The crisis over concession of King’s College

The festering crisis and fragile peace in 115 Unity Colleges over the Federal Government’s plan to sell or concession King’s College, Lagos, to its alumni association for 35 years, under the public-private partnership (PPP) model, should have been avoided with adequate consultation and dialogue. The King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA) had wanted to take over the administration of the school and mange it for 35 years without altering its vision and admission policy. 

The association had reportedly invested so much in the running of the school like other Old Boys or Old Girls Associations of most secondary schools in the country, which have been victims of poor funding by their owners. Government’s explanation that it had no plans to sell the Kings College Lagos did not bode well with the workers in the college and their counterparts in other unity schools across the country, whose resumption has been stalled by the workers. Not even the intervention of the Nigeria Police Force has been able to resolve the impasse.

My sympathy goes to the workers and teachers in King’s College Lagos and other Unity Colleges still on the queue for serial concession or outright sale by the government in power. If government wants to concession a thriving King’s College, by fire and by force, the masses should be wary and curious. There is more to it than meets the eye. The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, had in an interview with Daily Sun, defended the concession of King’s College Lagos to its alumni association.

He explained that the King’s College and Unity Schools have degenerated to dungeons of stench and darkness. Alausa also said that the conditions in King’s College and some other Federal Unity Colleges have deteriorated to unacceptable levels and required urgent intervention. Assuming Alausa’s picture of the situation in these schools is true, is changing ownership no matter the model used the best approach to make the schools better?

But, is the concession to Old Boys Association the best panacea to solve the problem? Concession may be interpreted in so many ways. In Nigeria, concession of a federal government property may include its outright sale to the new owner who will determine how the organization will be managed. In the case of King’s College Lagos, the concession will lead to sack of some workers, because the staff recruitment process will automatically change and accommodate relations of the new owners, whether they are qualified or not. The admission process will never be based on merit.

Some Nigerians are afraid of meritocracy. They tend to prefer mediocrity. If King’s College or any other Unity College is sold to new owners, be they Old Boys or whatever, everything national in the school will change in favour of the new owners. Before we open our eyes, the school may transform to a private university or another enterprise altogether. It may turn to another mega church or religious centre.

The plan in the past to sell some of these colleges to our powerful men was vehemently resisted. The new plan to sell King’s College to its benevolent Old Boys Association will also be strongly resisted. The alumni association can still help the school without assuming outright ownership even for 35 whopping years. There is more to the deal than having the interest of the school at heart. The workers in these colleges are right to reject the Greek gift from the Old Boys Association. If King’s College sale or concession pulls through the rest will follow suit. This culture of selling our common patrimony must stop in earnest.

There is no doubt that these Unity Colleges are in deplorable condition. However, the solution does not lie in selling them to the highest bidder. The Federal Government has the lion’s share in every national budget far and above all the 36 states and 774 local governments put together. Why is the government selling the King’s College? Is the government broke? That is not the case.

Therefore, the Federal Government is in a better position to repair King’s College dungeon of stench and darkness than any Old Boys Association can do. Government should stop evading its responsibility by transferring it to another body in the name or guise of selling the school. It is the duty of the Federal Ministry of Education to run and supervise Unity Colleges adequately. If the Parents/Teachers Associations (PTAs) of these Colleges have become so powerful and uncontrollable, we should blame the minister and supervisors in the Federal Ministry of Education.

The parents and workers in these schools have the right to protest over the plan to sell our common patrimony and heritage. Those who established the Unity Colleges did so based on their envisioned unity the colleges will foster in a country coming out of the Nigerian civil war of 1967-1970. While the actual war ended in 1970, the scars of that war are still visible in every sector of the Nigerian public life. The Unity Colleges should be left alone and be adequately maintained, staffed and equipped. We should not toy with the vision and ideals behind the establishment of Unity Colleges.

Just like the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, the Unity Colleges remain the first place most Nigerians from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds meet for the very first time. Let us preserve these symbols of our fragile unity and maintain them. To sell or concession them to the highest bidder or the so-called benefactor will be injurious to our envisaged unity and oneness. The stench and darkness in these Unity Schools are man-made. They point to our gross dereliction of duty and our inability to assume responsibility when it mattered most.

Why the penchant new interest to buy the King’s College Lagos? Is it by love of the school or patriotism or both? Is it really altruistic? The answers will vary. Beyond the concession or outright sale of these Unity Colleges, which I do not support, the Federal Government should begin to reclaim these unity schools in terms of funding, staffing and equipment. The government should stop paying lip-service to education.

The government’s vision of achieving $1trillion economy by 2030 will be a ruse if government is not serious about manpower development through basic education to secondary schools and tertiary level. Let government rescind its decision to concession King’s College Lagos or any other Unity College. Let these schools be.