By Tony Eluemunor
Ah, may we not forget the blood of the 20 Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Students. May 22 and 23 1996, student riots were quelled by the Police so draconically that 20 students died. The students wanted to mark the eight anniversary of the bloody Ali Must Go students uprising of 1978. That the students marched into a female hall of resiÂdence, Amina Hall, and so broke the rule banning males from the female halls was the unforgivable offence for which the student union leader was rusticated and another student was suspended for a year. The stuÂdents were protesting against the rustication of their student leader, in front of the Senate building when the Police arrived – at the invitation of the Vice Chancellor, Prof Ango Abdullahi.
The VC was not disciplined. When the Nigerian Labour ConÂgress (NLC) planned a sympathy protest for June 4, the Labour leadÂer, Ali Ciroma and five others were arrested and detained for ten days. Worse was to come. I covered the February 23 -26 1988 NLC delegates conference at Benin-City. Ciroma was clearly re-elected despite the challenge he faced from pro-FG (and FG-sponsored) candidate, Takai Shamang. Immediately afÂter the election, I met Prof Ikenna Nzimiro, a fire-eater whom IBB had invited into the government as an Adviser. Nzimiro told me he would tell IBB that the election was totally free and fair.
As the labour unionists were relÂishing the victory, singing “solidariÂty forever” Adamu Ciroma stopped the celebration and told them that IBB would annul that election in his attempt to break Labour’s backbone. The unionists said he would not dare do that. Tears were streaking down Ciroma’s cheeks as he spoke. I left Benin for an appointÂment with Chief Arthur Nzeribe. I was in his Owerri Office when news came that IBB had nullified the NLC election and appointed a Sole AdÂministrator.
IBB also dealt with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASSU). 1987, The University of Benin, unÂder Prof Alele Williams had sacked five Professors including Dr. Festus Iyayi (ASUU national chairman), Prof Epiphany Azinge, Prof Itse Sagay, among others. The local ASSU branch went to court and won an interim victory that the ProfesÂsors be reinstated. IBB’s reaction: he issued Decree 36 to back the sack to “shut up” both ASSU’s and the court’s mouths. The real sledge hammer landed when IBB banned ASSU from July 7, 1988 till August 27, 1990. That was apart from the sacking of “radicals”, “leftists” and such others who were “teaching what they were not paid to teach” in disregard of existing laws.
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