• Union president, Sunmonu, reveals why FG approved new unions in varsities
By Gabriel Dike
Dr. Niyi Sunmonu is National President, Congress of University Academics (CONUA), accorded recognition by the Federal Government on October 4, 2022. He is of Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State.
In this interview, he spoke on the struggle to get CONUA registered, withheld three and half months’ salaries of members, incessant strikes, vice chancellor’s selection crisis, funding problem and non-payment of Earned Academic Allowance (EAA).
Excerpts:
How has it been with CONUA?
CONUA completed its registration processes on January 17, 2023 and was given a provisional letter of registration on October 4, 2022. The union applied for registration in a letter dated April 30, 2018 and submitted on May 2, 2018. The registration process took about five years to materialise.
Before and up to the point of registration, the journey was both rough and tough. The first test of our mettle as a union occurred when the application was rejected. The refusal was communicated to us in a letter dated January 23, 2019, with the caveat that “you also have the right to appeal the refusal of the application to be registered as a trade union to the minister within 30 days of the receipt of this letter in line with section 5(b) of the Trade Union Act CAP.T.14 of 2004.”
The leadership immediately identified 23 grounds of appeal and prepared six annexures. The appeal, dated January 28, 2019, addressed to the Minister of Labour and Employment, was filed. The appeal committee invited the leadership of CONUA to a meeting on January 22, 2020.Subsequently, the minister invited the CONUA leadership to a public meeting on November 19, 2020, where the justification for the registration of CONUA was further elucidated upon. The minister gave the committee on the appeal for the registration of CONUA four weeks to turn in its report for consideration.
Our leadership and followership were literally, forged by fire, through physical, psychological and emotional strain, as weeks turned to years! During the period, we also had to cope with constant ridicule and propaganda from ASUU leadership. It has not been easy either, after the registration, albeit with a different facet of the challenge altogether. We have had to protest our ways to get included in many government agencies that would ordinarily interface with registered academic unions.
For example, we have had to protest to TETFUND who excluded CONUA, on May 14, 2024, from the “Reconstitution of TETFUND National Research Fund Screening and Monitoring Committee (NRFS&MC)” where representatives of academic unions were listed with the exclusion of CONUA. Another instance was that of the exclusion from the NEEDS Assessment Committee, constituted by the immediate past Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman on 28 August 28, 2024. We have also followed up with the new minister, Dr. Olatunji Alausa.
The journey has been daunting on the affiliation front too. The Ayuba-Wabba led (Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), was so biased against CONUA, probably due to the single story told by one of its affiliates, ASUU, even though CONUA did not approach it for affiliation. CONUA eventually got affiliated with the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on October 15, 2023.
What is the spread of CONUA?
CONUA started in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife, Osun State, grew to five universities by October 2019, then to about 30 chapters, as we speak. We are in universities, which included but not limited to, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike; University of Benin; Federal University, Lokoja; Federal University, Oye-Ekiti; Kwara State University, Malete; Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; University of Jos; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Federal University, Wukari, National Mathematical Centre, Abuja and University of Abuja. In short, CONUA has chapters in all the six geopolitical zones and it is still growing.
What is the philosophy behind the formation of CONUA?
The core philosophy of CONUA includes inculcating the spirit of discipline among our members to do their work in a manner that will impact positively on the nation; raising the consciousness of our members on ethical conduct on issues of sexual harassment and how to build an agreeable relationship between students and lecturers; advising the government and educating the public on the need to maintain an effective and efficient educational system in the country.
Others are seeing ourselves as partners in national development, and therefore getting involved in national discourse to assist the government to take informed and widely acceptable decisions on national issues; using CONUA membership check off dues for the academic development of our members in terms of financial support for conference attendance and research activities and working harmoniously with other university-based academic and non-academic unions for the enhancement of the capacities of university staff to fulfil the different mandates in the university system.
Was CONUA registered to spite ASUU?
I make bold to say that this is a complete fabrication! The event that led to the formation of CONUA is the story of ripples generated in 2018 by events set in motion in 2016.
In 2013, elections were duly conducted into various offices of the Executive Committee of OAU branch of ASUU, to which virtually all the academic members of staff belonged at the time. Regrettably, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of ASUU annulled the already declared results of the duly elected contestants, because the leadership of the union did not like those who emerged victorious.
Out of the electoral destruction of trust and widespread demoralisation wreaked by the despicable unconstitutional annulment, an ASUU-NEC-favoured Dr. Caleb Aborisade-led Executive Committee emerged to run the affairs of a by-then-divided ASUU-OAU.
The Hassan Sunmonu-led committee of trustees set up to look at the crises wrote, on page eight of its report: “The Trustees Committee could not uncover any justification for the wholesale annulment of the entire election; and therefore, considers NEC’s action was wrong.”
The second point is the unethical collaboration of the ASUU-OAU executive committee in the selection process of a vice chancellor at the OAU in 2016. Complaints against the executive included the mischievous alteration of congress resolution and the misrepresentation of congress position to the press on the serious matter of the appointment of the 11th substantive VC of the university.
In one specific instance, in spite of the obvious flaws in the process, the chairperson of the branch at the time, Aborisade, sent to the press a statement claiming that the VC selection “followed due process” and “was free, fair and transparent.” He failed to comply with the congress directive to him to withdraw the misleading statement.
The Prof. Osodeke committee, in his attempt to provide cover for the ASUU-OAU chairman, reported an outright falsehood in its “findings” by writing on page eight of its report that “… from our findings, the Governing Council followed the process of selection of Vice Chancellor to its conclusion.” The trustees committee, on the other hand, wrote on page nine of its own report that “the ASUU branch chairperson, Dr. Aborisade, did not speak the truth about the procedure followed by council in short-listing candidates and determining the person who purportedly emerged as the VC.”
The third point has to do with two officers of the ASUU-OAU who were on sabbatical leave and leave of absence and cleared to run for office. The action was contrary to S.14.2(b)(i) of the ASUU Constitution and Code of Practice. One of the two, Dr. Saheed Adekilekun (now a Professor) claimed to have suspended his sabbatical at KWASU while the other Dr. Ayobola Sakpere (now a Professor) withdrew from the election.
The Zonal Coordinator, Dr. Alex Odiyi (now a Professor) of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, conferred legitimacy on the improper conduct of Adekilekun with the full cooperation of the branch chairperson and the electoral committee. The Prof. Osodeke committee (as the Vice President) recommended on page four of its report that “the committee recommends that he (Adekilekun) should not be disqualified since he was not on sabbatical leave at the time of election.”
However, the Committee of Trustees in its report on page 13 said: “Truly Dr. Adekilekun should not have been cleared by the ASUU-OAU Electoral Committee to contest for the post of Financial Secretary.”
The fourth and the last point is that of walking out on a duly called congress on October 20, 2016 by the Aborisade-led executive. After discussing the substantive matter, congress demanded to know how the report of the Prof. Osodeke visitation committee got to the press, and whether that report reflected the views of ASUU-NEC.
Rather than address the matter, the presiding officers impetuously walked out on congress. Members reasoned that heedlessly abandoning the congress midstream by the executive amounted to disdain for congress and that repulsive action was taken as the abdication, by the executive, of their responsibility to continue to provide leadership to the branch of the union.
As a consequence, congress resolved that rather than disperse in a rudderless and disoriented manner, the meeting should continue and end properly. Congress further resolved that since there was no constitutional provision to deal with the abdication of leadership by the executive in the middle of a meeting, a three-person caretaker committee should, as dictated by the exigency of the moment, be nominated at that instant to steer the affairs of the union in the interim.
Congress thereafter nominated my humble self (Chairperson), Dr. Henri Oripeloye (now a Professor, Secretary) and Dr. Monica Orisadare (now a Professor, Financial Officer) of the Caretaker Committee. This is how I became an “accidental” chairperson, albeit, of a Caretaker Committee, without previous known history of unionism.
The Trustees Committee has this to say on the Caretaker Committee, on page seven of its report: “This was the peak of illegality. There is no provision in ASUU constitution for a caretaker committee. It is not recognised by NEC.” ASUU-NEC showed its lawlessness by annulling the victory of members who had been duly nominated and elected for various posts.
Has Federal Government invited CONUA for negotiation?
The Minister of Education has considered our protest and appeal made by TUC on behalf of CONUA. He approved the inclusion of CONUA in the renegotiation and communicated the approval to the union, TUC and the Renegotiation Committee.
Why should FG pay CONUA members the withheld salaries?
CONUA has maintained consistently that it neither declared nor partook in the strike declared and embarked upon by ASUU. It would then be considered unfair for the Federal Government to lump CONUA members with ASUU on the policy of “no work, no pay.”
This is considered unjust, and is tantamount to punishing the innocent along with the guilty. The Federal Government’s action actually goes against the judgment delivered on July 25, 2023, at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), which affirmed CONUA as an independent union.
It should also be noted that withholding three and a half months’ salaries of members of CONUA, who neither declared nor participated in any strike, contravened Section 43 (1b) of the Trade Disputes Act CAP. T8, which states: “Where any employer locks out his workers, the workers shall be entitled to wages and any other applicable remuneration for the period of the lock-out and the period of the lock-out shall not prejudicially affect any rights of the workers being rights dependent on the continuity of period of employment.”
This provision is consistent with global best practices. CONUA is therefore using this medium to demand for this outstanding three and a half months withheld salary from the government without further delay.
Is strike a major tool for CONUA to draw FG’s attention to its demands?
CONUA detests incessant strikes in the nation’s tertiary institutions, having seen unprecedented disruptions in academic calendars in our universities. Between 1999 and 2021, Nigerian public universities experienced strikes for 1,417 days, which translate to over five years!
The 2022 strike lasted eight months, and it is the longest! This caused damage in no small measure to teaching and research. It is better to constructively engage than to “war-war.” Even in war, peace is ultimately achieved on the negotiation table.
The union will try its best to avoid strikes by engaging proactively in ideologically-unencumbered consultation, dialoguing and lobbying the minister and by extension, the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), and the House Committee on Education on the need for enhancing budgetary provisions for education.
How healthy is the Nigerian University System?
It is crystal clear to all and sundry that the fortune of the NUS has nosedived. The major culprit can be traced to poor and/or inadequate funding, which started plummeting around 1976, which coincided with reduced budgetary allocation. Prior to the year, excess unspent funds were usually remitted to the government coffers.
Then, there were the unplanned proliferations of universities. Though the growing population of the country requires that more universities are needed, but funding and other important requirements such as personnel, teaching and research facilities, etc. need to be adequately prepared and provided for!
There is the pattern of management of Nigerian universities that has remained largely unchanged for more than four decades despite major changes in the environment, which has been amplified by corruption in the system.
Then, there is the incessant strike, over the years. All these factors and many more have negatively impacted on the NUS, as evidently manifested in the poor global ranking. For example, the premier University of Ibadan was the top-ranked university in Nigeria, placing 1,163rd globally, in 2023; 1083rd in 2024.
How do we avert crisis arising from vice chancellor selection?
It is sad that colleagues cannot manage the autonomy granted to the universities with respect to the selection of VCs, due to unbridled ambitions and lack of respect for laid down procedures. Generally, the “emotion” sadly introduced into the process includes issues of ethnic dominance, political interference and corruption.
There can be only one VC at a time, even though there may be many aspirants. Strict adherence, devoid of any sentiment, to the promotion of merit and integrity will avert, to a large extent, acrimony arising from the selection of VC.
How much is government owing CONUA members on the earned academic allowance?
Government agreed to pay the Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) for excess work done by academics in federal universities since they are battling with shortage of manpower. This EAA payment was supposed to cover academic sessions from 2008/2009 (rain semester) onwards.
The Federal Government has released four tranches, 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2022, so far. These releases did not cover up to four sessions completely, not to talk of the entire 14 and a half sessions, for which the payment is required. Government is owing EAA for upward of 10 sessions.
How can varsities overcome funding problem?
CONUA has always advocated for multifaceted approach to funding the universities, as relying on the government alone will always cause heartache and will not bring the much-needed progress we yearn for.
The multifaceted approach should include, but not limited to, increased budgetary allocation by the FG, public-private partnership, contributions by alumni and endowment, international collaborations, efficient management of resources and compliance with budgetary provisions, policy reforms, town and gown engagement, diversification of revenue sources, etc.
Can we meet you?
I am ‘Niyi Sunmonu, the National President of CONUA, an Associate Professor of Atmospheric Physics, in the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.