NBAIS MAIN OPERATION CENTRE,             ZARIA

By Muhammad Tukur.

The face off over right of occupancy between two sister organizations of the Ministry of Education may not be out of the I go usual happentance in the general context of the Government of the day in Nigeria. The scandalous acts attending the bitter struggle for property control between Africa’s largest university, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria ( ABU, Zaria) and its own very creation, National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS), is shocking to people’s sense of propriety despite its similarity with other inter and intra ministerial bouts of intransigence. The fact that these institutions are centres of the education industry is what agitate the mind of Nigerians on hearing the violent  in fighting.

The two educational institutions are complementary in their functions in building a good society through development of the mind and heart of citizens via the process of education. Disorder and violence erupting from such supposedly hallowed institutions would certainly be most disturbing.

I first read about this open fight for supremacy in the Newspapers before I kept tab on sources up close the two main actors in both the institutions. It is established that the Vice Chancellor of Ahamadu Bello University requested the services of Nigeria Police operatives to storm the premises occupied as Exams Centre by NBAIS in Gaskiya Area in Zaria Local Givernment of Kaduna State. As reported, the police forcibly ejected the internal security men of NBAIS and took over the place on behalf of ABU, Zaria. This alleged police action took place late in the night. By the time I arrived at the scene of the nocturnal and unequal skirmish the dust had settled and ABU armed invitees were in firm control of the place, locked and barred. I was only able to witness the scourged gate of the disputed place with the previously emblozoned name of NBAIS torn off and effaced. From the gate the physical desruction and the presence of stern looking policemen described a place abnormally disturbed.

It is my belief nothing happened of such nature  sponteneously. It must have been a climax of a long smoldering misundertanding. My guess is as good as yours! Further inquiry revealed a deeper eddies that  led to the final crest of show of force. I may not go into details of the patently personal issues at stake. Suffice it to say that ABU Zaria is a home of rival factions of cross interests. The current VC was said to have been a victim in the last dispensation where by he had lost his DVC Academics position. As events took their turns, he now wound up now as the VC. It was observed that the VC, cum former DVC academics, immediately on ascending the number one seat in the university, started paying the former VC”s team players back by divesting them of all administrative positions and responsibilities. Analysts with intimate knowledge of the raging cold war in Africa’s academic amazon averred that the Acting  Registrar of NBAIS, who is also an academic employee of the University, has  good understanding with the  former VC. It is hence contended that this made the NBAIS acting helmsman a target and his now independent institution a victim by association. This violent gesture enacted by theABU  management has caused quite a damage to goods and utility belonging to NBAIS as well as sent a jiggering effects across Nigeria. Not less than six major national dailies carried the institutional showdown.

I have got a previlleged information that the Acting  Registrar of NBAIS, Prof. Shafi’u Muhammed, had remostrated with the Minister of Education who, in response, ostensibly deviced  a molifying  settlement and called for damage control. Hitherto, ABU Zaria had justified its punitive action by hinting at the avowed fact that it had given NBAIS long enough quit notice, but NBAIS chosez to dally depite having its own new site that was more than adquate for its needs.

This unsaluburious development is not without its tangible and intangible tolls on the two institutions slugging it out over space, as well as on the Ministry of Education itself. Firstly, resources might have been wasted as a result of the office materials and pieces of furtuniture said to have been catapaulted out by the rampaging police on the request of the VC. A huge amount of tax payers money have gone the drain.

The loss of reputation by the institutions, and by extention the Ministry of Education, and the shaken  confidence of Nigerians are incalculable. The untoward debacle has registered a negetive perception that internal politics and personal interest are ruining the smooth and conscientious management of public trust in terms of both utilization and application of human and material  resources.

Furthermore, the revelation that at a certain stage the Minister had waded into the wrangling, but his intervention had failed to dissipate the storm until it reached the current crescendo, badly impacted on the public perception of the Minister’s ability to excercise lawful authority in the enforcement of discipline. Already, there are confirmed tales of the Minister’s weakness to punish unruly and corrupt administrators under him. The Minister seems to have confered immunity status to some of the  managers of Nigeria’s institutions of learning. Predictably, the reported act of violence and arson committed by ABU Zaria VC, as reported by the media, would be left uncensored without even so much a reprimand or a public comment to reassure Nigerians and rebuild their waning confidence by the Minister.