THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is threatening to shut down the country’s economy if its president, Joe Ajaero, is arrested by the police. Ajaero has been invited for questioning by the police authorities over serious allegations that border on the security of the country and the wellbeing of Nigerians. That’s on one side. On the other side is the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) giving notification that it could soon resume its suspended eight-month strike action that crippled most federal and state universities and threw the entire university system into a tailspin that it is yet to recover from. According to Professor Ishaq Oloyede, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s Registrar, there are at the moment two or three sessions’ backlog of admission in these universities, with hundreds of thousands of admission-seekers – and their parents and wards – the victims. Another downing of tools by the eggheads will not only completely smash the system but will also totally demarket the Nigerian university system in the international community. Already, more and more foreign countries have stopped recognizing Nigerian university certificates – and the academicians themselves to boot – denying them the pride of place hitherto accorded them when our educational system was respected as one of the best not only on the continent of Africa but also all over the world.

Put mildly, these are not the best of times for both the NLC and ASUU to embark on another round of strike action, no matter their grievances. Our patriotic instincts should demand that all hands be on deck now to fight the Chinese threat to strip the country of its vital assets because of a contractual disagreement between a Chinese company and the government of Ogun State, one out of the 36 states that make up the Federation. In what appears as a calculated and orchestrated plot to embarrass the Nigerian government and people, Nigerian assets worth far more than the amount in dispute are being seized, not just in one country but in multiple countries in Europe and the Americas. This is sheer blackmail and a well-crafted plot to tarnish the image of every Nigerian. It is a design to give Nigeria and Nigerians a bad name and image. The negative backlash that this international conspiracy will hewn on every Nigerian is better imagined than felt. For a country already suffering one form of image problem or another, this is one scandal too many. Any Nigerian that does not see it this way should have their head examined.

This, however, is not to say that we should not apportion blame where it is due; be they individuals or corporate organisations. Anyone and everyone who has a hand in getting us into this mess must be uncovered and punished. This is one case that must not be swept under the carpet in the usual Nigerian style. But – and this is a big but – we must first drive away the fox before returning home to warn the hen not to wander too far away from its secured zone. For one, the assets being plundered are our assets; I mean, they are the assets of all Nigerians and we cannot say it serves President Bola Ahmed Tinubu right. We will be cutting our nose to spite our face if we reason that way. We should not even wash our hands off it and ask the Ogun State Government and\or its former and sitting governors to clean up the mess. It is only after we have risen like one man to call the bluff of the Chinese gold diggers that we can return to give due recompense to the culprits that got all of us into this sorry pass.

That said, we must advise the government that if Nigerians are to rally round it to face the external aggression that the Chinese businessman’s action typifies, it cannot afford to fish in troubled waters. The police invitation to Ajaero appears one provocation too many. I hope the police authorities were not acting irresponsibly with its invitation to the NLC president because the allegations against him are very grievous – criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion and cybercrime. None of the allegations is lightweight. If the police have evidence and can establish a prima facie case against Ajaero, then, the NLC president must face the music. No one is above the law. Put differently, the law is no respecter of persons. As our people will put it, it is the finger that offends the king (the law) that is cut off. If the police are able to prove their case against Ajaero, then, the NLC will be wrong to think of shielding him from having his day in court. The offences or crimes he is alleged to have committed is against all of us; it is against the Nigerian state; it is against present and future generations of Nigerians; it is against the wellbeing of every Nigerian, including the same NLC buffs threatening to shut down the economy just to protect their man, be he guilty, be he innocent. That, I dare to say, is irresponsible. What I expect of them is to insist that Ajaero must not be victimized or oppressed; that his rights must be respected and that he must have his day in court. That should have been the most reasonable path for them to tread.

I expect Ajaero to still insist on having his day in court. It will not be right if, after the NLC’s grandstanding, he hides in a corner and chooses not to clear his name of the damaging allegations leveled against him by the police. The police, too, if they fail to press their case against Ajaero, would have unimaginably dented their own image and destroyed whatever is left of their reputation. In addition, the Inspector-General of Police will have to resign. In addition, he will have to tender an unreserved apology to Ajaero and Nigerians. Ajaero will then also be at liberty to sue him for libel and defamation of character and demand hefty sums as compensation. If none of the two parties follow these recommendations, then, they have something to hide and are not serious-minded fellows. Their integrity becomes suspect.

Now to ASUU! It is too early for the university teachers to threaten to further disrupt an already-disrupted university calendar. No matter their grouse and no matter how long it takes for commonsense to prevail, another strike action should not be on the cards. If we have a sense of shame and responsibility, we must choose to suffer in silence rather than destroy the university system completely. It is like a man setting fire on the roof over his head simply because the landlord was tardy in effecting the repair of a leaking roof. At the recent stakeholders meeting of JAMB held in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, spoke eloquently of the benefits the ministry – and the country as a whole – has reaped from his new approach of encouraging dialogue among the various stakeholders in the country’s university system and the government. He admonished the university authorities to bend over backward to maintain peace on campus by toeing the line of dialogue. So, whatever happened to those homilies? Is he not practising what he preaches? The Federal Government must bend over backward to prevent another strike action by ASUU.

Now, if I may ask, what are the government’s excuses for not meeting ASUU’s demands? Is it that there is no money? A country that gifted N90 billion on Hajj subsidy (much of which was found to have ended in some individuals’ pockets); a country that spent billions renovating the vice-president’s quarters; a country that bought multi-million Naira bulletproof cars for its National Assembly members; that just purchased a customised private jet for its president, with a limo that will make the American president green with envy to boot; a country that is preparing for another earth summit jamboree; a country where senators go home with N21 million every month; and a country where the CBN top-wigs are reportedly revelling in the opulence reserved only for Arab oil sheiks  – such a country cannot, in good conscience, claim not to have the means to end the rot in our institutions of higher learning.