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By Femi Bolaji, Jalingo
For most residents of Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, last Monday was a day they will likely not forget in a hurry.
This was on account of the mayhem that erupted at the state-owned university, causing pandemonium that spread like wildfire to many parts of the town, throwing innocent residents into panic mode.
It began with an attempt by aggrieved students of the Taraba State University to burn down many facilities to express their anger over the abrupt postponement of their scheduled examinations, which had been overdue due to the prolonged ASUU-induced strike that kept the institution shut for over eight months. The ever-busy city almost became a ghost town while the student’s rage lasted.
That fateful Monday was supposed to mark the commencement of the first-semester examination for the 2021/2022 academic session of the institution but everything suddenly turned awry when the students were informed that their lecturers had pulled out of the examination with the implication that the examination would no longer hold.
Frustrated and enraged by the development, the students immediately embarked on a massive violent protest that crippled both commercial and social activities across the state capital.
Prior to Monday, it was learned that the institution’s ASUU members had resolved to withdraw from participating in the examination unless their arrears were settled. A lecturer who spoke on the condition of anonymity said they had been receiving their salaries in bits, a development which was no longer unacceptable to them. He noted that their major concern was the arrears of their salaries which had accrued during the national ASUU strike and were yet to be paid.
The lecturer said that they have children who are also in other schools and require money and that a hungry man cannot work.
In their rage, the students moved across the major streets of the state capital chanting, “pay our lecturers”. Bonfires were lit and major highways leading in and out of the state were blocked. Business premises started locking up while sympathisers on the road cheered them on.
Reacting to the action of the students, a worried parent appealed to the government and school management to do what was necessary. The man said: “Our children are supposed to be in the classroom and not on the street. This is just a result of their frustration because they are tired of the delays since 2020.”
The major opposition party in the state, the All Progressive Congress, APC, also took a swipe at the state government over its handling of the institution.
Spokesman of the party, who also doubles as the Director of Media, Bwacha Gubernatorial Council, Aaron Artimas, in a statement urged the government to pay the lecturers. The statement in part reads: “We strongly condemn this negatively recurring decimal, which continues to portray the state in a bad light and frustrates the future of our youth. We are particularly worried about the immediate safety of our youth following the escalation of the protest, resulting in the deployment of soldiers and anti-riot police to disperse the students.
“It is highly regrettable that the Taraba State government has constantly demonstrated its inability to manage the state university, resulting in a vicious cycle of protests, shutdowns, and unstable academic calendars. This unfortunate saga has a serious negative impact on the dwindling fortune of the university as one of the best state-owned tertiary institutions in the country.
“While we appeal to the students to exercise restraint in expressing their grievance on the postponement of their examinations, the state government should immediately pay the lecturers their entitlements to save this ugly situation. Considering the importance of education to our social and economic development, the government must prioritise education as the only way of securing the future of our children and ensuring stability in the state.”
Also, a Member representing the Wukari/Ibbi federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Danjuma Shiddi, in a statement, urged the state government to pay all outstanding salaries to the lecturers.
However, sources from the school told Arewa Voice that the management of the institution has postponed the commencement of the examinations till January 30, 2023. It was also gathered that the governor left the state on Monday evening after the protest had died down but did not make any statement regarding the ugly incident.
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