NADIR Lambasts ASUU over Threat to Withdraw Kashifu’s Degree
The Network of Advocates for Digital Reporting (NADIR) says it is alarmed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Chapter’s move to withdraw the Degree Certificate of Mr Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi.
This according to NADIR, is simply because Kashifu is discharging his duties as Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
The group, through its Publicity Secretary, Bello Shehu, described the threat of the ATBU ASUU as ‘laughable and ill-advised’.
NADIR, made this known in a statement titled, “ASUU and Its Empty Threats Against NITDA’s DG”.
The “withdrawal” of Kashifu’s certificate was been considered by ATBU ASUU after the NITDA boss’ submission that “the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), has failed integrity test, vulnerability test (security integrity), User Acceptance Test and stress load test, as well as the hardware requirements,” PRNigeria learnt.
But in the statement released by Shehu, NADIR noted that it is a total disregard for common sense that ASUU, who should know better, will throw caution to the wind, and make a fundamental blunder that seeks to portray it as a sole authority in conferring or retracting degree awards, rather than limiting itself to its scope of protecting and furthering the rights of University workers.
"By this goof, we can only conclude that ASUU is not childishly arrogant but confused as usual,” it said.
According to the statement obtained by PRNigeria, NADIR, further explained that, “as bizarre and empty as the threat sounds, it is shocking that in a desperate bid to blackmail a public official into lowering the bars of his official mandate and succumbing to its selfish inclinations, ASUU, a supposed union of university academic staff have resorted to using cheap blackmail and hallow threats that have no real value, worth, or effectiveness in order to hound it’s prey.”
Part of the statement reads: “After unsuccessfully hounding the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Professor Isah Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the union has now turned to his prodigy, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, thereby successfully establishing that it is not only out against this two individuals, but against Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda.
“We are not sure to what extent ASUU is willing to bare its fangs as a clog in the wheels of Nigeria’s progress but before it self destruct ASUU needs to answer some fundamental questions as follows:
“Has the union now usurped the mandate of University’s Senate in awarding degree certificates?
“Is there a legally recognised marriage of convenience between labour unionism and award of degree certificates in ATBU?
“Isn’t ASUU overstepping it’s boundaries and arrogating to itself an authority outside its jurisdiction?
“Isn’t ASUU deducing itself to mere community of jokers with irresponsible activists?
“Beyond the NUC regulations, each university self-regulates its academic programmes through the power vested in its senate. Precedents have severally shown that only the University’s Senate has the powers to do what ASUU is ignorantly threatening to do.
“…From the foregoing, despite its meddlesome and unbecoming attitude, ASUU is a non entity in the scheme of things.
“NITDA on the other hand acted within its establishing act which mandates it to create a framework for the planning, research, development, standardization, application, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and regulation of Information Technology (IT) practices in Nigeria.
“The Agency has, over the years, issued series of regulatory instruments including the Software Testing and Quality Assurance Framework and Guideline, issued in 2016. This regulatory instrument, currently being reviewed, provides guidelines for the design, development and testing of software projects in Nigeria.
"Despite this glaring facts, to say that the network is shocked that ASUU would use the instrumentalities of empty threat and dirty fight to harass a public official for carrying out his duty is to say the least.”
According to NADIR, if Institutions can threaten their products for standing up for what is right in line with the discharge of their duties and get away with it, then excellence and sterling track record is endangered.
“By the way, why is ASUU ATBU chapter notoriously attacking some of their graduates in top public offices from Minister of Communication, Isa Pantami to now DG NITDA Kashifu Inuwa?
“Nonetheless, ASUU should be careful not to render itself as a collection of numerous hunting breeds whose barking is only a characteristics of its diminished integrity,” the group warned.
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