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Update on the struggle against fees hike

at Ife (Nigeria) and appeal for solidarity

Report by Isiaka Adegbile, In Ile-Ife, Nigeria

The university authorities on the campus have accepted the demand for negotiations on the part of the student union leaders for Friday (today). This is in spite of the fact that earlier the Vice Chancellor had declared closed the case of the fees hike. He had been claiming that only the University Council has the powers to reverse the decision on fees and that he has no powers over the decision whatsoever. This shows that militant struggle pays. As the number of students present on the campus has been growing so has the pressure on the university authorities.

We have to remember that the Campus had been closed for a very long time in response to the ongoing strikes of the academic and non-academic university staff. This long stay at home was accompanied by a psychological weariness on the part of the students. But now that the students are back on campus they have started shaking all this off with a congress of the union that was held on Tuesday, June 3. The congress gave moral support to the union leaders, commending them for their efforts so far to put a halt to the fees hike.

However, at first it seemed that this support was more of a passive nature with no intention of physical resistance on the part of the students. But thanks to the high level of agitation and propaganda work carried out by the union leaders among the mass of the students the situation began to change. As the students became aware of what was at stake the mobilisation and active participation of the students increased steadily leading up to the congress that was held on Thursday, June 5. This congress proved to be much stronger, and more militant than that of Tuesday.

This congress fully backed the demands of the Student Union against the increment in fees. It also organised a protest march around the campus demanding the Vice Chancellor open up negotiations (those same negotiations that he had already previously refused to take part in). Now he hurriedly approved then under the pressure of the mass movement.

The resolution of the congress raises a 24-hour ultimatum on the bad welfare conditions that must be improved upon. It also demands the unconditional reinstatement of the suspended students and the immediate reopening of negotiations with the union on fees with a view to reducing them.

The student protest involved nothing less than 6000 students on the campus, despite the fact that a large number of students are still not back on campus. But the numbers are gradually increasing.

Send protest letters and e-mails to the Vice Chancellor of OAU, both in the name of labour movement and student organisations and personally, demanding that no increase in fees be implemented and that no acts of victimisation should be applied to protesting students. In particular the measures against the five suspended students Akinwumi Olawoyin (President of the students' union), Isiaka Adegbile, Ekundayo Fadugba (Public relations officer of the students' union), Hassan Abass (Speaker of the students' union parliament), and Olugbenga Adewale, should be withdrawn.

Vice chancellor,

Prof ROA Makanjuola,

Obafemi Awolowo University,

Ile-Ife,

Osun state,

Nigeria

Email: Rogerm@oauife.edu.ng

and

The President of Nigeria,

Olusegun Obasanjo

at: President.obasanjo@nigeriagov.org demanding that he intervene to bring an end to the repressive measures being applied at the OAU.

Send copies in BCC to the email address of the Editorial Board of the Workers' Alternative, wa@marxist.com so that the students on the ground can be informed of the campaign.

June 5, 2003

See also:

Appeal for solidarity against further repression of Nigerian students - The case of OAU-Ife (May 30, 2003)

Fee-hike season in Varsities: the OAU story, By Olutope Anointing (May, 2003)

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I think I received a letter from one of these student activists, offering me 20% of his dead father's vast foertune for helping him get it out of Nigeria. I'm just trying to find a stamp before I reply.