Protesting Staff Of Benue State University Place Coffin Infront Of The University Gate.

Written by Ukan Kurugh

The coffin was dressed in a black white and red flag with palm fronds laid across it as is customary to mark a burial. A coffin!? We exclaimed, the laughed at the gesture, without little regard to the severity we were about to witness. The Gate was manned by protesting staff or should I say grieving staff, who were there to share their feelings at the ongoing strike action halting academic activities at the Benue State University.



“We have been working in Benue State University for years without a pension scheme, without a health insurance scheme. The university itself is 22 years and none of these schemes have been put in place. If I drop dead right now, my family will not get a single kobo from the University. Indeed countless staff, even senior staff assumed indispensable have been left at the mercy of free will donations from colleagues to enable them treat life threatening illnesses”.

At this I had to stop him, his narration was enough sadness for one day, I had planned to get Shawarma afterwards, but with my current state of mind food was not even an option, knowing that the school that gave me a degree is treading along the path of failure malfunction. Speaking to the JAC (Joint Action Committee) Coordinating Chairman Mr James Addingi and other members of the committee showed us the mess previous administrations left behind and the immense task ahead for the new government to surmount.

According the JAC which comprises of SSANU, NASU and NATT they are undertaking industrial action to protest unpaid "earned allowances" which was part of the 2009 agreement between Government and University Unions. These allowances are supposed to cover "Responsibility Allowance, Hazard Allowance, Field Trips, Teaching Practice, SWEPS, Laboratory Student-Staff Ratio Supplementation for Technologists, Overtime for junior staff and so on.

He stated that the implementation of these allowances was haphazard and not holistic with a suspected undertone of favouritism to it as some staff in the College of Health Sciences were paid while others in the same college remain unpaid. He said that was unacceptable as staff allowances were supposed to cut across board and be fairly paid to all as at when due. He regretted the inability of the Joint Action Committee to sit and iron out this issue with the government on a basis of mutual understanding.

Mr Addingi also clearly stated their support for the newly constituted government and also the committees trust that the government will cater for the wellbeing of everyone no matter how high or low in rank. He said it was for this reason that the committee thought that government should be made fully aware of all the issues confronting members of the joint unions. Another perplexing issue was the issue of tax deductions, it is no news that the BIRS Office has since said it hasn’t any tax record for BSU, yet tax is deducted from the salary of staff regularly.

Other colleagues and members of the committee described the hardships they have had to face following the beginning of the strike. Some had children out of school, others had lost children or wards in treatable illnesses, yet others have had recurring domestic disputes, and malnutrition. It was an unthinkable situation, for it to be happening in the 21st century made it even more unbelievable. A colleague who didn't wish to be named told us that the University Council had set up a committee that visited other states to see the practice of terminating earned allowances and Kogi State University as well as Nasarawa State University within Benue's catchment all have well implemented and regular allowances. The remarks from many other members of the union sitting there depicted they felt robbed and deprived of their rights in their own state; a big letdown from a place that was supposed to inspire patriotism and a sense of commitment.

According to the staff we spoke to if the strike continues till next month, the session will have to be cancelled according to the NUC guidelines. With knowledge of this we realized one cannot quantify the economic and psychological cost of the strike. Similarly, the BSU College of Health Technology has a pending accreditation, its last before medical students currently paused at 600 level can graduate to commence housemanship. Truly this strike has affected more than just the students, parents, workers, traders, and the entire Benue State.

The committee put forward the following requests:
That the university authorities should come clean with the reason why some staff of the College of Health Sciences were paid and the University staff are still unpaid.
That they implement the 2009 agreement as agreed between university unions and government.

On his part, the Student Union President, Mr Robert commented on the ongoing strike and vehemently rejected any situation that results in unpaid wages. His opinion was that if staff are not paid their due wages, morale drops and that reduces the quality of education dished out at the institution. He also enumerated several problems students have encountered during the industrial action. Amongst many the most prominent were deaths, house rents that have expired, surge in social vices and burgled and/or looted apartments. He sobered on the mention of the demise of a dear school mate and one could read from his countenance that he felt if school was in session his friend would still be alive. As it would be in such emotional situations, he wasn't the only one who held that opinion. The Student Union also stated they had engaged in several consultations in finding a solution to the problem at hand.

The resulting questions we gathered after talking with over 20 members of all unions concerned are these:
Who is in possession of the earned allowances being owed staff of Benue State University?
Why have some staff of College of Health Sciences been paid while others remain unpaid?
If the College of Health Sciences, a College in the University has funds to pay earned allowances, why has the University been unable to pay?
If it is the government’s fault will they hold on to these funds despite a looming session cancellation by the NUC?
If it is the fault of the University authorities will the government still have trust in them by releasing funds to them? Will they sanction anyone or even arraign those responsible before the courts of the land?
Who has been deducting tax from BSU staff when BIRS has no record of such paid taxes?
Why will University Staff, from junior to senior cadre not have a robust health insurance scheme?
The questions and more arise when one digs deep, it is our sincere hope that all can be settled with speed so the Best State University in the North can continue to break records and churn out top class graduates.

A top university don suggested the need of a visitation panel must investigate the handling of the university and also conduct an urgent deep assessment as simple payment of salaries will not magically solve the issues.

It was no doubt saddening as I stood hearing the compound issues on ground at my alma mater. But we cannot achieve anything sitting down so I decided to do what I know best, share it so government and government representatives can read this and commit necessary action. I humbly beseech all well-meaning Benue indigenes, BSU Alumni and stakeholders to kindly consider and proffer a way out of this impasse.