For most of us Nigerians living in Nigeria including foreigners who are vexed in Nigeria’s political culture, that joke about our President telling the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to set up a committee with a charge to look into the issue of too many existing committees in the country, is merely stating the obvious. That is Nigeria for you. Our ways are quite unique to us.
For instance, it is common place to see our motorists freely making N20 donations to policemen at every checkpoint. Or, don’t you enjoy it when you’re asked at the police station to “settle counter” after trekking there to report a robbery incident that happened in your house the previous night where you lost all your valuables?
If you’re already wondering how all these connect to the title of this article, it doesn’t. They’re just meant to get you to begin to reason along with me as a fellow Nigerian, because I am very sure at the end of your reading, you’ll definitely join me in begging ASUU not to embark in some supplementary strike after this long tiring one, as Nigerians have the penchant for abusing laid down patterns.
By way of definition, a supplement will make more sense to you if you can take your mind back to the last time you ate out in a local joint. That extra plate half the price of the original meal you ask for, probably because the food taste so good or you just needed to fill your stomach, is an example of a supplement.
Today, it is clearly obvious that Nigerians have developed an unusual likeness for supplements. Every day, you either here of a supplementary this or supplementary that. If it is not the presidency sending another budget to supplement the one it had earlier sent to the National Assembly, it will be our universities giving supplementary admission to some few special candidates after it has announced closure of all admission rackets.
Recently however, the issue of supplement was taken over the board when INEC, in line with our culture of adding extras, declared its final decision to conduct a supplementary election in Anambra state to add to the number of results they have already collated despite the complaints made by the governorship candidates of PDP, the APC, Labour party, public analysts, as well as a cross section of Anambra women who protested to the state headquarters of INEC that the Nov. 16 governorship elections in the state be cancelled for failing to meet set standards.
Even though you consider the Anambra electoral imbroglio as none of your business since you are not an Anambrarian or not interested in Nigerian political discuss, you certainly must be worried about the four months old ASUU strike which despite the several meetings the federal government has had with the leadership of the Union and the show of commitment by President Goodluck Jonathan to see that students and lecturers return to classes, it appears from an insider source, the Union is poised at embarking on further supplementary strikes.
Making this disclosure is no other person than the faction leader of ASUU, UNILAG branch, Dr. Adeyemi Daramola, who alleged that ASUU leadership has perfected plans to end the on-going strike by mid-January 2013. As such, even if the Federal Government meet all the demands of ASUU today, the Union will still pass a resolution to embark on some weeks of supplementary strike till January just like INEC will be conducting supplementary elections soon in Anambra state.
If this is true, then we mustn’t blame ASUU leadership who is merely following Nigeria’s culture of supplementing everything, nor should we brand the acts of the authorities of EBSU, ESUT, AAUA, UNILAG, LASU and UNIJOS who are only but mimicking the rebellious attitude of the new PDP and the G-7 Governors who have announced their defection to the APC.
By: Tare Ojukonsin. (A public affairs analyst in Enugu )
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