The storm over the legitimacy of the credential President Bola Tinubu submitted to INEC has managed to rope in former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who instigated it in the first place. But available facts show that neither of them presented forged documents to INEC.
I go where the facts lead me. That means I could say the opposite of what I said earlier in light of new facts, a reason I advisedly used the expression “the best obtainable version of the truth” in last week’s column. I am not invested in any perspective. Tinubu is an unrelieved catastrophe as a president, but I’ll defend the facts even if they favor him.
Here are 7 facts I’ve found so far after reading and rereading all the facts related to this issue:
Tinubu attended and graduated from Chicago State University in 1979, was issued a diploma (or a certificate, to use the expression that’s familiar to Nigerians), which he collected (I erred when I thought the registrar said he didn’t; See number 3). Apparently, he lost the original diploma in 1979 and was issued a “replacement diploma dated 27 June 1979,” according to the BBC.
Tinubu’s certificate is a tautology because the certificate goes on to read, ‘with all the rights, honours, and privileges partaining therto’.[sic]. None of the 1990s samples provided by CSU showed those words underneath the course of study, and this suggests that Tinubu’s certificate, which was supposedly obtained within the same timeframe, did not emanate from the school.”
That’s a problematic claim. “With all the rights, honors, and privileges pertaining thereto” is a fixed phrase that appears on all diplomas irrespective of their class. The addition of “with honors” isn’t a duplication because graduating with honors is an academic distinction that only a limited pool of students achieve, and some U.S. universities include it in diplomas in addition to the fixed phrase that appears on all diplomas.
In any case, Tinubu’s uncollected 2000s replacement diploma that the registrar showed during the deposition has both the fixed phrase AND “with honors.”
Similarly, the claim that the samples of replacement diplomas issued in the 1990s don’t have “with honors” is a weak argument because CSU only showed uncollected diplomas in its records, not a representative sample of every type and class of diplomas earned or re-issued that year. It could well be that the uncollected diplomas in CSU’s records didn’t achieve the distinction that entitles them to have “with honors” affixed to them.
This issue has demonstrated to me in starkly dramatic terms how partisan blinders can distort people’s perception of reality. When people so badly want something to be true, but it turns out to be untrue, they choose to hang on to the most absurd apophenic hallucinations (i.e., seeing predetermined patterns from a chaos of unrelated phenomena) they can invoke to validate their preconceptions. I’ve studied and taught this phenomenon for years but had never seen it manifest on a mass scale like this.
The only new thing that will change the conversation is a foolproof revelation that Tinubu didn’t meet graduation requirements and was issued a fraudulent transcript that said he did—after the fact—by dodgy university officials. That would establish the legal basis for forgery. Given what I am now reading about the school, I won’t be shocked if this happens. So, I think the answer to the puzzle isn’t on the surface; it’s beneath the surface. Only deep investigation can unearth it.
Finally, the CSU registrar never said, “forgery is a Nigerian thing.” Tinubu sent his lawyer to get copies of his academic records from CSU and requested that the school certify the documents before sending them to him.
Atiku’s lawyer asked if CSU had ever certified documents it sent out, and the registrar said, “No, I believe this was made because it is more of a Nigerian thing.” So, the “Nigerian thing” he referred to was certifying school records for legal purposes, not forgery.
Atiku’s School Certificate
Tinubu’s minions, in their bid to get even with Atiku, dredged up Atiku’s post-secondary school appellative change and are attempting to pass it off as evidence of school certificate forgery against him. But here are the facts.
I don’t know how he came about the name Atiku, but it is the Nigerian domestication of the Arabic name Atiq, which means “ancient.” Some people say it means “freed.” Bangladeshis bear it as Atiqur and Arabs bear it as Atiqullah.
More than anything, though, he swore an affidavit in real time to legalize this change of name. The same can’t be said for Bola Tinubu whom we’ve learned was initially known as Lamidi Amoda Sangodele.
As I have stressed repeatedly, I have no partisan emotional investment in the political brawl between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, or in who is and is not president of Nigeria. My only partisan affinity is with the truth or, to reecho iconic Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein, the best obtainable version of the truth.
This intervention is for people who genuinely want clarity from the blinding maze of propaganda and intentional falsehoods flying around. It’s not for sentimental partisan hacks and political devotees who just want an affirmation of and a comfort to their prejudices and preconceptions.
As an American citizen, a graduate of two American universities, and a professor in one, I can tell the reader three major things Atiku’s Nigerian lawyers and his supporters on social media— and in some openly partisan news sites— are getting wrong.
The major one is the idea that because Tinubu presented a certificate (called a “diploma” in America) to INEC that didn’t emanate from Chicago State University, whose registrar affirmed under oath that Tinubu graduated from there, he has committed forgery in the legal sense of the term. That thinking betrays ignorance of the American university system—and results from people using their limited Nigerian lenses to refract an American phenomenon that’s beyond their experiential reality.
Certificates are not used as legal proof of graduation from any school in America and therefore can’t be forged in the legal sense of the term. Only transcripts can be used as legal documents to validate the genuineness of claims to have attended institutions, including secondary schools. Had Tinubu presented a counterfeit transcript to support his claim of graduating from CSU when he didn’t, or merely to claim a higher GPA than he actually earned even when he graduated from there, that would have been forgery in the legal sense of the term, which is understood to mean “Criminal falsification by making or altering an instrument with intent to defraud.”
In this context, “intent to defraud” would mean Tinubu wanted to pass himself off as a university graduate when he wasn’t. But he is. His transcript says he is. The registrar of the university said under oath that he is. A classmate of his said under oath that they graduated from the school the same year. That’s all that matters.
One indication of the legal worthlessness of certificates in America came from the CSU registrar’s admission in court that the school had many uncollected diplomas going as far back as the 1930s. Certificates are not required to prove graduation here. That’s why people can afford to ignore them.
Intriguingly, the registrar said Tinubu also didn’t collect his original certificate from the school and that it is still lying there. Why did he say he lost it?
In the United States, a certificate is in many ways similar to a graduation ceremony. Most people attend it and listen to the president of the university formally confer diplomas on them with “all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto.” But it has no force of law. Not attending a graduation ceremony doesn’t deprive you of “all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto.”
If you organize your own graduation ceremony, invite friends and family, and ask your father to confer your degree on you, it’s fine so long as you validly earned the degree. Incidentally, an American family friend of mine did exactly that last May. His autistic son can’t tolerate the sensory overload of large crowds. So, he organized his son’s graduation and invited friends and family. He dressed as the president, and his wife was the provost. His eldest daughter was the graduation speaker.
In America, the diploma is the printed version—or fixed extension—of a graduation ceremony. It’s merely ceremonial and can be tweaked or individualized by anyone without legal consequences.
It betrays a stupendous poverty of legal and logical imagination to say that the “forgery” (unauthorized redesign is a better expression) of a non-legally-binding ceremonial document of a validly earned degree invalidates the degree. It’s never mentioned in CSU’s diplomas that alteration of the documents renders them invalid because they have no validity beyond being decorative documents.
You find that kind of language here only on transcripts. On Tinubu’s CSU transcript, for instance, we find such legal language twice. The left-hand side of the transcript says, “Explanatory legend and authenticity confirmation information on back.” On the right-hand side, it says, “THIS RECORD IS NOT OFFICIAL UNLESS IT BEARS A SIGNATURE AND SEAL OF THE UNIVERSITY.”
The diploma does not have such language because in America the diploma is no more important than a school’s academic gown. For example, I use a cheaper, “forged” version of the academic gown of the university that awarded me a doctoral degree (that I ordered from a third-party vendor online) to attend graduation ceremonies at the school where I teach now. At the time I graduated with my doctoral degree, I could only afford to rent the gown. Most people here do the same. It doesn’t invalidate our degrees because we’re using the unofficial academic gown of our universities.
I admit, though, that Tinubu was careless. He is in Nigeria where certificates have a different meaning and valence from the United States. He should have submitted CSU’s official diploma to INEC. But what he did does not, by even the most feverish stretch of conspiratorial fantasy, rise to the level of a Salisu-Buhari-type criminal forgery.
Unlike Salisu Buhari who forged a University of Toronto degree that he didn’t earn, Tinubu attended and earned a degree from Chicago State University. What Tinubu did with his certificate is pointlessly self-harming in reputational terms in Nigeria, but it’s not illegal.
The second major misconception of America came from Atiku’s lawyer by the name of Kalu Kalu. He said at a news conference on October 5 that “the Chicago State University admission application form has a claim that… the owner of that document is a Black American, and the document Bola Ahmed Tinubu submitted to INEC, he denied having dual citizenship which means it doesn’t belong to him.”
I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help myself from letting out a burst of deep, loud, hearty laughter when I read that. It’s pure hilarious ignorance! You see, America has an enduringly irresistible impulse to taxonomize humanity into discrete racial categories. Every official form here requests you to identify your race. The modern options are “White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.”
In the mid-1970s when Tinubu applied to study at CSU, what is now “Black or African American” on official forms in America was simply “Black American,” particularly in historically Black Universities like CSU.
The US Census Bureau has historically defined “Black or African American” as “A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.”
“Black American” was the only category that closely applied to Tinubu, so he chose it because the form instructed him to “CHECK ONE BOX.” Checking the “Black American” box didn’t mean he called himself a Black American or that he impersonated a Black American. It only meant he identified HIS RACE as “Black American.” No more, no less.
The other options in the form were barely decipherable, but I could pick out “American Indian or Alaska Native,” something that looks like “Spanish Surname American,” another that looks like “Eurasian American,” etc. Although the form gave the option for “Other (explain),” most Africans here typically choose Black American as the closest description of their race.
Finally, a Dr. Abimbola Adenike Tinubu, who lives in a small town called Opelousas in the state of Louisiana, is being touted by social media trolls as the woman whose identity Bola Tinubu allegedly stole. The problem is that the lady was born in 1971, just 4 years before Tinubu enrolled at Southwest College. She graduated from the University of Ilorin in 1998 and came to the US later.
It’s chronologically and rationally impossible for Tinubu to steal the identity of a 4-year-old Nigerian preschooler (who came to America decades after Tinubu left it) and then present himself as an adult male to enroll at a community college!
Plus, Dr. Abimbola’s Whitepages information shows that she has never lived in Virginia where the social security number associated with President Tinubu was issued or Chicago where he went to school. She has only lived in Tennessee, Texas, and Louisiana.
Look, Tinubu’s life is wrapped in multiple layers of mind-bogglingly intricate fraud, but you can’t peel off these layers of fraud with fraud. You do it with the truth.
And Atiku can actually inflict fatal moral wounds on Tinubu and potentially immobilize him in 2027 if he pursues the leads that came out from his “fishing expedition” in Chicago. A low-hanging fruit is Tinubu’s obviously fraudulent secondary school attendance claim.
He can write to Cambridge University to verify the GCE A-level result that Tinubu presented to Southwest College. If it turns out that it’s fake or belongs to someone else, he can cause Daley College to rescind his associate degree. If his associate degree is rescinded, his bachelor’s degree from Chicago State University will automatically follow. With no qualifications to present to INEC to prove that he has at least the equivalent of a secondary school certificate, he’d be legally ineligible to run again.
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On June 12, 2023, President Bola Tinubu signed the Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Bill into law. His team is selling his action as a Democracy Day gift to the Nigerian people. The new president is somehow managing the optics, but this has more questions to answer. At the end of my analysis today, we will conclude if it will let the poor breath or if it is out to suffocate them.
Let me premise this conversation by saying I was always worried anytime Tinubu said, during the presidential campaign, that students will easily get loans to fund their education. Every time I heard it, it always sounded to me like, “education will become very expensive, and you’ll get loans to pay for that expense”.
History teaches that former head of state, Yakubu Gowon, introduced federal student loans in the 1970s with a payment period of 20 years. The decree gave students funds for their tuition, dues, and other expenses approved by their schools. In a few years after that, the government began to push for “cost-reflective tuition,” which culminated in the Ali Must Go protest of 1978 over increased tuition. This is the same path the Tinubu government is following as stated in the party’s manifesto.
Make no mistake, I believe education is expensive, and that someone has to pay for it — but I’m not decided if that someone should be government or the student.
Let’s answer some quick questions about the new Act: Where will the funds come from? What are our thoughts on the requirements? Should it be interest-free loans? How does this compare to other countries? Should private university students have access?
Where will the funds come from?
As you may already know, the Act recommends that 1% of revenue by Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and 1% of profits on oil and mineral accrue to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which is the new fund housed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to run the show.
Based on the historic annual revenue of these agencies, the fund should be starting out with about N200 billion — which is likely to increase year-on-year. If this was based on 2021 figure, FIRS will have given N101 billion, which was 1% of its revenue for the year to the fund. Customs would have given N22.4 billion, NNPC will cough N6.74 billion, and the list goes on.
The funds will come. In fact, at over N200 billion in revenue per annum from these agencies, the fund can pay for two million students (at N100,000 per year).
Requirements are not fine? Getting a loan in Nigeria is historically a chore. Banks were known for asking for a little too much — from your father’s property to your mother’s first car, and so on. That changed a little with the salary account lending system — but that limited how much people could lend. So it’s not a surprise that Nigerians have mixed feelings about this Student Loan Act.
According to the Act, your family income must be less than N500,000 per year and you need two guarantors: a civil servant with 12 or more years in the service and a lawyer who is at least 10 years post-call. Some think this is easy, while others think it’s a lot. I have heard people say “My tuition is only 21,000, why do I need my entire village to know I want to take a N21,000 loan?”
Others have said, it’s so easy. This is an interest-free loan. My wife believes businesses will spring forth from this; businesses that pool lawyers and civil servants to stand as guarantors for students taking the loan and paying a certain amount to the business. The Act does not forbid that (yet).
Unlike Gowon, Tinubu’s loans only cover tuition According to the Act, the loans cover only tuition and are paid directly to the universities. It does not cover accommodation and living expenses. I studied at the University of Ibadan, and while I was there, my tuition was about N18,500, while my accommodation cost N14,000. Living expenses ran from N5,000 to N20,000 a month throughout my six years at the university (ASUU extended my stay).
This means my expense per annum would be N18,500 + N14,000 + 10,000 x 12 months (assuming I lived on N10,000 a month). This would total N152,500 — but the government will only loan me N18,500. That’s less than 13 percent of what I actually need.
These are parts of the Act that need reconsideration in the execution guidelines. Other countries, like the US and the UK, have it differently. To encourage female students, India has loan terms with more incentives for young ladies.
Should private universities be involved? Currently, the loans cover Universities, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education, and Vocational Schools established by the federal government and state governments. This effectively excludes private universities.
The entire idea of student loans started as financial aid in the 1600s at a private university in the United States — this was Harvard University. Yes, Harvard and in fact, most top universities in the US are private universities. There are fewer private universities in the UK, but both countries offer government-backed student loans to private universities.
I believe private universities should be included — but maybe it’s too early in the day to ask for that. Many private university students already take loans for their fees, imagine how excited they’d be to get interest-free loans.
Repayment problems According to the Act, Nigerians who take student loans are expected to start paying two years after completing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). The education loan fund is mandated to work with the student and their employers to deduct the funds at the source — the PAYE way.
This makes sense but could make even more sense. The Act says employers shall deduct 10% of salary, which means it does not take time into consideration. Let me explain. If my total student loan was N200,000 upon graduation, and my first salary is N100,000 a month, the education fund will take N10,000 every month for 20 months, and I’d be debt free.
A lot of Nigerians will culturally like that because we don’t like debt. However, if we are trying to build a society where credit history matters, I’d recommend we do it differently. Let’s have options. I’m earning N100,000, can I pay N1,000 a month? I’d be done paying my debt in about eight years without feeling a pinch (Gowon’s loans gave 20 years for repayment). Or can I decide I want to feel the pinch and pay off the N200,000 in four months?
Jail term if you can’t pay back? The Act is silent on Nigerians who do not get a job two years after NYSC but prescribes a two-year jail term for loan defaulters. If I do not get a job after two years, will I be considered a defaulter?
Will I go to jail for being unemployed? The answers are likely no, but implementation guidelines need to be clear on this.
What does this mean for you? Conclusively, the Loan Act means tuition fees will no longer be an excuse for Nigerian students not to get higher education. It also means more targeted funding for employable education, and some national debt burden to repay in the future — if not properly managed.
For context, the US federal student loans went from $0 to $1.7 trillion in 64 years. This is unlikely to happen to us, majorly because there are no compound interests to pay on the debt. But we must be conscious and not let this happen to us.
Student loans should help the poor and not become the government’s first step to higher fees in higher education.
After the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the former governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the All-Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu as the Nigerian president-elect, ethnic tension and rivalry ensued between supporters of the presidential candidates.
This anxiety has been more palpable and evident in the home state of Tinubu, where his party lost the presidential election to the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, who is an Igbo from Anambra State.
The aftermath of the election has triggered the latent ethnic rivalries between the Yorubas – largely aborigines or relatives to natives of the space – and their Igbos neighbours – who are mostly from the South-East, in what could be considered a supremacy tussle over the political control of Lagos State.
In this fairly volatile situation, many of the Yorubas appear to want the incumbent governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu to be reelected as governor of the State, while a seeming majority of the Igbos are eager to replace him with the candidate of the Labour Party in Lagos, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, whose mother and wife are Igbos, despite his father being Yoruba.
It was in the thick of these ethnic and political tensions that the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu released a video of a visit to his house by the President-Elect, Asiwaju Tinubu in Lagos.
In an Instagram post through which this video has been disseminated, Elumelu writes: “Last (Tuesday) night, I was honoured to receive the Nigerian President-elect at my home. We discussed ways in which the incoming administration must empower and support our immensely talented Nigerian youth. We have so much young potential to unleash.”
The business mogul, who is also the Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) and the Transcorp Group, is known for flaunting his celebrity status with powerful connections. Elumelu has created a niche for himself and a strong social media presence, through which he exhibits good-natured humour and sartorial sophistication to his teeming trans-generational followers.
With his pan-African Tony Elumelu Foundation, the banker operates a business model he describes as Africapitalism, which is anchored on building a critical mass of young entrepreneurs to promote social and economic wealth, while also developing the communities in which businesses operate. Importantly, it is hinged on a humanitarian and philanthropic approach in which the general welfare is prioritised, as profits are sought and made towards doing good to humanity.
“…it is not difficult to see that the video is deliberate and designed to achieve some strategic purpose on the delicate relationship between politics and business. Rather than an ambush marketing communication tool, whereby a promoter “capitalises” on an event to position for maximum exposure, while gaining advantage over his or her competitors, the video is essentially a publicity stunt…”
Therefore, the release of the video at a time that ethnocentric acrimonies have been brewing among two major ethnic nationalities in the country, is from all indications a deliberate communication plot.
Rather than considering the video released from an ambush marketing perspective, it is more of a publicity stunt that has elements of public relations (PR) messaging about the mutual relationship between entrepreneurs in business and politicians in government.
The relationship between the people in business and those governments can be understood through a classic distinction between the politics of support and the politics of power. While the politics of support is concerned with rallying to secure an electoral majority that leads to winning and which can be funded by people in business, the politics of power relates to implementing programmes that can ultimately benefit the people in business.
The video is very clear and considerate of the current mood in the nation, about the aftermath of the presidential election. It starts with Elumelu welcoming Tinubu to his home and referring to him as: “This man with 10 lives. The Last man standing and strong man.” Tinubu quickly and jokingly replies by saying: “I am still standing.”
The banker then turns to his left, where Seyi, Tinubu’s son, is and jokes that that the younger fellow is wearing the same kind of dress as his father. He then adds: “Seyi you must be very proud of your father as he is proud of you. You are a good man, Seyi.”
While exchanging pleasantries in the sitting room, Elumelu introduces Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu to Tinubu: “This is the CEO of Tony Elumelu Foundation. She is in charge of the Foundation. So, if you need a young female Minister to come and change the women focus, I can loan her to you….”
Critics who attack Elumelu for hosting the President-Elect fail to realise that Elumelu is not an Igbo from the South-East but one from the South-South state of Delta. An average Delta Igbo is likely to be found and excelling in the public service, academia or in the business world, rather than in partisan politics. The likes of Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Jim Ovia, Louis Edozie, and Godwin Emefiele, among others, from Delta State would rather mind their businesses than engage in partisan politics, although as in most situations, there will always be exceptions.
As mentioned earlier, it is not difficult to see that the video is deliberate and designed to achieve some strategic purpose on the delicate relationship between politics and business. Rather than an ambush marketing communication tool, whereby a promoter “capitalises” on an event to position for maximum exposure, while gaining advantage over his or her competitors, the video is essentially a publicity stunt designed to attract the public’s attention to the salient message of the sponsor or promoter.
The video may possibly reawaken warring parties to the fact that after the election, life must go on, and we might as well not destroy relationships necessary for our progress due to surges of emotional connection with identity, as this past presidential election seems to have provoked in many.
The video deflects the attention of citizens from the nascent ethnic acrimony in the country and reinforces the fact that serious business people and politicians are not concerned about ethnic chauvinism and religious bigotry. Profiting making and service to humanity are their major priorities.
The video may possibly reawaken warring parties to the fact that after the election, life must go on, and we might as well not destroy relationships necessary for our progress due to surges of emotional connection with identity, as this past presidential election seems to have provoked in many.
More importantly, we all need to focus more on establishing and sustaining relationships built on trust, confidence and harmony towards a better, peaceful and prosperous society.
Meanwhile, some of the takeaways from the video is the fact that Tinubu is truly a Lagos City Boy who is simple, connected to his various constituencies and pragmatic, as evident in his paying a personal visit to worthy allies, despite what some might think are the sectional sentiments or ethnic and religious backgrounds of his host.
It also signifies Tinubu’s inclination to partner with those who can add concrete values towards his lofty aspiration of youth empowerment, considering the records of the Elumelu Foundation in this regard. It buttresses the fact that Tinubu’s allies are across Nigeria and in every sector, as major players who have supported his campaign, both morally and financially.
The Tinubu-Elumelu video has succeeded in its publicity endeavour by staging a newsworthy event that has attracted public attention. By staging the event in his house, the promoter (Elumelu) has also successfully exercised firm control over what the media could report.
In a nutshell, as a PR practitioner, I can say that the Elumelu’s video has curated the major elements of effective publicity exploits, including having great news value, coupled with video and sound bite opportunities choroegraphed primarily for media exposure. In addition, it has gained prominence, and human interest to embody the features of effective public relations, which include reputation management, media (control) management and possibly crisis management, in the very subtle way it explores the soft power of relationships to de-fuse ongoing political situations.
I can see Tinubu hitting the ground running after May 29.
Yushau A. Shuaib is the author of Award-Winning Crisis Communication Strategies and An Encounter with the Spymaster http://www.YAShuaib.com yashuaib@yahoo.com
HOW THE TRANSPORTATION CHALLENGES HAS BEEN A MAJOR EFFECT ON THE STUDENTS OF UNILORIN
BY: ISHOWO , Ayomide Malik 08165511716 .
It’s not longer news that the University of llorin student’s have to queue before coming in and getting out of school, in which is regarded as a major challenge the students in the institution are facing at the moment.
However, we all understand that the management have been trying their best, even though their best is not the best to restrain the stress of the student. But to no satisfactory. Moreover, the Students’ Union also under the leadership of the President “Faaji” (FTB) had also been trying it’s best to make some necessary consultations and work in hand with the school management to reduce the issue among the students. But unfortunately, the transportation is becoming worse as the number of students in the institution kept on increasing every year. May Almighty God intervene.
I have been in the institution since 2021, and since my begining and my inception to the institution I have evidently been witnessing the repugnant situation, most especially from the school “Main Park” down to the “Motion Ground” Area. It’s however even very unfortunate that those that are not even going to “Tanke Oke-Odo” way are even witnessing this stressful state and condition, in which is regarded as an horrible state. Obviously let me say about 70% or 75% percentage of those that remain stagnant on the enraging queue are residing in Tanke, Oke Odo area, so why still now affecting those that are going to “Post-Office ” And “Taiwo” route that didnt suppose to be affected since the major population of the students is not based on those areas and besides they are not going to the same destination?
Though, the School General hostel have now been made available to those who desire to live in it. But still the population of those staying outside campus is still greater and it surpasses those living on campus. I was extremely appalled when I heard from a female friend that all school private hostels including Kikelomo Runsewe, Zapel, Arafims and Pyramid that has quite a number of rooms and spacious environments,structures and buildings have also all been occupied by students. I was horrified when I heard this for the first time. Infact I can boldly say this should be the first time such thing would happen on campus as it has never happened before.
During my 100l days in Unilorin, I also lived in a Private hostel(Multipurpose Cooperative Hostel) along the Student’s Union Building way, but didn’t enjoy my stay in the environment, so I decided to change the hostel environment to a place where I will enjoy myself mentally, spiritually and even emotionally. They were certain period of times when I come from home on a daily basis, even up till now occasionally I do come all the way from home and I also face the transportation challenge from Airport till I get into School which is regarded as an horrible experience. I majorly enter the “Shuttle” Bus Otherwise known as Korope by the Unilorin Students thats going directly from Post Office, so they are always two sets of vehicles I will enter before getting to the campus, but the experience was a very bad one indeed. But I had no choice.
My candid advice to the school management and the student’s union at large is for them to strive to atleast make the creation of another school park within the campus. As it might reduce the crisis of transportation within the students and outsiders.
Then to those who have bicycles and cars among the students should use it to aid the stress of their colleagues by taking them a lift to atleast reduce the challenges they will encounter before getting to their various destinations.
However, I have been to several Private hostels on campus, be it the female hostels and even the male hostels, I can evidently see how it is, and it is not longer a new edifice on campus to majority of the students. This is obviously because they are hostels you must apparently know on campus. Even if you are new on campus you will certainly still know Arafims 1,even if all you don’t know other hostels on campus. However the creation of those private hostels as relatively reduced the burden of stress on some students regarding the transportation challenges in the institution.
By: ISHOWO, Malik A. 08165511716 Ishowomk2004@gmail.com.
Ishowo is a student, learner, political and media enthusiast based in Ilorin, Kwara State.
END OF THE YEAR MESSAGE TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS 2022.
From: Ishowo Malik A. 31/12/2022.
First and foremost, I thank Almighty God for seeing us through the successful completion of this year. Although this year was rough and tough, but to God be the Glory we scale through the year tremendously.
The year 2022 is a year I will however regard as an unforgettable year. It was one of the year things became very difficult in Nigeria. Similarly, It was the year ASUU strike also came on board, and all higher institutions’ students who are in federal universities that the horrible strike affected had to sit at home till it’s being called off anyhow. It was indeed a situation we all won’t forget in our lifetime.
Evidently, all what I wish for my friends and family is their happiness, greater heights and prosperity. New Year can be a great time to let them know what we wish for them and their families. In addition, new year is seen to be a fantastic and an auspicious occasion to end the holiday season with our ebullient friends and family. So new year has to be celebrated colourfully and remarkably.
Let me start by appreciating those who have significantly shaped my life ranging from my resilient dad and mum, Mr & Mrs Ishowo-Isiaka Adebayo, who out of their tight schedule have always been of support even at critical times. I really appreciate your tremendous effort. May God bless you both.
I would also like to thank my wonderful and amiable brothers, Tosin, Fawaz, Khalid that have always been there for me with their precious care, support, true love and affection. I want to say thank you all for the love.
Also to my very close friend and ally, Adeyinka, I really appreciate you for all you have done from the beginning of the year till this prestigious moment. You have, however, been an amazing friend to me.
And to my other friends, most especially, Kemi. I really appreciate every affection you showed me within the short period we knew each other. May you continue to soar higher to greater heights!
I’m also grateful to the Student’s Union president, University of Ilorin 2021/2022, Comr. Faaji Tobiloba, who is also my political mentor, wishing him a prosperous new year in advance. I say thank you for all your political advice and mentorship. May God continue to bless your ways. Thanks goes to all my amazing friends and associates whose names I cannot mention here, including the entire bonafide members of Ishowo Dynasty. May Almighty God in His infinite mercy move every one of us higher beyond our individual expectations.
To my friends who have gone, May Almighty God forgive their transgressions and sins. May bigger and greater doors open for them beyond our own comprehension wherever they are.
I wish everyone of us a happy celebration. May Almighty God make us celebrate many more of the occasion in sound health and greater prosperity. And also as the year 2023 is knocking at the door, may we never experience again all the sad and turbulent times we have gone through in the passing year. A loud amen.
Happy new year to all families and friends. Wishing you very many happy returns. Congratulations to everyone.
The internet has influenced, and is still influencing the way society communicates in many different ways. The rise of the internet has caused people to communicate differently in areas never dreamed of before the internet came into existence. Education has been revolutionized through the world of the “Information Super Highway”. Medicine has also seen reform as the internet improves research and communication. Individuals are starting businesses from scratch, while others are selling household items for extra cash. This internet “typhoon” sweeping the globe has become a way of life for many individuals all across the globe including here in Nigeria.
Education has seen a recent revolution in the way it operates and the way it does. The ease of use of the internet allowed for the young students to locate the information and materials with ease. The addition of images and several animations as well also enticed, foster the students and made it an enjoyable and intriguing experience that will never be forgotten in their memory. However, through the internet, topic that would be otherwise dull, tedious and boring to young students became an exciting adventure. The internet can make learning so much more exciting, interesting, engaging, and even alive.
However today the internet offers a vast amount of opportunity for many schools. More and more we can see the revolution of education happening. Also, the internet has changed the way students can learn and even their lifestyle modifications. In recent years, education has jumped from the classroom into online forums and chat rooms as well.
New systems, called Virtual Schools allows students who are unable to attend class in person, or aren’t offered the program in their area to take accredited courses online. Instead of a teacher lecturing the students, they rather make use of bulletin systems, called forums, to communicate with their students. Students are now given assignments, quizzes, and tests online in some advanced schools, even in Nigeria.
The Internet generally had moved around the world beyond our thinking. Even at the moment internet is the one used to get involved into online businesses as Forextrading, BTC,Monidex , Bismart and Co. Without the internet, this online businesses might not function at all or it should not even be in existence.
ISHOWOIS A STUDENT, LEARNER, POLITICAL AND MEDIA ENTHUSIAST AND A WRITER BASED IN ILORIN.
PREAMBLE Amidst the consistent tussle between the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the Federal Government over the years, especially with the widespread criticism of the former’s approach in furthering its grievances during trade dispute, the Congress of University Academics, CONUA is offering itself up as a messiah, and a worthy competitor in place of the former.
CONUA
On August 22, 2022, a statement credited to Dr. Niyi Sunmonu, the National coordinator of the body, published on Vanguard news page, advocated the need for competition in Academic Unionism, indicating that the presence of competition with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) would reduce the incessant strike actions in the University academic system. He further argued that the monopoly of decision making enjoyed by ASUU in trade dispute negotiations would also be reduced drastically. The sweetener in the new body’s proposal is the mouth watering promises to students and the academic populace never to go on strike as much as the Academic Staff Union of Universities-ASUU. For every student this is a no brainer! A possible end to the stop-start academic woes!.
In the midst of this ensuing rivalry, the Minister of State for Labour, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN, has also endorsed the Congress of University Academics, CONUA, asserting that the body had met all the requirements of a trade union and due for registration. Nevertheless, as of the time of writing this work, CONUA remains an unregistered competitor, and a prospect to fancy in the nearest future.
Whether CONUA stand the chance of being registered or not, also remains something to consider in the light of the Trade Union Act which is the sui generis statute in this instance.
Pending the registration of CONUA, this work therefore looks to discuss the prospect of CONUA’s registration as an Academic Union vis-a-vis a trade union, respect to the provisions of the Trade Union Act 1973, CAP. T14, Laws of Federation of Nigeria, 2004. Discussions on the de-registeration of ASUU by the Federal Government in the current trade dispute will also be anchored in the latter part of this write up.
TRADE UNION ACT 1973 AND THE REGISTRATION OF CONUA The Trade Union Act 1973 is the sui generis statute in relations to the administration of Trade Unions within the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Its provisions are salient to the discourse in this work as they lay down principles and procedures governing both the registration of a trade union as well as the dissolution of a trade Union. In determining the eligibility of CONUA as a trade Union in Nigeria, it is sacrosanct that all the criteria in this Act are complied with in details. In fact, a union which fails to meet up with these criteria but gets registered in default, will have such registration cancelled once such defect is established by the Registrar of Trade Unions in S.7(1)(c) Trade Union Act 1973. More importantly, a body not registered as a trade Union, but nevertheless, operates as such would be guilty of an offence against the Act as provided by S. 2(3)(b).
To start with, in examining the provision of the Trade Union Act on Trade Union registration, a Trade Union is defined for short, in s.1(1) of the Act, as “any combination of workers or employers, whether temporary or permanent, the purpose of which is to regulate the terms and condition of the employment”. Aside for the purpose of regulating employment conditions, a body of employee or employers formed for the purpose of restraint of trade, or without definite benefit or entitlements to its members will still suffice as a Trade Union within the provision of this act, and can not for such reasons alone be deemed unlawful.
Furthermore, employers and employees in both private and public workplaces can form or be a member of a trade union. Just as there are employee’s trade Union, the Trade Union Act also recognizes the existence of an employers’ trade Union.
Nevertheless, it is important to note that the right to be a member of a trade Union are alienable. They are are not hard, fast or absolute. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (amended 2011) on Freedom of Association, S. 40, this right can be waived by contractual agreement in an employment contract or by the operation of law. In relation to contractual restriction, workers in a particular firm may by contractual agreement, be restrained from forming, or becoming a member of a Trade Union for the duration of such employment. More also, the specific provisions of Section 11, Trade Union Act 1973, prohibits members of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Nigerian Police force, Custom service, Immigration, Prison Service, Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian Telecommunication Limited, members of any Federal or State parastatals bearing arms, and other bodies as deemed fit from time to time by the Minister of Labour, by operation of law, from joining in the formation of a trade Union. Nevertheless, members of these bodies are permitted to form Joint Consultative Committees in subsection 2 of the afore cited provision to represent their interest.
In the registration of a Trade Union, the first procedure provided for by the Trade Union Act is an application to the Registrar of Trade Unions in S.3 of the Act. The application in this instance, must be filed via the prescribed means in the Act, and must be supported by at least fifty (50) members for worker’s trade Union, and at least two (2) members for an employer Trade Union. Also, such application must be accompanied by the proposed name of the union, two copies of the Union rules, Office address of the Union, as well as the personal information of all members who signed the application. For the application to be correctly filed, it is important that members of the union, whose name are on the assent list, are not less than the age of 16 which is the allowable age for a trade union membership as in section 20 of the Act, or an ex-convict yet to elapse the five years probation period as in Section 13 of the Act.
After the application of a trade Union has been successfully filed, and received by the Registrar of the Trade Union, the Registrar shall proceed to publish a notice of such application in the Federal Gazette. On publication of such notice, a period of objection from members of the public concerning the registration of the proposed trade Union, shall be opened for a duration of three months, including the date in which the Gazette was published. During this period of objection, if it is brought to the attention of the Minister, or the Registrar, that another Trade Union is in existence, and sufficiently represents the interest of the class of people seeking the formation of the proposed trade Union, such that there is no need for a duplicity of Union for such class of persons, it will serve as a valid ground to deny the registration of the proposed trade Union. This is backed by S.5(4) of the Act, which expressly provides that “The Registrar shall not register a trade Union, if it appears to him, that any existing trade Union, is sufficiently representative of the interest of the class of persons whose interest the union (proposed union) intend to represents”. Similarly, S.3(2) of the Act also provides that, “…no trade Union shall be registered to represent workers or employers in a place where there already exist a trade Union”.
In the situation under review, CONUA is an employee’s trade Union, intended to represent the interest of Academic Staffs in the Nigerian Universities. ASUU, the other end of the coin, and the registered Trade Union in this instance, also represents the interest of Academic Staff of Universities as a trade Union in Nigerian Universities. Following the provision of the law espoused in the previous paragraph therefore, CONUA is a trade union seeking registration to represent the interest of a class of persons already represented by ASUU, and regardless of their glittering intentions, can not be registered as a Trade Union in coexistence with the latter. It is pertinent to note that, the provisions of the Trade Union Act on this subject is non-negotiable. It is absolute, and can not be varied. In the case of ACHINEKU V ISHAGBA 1988 4 NWLR Pt. 89 411, the court held that where the word “Shall” is used in a legislation, it is a word of command, which must be given a compulsory meaning. Therefore, the writer submits that not even the assertion or media comment credited to the Learned silk, and the Minister of State for Labour can waive this condition. If CONUA is to be registered successfully, ASUU must either be de-registered or merged with CONUA. Also, provided the former option is been explored by the Federal Government to successfully register CONUA, the Trade Dispute Act must also be followed.
TRADE UNION ACT 1973 AND THE DE-REGISTRATION OF ASUU The existence and continuity of a trade Union is not without limitations. A Trade Union may be de-registered by the Registrar, if it appears to him as provided in S.7 of the Act, that such Trade Union’s registration ab initio was induced by fraud, that such union furthers unlawful objectives, that such union has contravened any provision of the Act, that without prejudice to s.1 of the Act, such Union does not regulate terms and conditions of employment, or that such Union has ceased to function or exist.
Where the Registrar proposes to cancel the registration of a Trade Union, he shall send a notice to the office of such Union, stating the reasons, or grounds for such cancellation. Thereafter, he shall specify a date not less than two months after the date of notice, as a grace period for the Union to satisfy him otherwise on such cancellation. Where the grounds for the cancellation of the Union still exist without any change after the grace period, the Registrar may proceed to cancel the registration of the Union within thirty (30) days after the expiration of the grace period. The thirty days period shall also be the limitation period for the filing of an appeal by the Trade Union at the National Industrial Court.
In relation to the situation under review, the dissolution of ASUU, it is left to be seen if any of the union’s action in the recent tussle, makes its registration susceptible to cancellation under this Act. In an article published on NigeriaLawyer, dated August 28, 2022, the learned silk, and renowned human right advocate, Femi Falana SAN, rightly condemned and criticized the notion of banning ASUU for the prolonged industrial action, citing the fundamental human right of individuals who constitute the Union in Chapter IV of the CFRN 1999 as sacred. However, this writer believes the contravention of S.18(1)(a) of the Trade Dispute Act 1976 in the furtherance of the Union’s industrial action, could bring it in cross-default of S.31(6)(d) of the Trade Union Act, 1973 and by implication s.7(c) Trade Union Act 1973 which is a valid ground for the cancellation of a Trade union. Nevertheless, this line of argument could be one to flourish in a moot court, since the implication asserted is seemingly still out of court, or could be an intellectual argument to look forward to if the cancellation of ASUU becomes a subject of litigation at the National Industrial Court.
In summation, the writer submits that if the cancellation of ASUU is to be considered by the Federal Government, strict adherence must be given to the guidelines in the Trade Union Act 1973, since the fundamental human right of the individuals are also in question. In the words of Ayo Irikefe CJN, Olaniyan v University of Lagos (1986) 4 NWLR (Pt 34) 162 at 173. (as he then was), “…constitutionally entrenched provisions, particularly those safeguarding individual rights should not, save in a fascist system, be lightly trampled upon.”
CONCLUSION Considering the provisions of the Trade Union Act 1973, especially its guidelines on the registration of a Trade Union in Nigeria, espoused in the preceding part of this work, the writer on the point of law submits that, CONUA can not be registered as a trade Union in Nigeria at the moment. ASUU by law have covered the field on the object of Unionism for Academic staff in Universities which can not be varied by CONUA. Therefore, the writer recommends, provided CONUA is reluctant on being registered as a Trade Union, that they merge with ASUU, or await the cancellation of ASUU’s registration in accordance with the Trade Union Act, 1973. In the meantime, students might have to endure whatever menace attached with ASUU, while hoping CONUA get the chance to be the saviour it portrays itself to be someday.
About the Writer:
Olatunde Olayinka Damilola is a student of Law at Adekunle Ajasin University and a researcher/content writer at SAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE. E-mail: Teeclaziq@gmail.com Phone number: +2349060557789 (WhatsApp number)
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