Rotimi Agboluaje, Ibadan
Contrary to the clamor by various interest groups for local government autonomy, no fewer than 500 teachers under the aegis of Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Oyo State wing on Wednesday stormed the streets of Ibadan, the state capital in protest against the proposed autonomy for the tier of government.
According to the teachers, if local government autonomy is granted then the payment of primary school teachers as well as the funding and management of primary schools should be taken away as a responsibility of the local government.
The protest rally which took off at the state secretariat of the Nigeria Labor Congress(NLC), Agodi was led by the state chairman of NUT, Comrade Niyi Akano, in company of the state NLC chairman, Comrade Waheed Olojede, and other state executives to the Oyo State government secretariat to deliver a protest letter to the governor.
The teachers who carried various placards bearing inscriptions such as ‘Nigerian Union of Teachers, Oyo State Wing says no to Local Government Autonomy’, ‘Basic education is a right of every child’, ‘Local government councils do not have the capacity to pay primary school teachers salaries’, ‘Basic education is a right and must be protected by all’, ‘Foundation of education in Nigeria under threat again’, stated that granting autonomy to the tier of government would be a burden “too heavy to bear”.
Addressing the protesters, Comrade Akano,the NUT state chairman, said that the rally was not a protest against salaries arrears but a fight for the soul of primary education in the state and the country at large.
He said that experience has shown that local government lacks the capacity to run and fund primary education, which is the foundation of education.
Also, the state NLC Chairman who is also the state NUT secretary, Comrade Olojede said that allowing the local governments to take charge of the primary school education in the country is a good way of sending the sector back to the woods.
He said that the period between 1990-1994 when local government enjoyed full autonomy was the worst for the sector as many teachers went with unpaid salaries and entitlements.
The NLC scribe said that payment of primary school teachers salaries and entitlements should be left with State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) while he also canvassed a review of the revenue allocation formula of the federal government.
Maintaining that such step would make more funds be available to the state governments to fund primary and secondary schools.
Receiving the teachers on behalf of Governor Abiola Ajimobi, the state Deputy Governor, Otunba Moses Adeyemo, assured them that he would deliver their message to the governor.
