UNILORIN 49: Finally at Ease

Sam Egwu, Minister of Education

After eight tortous year, the Supreme Court finally reinstates 49 lecturers sacked by the University of Ilorin in 2001
By Bayo Bernard
For eight turtous years, 49 lecturers of the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, sacked by the institution’s authority sought for justice like shepherds would their lost sheep. In the desperate means to have their sack reversed, they employed all manners of tactics, including but not limited to lobby, blackmail, and atimes their colleagues in the Ivory towers, under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), fought a somewhat proxy war on their behalf. ASUU in the past had embarked on strike to have the sacked academics recalled, but all these efforts failed. However, after much ado, respite finally came the lecturers way penultimate Friday, June 12, when the nation’s apex court, the Supreme court, ruled that the lecturers were unjustly sacked.
The lecturers were thrown out of jobs in 2001 by the then Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Oba Abdurahman. Their ‘sin’ was that they participated in a national strike called by ASUU’s national executive that year. For this, their appointments were terminated on May 15, 2001.
Delivering judgement on the case by five of the sacked lecturers, the apex court said that the lecturers appointments were unjustly terminated.
In a judgement read by Justice Folashade Adekeye, the Supreme Court set aside the judgement of the Court of Appeal which upheld the termination of the lecturers’ appointment. The Court of Appeal had in a split decision of two-to-one by Justice M.S Muntaka-Comassie and Tijani Abubakar, upheld the argument of the institution and held that the lower court which in 2005 voided the sack, lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case. But Justice Adekeye gave a dissenting judgement and upheld the verdict of the lower court.
Also, the apex court granted all the prayers sought by the five lecturers and ordered their immediate reinstatement to their former positions. It also directed that all the salaries and allowances of the appellants be paid to them, from the date of their sack in 2001 till the date they are restored to their positions.
Though the victory was not got ten on a platter of gold, nonetheless it was received with mixed feelings. The sacked 49 academic staff, among whom are nine professors, had lost three of their colleagues in the long, turtous struggle to have them reinstated. Indeed, despite the judgement of the Supreme court ordering the reinstatement of five out of the 49 lecturers, they may have little to cheer about the victory because of the demise of their colleagues.
The demised academic staff who did not live to savour the sweet victory are Professors Anthony Ehizua Annor, E.E. Adedgbija and Dr. Samuel Ajayi.
According to a source close to the families of the deceased and who spoke with The Source last week, the three lecturers died as a result of the effect of the sack.
A relation of late Professor Annor told The Source that the deceased academic was hail and hearty throughout his stewardship at the university and only developed the terminal illness that took his life when efforts to get him reinstated were becoming frustrating. “You can check his medical records at the university, he was a strongman and very hardworking,” the source, who craved anonymity, told The Source last week. Annor, a foremost geologist died shortly after the Court of Appeal delivered its judgement, which upheld the dismissal of the lecturers in 2006.
Oblivious that death was lurking in the corner, Professor Annor had attended the burial of Ajayi, a scientist in 2005 in Mopa, Kogi State. Professor Adegbija, who is also a native of Kogi State and a Professor of Linguistics died in 2005, shortly after the High Court ruling that held that the 49 academics were wrongly dismissed.
Dr. Afolayan, one of the sacked lecturers, told The Source during an interview last week that it was sad that their three colleagues, did not live long enough to enjoy the fruits of the Supreme Court judgement. He said they received the judgement with mixed feelings because of their colleagues who lost their lives during the struggle.
“Praise be to God. It is not easy, but we thank God that after long suffering, victory has finally come our ways,” he said.
On the effect of the struggle on their families, especially those of the deceased, Afolayan said it was a harrowing experience. “The effects on our families have been very grave. In fact, the High Court said this in its judgement in 2005. But I pray that God will give the families of our deceased colleagues the strength to bear the loss,” Afolayan said.
Before respite finally came the way of the lecturers last week, there had been several interventions and interface by prominent Nigerians to have the issue resolved in favour of the lecturers. In fact, the issue has been one of the cardinal demands of ASUU for several years.
Last month, on May 19, the union embarked on a two-week strike to press home their demands, among which was the re-instatement of the 49 lecturers. The National Executive Council (NEC) of ASUU had at its last meeting held on January 26-27, 2009, at the Anambra State University, Uli, resolved that if by Friday, February 15, 2009, there was no satisfactory progress towards reinstating the “UNILORIN 49” as promised by President Umaru Yar’Adua, who is the visitor to the university, the union would embark on strike.
Since 2001, ASUU had put its case before several competent bodies, which established that the sack of the “UNILORIN 49” was unlawful and recommended their recall. The termination of the lecturers’ appointment was said to be in violation of the non-victimistion clause as contained in June 30, 2001 Agreement between the Federal Government and ASUU.
Apart from the AGN – ASUU implementation committee of 2001 which established that the affected staff were at the time of termination actually on national strike directed by the NEC of ASUU, other bodies that trouble shot in the saga, at various times said that the 49 lecturers were illegally given the boot.
The Federal Government committee on politically victimised students and lecturers (2001), also recommended the reinstatement of the 49, having established that they were sacked for political reasons.
In 2003, the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council, in its own assessment recommended that the sack be reversed, because according in their estimation, the institution’s authorities did not consider the Non-Victimisation Agreement before the lecturers were sacked.
Several other bodies also held the same view that the “UNILORIN 49” saga had political undertone. These include the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the National Association of Parents and Teachers Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN).
Part of the reason why the issue lingered for so long was perhaps because of the personalities involved in the saga. The former Vice Chancellor, Professor Abdurahman, who terminated the lecturers’ appointment was believed to have done so with the tacit support of the powerful Ilorin emirate. This reason, according to sources, was because most of the affected staff were not from the powerful Muslim community in the state.
In fact, sources said it was the “Powerful Emirate” that prevailed on former President Obasanjo that the sacked lecturers should not be allowed to return to the university. Ex-President Obasanjo at the zenith of the crisis in 2006 had offered the 49 lecturers appointment in other universities across the country, but majority of the sacked academic turned the offer down.
According to the sources, Obasanjo was said to have had a genuine desire to resolve the matter because most of the 49 lecturers are Yoruba. However, the resolution of the imbroglio was put in abeyance during his tenure after one of the sacked lecturers, during a reconciliation meeting with the former President, banged on the table at the Presidential Villa. Obasanjo had plainly told the lecturers that he couldn’t take such an “insult.” The former President thereafter walked out on the ASUU team.
On his own, President Yar’Adua’s immediate wish, as he took office on May 29, 2007, is to resolve the lingering crisis. Four months after he assumed office, however, on September 12, 2007, his administration offered to revisit the sack and thus pledged to recall the lecturers. But the President was to be caught in his own rule of law mantra as he was told by his legal team that his intervention would be subjudice as the matter was already before the court.
Inspite of the apex court’s ruling, it appears it is not uhuru yet as the 44 remaining lecturers are still in court to ask the Supreme Court to determine whether they can enjoy the fruits of the apex court’s judgement.
Commenting on this, president, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), said the appeal filed by the 44 lecturers is just a procedural one as the apex court’s judgement is a blanket cover for all the sacked staff.
“As the court is bound by its own decision, we expect the pending case involving the other 44 affected lectures to go the same way, as the facts and circumstances are the same,” Akerelolu said.
The Supreme Court has fixed September 28 for the hearing of the substantive appeal of the 44 lecturers.