VICTORY – NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY REINSTATES 4 SUSPENDED STUDENTS
VICTORY AT LAST AS NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT FINALLY REINSTATES FOUR SUSPENDED STUDENTS AFTER MONTHS OF SUSTAINED STRUGGLE!
The management of Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), has finally reinstated and reopened the portal of the four students who were unjustly suspended by the school. On December 9, 2024, the school issued a letter of suspension to these students. We of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), who played a central role in the campaign for the reinstatement of these students, see this as a victory for struggle and solidarity.
As reported by various news platforms and stated in our previous press statements, the background to the suspension of these students was an agitation of students over a dubious introduction of ‘third semester’ for students who failed any course during the normal session and an exploitative fee of N20,000 for each course. Surprisingly, numerous students failed several courses in the session; an unusually high figure that made students logically connect the mass failure to the newly introduced policy which appeared actually meant to generate more funds for the university at the expense of students. Hence, students began to mobilize for a protest through a WhatsApp group, which was later infiltrated by security agents of the school.
However, the protest was never held because the school management, viciously led by Prof. Sa’adatu Hassan Liman ordered the arrests of several students who were alleged to be connected to the planned protest. Many students were hunted and arrested, spending days in Police detention. The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) had, through a previous statement, condemned this punitive and draconian action of the University, which is a clear violation of the rights of these students. However, the school did not stop at that level of highhandedness; it was taken further. About 25 students were summoned to a panel, and 4 were eventually suspended.
In the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) we immediately condemned the suspension of these students and began a campaign for their reinstatement. Members of the ERC visited the campus to campaign among students for their reinstatement. A process to appeal against the suspension was initiated. The ERC also discussed with the ASUU leadership in the university, with the issue becoming a subject of discussion at a branch congress of the union.
The campaign also got the attention of other groups, particularly Motion, a broad coalition of civil society organizations, with Hauwa Mustapha, its National Coordinator, making efforts for the campaign. However, the University management ignored all initial calls for the reinstatement of the affected students. Despite this, we continued our campaign. The issue took a positive turn late April, when Nasarawa state governor Suleiman asked the university management to reinstate the students. However, the Vice-chancellor, who initially took the words of the state government with silence, later published a false list of suspended students and agreed to reinstate them after the full session. The ERC immediately frowned at this and exposed the deceit of the University management and demanded an immediate reinstatement of the actually victimised students. This meant that the management had no hiding place and were forced to reinstate these students.
This clearly shows that struggle pays when resolutely and genuinely fought. Today, many students’ unions and even the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) have become toothless bulldogs and tied themselves to the apron strings of the management of their institutions and the government, giving the false impression that students’ struggle cannot win victories. Student activists must learn from this victory that our collective struggles can win victories for us, either small or big. What is needed is a vibrant and democratic platform for students to organize resistance against attacks on their democratic rights and anti-student policies.
We also invite student activists and everyone interested in the struggle for a better education sector to join the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) in our struggle for adequately funded and democratically run public education sector and transformation of our society such that human and material resources are democratically used and managed to meet the needs of all.
Ogunjimi Isaac,
Deputy National Coordinator.
Adaramoye Michael Lenin,
National Mobilization Officer (08137051249)
Email: [email protected]