[OPINION] Is Governor Ortom Playing The Hero Of The BSU School Fees Saga?

 

Ever since 1992 when the Benue State University took off on nothing but the fires of sheer determination and the sacrifice of Reverend Father Moses Adasu, admission of new students have never been so turbulent, thank God it has finally been laid to rest but be that as it may, certain quasi political and sentimental issues still linger amidst fears that it may happen again hence the need to speak up.

It is no longer news that the compulsory charges imposed by the latest Vice Chancellor of the Benue State University Professor Kembe on incoming students met strict disapproval and out right refusal by some quota consisting majorly of students both returning and fresh but on the other hand it was welcomed by some who I dare  refer to as the elite few, for it would take only an elite to afford the proposed fees and other charges which had not just been increased but were doubled in some departments with fees going well over a hundred thousand naira.

Amidst that Bruhaha, it is still very unclear whether the Governor of the state who so happens to be a visitor to the university and who one would think is in the know of things is the one that authorized such gross inflation of fees, and if he did, one would beg an answer to the question on the mouths of thousands of Benue parents who  have not been paid for up to four months “where did the Governor expect them to get the money to pay these fees (and maybe their taxes too but that is a discussion for another day) if the state is still owing them.

I do not think it would be too radical to wonder if maybe the Governor did authorise that increase but to save face decided to let the Vice Chancellor take the heat for the sake of the greater good all the while petting him in the shadows and encouraging him not to bow to pressures from the camps that insisted on seeing that the Benue child got affordable education. This is one theory that crossed my mind.

Perhaps the funds have been short and not pouring in from the Federal Government as it used to and the state was forced to source internal funds to run its parastatals and establishments, maybe again just maybe the powers that be (who ever they are, be it the governor, the governing council or the Vice Chancellor) intended that the University be run from funds internally generated so as to avoid over dependence on the government and industrial actions.

Whatever the real reason for the inflation was (because all the reasons given seemed too far fetched and suspicious considering that every body knows that money is not easy to come by these days) one obvious fact is that there is no justifiable ground for an increase of that magnitude which threatened the education of the Benue child. Change is good (The Governor would know all about that) but the change in fees and imposed charges were not what  Father Adasu had in mind when he saw it fit that Benue has her own university so that Benue sons and daughters could access quality and affordable education.

Looking at this situation from the tribal angle, it made no sense at all!! Out of the three thousand or so fresh students admitted, less than two hundred Idoma students were admitted and if another two hundred stand for other non Tiv fresh students admitted, that would mean that out of the three thousand, about two thousand and six hundred are Tiv. It would seem then that the Governor Dr. Samuel Ortom who is a Tiv man together with Professor Msugh Kembe another Tiv man ensured that the Idomas, the Igedes and the Etulos were grossly cheated out of tertiary education in favour of the Tiv Students only to inflate the charges and keep them at home? Surely there is some thing we are not being told but until the truth in all its ugly bits and pieces surfaces and a consensus is reached, the fresh students consisting mostly of the favoured Tiv populace will study in fear that at any point in time, things could change.

It has been rumoured that it is the Tiv students that need the enlightenment more as the other tribes have since long sought succour in universities of neighbouring states and have countless illustrious sons and daughters to show for it and countless others in the armed forces all thanks to a certain retired army General but the truth of this, is yet to be ascertained. 

Before we loose our selves in the politics of what is or what is not about the attempted increase it is wise that we unabashedly struggle to return to the subject of this write up “Is Governor Ortom playing the Hero of the school fees saga?” Yes!! Do we buy the front that he was not aware of the increase or permitted it in the first place? No. In addition we feel used, exploited and taken for granted. There is a lot more to be said but for now all we can do is wait and hope for the best.