ASUU, Oshiomhole and UNIBEN properties

The Edo State Government has been locked in a war of
attrition with the authorities of the University of Benin
(UNIBEN) over ownership of some properties located in the
Government Reservation Area of the state. The UNIBEN branch
of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has upped
the ante by accusing the Edo State governor, Adams
Oshiomhole, of high handedness and unprovoked attacks on
its members in his quest to take possession of the properties
in dispute.
Although a recent court judgement affirmed that the properties
rightly belong to Edo State Government, the haste and
indecorum with which the state government attempted to give
effect to the judgement is appalling. This is more so as the
university was reported to have appealed the judgement.
The Edo State authorities had mobilised bulldozers to the site
of the properties in question within days of the judgment and
pulled them down in a brazen show of power and self-help.
Students of the university, in reaction, took to the streets in
protest and destroyed at least a vehicle belonging to the state
government. They have threatened to return to the streets
again if government does not quickly meet their conditions for
peace and restore the status quo.
It is the dragging of the students into this seemingly
avoidable dispute and exposing them to harm’s way that we
decry and condemn. Parties in this dispute must realise their
responsibilities to the future generation of leaders that these
students represent and do everything humanly possible to
shield them from exposure to crisis.
If we may ask: Why was the Edo State government in such
haste to give effect to the court judgment, knowing that the
window of 90 days for an appeal had not been exhausted?
The argument that it did not receive the appeal notice before
the demolition exercise was embarked upon cannot hold
water. Neither can the earlier argument that it was UNIBEN
that initiated the court process in the first place, and should
suffer its consequence. Government, as the father of all, has a
higher responsibility to exercise utmost restraint in disputes
with its own stakeholders in order not to be seen to be
irresponsible in its actions.
This is more so when its actions cannot stand the test of
time and moral scrutiny. The mills of justice may grind slowly,
but they remain sure. The rush by the Edo authorities to take
possession of the properties was needless. Restraint, even in
the face of provocation, is the minimum expected of all
responsible governments.
Now that some damage has been done, how does government
mitigate it? This is a box government should not have found
itself in if it had thought through its action in the first place.
Government should not have resorted to the demolition of the
contentious properties, especially as they reportedly house
very senior members of staff of the university.
So, the government should as a first step towards resolving
the dispute and avoiding an escalation, take no further action
in advancing its claim to ownership of the properties in dispute
until the appeal by the university is exhausted. We are in a
democratic country where the rule of law must prevail. Let the
state government initiate peace moves and wait for the final
pronouncement of the courts on the matter.
We enjoin Governor Oshiomhole to show leadership in this
matter. The UNIBEN authorities should also explore all
avenues for an amicable handling of this dispute until the final
resolution of the matter by the courts.