BREAKING: Shakeup in Education Sector: What Really is Minister Alausa up to?

The recent pronouncements by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration dramatically altering the structures of Nigeria’s education sector have again, stirred dust on the administration’s intents and policies in our tottering ivory towers in particular and indeed, the nation’s education sector in general. Just when the already beleaguered Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) which has embarked on strikes for several months and years amidst lingering industrial disputation over it’s member’s welfare has sued for industrial harmony despite the inability of the government to meet it’s demands, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa appears to have obviously become the ‘agent provacateaur’, causing chaos and confusion of monumental proportions to our once serene and orderly education sector. Call the Education helmsman a ‘Bull-in-a-China-shop’ and his actions and conducts since assuming office on the 5th of November, 2024 could justify your assertion.

In another strange move that now makes the Extant laws (University Acts) governing Nigerian Universities appear like a tissue paper for cleaning up ourselves in the dirty toilets in our Faculties and Departmental rest rooms, the Ministry removed both the duly council-appointed Vice-Chancellors of UNN and UNIAbuja and effected changes across Governing Councils of some institutions mainly within the South East and South South geopolitical zones, including our own Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja. I recall that less than three weeks after his assumption of office on the 5th of November, 2024, Dr. Alausa had strangely and unilaterally announced through one Folasade who is the Director of Press in the Ministry the dissolution of the Governing Council of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, removed the duly appointed Vice-Chancellor, Professor Benard Odoh and replaced him with a certain Professor Ikechebelu – a man I later got to know was not only his Colleague in the Medical profession but his friend.

All these happened without his first putting a Governing Council in place which is not even under his powers but the prerogative of the visitor of the University, President Bola Tinubu who had just reshuffled him into the Ministry of Education from the Ministry of Health where he had been in charge as a junior Minister (State). I also recall that a similar unilateral action had been taken by the minister at the same time he set NAU, Awka on fire also at the Federal University of Health Sciences and Technology, Otuoke, Bayelsa State where there were also reports of leadership crisis.

A deeper digging into the profile and personality of Dr. Alausa shows that he was not only a personal physician to the number one citizen of Nigeria but a ‘controversial character’ in his field of medical practice where he had been accused by other health professionals of being a Doctor-practitioner chauvinist who believes all his actions and conducts must favour his professional colleagues. For instance, Dr. Alausa in connivance with the then Medical Director of National Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos State had been accused of allegedly promoting a junior staff (a Medical Doctor) over and above a Pharmacist who scored higher in a promotion interview. Sources within the hospital had alleged that despite the exposition of the alleged crime which shook the hospital to it’s foundations, Dr. Alausa and his cohorts did not bulge!

It is therefore pathetically strange and deserves to be questioned by every reasonable Nigerian the fact that whereas, those of us in the temple of knowledge were yet battling to understand why and what must have necessitated the recent obviously discriminated shakeups in some Nigerian Universities as announced by the ‘Presidency’ (as usual) through Bayo Onanuga, a minister with the hitherto painted background has yet again proceeded with another strange pronouncement, altering the long-existing 6-3-3-4 system of education for a 12-year model. What is unclear as a matter of fact is whether those who are not running on 6 year model like some private Schools which are running only creches and Nursery sections would now be shut down?

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me”, said Martin Niemöller’s who had written just after the Holocaust, arguing against apathy—and calling for the moral connectedness of all people on all matters concerning or affecting them.

As a passionate academic who has revered and seen less interference in the temple of knowledge, the latest (if not all of the moves) of the minister appear to have set the clock of education in Nigeria backwards. First, upon assumption of office, Alausa did not hesitate to reveal the dark spot of his utter lawlessness when he responded to questions from Reporters who sought his views on how the ministry intends to handle the issues of controversies surrounding the appointment of Vice-Chancellors of a few tertiary institutions in Nigeria. His response?

“I will revisit the issues of UNIZIK and other universities with leadership crisis…”, he had dictatorially replied not minding that the issues were already before various Courts of competent jurisdictions. It was therefore not shocking to many who knew him and his alleged penchance for ‘lawlessness’ but strange to the rest of law-abiding citizens that the minister soon struck with the unilateral dissolution of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Governing Council and consequent controversial removal of the duly council-appointed Vice-Chancellor, Professor Odoh. It was so brazenly and coup-likely executed that the minister even strangely forgot to appoint anyone to head UNIZIK for nearly 48 hours before announcing a ‘re-appointment’ of the said Professor Ikechebelu as “Acting Vice-Chancellor”.

But Ikechebelu was never an Acting Vice-Chancellor in the first instance but a presidnig administrator having been appointed by the the NUC since the Governing Councils for Universities had not been appointed as at the time of his appointment by the apex regulatory body who wrote clearly on his appointment letter that he was a mere Presiding Officer being a most senior DVC as at the time the tenure of Professor Esimone had expired. Anyway, I had recently learnt though that the matter, (illegal removal of Odoh) and other matters related to the South East-based institution are all pending before an Abuja Federal High Court and even Industrial Court. Yet and while parties are waiting for the Courts, the minister and his acolytes in the recent announcement on behalf of the Visitor also announced a new Governing Council Chairman and Pro-Chancellor for the said NAU that has been enmeshed in severe leadership questions, crisis and of course, obvious instabilities.

I also recall that the same minister had announced the sack of the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo, Benue State, Ohieku Salami, on allegations of actions “unbecoming of his office and violations of established procedures.” A statement by the same Director of Press, Federal Ministry of Education, Folashade Boriowo, had claimed the decision followed a series of unprofessional actions by Salami, “including the suspension of the Vice-Chancellor without following the prescribed procedures.”

The statement had noted that despite intervention by the education ministry and formal requests to rescind the unlawful suspension, Salami refused to comply, resorting to “abusive and threatening behaviour towards the ministry’s directors, including the Permanent Secretary.
“The Honourable Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, noted that such conduct undermines the ministry’s supervisory role over the university and jeopardises the institution’s stability and governance. In line with this decision, the minister has requested the appointment of a new Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council for the Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo, to restore proper governance and ensure the university operates in accordance with the principles of law, due process and accountability”, the minister had maintained. But insider sources have alleged that it was the same professional and other ‘pecuniary interests’ instigated the actions of Alausa in the hitherto sleepy Otuoke-situated health institution.

In the University of Abuja, the ministry has also wielded the big stick with his announcement of the sack of the Vice-Chancellor and the dissolution of the Governing Council of the institution. I recall that sometime in November last year, shortly after NAU boiled, some senior professors had protested what they described as a “flawed” process for the appointment of the new Vice Chancellor of the institution. The institution had been enmeshed in crisis following the exit of the then immediate past VC, Prof. Abdulrasheed Na’Allah on July 1. The said Na’Allah before his exit as VC had commenced the process for the appointment of his successor but handed over to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor academics, Prof. Aisha Maikudi, a law professor, in an acting capacity. She was also later duly appointed by the duly Constituted Governing Council of the institution which has also been dissolved by the visitor.

In Nigeria’s premier University of Nigeria, Nsukka, the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Chigbu whose tenure was meant to wrap up on the 14th of this month was axed and the Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of the Governing Council, Major General Ike Nwachukwu was removed, moved to UNIUYO and a Yoruba man appointed to replace him while Professor Ujah of Biochemistry was appointed to act for the next six months to prepare grounds for a transition. I learnt authoritatively that the Governing Council had concluded the selection process for a new Vice-Chancellor who ought to have assumed office upon the expiration of the tenure of Professor Chigbu who had been acting for some months.

From these authoritarian pronouncements, directives, decisions or show of maximum dictatorial tendencies (if you choose to call it), a lot of questions have arisen and have unsettled the rusty, sleepy institutions of higher learnings. Indeed, virtually all the institutions of higher learnings across the South East, South South and our own nation’s capital, Abuja are replete with anxiety over these obnoxious changes that appear to be unsettling nerves. Why have the Tinubu acolytes left the South Western-based institutions untouched and focusing only on the South East, South South and Nigeria’s melting point? Are these dangerous signs that the Tinubu Presidency are already ‘planting’ their loyalists for the purposes of retaining power in 2027? Who is really behind these strange dictatorial changes in our temple of knowledge and what is their interest? Is the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi who is himself a Senior Advocate of Nigeria aware of the dangerous implications of these to our various Universities Acts?

Like I had stated earlier, those of us in the academic Community are more worried about these actions that are worsening instabilities, suspicions and distrusts, thereby impacting negatively on the core mandate of a university; quality teaching and learning, research and Community/ Consultancy services among others. It is my deepmost concern and fear that if the present trend continues, our higher institutions could become so politicized that it would completely lose focus, become lawless and unable to attain its lofty dreams, visions, missions and objectives. It is disheartening that the said minister has never taken concrete steps to address the state of decrepit infrastructure impeding researches in our institutions of higher learning among other multi-faceted challenges. In all of these, the earlier referenced assertion of Martin Niemöller deserves reiteration here: “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me”.

This is why I urge ASUU, the media and other reasonable members of the Nigerian public to wade into this discourse and summon cum query the seemingly lawless actions and conducts of the Honourable Minister, Dr. Alausa. May God save our temples of knowledge from total destruction as the APC-led government appears to be headed!

Dr. Nasiru Ibrahim; a Research and Education Enthusiast is based in Abuja