LET me state very quickly that I am allowing the present subject to forward its attention to me by default. I meant to address my selfless devotion to the cause of our downtrodden masses and people by engaging on something else. In fact, I wanted to laud Senator David Mark and his co-senators for their recent revolutionary rejection of the Federal Road Safety Commission’s (FRSC) scandalously exploitative hike of the cost of new vehicle number plates and licences. I was going to clap and clap for the Senate President and his fellow lords and helmspersons in the Upper House. At least, for once they have demonstrated that they possess the senses to appreciate a gathering storm. Yes, but I must keep at abeyance my hooraying of Senate President David Mark and his fellow senators until some other democratic time of harvest pertinent to the well being and welfare of worker democrats and professional democrats, not excluding the intellectual democrats our respective governments and their anti-people institutions are endeavouring to crush.

I am hailing ASUU today for its thoroughly pro-people position on Lagos. And when I say Lagos, I mean, as you know me to mean, the currently anti-professional government of a well touted progressive party in that fine place. The greatly progressive government has been raising its great banner of anti-worker and anti-professional struggle and onslaught against one of the world’s foremost professional and intellectual groups of persons: medical doctors. I am more than thrilled that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has come out without mincing words to tell Lagos that its anti-people and anti-democratic onslaught is patently wrong and patently condemnable. ASUU, I must alert all my readers, without qualms, is Nigeria’s most democratic, most selflessly devoted union to the cause of our people and the most fearless to fight for the good and best for Nigeria and the people of Nigeria.

Of course, ASUU is not a perfect organisation, but its deep and abiding concern for the progress of our country and people has no equal in the land. The members running the union are not buyable and bribable to do their union in. I am particularly moved over the years by its endeavour to “fight its way to a free alliance” with workers and professionals of all kinds in our country. It is on this more than absolutely cherished note that I feel the need to dwell substantially on ASUU’s position on the absurd position of Lagos on the appropriate and legitimate strike called by the Lagos Medical Guild. The recalcitrant posture of Lagos has compelled me here to dwell, once more, as I should not have done, under normal circumstances, on the subject of anti-democratic Lagos and the medical guild. But the times are abnormal without measure. (And I am writing this on “democracy day”. “Democracy” my foot! And the negative picture of Lagos irresistibly keeps floating on my mind, Lagos the new crusher of democratic workers and professionals). Now I must quote ASUU, for our democratic hearts of victorious pleasure, as gleaned from a news item in the Nigerian Tribune of Tuesday, 29 May, 2012 on page 7: “The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on Monday called for the implementation of the agreement entered into with the medical doctors by the Lagos State government failure of which the University lecturers would be forced to embark on strike in sympathy with the doctors. ASUU national president, Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie,…. who likened the action of Governor Babatunde Fashola to the leadership style of past military regimes in the country, said, ‘this is a demonstration of arbitrariness and lawlessness, disrespect for workers, including professionals’, “adding that there was evidence that the state government actually signed an agreement with the doctors in Lagos State at a comparative disadvantage to their counterparts in other health institutions.”

Thanks, dear national president of ASUU. No reasonable member of the democratic collective must acquiesce to the anti-democratic acrobatics of any repulsive exponent of governance at whatever level. All those who maintain selfish and slavish silence when a bad, repulsive action is let loose must break it.

It is in this connection that I must commend as well the voice and action of Joint Action Committee (JAC) ably led by Dr. Dipo Fashina, a former great national president of ASUU on the revulsion of the Lagos anti-democrats. And NUPENG is also not forgotten. Keep the fire bright despite the blackmail and name-calling. I also must commend the activist-lawyers Femi Falana and Bamidele Aturu for their democratically healthy condemnation of Lagos. And how can I forget the editorial of this paper of Monday, 23 May, 2012, on the same subject? Beautiful job, beautiful beauty. I also commend Segun Ayobolu of The Nation. Fine man of an illumined mind. And to you my more than numerous readers who have either called or sent text messages on the same subject, I say please keep healthy your democratic spirit and propensity. At the end of the day, they shall gain the upper hand over anti-democratic jokers in power, government and authority.

And remember Jehu. Are you there Primate Theophilus Olabayo? Of course, there is time soon to do our envisaged article to be called “Epitaph for Hollow Ones. Or do I make it a prose poem?

Last line: The lion is down. He may be at large until he can roar again. But all is well.

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