done by his predecessors.
“There will not be peace on this campus if right thing is not done. We are professionals but we have some craziness in us. Adebowale should do what is right now. I have suffered lots of ailments just like my colleagues. Electricity shocked me in the course of discharging my official responsibilities. There is a colleague whose penis became inactive when it was exposed to a particular chemical. Thank God, we were able to resuscitate the penis and it is now functioning very well. Some of our colleagues were exposed to Covid-19 because of the nature of our job. Many were quarantined at Olodo Covid-19 Centre but thank God, they survived it. We pray that God will lead and guide Adebowale. We pray for breakthrough for you. Now if justice is not done, we will withdraw our prayers and turn them to curses”, he explained.
The former NAAT Chairman, Comrade Oyelade Olusola and Comrade Adekunle Marry, alias Iron lady talked tough, saying that they would match the violence of their sister unions if they attempt to continue in perpetuating corruption.
Marry said, “Management, do not give our money to other unions again. That act must stop now and stop forever. If you do, we will come hard and if our leadership compromise, we will deal with them ruthlessly before we face the management”.
“If they attempt to be violent to get our money, we will be violent with them. If they close the gate, we will open it”, Oyeladed added.
At the end of the protest, they agreed that a letter that will state all their resolutions be drafted and forward to the management. Part of resolutions made is that the next disbursement of earned allowance should be strictly to the deserving staff and that money for NAAT members should not be given to other unions so that they can maintain peace. They also agreed to continue to protest until thier demand is met.
Kudos!