USA Africa Dialogue Series - Yaqub, “No Pay No Work!”

NO WORK NO PAY

By - Prof Nuhu Yaqub (Former VC UniAbuja & Sokoto state University).

Thank you so very much, Professor Abdullahi Sule-Kano for your apt rejoinder to Dr. Alkali. I wonder why the said author of the "No Work, No Pay" - if I may "No Sense Law" piece didn't bother to rigorously interrogate the usual class nature of jurisprudence. Questions such as "Who made the "law?" "For what purpose?" etc., were not asked by Dr. Alkali. Why? Does it occur to him that the state structure is never anywhere in history, more so in our contemporary world, a true representative of all the segments in society? Further, does it question why the so-called laws are made to equally protect the collateral damage appertaining to the makers of the so-called laws? And that the non-represented segments of the society do not have the advantage of such collateral damage? Let me explain what I am saying: if the law says there should be "No Work, No Pay," which has already witch-hunted the worker, why shouldn't the same law ask the makers of the law, i.e., the state operators of the law a limited time frame within which they should respond to the workers? Until jurisprudence is made to punish and/or protect parties going or asking for equity to come with "clean hands" to the table, an analyst is not supposed to be blinded to the inequity in law making, law interpretation, and law enforcement!!!

This inequity becomes more problematic in a rogue state entity, such as Nigeria, which takes irresponsibility, incapacity and lack of sincerity to an art level. How else would one explain why, on earth, would a state entity freely enter into an agreement since 2009 and would negate its execution more than 12 years later without any compunction? Or would choose to implement only aspects convenient to it? And when asked or given the opportunity to redeem itself and it's then it would remember that there is an iniquitous law called "No Work, No Pay?" As I asked earlier, where is the obligation or the opportunity on the part of the Party to the agreement to also resort to an instrument to discipline such a rogue?

Leaving aside the argument and/or the issue of the morality of law in ensuring that equity is adhered to or should be inherent in a collective bargaining behind the series of encounters/interactions since the commencement of the the Agreement, we can look at the performance of the state and the personnel representing or pursuing the interest of such a roguish state. Can an objective person exonerate a character such as Ngige in the manner he presided over the re-negotiation meetings before he was shamefully shuffled aside? His behavior was uncouthed, pedestrian and inchoate. He never appeared sober whoever he appeared on the television screen. Indeed, he was like a drunker and jester who had lost every sense of sobriety. When he appeared to his incurably taciturn principal - President Buhari, Adamu Adamu was brought in to continue the demolition business that his colleague minister started that ended ignominiously.

It is an insult to the ASUU delegates to the negotiations that someone who had been sidelined for much of the negotiation period and meetings that was brought to do the hatchet job of destroying the entire process as it now looks. The performance of Adamu Adamu is most unfortunate, shameful and unministerial!!! This was a minister who was sidelined by sickness, who was treated from public purse, and who now came up to put a most shameful performance also, by empty arrogance. He was not only arrogant, but lied by induces of measuring performance. (Readers of this piece should make reference to the denial issued by members of the Nimi Briggs Committee in the papers last week - August 22nd) In addition, he irresponsibly called publicly the Nigerian students to go and sue their teachers who have come out to essentially force the roguish Nigeria's to carry its responsibilities adequately and competently.

It's quite sobering to note that some members of ASUU have been able to bring forth the article Adamu Adamu freely wrote some years ago, during the Jonathan Administration, urging the latter to be alive to its responsibilities by sincerely negotiating with ASUU. Has he forgotten so soon that he confessed then that ASUU's struggles were patriotic? But, now, under the visionless regime that he is serving, the Union and its members should be crucified "for treason," right? The contradictions in the thought process now have clearly unsuitable to continue to occupy the ministerial seat that he has occupied for more than seven years without good impact so far and without the ability to resolve a simple matter of implementing an agreement that has been crying for resolution. If what it takes to be a minister is to be unproductive, the historic narrative that shall be the legacy of the Buhari administration, it is most unfortunate. Indeed, in the annals of governance in this country, it is this Buhari administration that will as the most incompetent, most corrupt, most ineffectual, most lethargic, most indecisive, most inconsequential and most criminally intent, which the good people of Nigeria should write off. Before this is done, it's pertinent to also criminalize it; let the regime be so humiliated in the manner Adamu Adamu has suggested!!! The only medal that such a regime should be given in the end is a disgraceful one, as it has failed woefully to tackle even its self-imposed, and independently enunciated three-point agenda of tackling corruption, insecurity, and reviving the Nigerian economy. Indeed, if anything, this is the regime that is a prime candidate for suing, in order for the traumatized Nigerian people to get back the humongous resources wasted on the regime without anything to show for it!!!


Sent from my iPhone

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