Self-Destruct Mode: When Public Interest Takes a Backseat in FG-ASUU Face-Off

I hereby reference two of my previous blog posts: http://uwomeze.blogspot.com/2013/08/strikes-in-health-and-other-sectors.html and http://uwomeze.blogspot.com/2013/07/strikes-in-healthsector-when-patient.html to indicate my general disposition to strikes in the public sector. The following may be of interest to researchers:

1. Do we know the number of students who have lost their lives or maimed due to the disruption of their stay in school?
2. We need to find out the opportunity cost of many students who will never return to the universities anymore because of a change in circumstance occasioned by being out of school for up to six months.
3. There is also urgent need to quantify the economic loss, physical and psycho-social burden parents and caregivers have borne for this period of time their children have been out of school.
4. Some academics may also be interested in determining the socio-economic and security impact on the society due to about six months of having a teeming population of jobless youth roam the streets in search of nothing.
5. Of course, it is imperative to forecast what all these anomalies portend for the future; some of the problems are just brewing at the moment to be served tomorrow.

All the issues we discuss here are all related to health.  The WHO definition of health is insightful: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. It is not difficult to connect the dots; there is some sickness around. We have to be concerned about the health (complete health) of those making decisions on our behalf.  We must also examine the health of their decisions, and we have to evaluate the impact of these decisions on the health of the public. In the current FG-ASUU face-off, and many other strikes in the public sector (ongoing and threatened), there appears to be a clear lack of health fitness certificate.

After a protracted strike action by university lecturers and equally protracted negotiations which eventually culminated into a final and prolonged parley with the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, the general public heaved a sigh of relief that the matter would eventually be resolved. However, optimism gave way to despair and finally, the federal government came out with a marching order to lecturers to resume work or be sacked as widely reported in the media

Government action appears hasty and thoughtless, and ASUU’s posture tactless and self centred. One would have expected that having gone to this stage, any other matters arising would have been carefully managed, not necessarily in the public domain. However, one is compelled to remark that ASUU has betrayed some undue militancy and extremism in the current struggle. There is no way on the face of the earth one gets every demand; negotiation or renegotiation is a give and take affair. Notwithstanding any previous disappointments and frustrations, some element of trust and hope must be part of the ingredient for any healthy meal of agreements. It is not always on a piece of paper which is only worth the will to keep to such undertaking. This is acknowledged even in international diplomacy. It was an apparent public disrespect to the office of the President of Nigeria for ASUU to assert on seeing him again to present their final conditions before calling off the strike. If the President of the country has to entertain every trade union on their “strong feeling”, as the leader of ASUU indicated in his letter to the President, then there will be no other job for the presidency in a calendar year because there are well over 365 trade unions and professional bodies in the country lining up to meet with the President on one burning issue after another. The letter of ASUU to the President was quite unfortunate as it could be interpreted as essentially ordering the President and Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces to carry out certain actions within a stipulated time.We may have any issues with any persons occupying such position but respect should be seen to be accorded that office. ASUU leadership appears tactless and self centred in this context. 

Furthermore, ASUU cannot continue to live in the past and fail to appreciate that the future is damaged if we do not get out of a burning house with whatever we can salvage. The call should not only be on education but on all the sectors of our national life. What use is a “perfect” educational system when there is insecurity, poor infrastructures and pervading corruption in the land? The result is, of course, continuous brain drain which is a double loss to the country. There is, therefore, urgent need to have a bigger picture in mind when looking at this struggle. A narrow obsession over some items will result into digging into deeper holes and troubles. ASUU has made its point but the body must also realize that it cannot love Nigeria more than the rest of Nigerians.  If you are fighting for public good, you have to galvanize the general public to make it their own fight.  Students, parents and guardians are hurting but ASUU leadership does not appear to take such situation into cognizance. It appears to be all about “our members” and "our interest".  Where exactly are we headed with this kind of posture? Do the rights of students and their parents matter in all this? Who compensates the students, their parents and the general public for injury and losses suffered so far?

The federal government response to ASUU’s latest conditions appears hasty and thoughtless. It is an anti-climax to the long path which brought some glimmer of hope after the meeting with the President. This “fire for fire” mentality that has engulfed the entire polity needs to be urgently reviewed. The sack threat is a devaluation of the efforts of the President of Nigeria at resolving this crisis. Government needed to have taken a measured response in the current situation and by so doing ignite more confidence in Nigerians and in ASUU to the delicate issue that agreement reached with the State will be honoured. It is rather unfortunate that the level of confidence has so much degenerated to the extent that even a meeting and an agreement with the President of a country will require further revalidation. This only results into some vicious cycle of distrust upon distrust. Let us, for once, consider the public interest. We are losing the plot.

Meanwhile, moderate lecturers may need to find an alternative platform in dealing with the challenges of education and interrelated sectors in Nigeria. ASUU brand has suffered considerable damage and the mere mention of “ASUU” conjures up images of closed university gates and strikes fear in the hearts of students and parents. We cannot afford to continue on this self destruct path. The federal government and ASUU must realize we cannot place mere monetary value on people and on our future. It is not all about money and budgetary provisions. It is equally about people; about commitment to making a positive change as individuals; about sacrifice; about inspiring others to greater good; and about our shared humanity in preserving the sanctity of our existence. We must pull back and save whatever could still be salvaged. The damage on the students, parents, the public and the future is enormous. Does the current FG-ASUU face-off care about this?

Autopsy on the Body of Late Festus Iyayi: Process as important as Procedure

While discussions continue on a recent blog post about investigating the road traffic crash in which ex-ASUU leader and others lost their lives, it is gratifying to know there has been a recent call for autopsy on the body of the deceased as reported in the media: http://www.punchng.com/news/iyayi-asuu-suspects-foul-play-asks-for-autopsy/

However, it is equally important that the process of the autopsy be streamlined in accordance with existing mandate stipulated by law, so as to achieve the intended purpose.  In the media report referenced above, the following statement was credited to the spokesperson of Iyayi’s family: “Commenting on the development, Iyayi family spokesman, Prof. Robert Ebewele, said that the issue of autopsy was ASUU’s affair and that the family would go ahead with the burial already slated for the first week of December”. It is important, therefore, to observe that the issue of autopsy in this context is not only an “ASUU’s affair”, but also, more importantly, a public affair, a medico-legal affair, and a justice affair. The death of Prof Festus Iyayi and many other Nigerians, who lose their lives daily on our roads and in other circumstances, calls for death investigation under the Coroner’s Law.  The process of undertaking this procedure therefore needs to be followed in accordance with the law in the affected jurisdiction. The understanding and cooperation of the family in this situation will be important as any burial programme will have to align with the Coroner’s mandate for the autopsy and subsequent authorisation/permit for burial to avoid a potential Coroner’s Order for Exhumation in the event the body is buried without authorized autopsy.

Meanwhile, it is needless to state the autopsy procedure itself must meet prescribed standards. This is not only for the index case but should also apply to all forensic autopsies because of inherent greater impact on the justice system and on public health and interest. If there were more Coroner’s Inquests in response to so many Coroners’ cases we are confronted with daily, perhaps the public and concerned institutions would have been strengthened with evidence (and not rumours or media sensationalism) to be able to hold to account relevant persons, bodies or agencies.  Death investigation at every turn must be dispassionate, factual, evidence based and professional.  The mere act of autopsy procedure without competent appreciation of all the elements of such an undertaking makes a mockery of the entire procedure and portends a worse form of injustice to the dead, concerned family and the general public. Therefore, in carrying out an autopsy on the body of late Festus Iyayi and in other forensic cases, the process is as important as the procedure and a compromise of one, defeats the purpose of the other.

As Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Investigates Prof Festus Iyayi's Death

So much has been written in the media about possible causes of recent fatal road traffic crash that involved the convoy of Kogi state governor. Prof Iyayi of the University of Benin was a known figure among the casualties. The state of Nigerian roads and human factors, which play major role in the incessant road crashes that have claimed more lives than natural diseases, was a subject of this blog under Traffic Medicine (http://uwomeze.blogspot.com/2013/04/traffic-medicine-1-managing-carnage-on.html and http://uwomeze.blogspot.com/2013/04/traffic-medicine-2-behavioural-factors.html). Since the death of Prof Iyayi and others in the crash, more Nigerians continue to die daily from needless and preventable crashes that hardly attract the attention of the media but those who work in hospitals can attest to the number of the dead and dying brought into the Accident and Emergency Departments on their way to the mortuary. It is a sorry sight to see the human waste on Nigerian roads especially involving the young and we appear helpless about stemming the tide.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) saddled with the responsibility of ensuring safe driving and accident prevention has openly declared their plan to investigate this latest crash involving the convoy of a state governor and a high profile university lecturer. Many have questioned the ability and credibility of the FRSC in recent times as the agency appears to be distracted from its main mandate of ensuring safe road for Nigerians and have embarked on many other ventures a lot of people feel are indicative of some loss of focus.

However, it may be important to point out a few things as FRSC undertakes this investigation:

1. Deaths in road traffic crashes are apparently unnatural and violent deaths, and fall within the cases investigated by the Coroner who presides over the jurisdiction of such incidents. It is therefore hoped the FRSC is working with the Coroner in the affected jurisdiction as road traffic crashes are medico-legal (forensic) cases. 
2. Environmental and human factors are valid considerations in such investigation. While much has been written about death traps called roads on our major highways, the public may not have paid enough attention to the human factors involved in causation of road traffic crashes in Nigeria. 
3. A good scene reconstruction will be critical to understanding this crash. It is expected that positions of the vehicles involved and the casualties would have been marked by the relevant authorities. It is therefore important that issues are based on evidence. There is a tendency to be carried away by sentiments and sensationalism usually expressed in some segment of the media. Such is not helpful in coming to some premise supported by evidence. Media "trial" and conclusions must be deemphasised if we are interested in 
4. seeking evidence based facts. 
5. Forensic autopsy should be conducted on all the dead victims. This is particularly vital to the investigation. It is important to exclude natural conditions or diseases that may have influenced the situation. Toxicology must be an essential ancillary to the autopsy to unravel any role some drugs or alcohol may have played in the crash. That a good number of drivers do abuse drugs or alcohol in Nigeria and drive under the influence is a known fact to the FRSC. It is therefore imperative that toxicological analysis be carried out on relevant biological specimens. A question one is yet to get an answer to is the legal alcohol limit in Nigeria. What blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is considered the upper limit, by law, in Nigeria? The FRSC may want to address this question since it has touted the use of breath-analysers on drivers in Nigeria. The principle of use of breath-analysers connotes a need for confirmatory blood test at some reading. What BAC will officials of FRSC be keeping an eye on Nigerian roads? 
6. Coroner's Inquest: A proper Coroner's Inquest should be conveyed by the appropriate authority, and all the pieces of information from the various investigations and witnesses are examined by the Coroner in a public forum. FRSC will be one of the government agencies to present their findings and at the end of the proceedings, a Coroner's determination will be made and verdict entered.

Like relations of deceased often wonder what value investigating the death of their loved ones will bring to them since the dead cannot possibly be called back to life. I usually respond that it does justice to the dead to be able to understand how death came about and to speak to their unique circumstance; it also enables loved ones, families and affected communities to come to closure and move forward; and it protects individual and public health as lessons from a particular death could potentially save others from a similar situation. Furthermore, it is a strong statement to the society that we place high premium on the life of every individual and there must be accountability and justice in the event of any loss of lives.

Lights Out for another Rape Victim in Nigeria

A silent epidemic rages at the background as our institutions and communities only make occasional sporadic motionless spurts in response to senseless dehumanisation and degradation of our most important human essence, women and children.

A colleague just shared with me a distressing episode he witnessed of how a judge threw out a case of rape in court in response to some submission by the defence that "she enjoyed it and even had orgasm". This is the level of (lack of) knowledge and backwardness in most of Africa as the rest of the world makes conscious efforts and progress at stemming this predatory warfare on human dignity by aligning with contemporary evidence based modalities and discarding damaging myths that have retarded any meaningful progress in this area, mainly in Africa. From the police who take a report of sexual assault, to state prosecutors and judges, a common mindset thread runs through the chain that blinds African societies to the realities of this horrendous assault on human dignity. The prevalent patrilineal slant in the African society has entrenched this culture of impunity. It is almost hopeless reporting a case of rape, as the victim is immediately re-victimised first by relations, community and the police who often  judge her appearance and demeanour; her clothing; life style and "what were you doing in a man's room (or alone with a man) if you didn't want sex?" arrogant and senseless posture. And the attendant stigmatization is suffocating.

The situation is so appalling and depressing that it is driving victims to take their own lives. The recent report widely reported in national dailies, 18-year-old gang-rape victimcommits suicide highlights the insensitivity of our community, and institutions to this malady and it is a call for urgent and concrete action by relevant institutions and agencies. This is just a tip of the iceberg; the scale of the problem appears to be beyond what our society is ready to accept and act upon. Husbands are sexually assaulting their wives; boyfriends their girlfriends; fathers their daughters; close family and authority figures their own relations and those who are deceived by their “sheep appearance”, when in actual fact these are ravaging and unconscionable wolves who abuse their position and betray trust.

We can't afford to keep writing this way. There is urgent need for action. First, relevant government agencies should set up Rape Crisis Centres as clearing houses for immediate and long term management of sexual violence. These centres will be One Stop Centres for both medical and forensic management of survivors by specially trained medical staff, social workers, police officers and others working as a team. We need to put a FULL STOP to having victims of sexual assault go to our regular police stations (as presently constituted and operated) to report such cases. Time after time, with one scandal after another, it is evident that continuing this manner of attending to victims of sexual assault by regular police officers and untrained medical personnel (in the area of forensic medical management of sexual violence) is essentially traumatic and a further victimisation of hapless victims. There is also need to tinker with the existing laws that are based on primordial understanding about sexual violence in most of Africa, and bring them up to speed with contemporary understanding and practice in this area. Our lawyers and judges will need to be educated on the facts of the matter based on evidence with regards to sexual violence. It is therefore time we invested in safeguarding our humanity from aberrant humans, mainly males, who inflict indelible scars on the honour, dignity and sanctity of life.