Gombe Varsity Face Exodus of Lecturers

Segun Awofadeji

Lecturers of the Gombe State University (GSU) are said to be leaving the institution in search of greener pastures elsewhere following poor working conditions in the institution.

THISDAY checks revealed that the 13- year old university, currently undergoing accreditation by the National Universities Commission (NUC), is facing a dearth of academic staff following what some of the lecturers described as poor academic staff development as well as working conditions .

The GSU chapter Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr. Lawal Oladimeji said he is not in position to confirm the exodus of academic staff from the institution

According to him, “the reason for the delay in salaries, we do not know, but it is certainly something we do not welcome and we do not like, and so if you are disenchanted with the condition under which you are working, I think you are also at liberty to look elsewhere, if you believe you can find a better option. I cannot deny if people are leaving the university, but at the same time I cannot confirm if there is mass exodus, because I have not conducted a statistical study of how many people have left the university of late and the reason for their leaving.”

He noted that the problem had been there for quite a while; but that the union is trying to approach the issue in a diplomatic way, saying, “in the last one year, it has worsened. These days we don’t get salaries until sometimes, 11th or 12th, in fact of late, we have had to stay up to 16th of the next month. It is a major problem, a situation where a staff’s existence is virtually tied to the salaries, which in the first instance, even if it was paid at the right time, with the inflation we have in the economy, has virtually taken the money away.”

He added that the issues in the institution are not just about payment of salaries, but that there are issues of entitlements that are due to staff which have not been paid, as well as issues of infrastructural inadequacy.

“We have the issue of staff development which is very serious, you may also have heard about staff going on training, not being funded, being stranded abroad especially overseas, the challenge is also there and its one of the issues we presented at those various levels.”

In an effort to solve the problems, he said the union has engaged the management of the university, and Chancellor who is also the Emir of Gombe and the Commissioner for Higher Education, at different levels all to no avail, adding that it has also approached the visitor to the institution and Governor of the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, but attempts at seeing him this year proved abortive.

Oladimeji said there are limits to humans patience, noting, “If my members tell me, see, we are tired of this delay, let us go otherwise, we will go. The important thing is that the notice of engagements are there, we have notified the appropriate authorities, our wish is that they find solutions to it as soon as possible, but if they don’t, by the time the patience of our members is exhausted, then they will see us from the other side.”

However, efforts to see the Registrar of the University, Abdullahi Mohammed Yuguda as well as the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ibrahim Musa Umar on the issue, met a brick wall, but the Gombe State Commissioner for Higher Education, Dr. Mohammed Isah Wade whose ministry oversees the institution confirmed that there is mass exit from the Gombe state University. According to him, “The issue of exit in every system is part of the process of management and labour turn-over, but when you say mass exit, people are just over exaggerating issues. I want to say that the issue of mass exit from Gombe State University is false, a rumour and mere propaganda that has no bases.”

He said, if that is true, “In the last six months or one year, how many people have actually left? It is a mere superfluous statement. It is when you have such number at a given time that you will see that the exit is of serious concern. In every organisations, people come in and go out, it is normal.”