Proudly Ladokite

One week after Ladokites took to the streets of Ibadan to protest the closure of LAUTECH for the past seven months, the effects continue pouring in. The effect, this time, is not the handwork of Ladokites but Ajimobi himself. After a video of him making such derogatory comments that undermine the value of education went viral, major backlash has started pouring in, condemning his act and asking for an apology. Here are a few: Bella Naija :  Must Watch! Gov. Ajimobi of Oyo tells LAUTECH Protesting Students, “Go and do your worst!” Premium Times :  VIDEO: Gov. Ajimobi taunts protesting LAUTECH students, says ‘Do your worst’ Pulse :  Oyo Governor is a disgrace YNaija :  YNaija Says: Shame On You, Governor Ajimobi. Shame On You

Chairman of ASUU LAUTECH, Dr. Biodun Olaniran and Chairman, ASUU Ibadan, Dr. Ade Adejumo  announced in an interview on Galaxy TV today that the lecturers will not resume -- not even on February 1st -- if their demands are not met by the owner-states, Oyo and Osun, government. This is coming as a rather unexpected blow to the students whose hopes had already been raised by Ajimobi’s promise during the protest Monday that LAUTECH will resume on or before February 1st. Dr. Biodun Olaniran buttressed on the demands of ASUU. “The demands,” he said, “are very clear, and if there is any will on the part of the government, they are not difficult to meet.” While explaining that the union had both long and short term demands from the government, he went further to state the short term demands which must be met before the agree to resume. The short term demands, are as follows:

Channels TV: LAUTECH Reopens January Ending, Ajimobi Tells Protesting Students Vanguard: LAUTECH Strike: Police warn as students paralyse activities in Ibadan The Nation: LAUTECH to get N500m lifeline  Guardian: Aggrieved varsity students spurn Ajimobi, protest in Ibadan   Daily Post: We want LAUTECH reopened now – students tell Ajimobi, Aregbesola   Pulse: Students demand re-opening of varsity in mass protest  

Oyo state governor, Abiola Ajimobi, has officially announced that LAUTECH will resume activities on or before February 1. He made this known in a statement issued by his Special Adviser Communication and Strategy, Mr. Yomi Layinka, after a meeting with the national, Zonal and State Leadership of the students’ unions in his office, on Friday evening. This is coming as a confirmation to our earlier report where we exclusively confirmed this from the NANS Oyo Chairman, Toheeb Niniola. Ajimobi also confirmed that LAUTECH Vice-chancellor, Prof.  Adeniyi Gbadegesin, was involved in the conversation during the meeting on Friday. According to the statement, representatives of the Oyo and Osun states had met last Tuesday in Osogbo to agree on the way out of the crisis prior to Friday’s round of talks which led to the agreement to reopen the school.

This rumor is not entirely true. Read the analysis below. A report surfaced on WhatsApp Friday evening claiming that Oyo state Governor, Ajimobi, declared that LAUTECH will resume on the 15th of January after a meeting with some ‘LAUTECH representatives’ in Ibadan. The report which was supposedly written by the senior assistant to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on youth and student affairs, Afeez Bolaji Repete, went further to claim that Governor Ajimobi called Osun state governor, Aregbesola, on the phone, and they agreed to pay N200 million each into LAUTECH account for outstanding allowances and salaries. One reason why this is statement seemed unrealistic is because on Thursday, prior to the report, both Oyo and Osun state governors made a joint statement  appealing to student of LAUTECH and their parents to bear with them as they were still awaiting the final report and recommendation from the Visiting Panel headed by Chief Wole Olanipeku (SAN) .

The Oyo state government has been reportedly sending out invitations via text message to some LAUTECH students’ leaders, summoning them to a meeting at Ibadan. Although the reason for the meeting is unclear, there have been speculations that the motive is to cajole the students’ leaders who are supposed to lead the mass action on Monday to back down. This invitation is already causing some controversy among the students’ leader as some seemed to be cozying up to the Governor’s call, while others have either rejected his invitation or publicly stated that they were not going to compromise their stand concerning the protest on Monday 9th. The PRO of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) reportedly commented that the meeting was ‘not for a serious talk but for an act of “flexing their jaws”.’ His statement attracted serious backlash, even from former LAUTECH SUG President, Solace Bakare, who referred to him as ‘myopic’ for cozying up to the government.

Update: A correction was made to this post. The organizer of the mass action was corrected to 'Save Education and Reopen Lautech Coalition (SERAL-C)' from 'Alliance of Nigerian Students against Neoliberal Attack (ANSA).' ---------------- While Lautech students have been making plans to embark on a mass protest on Monday 9th against the closure of the institution for the past 7 months, Oyo and Osun state government seem to have been making other plans. Yesterday, they presented a jointly signed statement to journalists advising students, parents and guardians to “ resist the temptation to resort to self-help and/or any action that may precipitate disruption of law and order ,” in other words telling them to avoid protests. Although it is unclear if this statement means measures will be taken to counter the protest, many students are hesitant to participate due to fear of a recurrence of what happened during the last protest where Police fired shots and tear ...