Re: ASUU vs FG: A national tragedy

....In fact trying right now to appeal to both sides in this great conflict ruining our nation’s future is worse than talking to a wall; it amounts to talking to two walls at the same time.......Dele Sobowale (Vangard, September 27, 2009)

The strike is being sustained by the inaction of FGN. We have a government that failed to think up a solution to a problem. Without a solution, we wait on God and pray. Remmber we are very religious. Dele, you did not offer any opinion on the way forward. The wall you face is fragile and can collapse with the sound of sweet music. The melodious voice of reason transcends the seemingly impevious wall of bigotry and sophism. Sing to the wall in the tone of a flute and you will hear the echo. ASUU and FGN may come to the dancing floor and we shall see the hostile hug of friendly enemies. We are waiting to give a begrudging standing ovation.

FGN and Governor Oshiomhole, the mediator

Recently, Governor Oshiomhole visited the Minister of Education, Dr Sam Egwu to mediate on the ASUU labour conflict with FGN, proposing a win-win!

I hope the mediator understands a win-win situation.

Egwu thinks: I am in charge and I have the power. Hang on until I defeat you.
ASUU thinks: This is our country and in our constituency, we call the shots. Not Egwu.

This is a time bomb for our demoncrazy or democracy. We wait to see the outcome. Any government that cannot generate relevance from consensus-building mechanisms is planning the beginning of its end. That is the law of politics except it employs dictatorial instincts of the power-driven maverick, which can only be transitory in effect.
Our hope lies in a government that knows the tenets of democracy, the rule of law and the proper use of state power on behalf of the people.

Acting for the people means speaking to ASUU until a consensus is reached (ie democracy) , finding ASUU to be in breech of the law (ie using the court properly) and not using state power to weaken a democratic institution like ASUU (ie against the people). Let them analyse the options. This strike has the destiny of making or unmaking a political ruling class that Nigerians have been thinking about its future.

The python and the hunter story

Nobody knows how the python basks in the sun
Nobody dares to see how the gaping mouth swallows
The hunter’s meat is dry
Dried enough to fill the mouth
Tough enough to defy the teeth
Though the barking canines can grab
They cannot chew a morsel
Tell ASUU, we see no python
Tell Mr President
The hunter is dead
Let’s find a place to meet and tell our stories

ASUU Vs FGN

ASUU strike has been on for more than two months and FGN has been watching with "no-work-no-pay" threat. That's no solution to the problem on the ground. This is a test of our democracy. Let's have a win-win situation and get over this logjam. Is it a wait-and-see situation? If we cannot resolve this as giants of African politics, we need to invite experts and consultants on conflict resolution. We can find them in Nigeria like we found Sanusi. Without this approach, FGN is risking loss of confidence and political suicide especially with an attempt to cripple the union. There is no political future for this country if the only avenue of workers to ventilate their position through the trade union is crushed. A government that cannot handle the governed in a manner to retain public respect and relevance is ultimately going to have a weak foundation. I have faith in this government, but I am beginning to question the basis of that faith. This slow motion is creating a notion of ineptitude. Let's move forward and have the universities reopened with all issues in proper perspective.

What do we pledge to Nigeria?

Nigeria has become an orphan. A kind of destitute. Everybody takes a kick and feels an exaggerated sense of patriotism for being verbally poignant. What Nigeria needs now more than anything is the enacting of the Nigeria pledge in words and action. It will be to our utmost interest to see that Nigerians understand the true meaning of patriotism and nationalism. We are driving in diverse directions and at the same time want to have a national destination. If Nigeria must survive, we have to live our national lives in the spirit of the Nigerian pledge. Thanks to that guy who wrote it. I hope the legislators and other political leaders start every action on our behalf with its recitation. It should be their mantra. The National Orientation Agency has a big job to do. I miss the MAMSER? times. The rebranding campaign is a scratch on the surface.

Milking the Nigerian Cow

Milking the Nigerian Cow

If the cow is dead without the calf

Because the milk is not in the cistern for the calf

There will not be a herd

And the kingdom of cattle

Will have the future of the dead in eternal sleep

Let the cow live through the struggle for milk

The struggle continues even in our fears for the cow

Our fears abate that the guns will shoot and heads will roll

Have we not got the defence minister who is a General

And the militants are no longer military

But civil in their civilian demand for equity

The struggle continues even with IAP

The equity that justifies the worker is with us

Though we fight for future

We are neither at war nor in battle

We are inflamed to heal the wound

We are not engaged in suicide

Reminiscent of a malignant fever

Reacting to heal by boiling over

To cause a systemic halt and death

by

(c) Professor Ikechukwu Igbokwe

Department of Veterinary Pathology

University of Maiduguri

Maiduguri.

July 23, 2009.

The arm's swing

The arm’s swing

When the arm’s swing goes with a fist

It is a fight to injure and not a walk to reach out

Your right to swing your arms should be the swagger of your walk to the destination

When it goes with a fist the cacophony to stop the fight is the stalling of your destiny

Swing the arm in salute to a great nation

Swing the arm for a hand shake with your destiny in a nation of great people

Swing the arm to hang the gun and not to take position for the trigger

Throw neither grenades nor hand bombs to your people

Because their limbs are your limbs, their injuries are your scourge

Swing no arms into the alcove and bequeath no ammunitions in your will

Your will should be the joy of a nation where you have made a difference

Like the night and day

The desert and the mangrove

On the landscape of a nation on the journey of self discovery

Swing your arms above the head with victory sign for good choices you made

And wave of goodbye to the deprecated inglorious past

By

Professor Ikechukwu Onyebuchi Igbokwe

Department of Veterinary Pathology

University of Maiduguri

Maiduguri

© July 26, 2009

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