Recently, students of President Jonathan’s home town university at Otuoke went on rampage demanding the removal of the vice chancellor, Prof Mobolaji Aluko. AHERHOKE OKIOMA was there and reports.
The gate of the federal university Otuoke, the home town of president Jonathan was under lock and key on the 4th of September 2014 as youths protested against the university administration for not employing their students and the non implementation of a memorandum of understanding and other sundry maltreatments, but the vice chancellor, Prof Mobolaji Aluko said the university is doing its best to create cordial relationship with the host communities.
on the fateful day, the school gate was locked and pasted with placards by the youths thereby preventing academic and business activities from holding on campus .Some of the placard read, ‘’VC Is a thief’’, ‘’You must give account’’, ‘’Pack your bag or pack your bones’’ , No employment , No MOU, No Admission , VC Why , Federal University is not Yoruba Affairs among others.
The financial secretary of the Otuoke Youths comrade comrade Green,
told newsmen that Otuoke youths have tolerated the vice chancellor for a very long time and that since all efforts to reach a compromise have failed the last resort was to collapse activities of the university and disrupt ongoing semester examinations until their demands were met ,.
He further told our correspondent that the university which is sited in their community does not employ their people instead other tribes especially the Yorubas which is the vice chancellor tribe, were in majority in a every cadre of staff. He also informed that the MUO entered into between the community and University was not approved, and that there is no transparency and accountability in the running of the university.
Other grievances tabled by the students include the denial of admission opportunities, local contractors not being carried along and that after due consultation they decided to embark on a peaceful demonstration.
The security agents watched the demonstrations without interference and even a security personnel who pleaded anonymity told Blueprint they were in support of the protest since it was a peaceful one to drive home their demands which indirectly or directly are affecting him too and that whatever results that the protest will manifest will be beneficial .
After making failed efforts to reach out to the university authorities including the Head of Public Relations Department, Miss Mercy Ekott, Blueprint sought the opinion of the traditional ruler of the town, His royal highness, Lotts Ogiasa, and surprisingly met the Vice chancellor and management staff holding a meeting with Deputy Paramount Ruler since the King according to a source was said to be indisposed and recuperating.
Those in attendance at the meeting which lasted for over two hours were the leadership of the Otuoke Youths and representatives of the Ijaw Youth Council. When he was informed about the presence of journalists, the vice chancellor evaded them by directing them to his office which is already locked.
Earlier, the vice chancellor had commended the press for their prompt response and remarked that protests were not new to any university community and that what happened at Federal university ,Otuoke was not strange, just as it was a peaceful protest without destruction of properties.
He further admitted that the university has been under serious pressure from the Otuoke Community in particular and Ogbia in general and that when one group came with their demands and once attended to another will come under different guise or names and they have been recurrent as a university administrator the university has been trying its best to address the myriads of their needs within available resources. He appealed for their understanding.
According to him what culminated to the escalation of their relationships were centered mainly on three principal issues of admission, employment and MOU.
He told journalists that it was JAMB that set the template for admission after candidates must have met admission requirements and cut- of points and passed the post – UME tests, but students who did not even make the university as their choice and without departmental requirements were always brought for admissions and that under the current admission ,he had told them that the admission of 216 candidates was partial and since many were eager to enter the university he told them at that meeting that the university will try as much to address those that met the requirements and that they should also note that principle of federal character to which the National Assembly invited him must be adhered to in employment and admission processes.
On employment he said his office was inundated with a list of 316 of applicants for employment from only Otuoke to the exclusion of other persons from Ogbia and Bayelsa state and these names were supplied without CVs and applications and during the meeting he directed them to ensure that applicants should apply with applications and their CVs and that those qualified would be short listed and appear for interview and those successful would be employed for the vacancies available,.
He also explained that when the their demands were becoming too varied , it was decided that their requests should be routed through the Obenama and that the MUO implementation has reached an advanced stage and both parties to their chagrin learned that the document has been sent to the Obenama who was outside the country for treatment and once he is well their MUO will be signed.
The VC blamed the crisis on the leadership of the youth and appealed to them to be matured in handling issues as demands by any university community were not met one day.
The Federal university, Otuoke which was among the nine federal universities established by the president Jonathan,s administration for states without a federal university was established on February 2011, though yet to move to its permanent site of a-200 hectare land in Otuoke in Ogbia local government area of Bayelsa.
