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| LATE PROF IYAYI |
A cross-section
of members of the academic community, joined by members of civil
society organisations, booed one the officiating clergymen, during the
lying-in-state ceremony held for late former President of the Academic
staff Union of Universities, Prof. Festus Iyayi, which held on Friday,
at the Akin Deko main auditorium of the University of Benin.
Rev. Fr. Andrew
Obiyan, one of the seven officiating priests at the ceremony, which was
attended by a record that continued to swell as the programme wore on,
drew the ire of the virtually all in attendance, when he veered of his
main business, to tell ASUU about having a rethink about their over five
month-old strike.
The priest said many of the lecturers were already wary of the “fight.”
Reading from
portions of the bible, Obiyan praised Iyayi’s tenacity of purpose,
courage and sense of dedication to duty, all of which he said
contributed to the “hero” he became, both in life and in death and went
on to call on ASUU members to consider their position in order that they
not continue to be at the receiving end.
He said, “The
death of the faithful is precious in the eyes of God, so I want to
admonish the family not to think of the pain of death, but think about
the bright promise of immortality.”
Threading on
what was to irk the crowd, he said, “Finally, I want to thank God
because (ASUU) you have become the voice of the voiceless today. May
that voice never die. But I want to remind you that there is no success
without sacrifice; for Jesus to gain the whole world he had to give up
his life. We give up to go up.
My humble
appeal to you as a minister of God is to kindly request you in the name
of God to please surrender the tool of power. Do not give the federal
government the privilege of satisfaction of fighting and defeating you. I
encourage you to surrender first in this fight. You have made your
point eloquently and clear enough.
Sincere and
intelligent Nigerians will consider will consider what you have done and
will forever appreciate you for it. Your surrender at this time as a
tool of power is the sign of strength, it’s not a sign of weakness. Our
relationship with God our father shows that faith and trust navigate.
We may not trust the federal government owing to their antecedents, but I humbly request you to please trust them now.”
Speaking with
journalists at the end of the ceremony, ASUU President, Dr Nasri Fagge
said reaction from the crowd was enough attestation to the mood of
majority of union members on the matter''
He said, “We
were told here at this gathering there were some fundamental issues that
bother the mind of our late comrade, as to the future of the struggle.
For me, it is left for us to rally round those ideals and advance his
legacies. You saw the reaction of the crowd to what was said about
suspending the struggle, and that to me said it all.”
Recalling some
of his past encounters with the late professor of business
administration, Governor Adams Oshiomhole said, “Iyayi spoke truth to
power, just as much as he spoke truth with his colleagues.”
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