Following protests by primary and secondary school pupils on Monday, Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has wielded his enormous power.
He closed all public schools in the South-West state.
In a statement by the Governor’s Office in Agodi, Ibadan, the governor justified the closure, saying it was meant to protect “lives and properties of the entire citizenry”.
It is believed the crisis will deepen the crisis between Ajimobi and Labour leaders in the Pacesetter State.
The statement, signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication and Strategy, Yomi Layinka, reads: “Oyo State Government has ordered the immediate closure of all primary and secondary schools in the state as a way of protecting the lives and properties of the entire citizenry.
“Government has noted the attempt by some members of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Nigeria Union of Teachers to expose our staff and students to danger arising from the on-going court action against their members.
“Today’s incident whereby some students and members of the public were once again coerced by labour to disrupt school sessions and engage in an unwarranted public protests and wanton destruction of property is highly condemnable.
“Members of the Public will recall that members of the two bodies (NLC and NUT) and their hired collaborators last week disrupted the stakeholders’ forum organized by the government on the proposed participatory management of some public secondary schools.
“The decision of the leadership of the NLC to declare total strike without existing labour dispute or ultimatum to the government contravenes all known labour laws and conventions.
“It is quite unfortunate that labour leaders at the national level, who ought to know better, also failed to avail themselves of the opportunity of meeting with officials of the state government to clear apparent misconceptions about the intention of the government.
“The state government wishes to state for the umpteenth time that it never had any intention to privatize, commercialize or cede any of its public secondary schools to any individual or group..
“Rather, the intention of the government is to partner willing stakeholders in the participatory management of a negligible number of the public secondary schools, which may not be more than 10 per cent of the existing 631 schools in the end.
“Discussions are still ongoing with stakeholders on the matter and this informed the invitation extended to those concerned, including labour, NUT and other members of the public to come and contribute to the discourse before a final decision is taken by the government.
“The reality of today is that the government alone cannot solve the myriads of challenges confronting education and other critical sectors in the state.
“The unpatriotic role being played by the disgruntled labour leaders and their external collaborators will not proffer solution to the dilapidated state of infrastructure, poor performance of students in public examinations, low morale of teachers and unconducive teaching-learning environment.
“Government will like to remind them that the era of brigandage and wanton destruction of public property has become history in the state and we will resist any attempt by any person or group, no matter their status, to draw us back into the dark era.
“Meanwhile, the forceful co-option of innocent school children to partake in today’s baseless streets protest anchored on outright falsehood and rumour is rather unwarranted, shameless and evil.
“We want to use this medium to again advise parents to warn their children and wards not to allow themselves to be used for any unlawful gathering or protest, because law enforcement agents have been placed on red alert to disperse any unlawful assembly.
“Workers who have been directed to embark on strike over a matter that is still in the conception stage should have a rethink and report at their duty posts, while the government intensifies efforts to clear arrears of salary”.
Before the closure order by Ajimobi, academic, commercial and vehicular activities were disrupted, especially in Ibadan, the state capital.
The students and workers were protesting the incarceration of the seven Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) leaders and the controversial proposed ‘privatisation’ of their schools by the state government.
What led to the protest on Monday was the alleged plot by the state government to deny the seven labour leaders bail.
Upon their arraignment on Friday at the Iyaganku Chief Magistrate’s Court, Magistrate Jamiu Adebisi granted them bail in the sum of N200,000 each with two sureties in like sum.
The bail conditions relating to the sureties could, however, not be satisfied as the labour unions later learnt that the properties of the sureties were to be inspected.
According to Dr. Ademola Aremu, the Coordinator of the Joint Action Council and former national Treasurer of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), who was at the Iyaganku court on Monday, “The Magistrate did not write in his ruling that the properties of the sureties were to be inspected before releasing the NLC leaders. We discovered that he inserted the condition in order to stall the release of the unionists. The court officials inspected eight of the fourteen properties and later declared that the court could not go on again after 4pm. That was why our people were taken to the prison’, he said.
Following the disruption of all the governmental activities by the students who swooped on many government and the All Progressives Congress (APC) property, destroying them, the arraigned Labour leaders who were incarcerated at the Agodi Prison on Friday, were hurriedly released.
Immediately the state NLC Chairman, Waheed Olojede, Sikiru Bayo Titilola Sodo, Oseni Aderemi, Oparinde Kehinde, Falade Akinyele, Ogundeji Kofoworola and Adegbogun Titi were released from the prison, the National Vice President of the NLC, Comrade Adelegan Solomon, accompanied from Abuja by the Deputy General Secretary, Chris Uyot, announced an indefinite strike commencing from Tuesday.
Addressing journalists at the NLC Secretariat, Agodi, Olojede reinforced the National officer’s decision asking all workers in the state to always converge on the union secretariat every morning where unfolding events regarding the strike would be unfolded.
Among the listed demands of the union to the Ajimobi government were: ‘Withdrawal of all trumped-up charges against the incarcerated labour leaders; government must rescind its decision to sell-off any public schools in the state, proper and adequate funding of the education sector including payment of living wages and other incentive for educational workers and immediate payment of six months outstanding salaries and all pension arrears’.
Security agents had a hectic time controlling the rampaging students who defied any attack but kept shouting anti-government slogans.
They even refused to give audience to the Police Commissioner who was appealing to them at the Government Secretariat. Some of them, who stormed the gate of the secretariat, destroyed the security lights fixed on the walls, while some of them stoned the APC Secretariat (Governor Ajimobi’s constituency office) at Oke Ado, breaking the glass windows.
The office of the Governor’s wife along Government House was also destroyed, as well as the office of Murhi Television (MITV).
Meanwhile, the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has blamed the opposition mounted against the proposed education policy on long military rule in the country which almost eroded the value of democracy and the rule of law from the Nigerian society.
In a statement by its Director of Publicity and Strategy, Olawale Sadare, the APC sued for peace between the labour movement and the state government over ‘a mere proposal conceived essentially to improve the quality of secondary school education in the state and which is still open for debate before it could become a policy’.
The APC, however, appealed to the state government ‘not to be dismayed by the antics of opposition elements who may have penetrated the labour unions with a view to destabilising the Pacesetter State for selfish motives. And since we have no doubt about the sincerity and determination of Senator Ajimobi to move the state forward, we call on the governor continue with his democratic style of public engagement on any issue that has direct or indirect implication on the generality of the public even as we encourage the labour movement to always employ the option of dialogue to resolve any matter with the government’, the statement said.
While alleging that protest by the students was sponsored by Accord Party, the APC further said that ‘At about few minutes past eleven in the morning, hoodlums which comprised of some public secondary school students as well as some disgruntled members of the NLC/NUT and the opposition party – Accord – stormed our party State Secretariat at Oke-Ado and began to vandalise everything on sight. They also beat up some members of staff who had to be treated for varying degrees of injury sustained in the hands of the attackers before they were dispersed by the security agents.
“The attacking hoodlums were harmed with stones, broken-bottles, cudgels, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons with which they attacked innocent people on sight and vandalize the entire properties harboring the Executive members and staff of the APC as well as some private business interests. Yet-to-be estimated valuables were either destroyed or looted during the attacks which lasted about 30 minutes.
“The leadership of our great party is still in shock over the development because nobody had expected a replica of the kind of violent political attacks of the days of the PDP in the state between 2003 and 2011 to resurface, following the laudable handling of security issues by the present administration of Gov. Ajimobi.
“Meanwhile, this particular incident stands condemned in all its ramifications while we appeal for calm among the peace-loving people of the state who were also disturbed by the antics of the regrouping miscreants. We, therefore, call on the State Police Command and other security agencies to investigate the incident thoroughly with a view to bringing the perpetrators and their sponsors to book. On the other hand, we make a passionate appeal to the labour movement and other concerned groups to sheathe their sword and toe the line of dialogue, which is popular in every democratic society like ours, in resolving whatever issues they might have with the state government’, the statement concluded.
In solidarity with Ajimobi, members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) staged their own protest supporting the State Government.
The drivers staged their solidarity rally at the Iyaganku Magistrate Court.
In his reaction, NLC National Vice-Chairman, Mr Solomon Adelegan, ordered Oyo workers to begin an indefinite strike on Tuesday.
He gave the directive after a congress held at the Labour Secretariat in Ibadan.
Adelegan said that the strike action would continue until labour’s demands were met.
“We condemn Oyo State government’s plan to sell our public schools. Education is not a commodity but a social responsibility of the government. I think it will be better for the state government to sell the Government Secretariat and Government House.
“It is also unfortunate that the state government owes workers more than six months salaries. In the light of all these, we order that all government activities as from Tuesday should be grounded through a “sit-at-home’’ action,’’ he said.
He added that all former correspondences and agreements signed with the state government had become null and void.
Speaking after his release on Monday, Olojede said the campaign against the state government was in line with the fact that education was a social responsibility of government.
Olojede cautioned prospective beneficiaries of the school initiative not to “ waste their money,’’ calling on traders to join in the campaign.
